Spectrum Human Services

invoice date 6/24/2012delivery date 8/3/2012Below are the emails between Sandy (an employee no longer with us), *** (the furniture Dr.) Amy (***s contact), *** ***, and I (Anna) I have attached photos to show the frame work of *** that we have on the floorAs you can see
*** would not just throw fabric on this frame work due to comfort reasonsBecause then we would be getting complaints on not only comfort but receiving Drbills as well due to the wood framing as shown*** has agreed to send the customer free foam and cardboard for each piece even though his purchase was over a year ago The client has been informed that they are here. As you will see when you read the emails the costumer changed his story a couple times with meI have done everything I c an do on my endHe does not want to use our furniture Drfor repairs because of the amount of money it will coast him in labor***, dFurniture, *** *** and I can not control the wear and tear on everyone's furnitureBut we are contracted with a company *** *** so that when wear and tear is had on furniture we can send him out there to evaluate the situations and best way to go about itWe carry furniture from all price pointsWe do not make any one buy anything they are not comfortable in buyingWe offer all of our customers the option to purchase insurance for their furniture at check outThis is through a company that the client calls and files a claim with themThis insurance covers rips, tares, stains, cuts , burns and suchThis is explained to the customer at check out as well below are two public links*** has amazing reviews and amazing product they have been in business Since 1964 http://www.***-furniture-quality.com/about/http://www.***-furniture-quality.com/...⇄ have tried to be very accommodating and patient with *** *** but we can not pay for this issue that we have not doneHad this "frame" situation happen to any of our floor models we wouldn't ask someone else to pay for it after years of having it in our possessionI thought I was very helpful to *** *** in explaining everythingBut after a year when something happens to the arms (not including wood) or the fabric it is on the costumers expense***, like I said before, has already done more than they need to by sending the client free foam and cardboardI hope I have been very clear in this email, the photos, and emails chains belowEveryone has try to be very accommodating to *** *** besides paying for things that are not our responsibility to pay for. Sent: Tuesday, February 16, 3:PM"Customer says the arms on obth chairs make a popping sound when you lean on them as though cardboard is flexing then springing back. I emailed Amy about this and she said we should send you to inspect as this might be covered under the lifetime frame warranty. Please contact customer ad let me know.ThanksSandy""I visited this customer on 11/Both arms on each of the pieces (chairs and sofa - arms total) have loose cardboard underpayments on the rolled armsThis causes a noticeable clunking sound whenever any weight is placed on the top of the armRepairs will require uncovering each of the arms and tacking back down the loose cardboard and possibly adding additional frame components inside the arm framesThis will require labor charges of over $per pieceIn addition, I would need to break up the work over or days requiring the customer to take off from work each time I comeHe is not inclined to have to take that much time not does he feel that he should have to deal with repairs on all brand new pieces of furnitureI would also imagine that *** would prefer to do this work in their own factory. Let me know if I should move forward with repairs or close this out as an inspection only- *** *** *** Anna, The arm foam is technically out of warranty since these pieces were purchased back in 2012. I would send the parts at no charge, even though they’re out of warranty, to help resolve for your customer. However, they should understand that the labor charges would be their responsibility. If you wish to order the parts, please let me know. Thank you! - *** On Wed, Feb 17, at 10:AM Me to *** *** mar 2Hi ***,Customer thinks that his furniture did not come with wood structure in the armsHe is telling me that you are aware of this and told him that that was why it was "clunking"I have in my email from you that you noticed that the cardboard was broken and needed to be replacedWhen telling the customer this the first time we spoke about the construction of the product he said that his arms were not made with cardboardI had explained that cardboard is placed in the arm to help mold it and that it is not part of the frame or life time frame warrantyAfter confirming that with him he said that what was missing was the wood in his armsThat it had cardboard and not wood nowI had the customer come in and show him the frame we have in the store and he confirmed that it is the wood from the frame that is missingI told him at that point I would talk to *** and go over what it was that he had already observed because ***'s notes stated that it was the cardboard that was lossThe customer purchased these pieces back in 8/3/to be exact for when it was delivered. I hope this makes sense. ***@***.comMar 3to meHi Anna,I am writing to summarize our conversation of yesterday regarding the issues with customer ***’s furnitureDuring my inspection back on 11/16/I found that all of the arms on the three chairs and sofa have loose cardboard underlaymentThis is the cardboard sheathing that is placed over the wooden frame to provide support and shape for the foam and fabric on the arm.The cardboard has separated from the wooden frame in certain areas and is moving in other areas where it is not completely supported by wooden frame elementsI did not detect any broken frame elements during my visitThe sound is being caused by movement of the cardboardThe arm frame has been constructed properly and as *** intended as far as I can tell from my external inspection.As is the case with most arm frames, the wooden frame does not support 100% of the cardboard but that is the way the arm frame is designed and constructed**. *** may have taken my description of the arm frame construction to mean that not having wood supporting 100% of the cardboard as a defectThis is obviously not the case. In short, I do not believe there is an issue with the wooden frame but there is an issue with the movement of the cardboard sheathing*** will have to make the determination on what their warranty covers or doesn’t regarding this issue.Please let me know if you have any additional questions.Best regards,*** *** ***of NoVA and Greater DC*** at this point had already offered to give *** the parts for free even though it has been over year -Anna *** ***Mar 14to meAnna,I just need the materials that *** offered to send at no charge. I do not need *** to do any repairs because I will have someone else do it.Just let me know when the repair material arrive to go pick them up.Thank you!He has decided to find a different "furniture dr." to go with after this email. Thank you,Anna

*** came in on different occasions purchasing furniture on both occasions placing different orders on different days making it different transactions and different totalsWhen purchasing the protection for the new order and wanting the order previously insured as well that should have been said at time of check outIt would have been more money and we wouldn't have charged the client for this without him expressing interest on insuring his past purchase as well at that moment He was knowledgeable at that point We tried to assist in every way possibleAs inconsistent as the story was and how dated it was the manufacture still sent parts for free and we have been willing to help with the labor in providing our trusted furniture doctor to go and help the customer the best possible way but they decided to go with someone elseThe fact that all arms are loose at the same time is unheard of. We believe even if we fixed this costumers issue after years in years they would call about something elseThis story has changed over the months of this situation that all parties involved believe that this client is taking advantage of us and the situation. Furniture that is made out of all wood frames are to times more expensive than what the customer purchasedOnly out of the almost furniture lines that we carry come with all wood framesCardboard is helped in so many companies framesIt is way more common to purchase a piece of furniture with cardboard in it than notThe cardboard in the arms can become loose overtime when used to the extremeThe cardboard is laying on top of the wood and then the foam is placed over that and then covered in whichever material the company provides for the client to pick in order to customize it to their likingThis is a very unlikely situation to have happen as the cardboard is very protectedEven more unlikely that this customer has had this happen to all of the arms at once As far as an employee that is no longer working here at this point in time and what he said or did not say in is something that nobody can hold to himHim commenting on the fact that cardboard was placed in the body of this furniture or not is something that unfortunately neither *** ** *** or I can quote word for word

Once again, I am rejecting the reply from Direct Furniture Galleries because they failed to respond to the two issues I have with this business about misleading sales practices: Not explaining that the extended 5-year warranty only covered the items listed on the final invoice *** furniture floor sample cutoff shows the wooden frame and foam they use to manufacture its arm chairs and sofas, but no cardboard at allInstead, I got to read nothing but speculations about what happened because the person that wrote the reply was not present during the saleOtherwise, he/she would have been able to articulate facts, like:The reason why I received two invoices is because the sales person, Afroza, volunteered to come to my house to make sure all of the furniture and carpets were going to fitSince the formal living room and family room were custom made, she recommended placing the order for these items before coming to my houseAfter her visit, we ordered the rest of the furniture items and purchase the warranty under the assumption it covered all of our furnitureAt no time she mentioned that all items had to be listed on the same invoice to be covered by the warranty.Instead, someone (I speculate the store manager) replied:"*** (misspelled) came in on different occasions purchasing furniture on both occasions placing different orders on different days making it different transactions and different totalsWhen purchasing the protection for the new order and wanting the order previously insured as well that should have been said at time of check outIt would have been more money and we wouldn't have charged the client for this without him expressing interest on insuring his past purchase as well at that moment He was knowledgeable at that point." Which is pure speculation and NOT a fact, as he/she acknowledges: "neither *** ** *** or I can quote word for word."A company that has a clue of what customer service means would have replied: "we cannot comment on the information provided by our former employee because she no longer works hereHowever, all of our current and future sales people will be informed of the importance of having all items listed on the same invoice listing the warranty to prevent this situation from occurring again." Next, Direct Furniture Galleries finally acknowledge that *** furniture uses cardboard in the arms: "The cardboard in the arms can become looseThe cardboard is laying on top of the wood and then the foam is placed over that and then covered in whichever material the company provides for the client to pick in order to customize it to their liking." Unfortunately, they did not address the issue of having a floor model without any cardboard showing (just wood, fabric and foam). Instead, they tried to justify misleading customers with a partially accurate floor model with the excuse that everyone uses cardboard: "Only out of the almost furniture lines that we carry come with all wood framesCardboard is helped in so many companies framesIt is way more common to purchase a piece of furniture with cardboard in it than not." I have never bought custom-made furniture, but this is the first time in my almost 30-years of purchasing furniture that I had a problem with any cardboard coming loose on my furnitureAlso, their "trusted furniture doctor" is the one that identified the problem with all of the furniture arms when he came to my house to see what the issue with my two arm chairs wasHe also stated that this was a common problem because of the shape of the armsUnfortunately, Direct Furniture Galleries speculates that: "The fact that all arms are loose at the same time is unheard of."Again, a company with a good Revdex.com rating would have answered: "Customer will be informed cardboard is sued to shape the arms on most models and the floor sample will now be displayed with a sample of the cardboard used." What I find amusing is the claim that: "all parties involved believe that this client is taking advantage of us and the situation."How exactly have I taken advantage or benefited from this situation? Who are these "parties" mentioned? Also, the claim that "the cardboard in the arms can become loose overtime when used to the extreme" is pure speculationIf this was a fact, their "trusted" furniture doctor would have mentioned any extreme use of the furniture as the reason for the problem.Blaming the customer is the easiest escape goat for companies without a good Revdex.com ratingIn this case, it is not a surprise that Direct Furniture Galleries has no Revdex.com ratingBottom line, I would like the Revdex.com to post this email on their website for other customers to be aware of this business' practices and to provide a factual ratingAs for me, I expect nothing from Direct Furniture Galleries other than useless replies speculating more and more about this issue without offering any solutions whatsoever.V/r*** ***

From: [redacted]<[redacted].com>Date: Sun, Sep 25, 2016 at 8:54 AMSubject: complaint [redacted]To: [email protected] Revdex.comthanks for your  effort , you donot need to ask them again. I will try my complaint with Fairfax county consumer affairs and see the outcomeThanks