❌ Highly Disappointing Customer Service…
❌ Highly Disappointing Customer Service and Unreliable Inventory System
Rating: ⭐☆☆☆☆ (1/5)
We previously ordered a few items from Kaplan Early Learning Company with relative success, including a "factory second" product in early September. Because that initial experience was good, we decided to order three more factory second items in mid-September 2026 that were clearly listed as available on their website. We received an order confirmation email, but then communication went completely dark.
After hearing nothing, I searched for a shipment confirmation. Having already purchased coordinating accessories to go with the new preschool furniture, I logged into the Kaplan website to check the order status myself—only to discover the entire order had been silently cancelled. Kaplan sent absolutely no cancellation email, nor did anyone from customer service bother to call us.
When I reached out to our account representative, Bryan, via website email, direct email, and phone to find out what happened, the experience only got worse:
• Bryan called back once and said he would check with customer service.
• Instead of fixing the issue, he immediately tried to upsell me on buying the items brand new.
• When I asked what kind of discount he could offer—since the factory seconds were nearly 50% off—he promised to get back to me. He never did.
After following up again with both Bryan and customer service, a customer service agent finally replied with a generic apology, stating the items were no longer available. When I pointed out that their website inventory is completely unreliable and their communication was nonexistent, they simply brushed it off. They noted that factory seconds have "limited quantities" and casually invited us to just buy the full-price items instead.
Kaplan showed zero accountability for their broken inventory system or their total failure to notify a customer of a cancellation. Attempting to bait-and-switch a customer into buying full-price items after quietly cancelling an order is completely unacceptable. We are left with accessories for furniture we don't have, and we will be taking our preschool furniture business elsewhere. Very disappointing purchase experience and terrible customer service follow-up.