Furniture delivery... is this fairly standard? (vent)

[Rajah]

This just isn't my day

Some background... back during Labor Day weekend DH and I bought some living room furniture from the Room Store. We really like the furniture and the Room Store was the only place to have what we really wanted. So, we got two room sets, one of couch/loveseat/tables/lamps and one of an entertainment center, both of which we liked better than anything we'd found anywhere else in our price-range.

The sofa/loveseat were scheduled to be delivered the Saturday after Labor Day, but everything else had to be ordered and would take "1-2 weeks".

The Tuesday after Labor Day, I get a call on my cell phone (the number I left) saying that they would be delivering the sofa/loveseat between noon and 4 the next day. Which was Wednesday. Not the Saturday we had scheduled.

So I call and go "Huh? We weren't scheduled until Saturday?" They said that's right, okay, we'll do it later. I said let me see if I can find someone who can be available since you're already in the area. They said okay.

So my mom, as the only one who <i>could</i> be available, throws down what she's doing and rushes to the house while I call to say okay, someone will be there soon, speaking to a different individual (apparently the other person I'd talked to was at a late lunch).

Three hours later, it's after the time when they said they'd deliver and no delivery. So I call back and talk to a third person who forwards me back to the first person who said she'd cancelled the delivery for the day and moved it back to Saturday.

So, my mom ended up wasting an entire afternoon because of their mix-up.

Then, Saturday comes along and we get a call saying they've got to reschedule for Sunday, they can't make it on Saturday. Considering we had *really* bad rain on Friday and we doubted they could have made their deliveries on Friday, this didn't surprise us though it was frustrating. At least it was understandable.

Finally, we get our delivery on Sunday. We're happy with the sofa/loveseat. All is well, all we need to do now is sit back and wait a week or two for the rest to come in.

A week goes by, nothing. Two, nothing. Finally it's been over 3 weeks with nothing so I call to check on the order. They say they're waiting on the final piece, the entertainment center's central unit, to come in and it's supposed to be in on Wednesday the 2nd of October (remember, we ordered on Labor Day and were told 1-2 weeks). This was told to me on Friday, Sept 27th.

Okay, that's cool. We'll have everything delivered on Friday (today). So DH makes plans to take today off from work so he can be at home for the delivery.

Sunday night, I get a message from the room store saying the rest of the living room set (but not the entertainment center) would be delivered on Tuesday between A and B (I forget what times).

WTH??? No, we can NOT be there on Tuesday. So I call AGAIN and talk to the salesperson who looked again and confirmed we were scheduled for FRIDAY, not the Tuesday he was told. Everything cool. We should hear from them Thursday night giving us our time window.

Last night came and went. No phone call. This morning comes. No call.

So I call the delivery number and try to get a window of when the stuff should be delivered, and they tell me that we have a COD so nothing will be delivered.

WTH??? We purchased on a financing option, nothing should be due for several more months! We even have our first bill stating nothing due at this time! She said they called the room store and the store was supposed to reach us last WEDNESDAY. We had NO attempt at contact from them.

So, I call the room store and they claim we were only approved for the first set.

Um, excuse me, but our "available credit" on our financing option shows 4 TIMES the amount of the entertainment center. Y'all messed up.

So they say okay, they'll see what they can do to fix things and will call me back.

4 hours later, I'm calling them again going "Hello, how long does it take to check the credit available on an account then transfer a balance to the account?

They finally call me back another 30 minutes later, leaving a message since I wasn't at my desk, and say they have things straightened up so we can schedule the delivery again.

So I call to schedule the delivery, and the earliest they can deliver is Tuesday. Hello? You've already inconvenienced us 3 times and you want to do so again? No, no one can be there Tuesday. This was SUPPOSED to be delivered TODAY but because of YOUR mess-up it can't be, and we want it THIS WEEKEND.

So the guy calls the delivery people and supposedly talks to two managers and there is absolutely no way they can get it out to us this weekend, but they can any time after Tuesday, and they'll refund the delivery fee.

WHICH WE WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE CHARGED IN THE FIRST PLACE BECAUSE THIS WAS A CONTINUATION OF THE SAME ORDER.

I am furious with the nonsense and how much they've been inconveniencing us over all of this, just for some furniture!

Is this a fairly standard experience, or are they just really messed up? If they don't do things EXACTLY right on Wednesday (when we're supposed to have things delivered), some managers are going to get an earful.

 

[allicat]

I would say that is not at all standard! What an annoying situation!

 

[vickyBaby]

Rajah, this sounds like the furniture store from hell. I had similar problems in the past. I let someone come to my house to accept delivery of the furniture. It was all wrapped in plastic, when I got home and took the plastic off, I found mold and mildew on the furniture. The furniture company tried to give me a hard time saying the stuff was signed for. So I advise the following, make sure you are there to accept delivery, examine the furniture before it even comes into your house. Do not sign anything until it is where you want it in your house, and then sign.

I know you really like the furniture, but is the aggravation worth it? I would call and cancel the order. I did this recently when taking delivery of my leather sofa (it took 14 weeks!!!!! grrrr). They said they would knock $200. off if I didn't cancel. It took 9 months for my husband and I to agree on this one piece of furniture, but we were willing to let it go.

 

[lilboo]

BAD!
I once worked for a furniture design firm, very high-end headquartered in SoHo, showrooms uptown and affiliates in chi-chi LA, Boston, Miami etc. We LOOKED professional but behind the scenes it was CHAOS.

We were all kids with job descriptions that ran the gamut of the company's network-one minute marketing next minute shipping. Among other things, I oversaw production and delivery in NYC. My most "treasured" asset from this experience was to lie on the fly. Most likely you were lied to in so many of the situations you described.

The root of the problem may be no in-house shipping and even with in-house shipping, the sales floor, the warehouse, the shippers themselves have slippery lines of communication. They may have lied to you about "waiting for a piece to come in"-I've used this one A LOT-they may have given it to someone else, someone whose order was also really screwed up, but who had been waiting even longer.

When ordering furniture I would hire my own shippers to go to the warehouse, inspect the pieces, wrap and ship it to you...Expensive, but then again so is your time.

 

[Beauty]

Tammi,

No this IS NOT usual. We went to Jackson the weekend we knew we were getting the house...Jackson is 2 hours away from where I live. We got two living room sets.....this consisted of 4 sofas and 2 recliners. We set up delivery then and there for Thursday Sept. 19th...we closed on the house on the 17th.....So Wednesday night we got a phone call from the store "We will deliver tomorrow between 11 and 1" Thursday they were here by 11:30. No problems and it was raining its butt off because of Isadore then too!

I wouldn't stand for it. I would either insist on it being delievered this weekend....I would go to the manager of the whole store if I had to...this was THEIR fault from the start. I would not take No for an answer or I would simply cancel the order. That is simply ridiculous!! It isn't often that I get that upset with someone...enough to go to the very top but after all you've gone through there is no way....They would bring my furniture this afternoon if it took going to the President of the company!

Good luck!

 

[Rajah]

If it weren't for the fact that this is *the* furniture that we want, I would call and cancel. If they continue to mess things up, I *will* cancel.

Right now I've got a call in to the store manager, who is supposed to make sure things get delivered correctly. I'm going to try asking him again if we can get the stuff delivered this weekend and see if HE has any better luck than the other guy.

I feel we were lied to as far as the "wasn't coming in until this Wednesday" thing, but other than that there's not much for them to have lied about, the problem has been everyone messing up rather than lying.

I decided not to wait and check the paperwork to see if our delivery refund gets processed correctly, I called and talked to the salesguy we had (who is a dear to work with, the only agreeable person in the whole situation) and he's the one who's put the call in to his manager.

So we'll see what comes of this.

I'm glad I decided to handle this after all, because if DH had he would have been perfectly willing to let them continue to walk over us on the delivery

 

[peg2001]

Yes, unfortunately, this is typical. When I ordered a sectional sofa from a furniture store, they warned that it took up to 6 weeks for delivery. Ok, I wasn't in a big hurry. When they delivered 8 weeks later, they had TWO left arm pieces and NO right arm pieces. Daily phone calls took place for weeks afterwards until we called and said "Forget it. Come pick this thing up. We don't want it anymore." Not surprisingly, they had the missing piece to us the same day.

Peggy

 

[Tigger]

Pretty standard for The Room Store.

 

[Pugsley]

The Room Store is a disaster! I had major problems with them myself. I ordered a custom upholstered sofa and chair. (I don’t even know why it was “custom.” It was a model displayed in the store with one of the fabric options they had displayed with it – just not the same upholstery as the model). They said it would take six weeks to be delivered, but it ended up taking four months, and when they delivered it they had the wrong sofa (wrong style & wrong upholstery – not even close to what I ordered). Then they tried to deliver it again and brought another wrong sofa. They never did find the correct sofa, so it was probably never made. They said they’d have to reorder it and I’d have to wait another six weeks! I had already gotten rid of my old furniture, so my living was nearly bare. Every time I tried to speak to the manager he wasn’t available. They even once told me he couldn’t come to the phone because he was busy smoking a cigarette outside! So I told them to come pick up the chair and I went elsewhere for my furniture. I’m really glad the whole thing happened, since I like the furniture I ended up getting better than what I had ordered from them.

 

[danacara]

I'd cancel this now. I know your credit is stretched to the brink right now and giving these people control over more financing, you are putting your credit on the line. What happens when you send your payments, they don't log them in time, and now you are paying late fees that will show on your reports, plus interest. It's not about the couch at this point, it's about your credit. Cancel cancel cancel.

 

[Bumbles]

wait, this isn't the The Room Store is it?

Ew....I know someone who had a horrific experience with them in Virginia. Delivery hassles galore. Plus, my MIL did the buy now, pay later thing with them...oh dear..did she ever pay up the nose for that!

Good luck!

 

[Jenzebelle]

That is absolutely wrong and I would not stand for it if I were you.

We ordered furniture the day we closed on the house (Aug 30th). We paid as much as we could by check (the store had a limit on check amounts) and had a remainder to pay upon delivery by cash. Because it was after 5pm we did not qualify for next day delivery, but we had the furniture promptly at the time they told us the following day.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Sounds like standard operating procedure to me. With my dds furniture they kept wanting to deliver a partial of the order (one of the tops cracked and they had to get a new piece) and I wouldn't allow them. I told them I wanted it all at once and stuck to my guns.
I have had to return 2 dryers, refuse 1 from delivery guys. Oh and much more.
Welcome to home ownership!
If it is really what you want I suppose they got you or check the policy to make sure you can return w/i # days & refuse the rest of the orders. It can get hairy.
Good Luck!

 

[mum4jenn]

Down here we have a place called Rooms to Go. Sounds like they are run by the same folks. The closest store to us is 100 miles away but we went to pick out new furniture for our new home in 2000. We picked out what we wanted and good news it is all in stock!! We are given a phone number to call to let us know when our delivery is.This number is posted on our receipt, on the order form,on our credit application,and on their 1-800 company number. I call and get the delivery date. OK fine... I ask off from work to be there (there is a 8 hour time frame) I call again several times to make sure that the date has not changed. The night before the delivery is to come their automated phone tells us the same date and time.The big day comes and NO FURNITURE!!!!!. I call the number and sure enough they still have that day on their message. I call another number and am on hold for 53 minutes and this person gives me a delivery date of 4 days later!!!!!! I WAS FURIOUS!!!!!!! I really let het have it and she states to me that the phone number I was given was for their truck driver so he would know what day to pick up his truck of loaded furniture!!!!!!!!!!!!I was so mad I could not see straight. I asked the lady why it takes 4 days to drive 100 miles.!!! She said if I had any other complaints I was to call another number and when I did of course I never got an answer.

NEVER EVER use Rooms to GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[skuttle]

We had a similar thing happen to us w/ a washer and dryer we bought from Sears. They were supposed to deliver both on a Wednesday, so we made sure we would be home during the time frame. Well, we got the dryer, but not the washer. They said the washer would come on Friday b/c there was a mix up w/ what the salesperson wrote. We were okay w/ that...everyone makes mistakes. We didn't bother going to a friend's house to do laundry because we could make it until Friday. We made sure we were home all day Friday...NOTHING. I was sooo angry! We called and they said they'd deliver it on Saturday. I told them that they could come pick up the dryer and I did not want the washer. We went to a different store, bought a similar washer and dryer, and go it deliver the next day!

That also almost happened to us again w/ our bedroom set. We bought a bedroom set and scheduled it to be delivered the day we moved into our new apartment. Well, when I called to confirm our delivery date, they said that I wasn't scheduled for delivery. I told them that if I didn't get the furniture on the day I originally scheduled, that I didn't want the furniture and that I'd buy something somewhere else. At that point they let me talk to the manager and he made sure I got my furniture on the right day. There was a bedroom set that I liked at another store that was a little more expensive that I would have bought. I have no patience for that kind of stuff!

If I were you, I'd cancel everything and buy furniture somewhere else!

 

[CarolA]

Ok, If you don't want to cancel go to plan B. Tomorrow go to the store. Stand in the front of the store and proceed to throw a LOUD FIT in front of LOTS of customers regarding this issue!

Personally, I would cancel! My time is worth too much for this junke!

 

[jfulcer]

IMHO...

Call, cancel, tell them to pick the furnitute up.

I'm not normally one to jump on the bandwagon here on the DIS when it comes to other people's questions. I tend to take the 'wait and see it should resolve itself' type of attitude.

Similar delivery problems with American TV & Furniture here in Milwaukee has taught me to never shop there again.

A phone call saying "come pick it up, I don't want it anymore" is pretty dang powerful.

 

[iLovDisney]

This reminds me of Room to Go.

Never shop at Rooms to Go!

We had a thread about this a while back and Robinrs said Rooms to Go is the #1 source of customer complaints on an Atlanta consumer radio show.

If I were you, I would find a way to pay off their financing as soon as you can. We had all sorts of goof ups, including threatening past due/going to call the lawyers letters from them about a headboard that hadn't been delivered yet!

I would cancel the order that hasn't arrived, making sure you get a cancellation number. The fact that they have separated them into 2 different orders and now want COD on this one is something that you will *never* get straightened out. The account numbers will always be in error. I wouldn't be surprised if you got 2 bills with 2 different due dates each month. You can survive without this furniture while you look around. I know you want the house to be done... but it may not be worth it.

I was married 16 years before we bought formal dining room furniture! I had a funny thread on the DIS -- What is in your dining room? Lots of people have rooms without furniture.

Good Luck.

 

[shortbun]

Whatever you do... don't wait for a bill
from them to make your payment. These
kinds of deals don't require that a bill
be sent and often these companies catch
you this way...making you pay ALL the
interest from the first day you bought
your furniture. Put it on your calendar
and make the payment early.