To be sure, there are many serious problems in the country and the world. We recognize that this is not one of those . . . but some things are just SO frustrating and annoying. This is just a personal rant; thanks for reading.
However, we do have direct experience with a furniture salesman, who was very friendly when we were looking at the purchase of a new BR set last September. (Disclaimer: this is a personal experience post and not meant to disparage ales people. There are some very fine ones who we have dealt with on other purchases.)
That said, this is a (very) long post about a furniture buying experience. We were ready for something new and really nice in the bedroom. Our previous furniture was inexpensive and serviceable, but nothing "special." We were ready for "special and nice."
We found it over the Labor Day weekend in early Sept after checking out several major retailers in Nashua, NH. The salesman told us that the set we selected would be coming from NC, a plus as we prefer "made in USA" whenever possible. We bought a platform bed, 2 dressers, 2 nightstands, and a new queen mattress. The salesman told us the BR set was a popular model, custom made and that delivery would not be until mid to late October.
That was OK. We had sold our current furniture. The purchasers were willing to wait until the holidays to pick it up.
All was good or so we thought.
In October, the furniture store manager told us there was a back order on the platform bed. Now, it would not be available until mid-November. We let the buyers of our set know of the delay and again no problem. As the end of November got closer, we contacted them and arranged for a weekend pickup. We figured the set would be in shortly so we could "rough" it for a few nights sleeping on the couch and futon.
WAIT . . . another call and YES another delay, until mid-December. But, the mattress and nightstands were ready for delivery, no dressers or platform bed.
Nightstands and mattress were delivered, along with a loaner box spring and bed frame. We were assured the remaining pieces would be in the warehouse before year-end. As we would be away for part of the Christmas holiday, this latest delay (while frustrating) wasn't a big issue. We arranged for end of December delivery.
You guessed it.
Christmas came (and went) and no delivery. We called and were told that the bed frame wasn't in yet. Delivery was rescheduled for January 11.
The day before (January 10), we got a call from the warehouse. The bed was checked and the wrong bed frame had been sent. The manufacturer would be called and we would receive a new estimated delivery date.
New date - 4-6 weeks, which means about the end of February.
No kidding!
The salesman after taking the order (and full payment) has not been in contact despite assurances he would "be in touch." In November, the store manager assured us he'd "be keeping on top of this order" is either "not in" or "unavailable" in recent weeks. Have both forgotten that the customer comes first?
And that statement about the furniture coming from NC was a Would we have bought it knowing this beforehand?
Probably not as "made in USA" is important to us and we would have shopped elsewhere. That said, the pieces we've received are well made. A friend suggested we return it all, but after investing so much time, the prospect of starting over is not appealing.
What irks us most (besides all the delays) is the repeated failure to return phone calls.
By the end of this week, we're visiting the local furniture store.
It's harder to ignore customers that way.
How about you?
Have you had any buying experiences that went really bad?
(No names have been included herein nor will we disclose the name of the furniture store which is a national retailer. Name starts with "A." Draw your own conclusions.)
