Total Warehouse Furniture, Inc.

Review: I want to start out by saying I have purchased from Total Furniture in the past and have referred many others. The day I purchased a set of 3 tables in the amount of $316.45, I mentioned several times "would it be better to put them on layaway since I am in the process of buying a condo and I am piecing together furniture at different stores?" I even had a picture of a fireplace I ordered to match the end tables to. [redacted] said it was up to my preference. This was 6/29/13. I decided to purchase the tables and store them in the box in my rec room and the movers moved them in the box on 8/1/13. On 8/21/13 the last of my special order furniture arrived and my son assembled the tables. They were too big as it turned out, so a couple of days later, I called the store on 8/22/13 or 8/23/13 and asked if the tables needed to be disassembled and put back in the box, to exchange for smaller tables. I spoke with [redacted] and she said she spoke with the manager and since so much time had passed, I cannot return them. I asked what I am supposed to do with them and she said "Sell them." I said" Why didn't you tell me it would be better to put them on layaway in case they don't work out?" She was very rude and said " We don't tell our customers what they should do." She said "How do I know that you just assembled them." Now I'm a liar?Desired Settlement: Since I would now feel very uncomfortable shopping in the store, I would like a refund.

Business

Response:

As [redacted] I was very upset when I read this complaint...We have been in business for 43 + years and it is not our policy...never has been and never will be to treat our customer's rudely. With that being said it is our policy to not take merchandise back once it's been assembled because we have no way of storing in our warehouses without the chance of it getting damaged. Due to this situation and how poorly it was handled by our sales associate ... I called the customer directly vs going through Revdex.com. I apologized to the customer and told her that we were going to make an exception because of how rudely she was handled. [redacted] is going to return the tables for a reselection of Friday, September 20, 2013. As of this moment I believe the customer is satisfied.

Review: We have a mattress that was covered under a 10 year warranty and it developed a couple of defects. We submitted the warranty with photos and [redacted] reportedly okay'd the exchange. The store employee first stated she would give us 65 percent of the purchase towards another mattress. We disputed that because the [redacted] mattress was under warranty and the company reportedly agreed to cover it. We were looking for an even exchange and she directed us to a similar model. She stated the prices have gone up and we ultimately agreed to paying $200 more. We brought in the mattress for the exchange. The employee came out and looked at it. There were a few small stains from normal 8 year usage. The employee stated the small stains void the warranty. She stated there was nothing that I could say that would change her mind.Desired Settlement: We would be satisfied getting the original planned exchange.

Business

Response:

The customer purchased a [redacted] queen size mattress and box spring from our store on 7/1/2005. He called on 8/10/2013 to say that the material was bunching and bulging on his mattress. We verbally went over the warranty claim procedure with the customer over the phone, clearly stating that the mattress must be clean...if it was stained or soiled in any way that voided the warranty. It is written in the warranty papers that the customer picked up from our store on 8/10/13. Once his claim form was returned we mailed to our factory representative. On 8/30/13 the factory representative authorized a replacement/reselection of the mattress only. I spoke to the customer on the phone and told him that when he came in we would show him the factory suggestion for reselection and advise him on the amount for merchandise credit. Before ending the call I reiterated the fact that when the 'defective' mattress was returned if it was stained or soiled in any way that would void the replacement. When the customer came in to the store ... I discussed with him that the merchandise credit for the mattress was 65% of the cost of the set $999.95 which equals $649.96. The suggested replacement set price was $1199.95 and the mattress split is 85% which equals $1019.95. The difference in mattress for mattress is $369.99 plus tax and the customer was unhappy with the fact that there was an out of pocket cost. After discussing I told the customer that I would call the factory representative to see if he would make an exception and authorize a set replacement vs a mattress only replacement which would lower the outer pocket expense to $200.00 plus tax. Which the representative did authorize. We wrote up the reselection invoice and had customer sign off that the returned mattress must be clean any signs of staining or soiling voids exchange. On 8/31/2013 the customer brought his 'defective' mattress in for exchange. Our warehouse tech came in to the store to get me to inspect the 'defective' mattress... there were at least six yellow/orange stains across the surface of the mattress. I explained to the customer that it is not our warranty is the warranty of the [redacted] Company and the warranty clearly states if the warranty is stained or soiled it voids the warranty. I explained that unfortunately I had no control ... the warranty is very black and white when it comes to staining and soiling. We, at Total Furniture, try very hard to accommodate and make our customer's happy...unfortunately in this situation it is out of our control. I am personally very upset by the way the conversation went with the customer and that he was so unhappy with me and our store BUT my hands are tied because it is a factory warranty not a store warranty.