Would you expect to be compensated?

[tiggerlover]

DH and I moved into a new house in August and because of the configuration of the living room we were unable to use our wall unit so we custom ordered one. We went with a specific company because we were told that it would take 4-6 weeks, which fit into our time table (before our guests were to arrive). Well 6 weeks goes by and we hear nothing so I call the company. They apologize and say there was a delay of up to 3-4 weeks because they are working with a new company and they found out they needed to fill a truck before the custom orders could ship. I explain to the manager that for the sake of good customer service they should have called us and informed us of the change and let us decide if the change in plans would be okay, but they didn't. I feel that since the item was promised in 4-6 weeks (which we have in writing) that they should compensate us in some way since they couldn't deliver when promised. I really think they should give us a discount or something. What do you think?

 

[Beth76]

You could ask, but it's my feeling (and I don't have a lot of experience with this) that this sort of thing happens. I would be bummed out, but I wouldn't make a big deal out of it. But, hey, maybe I'm just a dream customer who doesn't complain. Good luck!

 

[lsyorke]

When we first moved into this house we had NO furniture for the family room. Ordered alot of new stuff which was promised in 6-8 weeks. Well ,at the 8 week mark the couch arrived at the store damaged! Now this is 2 weeks before Thanksgiving at my house. To the stores credit they told us to come to the showroom and pick out a couch to use until ours came in and they delivered it the next day. GREAT service! The funniest part is we ended up liking the "borrowed" couch much better that the one we ordered and ended up buying that one (and it was on sale!!). They cancelled the other couch with no problem. Can't ask for more than that.

 

[clh2]

Furniture delays are very common. I spent years - yes years trying to find an entertainment center that met my requirements - that I could afford. I wouldn't have cared if it would have taken 6 months to arrive.

Just relax - it'll get there soon enough.

 

[jfulcer]

Nope, I don't think they should offer you a discount. Delays happen - they made a mistake with shipping (did they say they were sorry?). You agreed to pay them a certain price for the product, not to have it shipped by a certain time. I'd be pretty sure that if pressed they would say they use the 6-8 weeks as a 'guideline'. Sometimes it could take less, but sometimes more.

I hope you get it in time, though!

 

[mickeyfan1]

I agree that the store should have called you about the delay. I had the same problem with my house, the salesperson didn't bother to tell me that there was a 6 week delay on the completion date! I will say this, some people are very uncomfortable telling "bad news". But there is no reason for any store not to let the customer know there is a delay. As far as compensating you, it would do them a world of good to give you 10% off. It will do them a world of hurt to let you be unhappy, because in retail a happy custome will come back, but an unhappy customer will tell 10 others the story and cost the stroe more business. Hopefully it will all work out. Your guests will forgive you because you "just moved from Italy" and you haven't settled in yet. You should be able to mile that excuse for at least a year!

 

[TinkBoo&ElliesMum]

First of all, my Mom owns a furniture store so I see things from the business side of it.

I wouldn't expect them to call, given the fact that they can easily have hundreds of customers a month for them to track things on a daily basis and to contact those people that have something running late is a lot of work.

Furniture runs late, it's part of life. Check your paperwork (I'm assuming you have some) it should say something along the lines that 4 to 6 weeks is the guideline but that delays can and do happen and it's not the fault of the store. Holding the store responsible for something that's out of their hands is asking for too much IMO.

Good luck!

 

[Kimberle]

I'm suprised they gave you a date. Whenever we order furniture, they are fairly vague and never make promises. Most furniture is made after the order is placed. When the company gets a lot of orders, it's going to take longer. Our pieces have taken anywhere from 4-16 weeks to come. And then, you've got to schedule a delivery time so that may add another week.

I doubt you'll get any kind of discount. They may give you a free table arangement or something small. But I wouldn't get my hopes up over anything more.