DON'T BUY FROM THIS PEOPLE
★☆☆☆☆ – Absolutely Terrible Experience
I spent more than €10,000 at Van Marcke, and I genuinely struggle to understand how this company continues to attract customers. Either people are not reading the reviews before making a purchase, or they are reading them and hoping their experience will somehow be different. Mine certainly was not.
My first delivery experience was shocking. The driver arrived with a forklift but refused to place the goods at my front door. Instead, he demanded an additional €40 in cash. When I explained that I did not have cash available, he simply left a very heavy bathtub outside and drove away. I was left to deal with the consequences despite having paid for delivery.
Unfortunately, things only got worse.
The second delivery failed on the originally scheduled date. I received a call informing me that delivery would not be possible. While disappointed, I remained patient and cooperative.
I then clearly instructed Van Marcke to deliver on Monday after 3:00 PM because I work during the day. This was not a suggestion; it was a specific arrangement. Despite this, the delivery team arrived at around 11:00 AM and repeatedly called me while I was in a work meeting.
I contacted customer service and spoke with Stijn, who assured me he would get back to me. As expected, no one followed up. I had to call again myself, only to be told that my order had been taken to the Zaventem branch and that I should collect it there myself.
Let that sink in.
I paid for delivery. Van Marcke failed to deliver the goods at the agreed time, ignored my instructions, failed to communicate properly, and then expected me to solve the problem by driving to their branch and collecting the goods myself.
What makes this experience particularly troubling is the feeling I was left with throughout the entire process. As an English-speaking customer with a foreign accent, I could not help but feel that I was not being treated with the same level of respect, professionalism, and consideration that any customer spending over €10,000 deserves.
I cannot prove the reason for the treatment I received, but after being ignored, dismissed, inconvenienced, and repeatedly let down despite spending a significant amount of money, it is difficult not to question whether prejudice played a role. Whether it was incompetence, indifference, or something else, the result was the same: I felt disrespected and undervalued as a customer.
The entire experience has been defined by poor communication, missed commitments, unreliable deliveries, lack of accountability, and customer service that simply does not care once they have your money.
I rarely leave negative reviews, but this experience deserves one. If you are considering spending your hard-earned money at Van Marcke, I strongly recommend reading the reviews carefully and considering alternative suppliers.
This has been one of the worst customer experiences I have ever had.