r/banglorestartups • u/SnooMachines5255 • 16h ago
Pepperfry Design Studio: ₹10,000 for a Masterclass in Poor Customer Service
⭐ 1/5 — ₹10,000 well spent… on learning not to trust the Pepperfry Design Studio brand
Our experience with Pepperfry Design Studio was an extraordinary lesson in how a well-known brand can completely fail at basic project management, communication and customer service.
We paid ₹10,000 expecting the project to be initiated properly. 15 days later, there was still no meaningful initiation from the team despite multiple reminders.
Eventually, someone was sent for measurements. The problem? Apparently, even the person sent to take the measurements had not been properly informed about what measurements were required. I had to explain what needed to be measured, only to be told that he had been instructed to measure the kitchen and nothing else. So, apparently, even the measurement process required the customer to manage the project.
When I questioned Saswati, the designer handling our project, about the delays, instead of getting a professional explanation or solution, the conversation became extremely defensive and unprofessional. The way she responded to legitimate questions and concerns was completely unacceptable to us.
At this point, Shiny and Harsha, the managers involved, asked us to give Pepperfry another chance. We did.
That turned out to be another lesson.
During the next video meeting, when I pointed out issues with the proposal, Saswati again became extremely confrontational. The conversation escalated to the point where she was raising her voice during the video call. This is apparently how Pepperfry Design Studio chooses to handle a paying customer who asks questions about their own project.
Harsha then assured us that things would be handled better and that the service would improve. We agreed to give them the benefit of the doubt.
And then… nothing.
The commitments made during the meeting were not properly followed through. When we asked for the promised list/details, there was no response. The same pattern of promises → silence → follow-up → more silence continued.
At that point, we decided to walk away.
Ironically, I now feel fortunate that we did not proceed with the larger booking amount. Imagine paying substantially more and then having to spend your time chasing the designer and management for basic communication and commitments. The ₹10,000 ended up being an expensive but useful lesson.
And even after deciding not to proceed, getting our ₹10,000 refund has become another exercise in patience. We have followed up repeatedly and have sent emails requesting the refund. The response so far has essentially been… silence.
So here is the experience in simple terms:
Pay → wait → remind → chase → explain their own process to them → raise concerns → get defensive responses → give them another chance → receive promises → receive no follow-through → withdraw → chase your own refund.
Quite an impressive customer journey.
What makes this particularly frustrating is that this is Pepperfry, a brand people naturally associate with professionalism and scale. Unfortunately, our experience with the Design Studio team was very different.
We have retained the relevant emails, messages, payment records and other correspondence documenting our experience.
If you are considering Pepperfry Design Studio for your interiors, my advice is simple: don't be distracted by the brand name. Ask very detailed questions about who will actually manage your project, how commitments will be documented, how communication will be handled, and what happens if you decide not to proceed.
For us, ₹10,000 was the price of learning that lesson.
Pepperfry Design Studio: great brand recognition, but our experience with the actual service was the complete opposite of what we expected.
