Angry Customer Tries To Hold Ashley Furniture Repairman Hostage Until He Fixes That Dresser
A man in New London, Wisconsin grew so angry about the broken drawers on his dresser that he tried to trap an Ashley Furniture repairman in his bedroom until they were fixed. The man's wife reportedly said, "Paul, let him go," in what we hope was an exasperated voice—we have a feeling Paul does stuff like this all the time.
As he was leaving he asked Kessler if he needed anything else done and Kessler took him into the master bedroom.
Kessler told the repairman he was upset over a set of dresser drawers and became extremely agitated, according to the complaint.
"You're not leaving this house until this (expletive) furniture is fixed," he said.
The repairman said he would have to order new drawers.
The two then scuffled in the doorway as Kessler prevented him from leaving.
Meanwhile, Kessler's wife said, "Paul, let him go."
The repairman managed to push his way past Kessler, who punched him in the shoulder as he left.
The man has been charged with felony false imprisonment. His wife is probably going to have to go pick up those drawers when they come in, too.
"New London-area scuffle with repairman leads to felony charge" [Post Crescent] (Thanks to Kraig!)
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What is wrong with some people?!
Come to Wisconsin and smell our dairy air.
So what's the score, two cable repairmen and now a carpenter held hostage?
@AutoTuneShouldBeACrime_GitEmSteveDave: Imagine if people just built products correctly the first time, and stopped trying to screw people over, eh?
Like that'll ever happen.
If I was that repair man, I would have sat down my tools, and laid down on the bed and said "Well, it will take a week or so for the drawers to get in. So what's for dinner?"
I am sorry but people are stupid. This is just completely unacceptable. Trapping someone in your house is the completely wrong way to get your point across on an INNOCENT person.
Not to mention, Ashley furniture RULES. High quality, good looking stuff at low prices. I have a kitchen and dining room table from them and I couldn't be happier. It's not fancy-fancy, but it's definitely 2-3 steps up from IKEA in terms of quality, but in the same price range.
@BuddyGuyMontag: That's not to say that Ashley has some ugly-as-sin stuff, but there's some stuff there that's really nice.
@pecan 3.14159265: I know, I know! You try to get them to fix your furniture but they're SO F*CKING STUBBORN ABOUT IT!!!!
@BuddyGuyMontag: What color is the sky in your world? In my world, we've looked at Ashley in Minnesota, and haven't got around the ugly part long enough to see if it was well constructed.
@SteverMan: Ashley has a metric buttload of ugly stuff (especially leather couches, YIKES) but some of their wood kitchen and dining stuff is pretty nice.
@BuddyGuyMontag: The secret to making Ikea stuff sturdier is to glue every edge...they don't tell you to do it, but it helps, a lot. A $2 bottle of wood glue or a $1 bottle of white glue will put together an entire apartment's worth of Ikea.
@legotech: Good to know. I just don't like some of the design cues that Ikea has. However, that's not to say I've bought some good stuff from our Swedish friends as well.
@ViperBorg - SpaceBat hates Facebook: I'd agree if they were holding THOSE people hostage. But since even w/Six Sigma, you still have some defects escaping the factory, there will be SOME repairs necessary. You can't hold the guy who is skilled at the repairs responsible for the crappy workmanship of another who probably doesn't work for the same company he does. Do you think Comcast makes their own boxes?
@coan_net: Perhaps turn the table and instead of the customer exposing themselves to the repairman, have the repairman expose himself to the customer? That would sure get you kicked out....
@legotech: But also take into consideration whether you want to dismantle the furniture the next time you move. If it's something that's massive and would require a box truck or something bigger than your average pickup to move when it's put together, you might not want to glue it together.
@BuddyGuyMontag: I just took a quick look at the Ashley furniture site, and I agree with the couches. Uggh. Some of the coffee tables and stuff were nice, but for me, it was kind of hit and miss.
BTW, if you're interested in knowing what I got, I purchased the "Urbandale" dining room table. I have a bamboo wood floor, so the darker woods reflect nicely in my dining room.
@pecan 3.14159265: Don't most people grow out of using IKEA stuff if they live in an actual house? Every time I see an IKEA catalog, it seems more geared to yuppies in apartments/condos, but I could see paying IKEA's prices for Kid's furniture that they are going to eventually outgrow.
I'd utilize IKEA for "spot" furnishing, like a spare desk in a home office or maybe something in the kitchen, but I don't think I'd go hog-wild throughout my house.
@BuddyGuyMontag: Its nice stuff once you get past the initial broken items.
Our First Ashley Living room furniture came broken. So we had to get it again. It did last us 5 years after that.
Our Next Ashley living room furnitre came broken, again. It is actually being replaced today with, hopefully, not broken stuff.
Any word on the status of that kidnapped Alfredo's Pizza boy in a Scranton Paper Company?
@Kamidari: It's the paper mills I really remember from when I was a kid, but I understand that a lot of those have shut down now....
@BuddyGuyMontag: When I bought my house Ikea was what I could afford. And frankly, I'm still pretty pleased with most of it (I run toward the Scandinavian design aesthetic anyway), and I've hacked and finished it as I wish. There's not much I like in the standard furniture showroom, so my alternative is either getting stuff made (which isn't that pricey around here, but still) or splurging.
@BuddyGuyMontag: That's essentially what my parents did with my sister's room when she was a kid. It was largely IKEA.
I have a few things of theirs, like some Ivar shelving I bought 10+ years ago that's held up pretty well through five or so moves.
@BuddyGuyMontag: I think most people do..it depends though. I'm living in my first condo since college, and my furniture is a mix between real furniture purchased through Craig's List, real furniture given to us by family, and smaller pieces here and there from Target and Ikea. I'm like you, I only used Ikea and Target for small things like end tables or a lamp. The big stuff is "real" furniture that I got from Craig's List practically brand new and well-cared for.
I'm not sure what you mean by an 'actual house'...I'm in a home that's as real as anyone's, even though I don't have a yard. I'm settled, I have no plans to pick up and move to another state, and I have family nearby.
I don't think the fact that I'm in a condo and not a standalone house means that I'm not in an 'actual house' and I think that's also the case with most people.
We (and by we I mean a lot of people, not you specifically) have to stop equating 'settling down' with 'buying a home' - we need to stop the notion that home ownership means you've 'arrived' somehow, and that renters are not quite as established. I know a great deal of people who don't care to own a home just yet. They like being renters, and they enjoy their real furniture too.
@BuddyGuyMontag: I live in an actual house, and good bit is from Ikea, only because it was even cheaper than second-hand.
Buying the pieces out of the AS-IS comes to about 90% off. You can buy the hardware bits (pricing depends on their mood) to put it all together from customer service.
Last purchase was for a $200 Expedit 5x5 at just a bit over $15 total. They parted it out at .50/piece because one of the boards wasn't drilled. Hardware was $2 (and tax). Assembly was perhaps 2 minutes longer than necessary because I had to drill out 8 holes myself ...
@narf: I like picking over their as-is sections whenever I do go to Ikea. Sometimes there can be really good deals, especially if you know how to work around their defects like boards not being drilled.
And Ikea stuff can actually look very good, and last a long time. I have the Expedit series too, and I get compliments on it all the time, and people are always surprised it came from Ikea.
I had the (Amarillo, TX) Ashley Furniture jokers come to my house 5 times before they had every part required to install a bedroom set. I don't know what the problem was, but I had never seen this level of poor service before. After they left I saw they installed a cracked headboard and decided to just fix it myself and never buy from Ashley again.
I called the home office (yes, in Wisconsin) and they told me that the Amarillo store is independent from the chain (whatever THAT means) and they couldn't help me.
Since then I have purchased thousands of dollars of furniture from one of Ashley's competitors and have been happy.
I have a feeling Paul probably had a bad bratwurst and a warm beer and was just not going to take it anymore.
Word of mouth does more damage to a business than hostage-taking, but in this economy, we will probably see more frustrations like this.
I guess that's what happens when you're a "cheesehead." Go Packers !!!
This is the effect of long-term customer abuse. People are given crappy customer service from various companies for so long that eventually they snap. Unfortunately, the one they snap at is most often the one not responsible for the issues.
@pecan 3.14159265: I think that's the best description for Ashley, hit or miss. I only liked one couch when I was in their store, luckily it was exactly what I was looking for, was comfy, and within my price range. I've been really happy with it. But I do remember not being impressed with a lot of their other stuff. A lot of home-theater type seating which isn't my cup of tea.
@ShadowFalls: If "long-term costumer abuse" hadn't made Crazypants McGee snap, something else would have. I think we've all been screwed over by companies before and never have considered acted this way.
"but in this economy, we will probably see more frustrations like this."
yes, because functioning drawers could be a matter of life and death.
@zandar: Two of the drawers on my dresser stick and I've had to pull on them so hard, I thought I might tip over the dresser. That would've been very bad. But I wouldn't take anyone hostage over it.
I bought from Ashley Furniture ONCE and never will again. I never did get all the issues with my furniture resolved and was told "It's all that way." Apparently poor fit and finish is their normal standard of quality. And just try to return something! They should be in the competition for "Worst Company In America."
For my last birthday, my mother got me a desk and matching lateral file from zfurniture.com which turned out to be Ashley branded. The lateral file which was billed as solid wood turned out to be particle board with a veneer, and it broke in shipping. Despite a tag on it touting Ashley's warranty, they wouldn't replace it. I did my best patch job with Gorilla Glue and now I try not to load the drawers with too much weight. The desk is a nice-looking rolltop computer desk, but one of the little cubbies also was damaged in shipping and needed to be glued.
I've had better luck with Ikea. They admit what something is made of, and I've been satisfied with some of their solid pine stuff.
@KyleOrton: I prefer the Marquette story.
(You know there are two kinds of people in the world? Those who love Notre Dame and those who could only get into Marquette.)
I go to the flea market or to Big Lots. We don't have IKEA here. Most of the flea market stuff is nicer, if you look hard and are careful. Also, it can be refurbished.
Crazy Wisconsin people... Giving normal residents like me a bad name since 1848.