I have to apologise to The Warehouse (and I did send a follow up apology email to them after a previous polite grumble).

I previously posted that the Click & Collect charges were not transparent, but it turns out I am blind after I checked a third time.

I had purchased a $200 bulky item on Boxing Day online that was $30 off and chose Click & Collect to avoid expensive freight charges.  I should have noticed the $80 freight/handling charge, which is the same whether you have the item delivered to your door OR delivered to a store for you to collect.  If I had noticed that charge, I would never have placed the order in the first place.

When collecting, you have to visit the customer service desk at the store, and possibly queue to talk to the staff member who will fetch your items from a separate storage area.  The collection experience was not seamless in my case, with a 30 minute wait (with 3 kids under 7 in tow at the time) for them not to be able to find the box that was delivered to the store for me, and they eventually gave me one out of their own store stock.

Next time I'll just have small items delivered, and just take my chances in store for big items.

Having said that, I ordered a midrange BBQ online from them a couple of days ago, but only because it was free delivery!