An Online Store That Doesn't Let You BUY Anything From Them!
Bruno Brothers
This is actually a non-review, the first I ever wrote about a website. But I felt it was important that potential shoppers who click on Bruno Brothers Online Store know what they are getting into. And not going to be able to get.
What the Site Sells
In theory, this site sells unique food and gift baskets, nuts, candies, caviar, lobster and king crab, and many other delicacies.
Navigation
The site is ultra simplistic. There is a list of links on the right side: Home, Story, Recipes, What's Cooking, Shop Here, and About Us.
Click on one of the links and you will bring up the topic. If you click on Shop Here, you get categories of items to choose from and you can hone down exactly what you are looking for by clicking the text links.
There are some photos of their offerings but not everything that is supposed to be sold on this site has an accompanying photo. Descriptions are scant. Under every description, and around the site randomly, is the word "sponsor". I have no idea whether there is supposed to be a link to an advertiser or sponsor or what the heck that means but I just ignored the word "sponsor" littering the site as it seemed needless.
There are three little boxes at the bottom of the page with no wording. Clicking on them takes you offsite to a fitness and exercise equipment site, a site called HotNew.com that sells a large variety of assorted items, and what looks like an nonworking old site with a list of many links to different areas of the web. I have no clue what those three icon links are for or if they are, in any way, related to Bruno Brothers.
All the category links work and we are told that the site is dedicated to not just a positive shopping experience but the after sale as well.
All that is great but I spent over an hour on the site, clicking every link and sublink, to find out how to actually buy the items they are selling. Not only did I not figure that out, I could not find a phone number or an email address on the site to contact the owners so I could place an order!
My Experience
A few months ago, a friend of mine had a baby. Sick of the usual congratulatory gifts, I went searching for something different. I did a few searches and found Bruno Brothers. On the site they offer something called "Chocka Ca-Ca!" which is a diaper with a "precious" delicious chocolate turdle inside. Yeah, gross, but kind of funny none the less. I planned to buy a few of these Chocka Ca Cas for my friend as well as a nice gift basket.
So, off I went to Bruno Brothers. Indeed, I found the object of my desire and clicked on the link. There was a photo and a description along with an item number.
However, there was no price listed. Hmm. There was no shopping cart to place my order. There was no information as to how place an order.
I thought perhaps the item was out of stock so I searched around a bit and saw a nice gift basket.
Same deal. Good pic, short description, item number but no price and no cart.
I went back and reread the info on the "About Us" page and they are, indeed, up to date and selling products.
I then decided I would contact them. There was no link to email the site and no any information as to how to get a hold of them.
Puzzled, I went to the area where they say that you can special order products by phone. I clicked that. I was met with a long narrative telling me they had thousands of items in their store and any could be special ordered. They encouraged prospective buyers to call or fax their requests.
Verbatim: "Although we display many items on our Web page, we are unable at this time to list the thousands of items that we stock. Therefore, we encourage you to inquire about special items you want but don't see listed. We read every message and usually respond within 24 hours. If your needs are immediate, don't hesitate to phone or fax us."
That's fine but there is no phone number nor any fax number anywhere on the site!
I continued to search for any contact info and there was none. I clicked every link on the site. There is no physical address, no email address, no phone number, no fax number, and no way to contact these people to place an order or ask a question on the site.
This is not an old non-working site. Their recipes and spice of the month change and the site is copyright 2005.
I finally checked a consumer advice site to see if there were any reviews of the site. I found the mysterious address and phone number I was desperately looking for on the "View Information" page although there were no reviews of the site written yet.
I emailed info@brunobros.com asking how to place an order and detailing what I wanted. This was four months ago and I have not gotten a response.
I also tried the toll free number listed on the consumer advice site (but not on the actual site) and got a recording that they were closed and to call during "business hours" but was not told what those hours were.
The site is simply useless.
You cannot BUY anything they sell even though they go into detail about bringing you their special offerings via cyberspace and even how long to takes to get your orders shipped!
I couldn't get my special "Ca Ca" diapers nor my gourmet basket and I am still wondering what the heck is going on with the site.
I went so far as to email one of the sites that are linked to them to see if there is a connection between them and Bruno Brothers but I never got a response.
In all, I had a non-experience at this site which may not qualify as a review but I thought you should know of this experience and simply steer clear of the site and not waste your valuable time searching for something you won't find. Trust me, if there was any valid contact info on this site, I would have found it. I was on a mission. I spent way too much time reading every word on every page to snag a few clues as to how to contact the owners of the site or how to order from the site — not realizing that epinions had more info on the site than the actual site did.
It's simply not possible to get a response or to buy anything from this site.
I honestly don't think I would buy anything from them now if I did get a hold of them or if they did add a working cart to the site. With absolutely no contact information at all on the site — seemingly purposely — I don't think I would want edible items from them.
All I can do is rate this 1 star and tell you to disregard this site if it turns up in a search for something you at looking for. You'll waste your time and come out of the experience frustrated and confused as I did.
With this selling ethic, the Bruno Brothers are in deep trouble!
Recommended:
No
