Here's the letter Jeff's wife wrote to Basset Furniture, describing the strange encounter:

My husband and I first visited this store on 11/15. First I would like to say how helpful both Dagmar and Jerry were during our shopping experience. They were both extremely patient and enjoyable and were not pushy or annoying. Dagmar was our sales person and was able to answer most of our questions, if we asked something she wasn't sure about she brought Jerry in for his expertise. We appreciated this very much. Jerry and Dagmar helped us to design a custom couch however, it was a little more than we were planning to spend. We went home and looked more on Basset's website and found a different couch and love seat. We returned to the store on 11/16 to purchase the couch and love seat we found online and an armoire we found in the store.

As we were getting ready to pay another sales woman, she was either a member of management or another sales person, grabbed my arm rather hard and literally pulled me to the side. I was completely taken aback that someone, especially a store representative would put their hand on me like that. She then proceeded to asked me if we were ever going to come back to the store after working with Dagmar. I let her know that both Dagmar and Jerry were very helpful. Then she said "Oh did Jerry tell you there is something wrong with her?" I found this statement again to be highly inappropriate and totally unnecessary. Our shopping experience up to this point had been excellent. We did purchase our couch, love seat, and armoire from Bassett today, due to Dagmar and Jerry. However, I am truly appalled that an employee of Bassett would find it necessary to go out of their way to harass a customer and degrade a co-worker in such a manner. I am sorry to say that I did not catch the woman's name as I was in shock, but she has shoulder length wavy brunette hair, a while blazer with a dark brown or black floral pattern and is the one who owes Dagmar as well as Jerry an apology for ruining the pleasant rapport they had built between us and Basset.

Whether Dagmar is new and still learning the sales process, or whether she is working to overcome something, there is nothing she could have done to be more helpful or better represent Basset. Please let Dagmar and Jerry know how much we appreciated their help. The only reason we would now consider not returning to Basset in the future is the unpleasant assault by your other representative.

Dagmar, watch your back! One of your coworkers is kind of a bitch.

(Photo: Getty Images)

Shame, Shame, Shame: Martha Stewart-Branded Glass Tables [Fox5]

Top 10 IKEA Furniture Mods [Lifehacker] (Photo: joelgoodman)

This was left as a comment on the original post yesterday afternoon.

This is a response from Quality Van Line Management directly. First and foremost we last spoke to Cori about a week ago, and he was making an outrageous demand for money and threatened us by saying that if we do not pay him what he wants he will immediately try to ruin our business reputation and start making us look as bad as he can on the internet. If we were to give him the money, he would be happy with the service and the situation would be over. Obviously, we did not.

Regarding the facts, the job was picked up on July 31, 2008 and delivered on August 8, 2008. Within contracts Cori and Ali signed and were well aware of, we had 7-14 BUSINESS days to deliver the furniture, it arrived in 5 BUSINESS days, which is in fact an early delivery. After delivery Cori came to us with complaints of damages. By law we have a claim department that handles these issues and we give a valuation with signing up with our company of $0.60 per lb per article. Before signing up with us you are more than welcome to buy additional insurance, Cori chose not to do that. Therefore, he went to the claims department for damages and recieved an offer of $288.00 for reimbursement. He was not happy with this and refused, he called us back and said he wanted $800.00 back for his inconvienences, stress, and lack of professionalism in his opinion. He did understand the reasons the quote went up and had no problem paying for that, it was just his stress upon delivery he decided $288.00 would not be enough. We offered to make it $350.00 just to satisfy his demands, and he declined once again and told us in these exact words, "Your company will be sorry".

We have all legal documents of Cori and Ali complying to the terms of the move, and understanding the contracts. This complaint is coming directly out of spite because a customer is not getting what they wants, it is our job to make sure every customer gets everything they deserved by the law and the terms of moving policy.

Read the original post and ensuing comments here.

The sales rep we spoke to at Knoll started laughing when we asked if the 300% restocking fee was real. He said Knoll charged nothing of the kind. Knoll's policy, which is also available through their website (warning: pdf), is this:

• If the item can be returned, there's a 25% restocking fee;
• If the item can't be resold (due to unique fabric or other customizations), it can't be returned at all.

To make a long story short, I needed a set of replacement arms for a Knoll Life office chair. If you're unfamiliar, this is a pretty high-end office / task chair. When I contacted Knoll, I found that I could not order parts directly from them — I must go through a certified dealer. After working with a dealer, I decided that I would purchase another high performance arm replacement set to the tune of $270.

Unfortunately there was a misinterpretation of my needs and an extra set of arm pads, that I didn't need, was ordered with the arms. I thought when I stated I needed a set of arms with pads that I would get one set of pads to go with the arms, while the dealer thought that that meant I wanted an additional set of pads.

I didn't know any better when I saw the order, and assumed that the pads that appeared as a separate invoice item at a cost of $30 per pad, were a separate purchase from the arms themselves. This seemed like a reasonable assumption given the hardware used to attach the arms to the chair body were also a separate line item on the invoice.

Instead, the arms came with pads attached. When I received the order, I immediately contacted the dealer I ordered through to figure out how to return these unnecessary arm pads. I was told that Knoll has a 300% restocking fee — that's right, THREE-HUNDRED PERCENT — no typo. The dealer suggested I hold on to the pads in case the ones I have get scuffed over time. The problem with that, is that these other arm pads are not designed for my arms — they're too small, and wouldn't fit. So it appears I'm now stuck with a set of arm pads that cost $60 that I have no use for. It's just wasteful, and I don't think I'll have any luck trying to sell them on eBay.

The dealer informed me that Knoll custom manufactures products and has this policy in place so that they never have to accept returns. I find this policy draconian and inherently ridiculous — and I can't believe their dealer base lets them get away with this. I can understand a restocking fee on custom upholstered / designed orders from furniture manufacturers — but this set of arm pads is essentially interchangeable with any set of arms that it connects to (I assumed it connects to either the fixed arms or height adjustable arms). There have to be hundreds of thousands of these chairs out in the wild, so I'm sure Knoll is not taking any sort of loss on a return.

The dealer, who has remained helpful despite the problem we're having here, is going to check and see if Knoll will make an exception on this policy. But I wanted to see if the Consumerist has ever heard of such an exorbitant restocking fee policy, or if there are legal limits to such a policy?

I haven't yet contacted customer service, but I will if the dealers inquiry fails. I figure it's my duty to give this horrible policy some due negative press in any event.

We agree in principle, but in this case it's entirely the dealer's fault. He should have been knowledgeable enough, as a Knoll dealer, to tell you the things you'd need to know to avoid this mistake, namely:

1. That the replacement arms come with cushions;
2. That the extra cushions would never fit your chair in the first place.

Bottom line: the dealer may seem like a nice guy, but we think he's lying to you to cover up his mistake.

Call Knoll's Customer Service at 1-800-343-5665 to determine what you need to do to return the items. You might also want to file a complaint with Knoll against this dealer, first for screwing up your order, and then for lying to you about the return policy.

Update: As we were publishing this post, a new email came in from Ethan.

Just a quick follow-up.

The dealer just got back to me and said that Knoll will take the arm pads back for a 25% restock fee. Apparently some parts fall under a different policy than the larger, custom projects.

It's still not an 'ideal' situation, but I'm not willing to fight it out over $15, even if I don't feel this was really my fault.

I still think the 300% restock fee on custom orders is ridiculous, so feel free to run with that part of the story if you want!

There is no 300% restock fee. Either the dealer is misleading you, or he's confused.

Here's an overview of Cory's experience with Quality Van Lines:

• The company raised the fee by 50% on the day of the move;
• Cory was charged for special packing supplies that weren't provided;
• two of the movers were guys hired that morning off the street;
• the agent who worked with the couple to set up the move stopped returning calls, then went on vacation;
• the van was late to Chapel Hill by 5 days;
• the van's driver smashed into Cory's car and damaged it;
• the items arrived badly packed and damaged.

We think one thing Cory should do is post his story online, especially since he's already written a 1400-word account of what happened. [Update: we've posted Cory's full story below] The best way to warn others about a bad company is to publicize the experience. Along these same lines, Tim Walker of MovingScams.com lists a half dozen organizations and websites to contact (including his) to get the word out.

MovingScam.com also has some must-read advice on how to find a reputable moving company. First on their list: skip the online search and look for local companies the old fashioned way (i.e., via phonebook and recommendations), because "while there are some reputable moving companies that have web sites, nearly all of the victims that contact us found their moving company on the Internet."

Your next step is to pick up your phone book, or call your local real estate agents and find at least three moving companies that have offices in your area. Try to find moving companies that have been in business at least ten years, and do not hire a moving broker. Current consumer protection laws related to the movement of household goods only apply to Motor Carriers and not to Household Goods Brokers.

Set up appointments for them to come to your house and do an in-home estimate in the order of your least favorite to your most favorite company. If they won't come to your house to do an in-home estimate, hang up and find another company.

This summer, we decided to move from the Albany, NY area to Chapel Hill, NC with Quality Van Lines from Clifton, NJ. Below is a sort of timeline of our move, and the issues we had while dealing with Quality. I will do my best to keep it succinct.

Before the move

We first received a quote from Quality on approximately June 23, 2008. My girlfriend Ali worked with Alan, who asked her for a list of all of the items we planned on moving. She gave him that list, and he came up with a quote for around 530 cubic feet. Later, on July 28, he provided us with a revised quote for 526 cubic feet ($1628), based on some items that we had decided not to bring with us. Based on this price, and the estimate Alan gave of a 4 day wait between pick-up and drop-off, we decided to book our move with Quality.

Moving day

The movers showed up at the planned time on July 31, and went into our apartment to look at our things. Almost immediately, the foreman told us that there was no chance that our things would only take up 530 cubic feet, and that he could not understand where that estimate came from. We asked if the fact that we had more boxes than we had anticipated could account for such a difference, and he said no. He said that the un-boxed furniture alone (which had all been cataloged in the quote) would take up much more room than we were quoted.

As the movers started bringing our things down to the truck, the foreman took us aside and apologized for two of his helpers (who were not speaking any English). He told us that they did not actually work for the company, and that he had recruited them "off the street" earlier that morning. In addition, we noticed that the promised mattress bags, furniture blankets, and TV crates were not being used. None of our wood furniture received blankets, and the mattresses were simply wrapped in lightweight plastic. The flatscreen TVs were wrapped inside boxes that had to be modified on the spot in order to hold their contents; there was no protective packing material or special-fitting box used on either TV (we had been charged $70 for 'TV Crates').

Once the things were all in the truck, we were told that the total came to 800 cubic feet, which was 52% more space (and money) than we had been quoted. We paid a large chunk of the balance, as well as a $200 tip, and were told our things would be handled as carefully and as quickly as possible.

Waiting for our things to arrive

Once the movers left with our things, we left the Albany area for the long drive down to Carrboro, NC. On Saturday, August 2, Ali gave Alan a call to check in with him and see how the delivery was progressing. She reminded him that he had estimated an August 4 delivery, and he replied that he had never told her that (a flat lie). She asked him what we could reasonably expect, and he basically dodged the question, saying that he would need until Monday to give us an update. So, we called Quality again on Monday and spoke with Alan; he told us that he needed to contact the warehouse, and he would call us back "in 10 minutes". Approximately 90 minutes later, after not receiving any call back, we called again. Alan told us that he had no information for us, and could not tell us when we could expect delivery.

On Tuesday morning (August 5), I called Quality again and asked to speak with Alan's supervisor, as he had been misleading and unhelpful. I ultimately ended up speaking with Moe, who told me that I could expect our things to arrive possibly later that day, but "guaranteed" by Wednesday. After waiting around in an empty apartment and receiving no deilvery or update on Tuesday night, I called again on Wednesday. At this point I was told that, unbeknownst to me, Moe would be out of the office for the rest of the week, and that the drivers would contact us.

That, of course, did not happen. We called the driver directly on Thursday, and he gave us a story about the truck needing repair, and being set back by a day. So, we spoke to Alan. After very rudely telling us that we basically had no reason to complain, he made some calls and told us that the truck was going to arrive in our area late Thursday night. We told him that, no matter how late it showed up, we wanted our things that night; more importantly, we told him that we expected the drivers to contact us directly if that expectation would change. After waiting up (again, in an empty apartment) until well after 1 am, it was clear that our things would not be arriving. We never received a phone call from anybody telling us the plan had changed.

On Friday morning I called the driver directly, and he gave another story about the courier losing the keys. I asked him specifically why he had not called to notify us when that happened, and he did not have an answer. He told us that he expected to arrive that day, but that it would be later in the night. Finally, after several calls trying to verify our correct address (which we had correctly given to several different people), the truck arrived around 8 pm on Friday night (8 days after pick-up, and 5 days after the originally estimated drop-off date).

Delivery

When the moving van arrived, the driver and his assistant were trying to determine the best way to park the truck. Ali suggested that she and I both move our cars to a different lot to give them room, and they agreed. However, before I was able to start my car, the driver had decided to back into his planned spot without waiting for me. While maneuvering his truck, he backed directly into the rear end of my car, causing several thousand dollars worth of damage. After the police were called and a report was filed (and he damaged my car again trying to move the truck), the movers finally opened the truck.

When we looked into the truck, it looked as though everything had been haphazardly thrown into the truck, without any consideration of which items were fragile. As they began removing items, it was clear that this was the case; many of our items were visibly damaged in the gathering darkness, and many of the boxes marked "fragile" were badly beat up (as were their contents). We initiated the claim service, and they replied to us saying that the 60 cents per pound of insurance we had entitled us to a total of $288.

While waiting for the claim service to respond, Moe had personally told me several times that he was aware of problems extending beyond damaged property, and that he wanted to "make it right" with us. However, once we received word of the claim amount, I contacted him and he refused to offer more than $55 on top of the property claim. That is $55 (out of $2400) for the total lack of respect and professionalism, not to mention the broken promises and inconvenience of having a damaged car.

Please keep in mind that this is just a summary; there were several calls which I did not catalog here. We were consistently treated rudely and in an exceedingly unprofessional manner. The lack of communication and follow-through was truly astounding. We expect a more substantial refund in light of all these problems; we think it would be more than fair to pay, in full, the original amount quoted, meaning we would not be charged for the extra cubic footage in light of all of this aggravation. However, Moe has refused to even consider this.

Any suggestions for what we should do would be welcome. Should we pursue small claims court? I doubt that would help, since most all of the promises that were broken were merely verbal. What about reporting the two "off-the-street" workers to the department of labor or INS? Please, we want to be treated fairly, but short of that, we want to punish Quality Van Lines for this horrible experience.

"How to Find a Reputable Moving Company" [MovingScam.com]
"How to File Complaints Against Your Mover" [MovingScam.com]
(Photo: Getty)

The employee writes:

I’ve worked part-time for Restoration Hardware for 3 years and during that time I have been amazed by some of illogical crap we’re supposed to feed our customers. However, they’ve really reached a fascinating new level. The store is now outsourcing all of its furniture to China. This has been gradually happening over the past two years, one product line at a time and they’ve finally decided to take the full on plunge and outsource all upholstered furniture and all but two or three collections of the wood furniture.

This was announced last night at our annual fall meeting. An entire section of the meeting was devoted to why outsourcing to China would not lower the quality of our furniture one bit. Not one iota. It would be exactly the same. 100%. Identical. It would just save the company $10 million. And allow all of us grateful urchins to keep our lucrative $8 an hour careers flourishing (insert threatening glare from management in case any of the political types want to get noisy) And the company isn’t greedy! It will pass these Chinese savings on to the customers—our super fine furnishings will be sold at a lower price point. But the exact same quality!!

All of these years we sales associates were told that the higher prices at Restoration Hardware were justified because our furniture was superior, handcrafted in America at companies with extremely high quality assurance standards that could be openly evaluated and monitored. We passed this information on to the customers and showed them how to evaluate the quality of the pieces, etc. And it turns out, we were big fat liars. All of you previous Restoration Hardware furniture buyers who paid extra money for your “quality” pieces were duped! Because it turns out, it can all just be made on an assembly line in China and you can get the identical quality for a lot less money. Hahahahaha! Dumbasses.

Or wait, maybe the company is lying now. Actually, you can’t get the identical quality furniture made more cheaply in China. It will be a product of lesser quality but the company is hoping really hard that charging a couple of hundred dollars less will mean that people will be blinded by the good deal.

As a sales associate it will be hard to pick which line to go with—the company I work for used to lie a lot but is now honest or the company I work for is lying now but for savings savings savings!

At any rate, I’m interviewing for a new part-time position today. My standards may not be high but they at least exist.

I was recently in the market to purchase furniture for my new home. I looked at several places and saw some really nice things; however, on April 13, 2008 I settled on a lovely chocolate-brown sofa & loveseat set for $600 from Furniture Bargains, located at 1785 River Oaks Drive, Calumet City, IL 60409. The total package, including taxes and delivery, came to a total of $717.91 (with a 10% down-payment).

So since this was such a great deal, at the time, I decided to take advantage of their layaway plan of 30, 60, or 90 days. They also had at least 7 sets available for delivery. Great deal, right? WRONG!! I made my initial 10% down-payment of $72 and opted for a 60 day plan. On May 17, 2008, I made another payment of $300 and then I made another payment of $100 on June, 20, 2008 as well as extended my layaway plan for another 30 days. This brought my total paid thus far to $472.00.

So I called the furniture store on Monday, July 7, 2008, informing them that I was coming in later that evening to make a my last payment (well before my deadline) and inquired as to the date my furniture will be delivered. This is where the problem began. I was informed that my set was no longer available (meaning they were all gone) and when I inquired about how the situation could be resolved, the sales representative told me that I could wait another 4-6 weeks for another set. I feel that I and should not have to wait that long for a company. So, I visited the store later that same Monday and spoke with the same salesman whom I had spoken with earlier on the phone. He was the same individual who helped me set up the layaway plan for me almost three months ago. I asked him what could be done about the problem. Not only did he try to sell me something far cheaper than my original set, but when I mentioned that I did not like anything else within the store and I would prefer a refund because I only wanted that style, I was told that there are no refunds on layaways and was provided with no documentation showing that there were no refunds on layaways for items that are all sold out. He informed me that I could wait to speak with his manager who would not be in until two days later Wednesday, July 9, 2008.

Wednesday morning I called Furniture Bargains to speak with the manager. I was only able to briefly mention my situation to her (because she quickly ended our conversation) and explained that I was informed that there were no more furniture sets like the one I purchased. She mentioned that she was "suppose" to call me before she left for vacation to ask about the set but I never received the call. However, she did mention that she would look into the error and if she couldn't find any more she would give me a full refund and call me back at 3pm that day. I didn't speak with the manager again until 6:30pm that evening (after I had to call her numerous times throughout the day) and at this time she mentioned that the managers have a different inventory listing that their sales reps and that she "now" has one available for me. So, when I tried to ask about the quality and/or where the set was coming from, she rudely told me I could get a refund and hung up the phone. I called back to let her know that I would be in on Friday of the same week to get my refund and she informed me that "they" may charge me a cancellation fee.

On Friday afternoon, I visited the store a second time hoping to retrieve my refund. This time I was informed that I will be able to receive my refund; however, I will have to accept a 20% cut from my total amount paid. When I asked her about the "they" people and how was it determined that I was to receive a 20% cut, she then mentioned that that decision was made upon the "manager's discretion". Again she was not able to provide me with valid documentation showing either my signature for the non-refund or for the refund with a 20% fee. In addition, she abruptly stopped talking to me and began talking to another customer without resolving my problem. The store's overall customer service is very poor and they disregard customers in a highly unethical manner.

Unbeknownst to her, I inquired about my set from another manager at another Furniture Bargains location and was also informed that there were no more sets available within any of the stores and/or warehouse (there was one within the system but it was someone else's paid in full waiting to be delivered). Furniture Bargains has 10 store locations and they all operate out of 1 warehouse.

In the end I have no furniture, no money, and no where else to turn. No other location will assist me because I originally purchased at the River Oaks location and they have the authority to give me the refund or not.

If you could very much help with this problem, I would be very thankful. All I would like is my refund.

Thank you,

AJ

Assuming there is no clause in the layaway contract allowing for Furniture Bargains to steal 20% from AJ, I'm thinking small claims court is the best route. You gotta watch your ass when buying furniture, remember how that furniture industry insider described it as a "secret cabal?"

(Photo: Getty)

Five-piece set includes headboard, footboard, wood rails/slats, dresser and mirror.

That's right, the bed is actually three pieces. That nightstand and other dresser must have wandered onto the set accidentally.

Scott, who tipped us to this, writes, "So to Value City, a bed = 3 pieces? Sheesh! Why not consider each side rail a piece and call it a 6 piece set!?!" Great idea! We think we've discovered a whole new way to increase profits without raising prices: segmentation. Why, that dresser can be listed as a 7 piece storage system by itself, a pizza with twelve pepperoni slices on it is suddenly a 12-topping pizza, and KFC's 2-piece chicken meal immediately doubles to a 4-piecer if you count the bones as individual units.

The important thing to remember is to use misleading photographs, though, or else your customers might not take the bait.

"Classic Cherry Queen 5-PC Bedroom Package" [Value City Furniture] (Thanks to Scott!)

Love your site, and need some advice (or courage) to get a couch and chair I ordered from Crate & Barrel. I placed the order May 18 and it was supposed to be delivered last Saturday (May 31). I got a call to confirm my date and delivery time. Then I got a call on Saturday that my couch somehow didn't make it from the warehouse (then why did they confirm delivery?) and could not be delivered that day, but they could deliver my chair. I said not to bother, but to deliver the items together. I didn't complain at all, said I understand it was not the fault of the person calling, and I think that was my downfall. I was told I would get a phone call on Monday to reschedule a delivery. To be honest, I forgot about it until yesterday (Wednesday). When I called "my rep" (the girl that sold me the sofa and chair,) she acted surprised that a new delivery date had not been set up. I told her I NEEDED the couch and chair this weekend as I have relatives coming to stay with me. She made it seem like that would be nearly impossible, but she would check into it and call me back on my cell phone. Then the power went out across the area, and the Crate & Barrel phone stopped working.

So now it's Thursday, and I need the couch and chair in 3 days. I feel like if I had been rude and thrown a fit on Saturday that someone would have tried really hard to get my delivery rescheduled. But since I was nice and didn't press it, that I will get the runaround. I really want and need these furniture pieces, so I wont try to cancel my order...but what should I do now? Should I give my rep another chance, or just call and start bitching right away? What if the phone at the local store still isn't working; should I call corporate? Thanks for any help!

We find that "bitching" doesn't get results, but you're right... you shouldn't just let people walk all over you either. Thankfully, there's another way.

We suggest you read this post called "How To Mind Control Customer Service Reps."

The most important step for you will be this one:

Before you call, outline the situation for yourself, and decide how you want it solved
Write down several options you would be willing to accept, and keep the page in front of you when you call.

Now take a deep breath, find some self-confidence, and give Crate & Barrel corporate a call. Escalate your complaint immediately, you've waited around for long enough! Be polite, but firm, and never rude. Don't ever be afraid to cancel your order if you can't come to a solution that's agreeable to you. After all, it's your money.

Do any commenters have suggestions for Brittney? How do you get good results without being "bitchy"?

(Photo: Jeff Sandquist )

An update… A few days after my EECB and post on Consumerist, I received an email from Stephan [redacted], the After Sales Manager at my local IKEA in West Chester, Ohio. His email was:

Mr. [redacted],

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your concerns with us. My name is Stephen [redacted], and I am the After Sales Manager at IKEA, West Chester. It is my responsibility to ensure that your experience with IKEA... before, during, and after your visit is everything you expected and more.

I was forwarded, and after reviewing your e-mail, I would like to extend my utmost apologies for your experience in our store. It is obvious to me that we failed in our efforts to exceed or even meet your expectations. It is our ambition to address and resolve your concerns regarding the return of your merchandise in an expedient and courteous manner.

By your e-mail, I can see the effort you and your wife extended in order to assemble your IKEA piece, and I apologize for the frustration this caused due to the defect in the bookcase's fit and finish. Periodically there are abnormalities in the prefabrication process, which could be the culprit in this situation. In the case of a non-defective product, our return policy applies to products that have not been assembled. In your case, you would not have known your bookcase was defective until you assembled it. Again, I am sincerely sorry for any inconvenience that this caused you and your wife.

If I could get you to do something for me, I can get this resolved right away. If you could contact my resolution team (513) 779-7100 ext 1450, and give them your transaction information, we will refund the remaining $60 back onto your credit card. Along with that, I would like to get your address and contact information, where I will send you out a gift card in hopes you will give us another chance. I only have your e-mail address.

I would like to thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. It is through customer feedback like yours that enable us to take action to do a better job in the future. Please accept my apology, and trust that I have discussed your experience with all parties involved in order for us to better serve our customers. If you do give us another chance, please contact me at your next visit at the below number. I would like the opportunity to apologize in person.

Sincerely,

Stephen

I called at his request and gave him the requested information. A few days later, I received the following note in the mail with a receipt for the refund (of $63.75) and a $25 gift card.

Dear Andrew,

Enclosed you will find the transaction receipt for your refund. We refunded $60 back onto your credit card ($63.75 including tax). I have also enclosed a $25 gift card for your trouble. I hope you received my e-mail expressing my apologies to you and your wife for your experience at our store. I hope this resolution is to your satisfaction.

If you have any questions for further concerns, please feel free to contact me at the store.

I am satisfied with the outcome of this experience.

The EECB got IKEA's attention, for more information about launching your own EECB, click here.

(Photo: yarnzombie )

Drew writes:

My wife and I were very excited that a new IKEA store opened near our house. After a lot of planning, measuring, and consideration, we decided to purchase several bookshelves (from the Buddy line) and a large bookcase (from the Expedit line) for our home. We purchased nearly $600 worth of shelves, $200 of which was the Expedit bookcase.

I've assembled knock-down furniture before — Sauder, IKEA, etc — and I know from experience that it is important to carefully inventory (to make sure nothing is missing) and read the directions (to make sure you're using the right piece at the right time) before starting assembly, which I did.

It wasn't until one of the last steps in the (long) assembly process that it became clear that there was a problem with the materials — the pieces simply did not line up to allow finishing of the assembly. The top piece and side piece simply did not match up in one of the final steps. So, I carefully UN-assembled everything, re-read the directions, and verified that I was using the pieces appropriately. I was, so we started to re-assemble the bookcase. Near the end of the SECOND assembly, the problem was still there. It was apparent that this particular bookcase was defective. We also decided that it was too large for the space we'd intended (we'd measured the space and the model bookcase before purchasing it). While it FIT, it didn't look right to us, so we decided we wanted to get our money back.

My wife & I unassembled the piece (again) and loaded it into her car with the original boxes. This evening (1 day after purchasing the item), I drove to IKEA to return the item.

That's when the trouble started.

I loaded the pieces of the bookcase onto one of their carts and wheeled it into the returns department. I told them the piece was defective. They asked if I wanted an exchange. I said no, that it was larger than we wanted; we'd just like our money back.

They said that because the piece had been assembled (I'd left the little wooden connection pegs installed), and that the piece wasn't IN the original boxes (it was ON the original boxes — I was not interested in using my time to repack it in the boxes), and that the hardware (screws and stuff) were in a ziplock baggie and not their original packaging that they would have to charge me a 30% restocking fee. I asked if that held true even though the piece was defective and the clerk at the counter indicated that it was. I asked to speak with the manager on duty, and shortly, Marcie came over.

I explained that the piece was defective, that we didn't want it anymore, and that we wanted our money back. She looked at the piece and said that because I'd built it, they had to charge me the restocking fee because "they couldn't sell it like that". I asked her what other way besides building it she suggested to determine that the item was defective, and she had no good answer for that. I suggested that they assemble the piece there in the returns department, but she said no. They held their line firmly — I walked out with $140 of the $200 item we'd purchased.

So, I spent lots of time building this thing (twice) only to find out it was defective, and for my patience, sore back, and time spent loading and unloading it in our car, I am rewarded with a $60 charge.

The refund policy (the one featuring the graphic of the heart-shaped red pillow with outstretched arms) doesn't specify anything about defective merchandise nor does it indicate the restocking fee.

I feel like IKEA should at least refund my $60 since their product was defective. I'd like to do a corporate email carpet bomb. Any tips for locating IKEA management's email addresses?

A 30% restocking fee on a defective item seems like the sort of thing that should be disclosed in big bold letters.

What do you think? Should IKEA have waived the fee because the item was defective? Or was the fee fair because Drew didn't want the bookcase anyway?

(Photo:Sun Dazed)

fast forward 4 months - no word, so i call customer service. i get bounced to the national handling and they said they cannot find my report. (of course). and then they said they would need to "document" my case, so they were going to forward me to someone else. i got forwarded to anthony who said my problem was a "quality issue" which they do not handle over the phone. and he said i had to go back into the store to resolve it. i asked to be transfered to the store, so i could call them and not have to drive myself all the way over there to find out it is not in stock again. he said he could not connect me to the store because the store does not take calls from customers - that their purpose was to help in store customers only. i asked if i could get my case documented by him since that was why i was transfered to him in the first place and he said no, because it was a quality issue. so then i asked what kinds of cases does he document, and he said "not quality issues." wow, thank you for being so helpful. so i asked again if he could document anything for me so i at least had a record and he said my case was too old since i bought my sofa more than 90 days ago and he only handles cases that where purchase was within 90 days. so i asked, ok, if i had purchased my sofa within 90 days, then he would be able to handle it? and again he said no cause he handled purchases made within 90 days except for quality issues.

so i gave up on trying to understand what his job was and asked again if I could be connected to the person who had forwarded me to him. and he said no. i asked why not, and he said he didnt know who forwarded me to him. i asked him if he could query my name since i had given all my information to the person i had spoken to previously and he said that they do not track customer service calls, they only record them (what the...? huh? i dont believe that for a second especially since ikea is a multi-national behemoth. they must have a well developed call tracking system) so i asked if he could transfer me to anyone else and he said no, that i had to go into the store because it was a "quality issue" and no one in his call center handles "quality issues". i just do not understand how they could not call for me to even find out if my initial file was still there? is that too much to ask?

ikea sucks [Joyce Lan Kim]
(Photo: acshepard)

Buy used. It's fun! I buy used cars with cash, used furniture, used clothes. Whatever. If you are getting married, I will take your old cappuccino machine that is exactly like the new cappuccino machine I was going to buy, except that it's cheap or even free. Who cares? Used stuff has character. If I don't buy something that's used, I buy something that's high quality and will last a long time.

From Dumb Little Man:

Defensive Money Strategies from Real Millionaires

1. House Purchases. Real Millionaires do not get houses custom built, nor do they move into new developments. They live in clusters with each other in OLD neighborhoods, in OLD houses. Most are 15 years old and they often triple in price since their purchases.

2. Clothing Purchases. They aren't going to buy really expensive clothes. They may frequent thrift shops or even Walmart to get their clothes. So don't be embarrassed to go cheap, just think of it as acting like a millionaire. They will buy really expensive shoes, and resole them when necessary. Since they'll wear them for a couple of decades the cost per wear will be marginal compared to constantly replacing a cheap pair.

3. Furniture Purchases. Real millionaires do not buy the latest styled furniture. They'll go out and buy a $10,000 antique table made from REAL wood, not modern saw dust. They'll repair and refinish this table when needed. They can keep it for a lifetime, pass it on to their children, and not worry about upgrading to the latest. Guess what? Antiques raise in value, so their net worth doesn't take a hit at all! As far as other furniture goes, they re-upholster it a couple of times in their life time, which is way cheaper than buying new again.

4. Vehicle Purchases. Real millionaires will not buy the latest car while it's still sitting on the lot. They'll keep their cars well maintained for many years, and when it comes to make a new purchase they'll find a used car that is in good condition. This way they can avoid that initial depreciation that comes with driving a brand new car off the lot.

4 Defense Strategies For Becoming A Millionaire [Dumb Little Man]
(Photo:Seth Tisue)

Fortunately, David was able to get modernfurniture.com to see reason, by writing a couple of reasonable, professional letters, and by sending photographs of the obviously not "black" chair:

While this is true, you do not say it is "black", the wood in your picture is not even close in color to what I received. The wood in your picture may not be "black," maybe it's "cappuccino" or some other very dark color, but your picture definitely does not show a chair with light brown wood...

It seems that the wood may be detachable. If that is the case and I'm sent instructions on how to remove them, I will be happy to perform a wood exchange. If I must return the entire product to you for a refund or an exchange for the correct item, I hope we can do that as easily as possible as well.

Except for the wood, the chair itself is beautiful and I trust that we can resolve this in a quick and friendly manner.

After reviewing the photos and speaking with my supervisor we are going to be able to issue a call tag for this particular item at our expense... Once we receive confirmation that FedEx has picked up the item we will be able to issue back credit or send out a replacement, which ever you prefer.

(Thanks to David!)

The deer entered the store by breaking through the glass storefront, setting off the security system and alerting police. The deer then exited by crashing through a different set of windows.

Something strange is going on with the deer in Pittsburgh. In a little over a year, deer have crashed through a nursing home window, a bank window, and one jumped into the polar bear exhibit at the Pittsburgh Zoo.

Deer Crash Through Window, Damage Store (With Video!) [WPXI]

Reginald writes:

For Christmas, my wife bought me a lawyer bar hutch (Order XXXXXXXXXXXXXX). She also paid extra for delivery and setup.

The delivery company scheduled the delivery for between noon and 2 p.m. on 2007-12-26. I planned my day (including re-scheduling a family event) so that I could wait for the deliverers.

When I arrived home at noon on 2007-12-26, I learned that the deliverers had dropped off the piece 45 minutes earlier (and it was just pure luck that someone happened to be there to open the door for them). Furthermore, the setup was incomplete.

Needless to say, I was fuming. I called the Pottery Barn number that I had. The call service representative was nice, but apparently this particular call center did not handle this type of issue. She gave me a phone number in case I was disconnected, and of course, I was disconnected.

Unsurprisingly, I was livid and at that moment frankly not someone from whom you'd want to get a service call. Fortunately, I reached Jim. He was polite, sympathetic, and seemed generally concerned about my situation. More importantly, though, he solved my problem: He quickly reached the delivery company and had them return to complete the setup later that day.

What Jim did was great service. Then he provided stellar service. He followed up. He called me to make sure the deliverers had properly set up the bar. He also sent a gift card to compensate me for the inconvenience.

Too many companies view call centers as just cost centers and neither empower nor adequately pay their customer service representatives. But that kind of thinking is counterproductive in the long term: Every company makes mistakes, but great companies fix their mistakes and turn potentially disgruntled customers into their ambassadors.

And Pottery Barn, through Jim, showed me that it was a great company. Before this incident, I was ambivalent about Pottery Barn. The millions the company spent on advertising were mostly lost on me. Before speaking with Jim (and after the deliverers' mistake), I despised Pottery Barn. I planned on telling everyone in the world about how Pottery Barn ruined my Christmas. Then Jim intervened. I hate to sound so fawning, but not only did he defuse the situation, he solved it. I now will tell everyone how great Pottery Barn is.

I would like to thank Jim for his help. I also hope Pottery Barn shows Jim its thanks.

Reginald

You'll find that manufacturers set their so called "MSRP" price, and then usually in secret between them and the home furniture stores, there is another price called MAP, which stands for Minimum Advertised Price. This MAP price is the bottom threshold selling price allowed by the manufacturer. One mattress store manager even showed me the MAP price on all his mattresses. His sales people get 15 to 20% commission for selling at MSRP, and they only get 7-10% if they sell at MAP. Naturally you'll find a lot of resistance from salespeople to sell at MAP. In my opinion, the term MSRP should be illegal to associate with furniture. Street Price is a better number to use.

Most manufacturers dictate to the stores that they cannot sell the furniture for less than MAP or they can lose their franchise. Often times there is a penalty, sometimes up to $15,000 written into the contract. Many stores like to cut to the chase and just sell at the MAP price. Most of the online furniture discounters in the Carolinas tend to sell at MAP price. If you call them to talk price, always ask them to go lower, until you hear them mention that they are already at the MAP price and cannot go lower.

If you are talking to Online Retailer A and you have quotes from Online Retailer B, ask Retailer A to beat that quote. Verify the price across other sites as well. By selling at the MAP price, a furniture store still makes a decent profit, and you get a nice "discount" off some useless MSRP number that really means nothing anyway. That's how the game is played. It's kind of stupid, there's a lot of charades and smoke screens, mixed in with misinformation, but that's the game.

We went into a mattress store and simply stated which model of Stearns & Foster mattress we wanted, and talked the sales person down to the MAP price. I always ask them "what is the MAP price for this mattress?" This startles a lot of salespeople, who are not accustomed to us "morons walking in off the street with our knowledge and internet prices". Sometimes it involves going to a few home furniture stores to learn for real what the MAP price is. Some home furniture stores like to lie and quote you an MAP price this is higher than the actual MAP price for your furniture. Some may lie to you and say there is no such thing as MAP. Unfortunately there is no Kelly Blue Book or NADA book for us to lookup home furniture prices or furniture store "dealer cost", so you cannot determine how much MAP is, you have to shop around and try to get a consensus, based on what salespeople are willing to tell you. Please don't email me asking where you can look it up, it's nonexistent. They don't have to tell you the MAP. You also don't have to open your wallet.

- Anonymous

• The value of good research
• The need to comparison shop
• With price-negotiable goods, try asking straight-out for "MAP"
• Remember that your ability to walk away is your strongest negotiation tactic, never forfeit it by getting emotionally attached to a purchase

RELATED: What Is Minimum Advertised Price?

(Photo: Paul Keleher)

But "shopping for furniture is treacherous," says the editor of ConsumerAffairs.com in the Times article. Here are five things to do to avoid paying too much, buying the wrong piece, or not getting what you thought you paid for.

• Research - "approach furniture buying as you would car buying"
• Room Plans - use available services to enter your room measurements and avoid the "scale problem" (buying something that looks like will fit just fine, but doesn't)
• Store Visit - take as long as you can to sit, open and close, and generally inspect every inch, or find an outlet or furniture warehouse and shop there to ensure the model you examine is the product you'll receive
• Delivery - your best bet is to buy what you want off the floor, load it yourself into your van or truck, and get the hell out of there
• Laways and Financing - avoid these like Britney avoids panties

"A Good Time to Sharpen Furniture Shopping Skills" [New York Times]

RELATED
Top 10 Furniture Shopping Mistakes and How to Avoid Them"
(Photo: crazyegg95)

A week after we moved and put the new covers on, our IKEA LILLBERG sofa broke. Right in half. The main support beam gave out right at the dovetail joint, and even split a board in the process. We were devastated, but figured that we'd be able to wrangle something out of it. Standard customer service would replace the couch, right?

My fianc e and I purchased a sofa from IKEA in August of 2006 for our new apartment in Bloomington, IN. We purchased it from the Bolingbrook, IL store because it was near her parents house, where she was staying until the move. It's a wood frame model with separate cushions, almost like a futon, but we appreciated it's minimalistic design and size - long and deep. The cushions also had removable covers, which was a feature that we liked. Fast forward to a year later, after we decide to move across town to a rental house. There's no way we can get the couch out of the door and we're afraid of damaging it, so I take it apart using the instructions that came with it. We assembled it in our new living room according to the same instructions and decided that when we took a trip back to Chicago that weekend, we'd spend all the IKEA giftcards we'd been saving up. We blew all $300 we had in giftcards on new furniture and then decided that as a treat we'd buy $60 worth of new covers for our sofa. Which was a mistake.

After calling about a bad zipper in a sofa cushion, I learned that IKEA's policy for returns and exchanges relies on going back to the original store that you bought the item from. So I called the Bolingbrook store and spoke with a standard customer service representative. This girl said that we'd have to bring it into the store, no other way to go about it, and once in the store, they'd be able to do a quality inspection of the item to make sure it wasn't just regular wear and tear. It was a bit frustrating, but prospects looked good. The main hurdle seemed to be to convince IKEA to ship us a replacement so that we wouldn't spend $150 in gas money to replace what is a $150 sofa frame - money that we didn't have to begin with.

I called back the next day and after getting the same spiel, I asked to speak with a supervisor. I told the supervisor the issue that we had, and how it was a near impossibility for us to get to the store. She agreed to let us send in photographs of the break, and asked us for the receipt information while informing us that the warranty was only good for thirty or ninety days (I don't remember which one it was). Which was our first problem. We didn't have the receipt. We're not sure if we threw it out after keeping it for a year, or if it just got mixed up in the move. We're assuming the latter since we're normally really responsible for this sort of thing.

I sent the supervisor photographs of the couch, and she responded asking for the receipt information. I asked her if she'd be able to look up the receipt information based on the credit card we used to purchase it and the date of the purchase - we had the bank statement since it was purchased with a debit/check card and we were able to see that information. She responded that she was unable to do this and would not be able to help us along any further without this information.

I should mention that throughout this whole process, I was formulating a Plan B. An Executive Email Carpet Bomb. With the help of countless Instant Messenger conversations with Ben Popken, I was getting closer and closer to developing a list of executives who might hear my plea. I had the basic email formula from when I emailed the customer service representative and submitted it to the Consumerist - good thing I did, because it turns out that the formula isn't used by higher ups. The day I decided to try and track down the names of IKEA executives was the day that The Consumerist broke the story of the corporate email addresses. So I formulated a letter and sent it off to the higher powers that be:

Dear IKEA,

I have been a very loyal customer. When I moved into my first apartment in Chicago, I spent four hundred dollars furnishing it with IKEA furniture. When I got engaged and my fianc e and I decided to move to Bloomington, IN, we spent at least four hundred more. We asked only for IKEA giftcards as Christmas presents and saved up for a year, so when we finally took a trip back to Chicago to visit her parents, we bought three hundred more dollars of IKEA furniture and products to furnish the house we moved into.

In the last purchase, we bought $60 worth of new cushion covers for the Lillberg model sofa. We have loved this sofa and had it for just about a year, when about two weeks ago it cracked. The main support beam underneath the cushions along the front of the couch broke in half down the dovetail joint and split one of the main support boards in the process. I've included thumbnail pictures of this break from all angles. We purchased this couch at the Bolingbrook, IL store in August of 2006, and were distraught because it is the only couch we own and we loved it so much that we spent sixty more dollars on cushion covers in order to preserve the couch for years to come.

I have been in contact with customer service at Bolingbrook, and was recently told that the only solution would be to bring the couch into the store with the original receipt. After asking to speak with a supervisor and explaining that I do not live near the Bolingbrook store anymore, I was told that I would be able to send in photos of the couch in an email and she would try to help us out. But since we have just moved again, we haven't been able to locate the original receipt. We contact the same customer service representative and asked if she would be able to look up our receipt information based on the card that we used to purchase it with, and she said that we had to have the original receipt or there was nothing that she could do for us.

By looking at the pictures, it's fairly obvious that it was a basic structural failure of the product. We did not abuse the couch or engage in any rough use. I even took it apart and gingerly transported the pieces separately when we moved in order to avoid any breakage. We were hoping that we could get a replacement sofa frame shipped to us, but have been unable to contact anyone who could help us. A couch that is advertised for every day use should not break in just a year of every day use.

We would gladly try to bring the couch to the store if we lived in the area. But as it stands, our house is located 249 miles from the Bolinbrook store, and to transport it there we would be spending about two hundred dollars in gas for a round trip in order to replace a two hundred dollar couch. If we had the four hundred dollars to spare, we would have just tried to replace the sofa on our own dime.

I am very happy with the IKEA products that we have purchased. The quality and the value have allowed us to furnish a home for a fraction of the cost at a traditional furniture store. At the same time, we appreciate the values that IKEA holds. That is why we have been returning customers after all of these years. It makes me worried, though, that we have been able to get this situation rectified. One of the reasons we felt safe in buying only IKEA furniture has been the helpful customer service that we've received in the past. We simply cannot afford to replace this sofa on our own at this moment, and if this situation is not resolved, we will have to think twice about the next furniture purchase we make.

I have included many different photos of the break, but can provide larger images if you are interested. I would also like to be contacted about this issue by August 28th. It has been weeks now since we haven't had a couch to sit on, and the sooner we can get this issue resolved, the better.

My phone number is _____________. I can also be contacted at jesse.raub@gmail.com.

Thank you for your patience and consideration,

Jesse Raub
____________
Bloomington, IN 47401
____________
jesse.raub@gmail.com

I tried to follow the basic tips I got from the last story about an IKEA EECB and from the posts about the book Unscrewed - I wanted to let them know that they'd be losing a lot of money from me as a customer. As I stated earlier, we spent $350 on our last trip, and at least $500-$800 in trips before that. Our tiny house resembles an IKEA shrine.

And a day later, I received a phone call from the Bolingbrook store manager. She asked me to recount my story and I did. And as soon as I had mentioned that I had moved to a new house in Bloomington, she insinuated that I may have damaged the couch in the move since they've never had any quality issues with the sofa before in the past. I reassured her that I took the couch apart and that I followed directions. She then implied that I must have put the couch together wrong and that it was my fault that it broke. She said that she would refuse to replace the couch, even if we took it into the store, even if we managed to dig up the receipt.

This was a shock. In our point of view, the entire time we were being told that the main issue was the distance from us and the store. We were fairly sure that replacement was inevitable, just not the free shipping. And to be honest, it was a bit insulting for her to tell me that it was my fault that the couch broke.

I was dejected, but got a letter from the IKEA corporate customer service branch a day later. This letter said that they would forward my information on to Bolingbrook and someone would contact me. The address was hand written, and the letter was personally signed. I thought, "Oh, this is great! These people actually care and will definitely care about how rudely I was treated!" I even had a documented case number and everything. On the letter was a phone number, 610- 834-0180 - the line that will connect you the IKEA corporate Customer Relations Managers.

Again, wrong. From what I've discovered, IKEA operates mainly as a franchise. All the stores function individually and almost independently from IKEA corporate, especially when it comes to customer service. I talked with one of the managers who pulled up my case information. I was ready to spew my whole story at her when she was able to re-cap it to me. All of my information was stored in the case and documented, and she was well briefed. She told me exactly what the Bolingbrook manager told me - they wouldn't replace the couch, however this lady was much sweeter in telling me so. She explained that it was basically up to the stores discretion on whether or not they would replace the couch, and how there was nothing she could do. She also explained that there have never been similar complaints about the couch, and that if there ever were, they'd open up my case again and contact me. I asked if we could purchase a new couch and get free shipping. She informed me that the store could not ship this far, and that IKEA corporate wouldn't be able to ship anything out either. And thus I was defeated. But not after spending 30 minutes on the phone repeating myself and trying to get her to budge an inch.

So what came out of this whole event? My advice to you if you ever need to contact IKEA customer service:

- Try calling the basic store. Start out easy - it might work

- Ask to speak to a supervisor. The supervisors are trained to be helpful - in fact, the call center supervisor was the only one who treated me with any sort of sympathy and attempted to help me.

- Try speaking to the Customer Relations manager.

- If none of that works, use the EECB. It will get their attention and somebody will contact you. At least you can get your case heard.

- ONLY TELL THEM THE BASIC FACTS. If I never said that I moved, they wouldn't be able to blame it on the move. However, I do believe they would have tried to blame it on something else, but I didn't need to offer that information before I was asked.

- If none of that works, try calling US Customer Relations and speak to an IKEA Corporate Customer Relations Manager, reached at 610-834-0180. They will create a case file for you, and it's their job to make sure that all customer service inquiries are resolved in some way, shape, or form.

- Be persistent. It might not work in the end, but at least you can't say that you never tried. I went all the way to the top and was denied. At least I know there was more than likely nothing else I could do.

After this debacle, I highly doubt I will be purchasing any other IKEA furniture. I've never had serious quality issues with the stuff in the past, but now I know that if I do, I'll be screwed out of my money and left couchless. As for the broken frame? My dad's coming down to visit us this Friday, and he's bringing a power drill. Let's see what sort of furniture hacking we can do.

Jesse did almost everything right, but In telling IKEA about his move, he gave them an excuse to deny his claim. Captured POWs need only give name, rank and serial number. The same principle applies in doing battle with customer service. Anything extra you give them can and will be used against you.

Also, he failed to at any point make it more costly for the original store to ignore you than to solve your problem. Consider the technique behind Company Ignoring You? Fax 'Em To Death, or How To Kick A Scammy Car Dealer In The Nuts. They work by making a simple argument any business owner can understand.

Then again, perhaps Jesse's next idea, getting a powerdrill and bolting the brace back together (bracing the brace is also an option), is the best, and one most in the IKEA spirit he enjoys so much.

Connect to IKEA US Customer Relations Manager Office and also pull up a company directory that goes off of the first three letters of the last name: 610-834-0180
Email addresses for US top management. The four letter system may work for other employees, or firstname.lastname@memo.ikea.com. Try both.

(Photo: jgodsey)

• AKURUM kitchen wall cabinets into a sideboard.
• Electroluminescent wire as stairway light.
• Sliding wardrobe doors into a small apartment room divider.
• BJ RNUM shelves as minimalist cat furniture.
• SNACK boxes into power cord/battery charger hider.
• SMYCKA dried plants into a garden gate.
• RAMBERG bedside table and a spare board into a coffee table.

We would never want to be the ones to dissuade someone from pursuing a rightful consumer complaint, but after a certain point you have to figure out what your hourly "wage" is (whether or not you have a job) and compare it to the expected outcome value. If the former exceeds the latter, an economist would tell you it's time to move on. Or, cut to the chase and haul them into small claims court.

That said, Adam's mother's story inside is pretty crazy in terms of how utterly incompetent these warranty jokers are. Either that, or they're entirely competent, in terms of avoiding doing any actual repair work.

i Consumerist! The story below is from my Mother, I helped her type it up (and prodded her to get all the information together so we could send this) I really am hoping that you can help out, i've personally tried every avenue even calling Macys corporate and playing the "I know that it's Stainsafe's (the warranty company) responsibility but do you really want a company like this representing you. I am literally at my wits end (as is my Mother) with trying to get this fixed. It's become an almost comical 16-month ordeal at this point. Anything you can do to help is appreciated!

I'm attaching some pictures of the damage (which we have patched together a bit out of necessity), a brief synopsis and a history of the past 16 months with trying to get this fixed.

- Adam

In 2002 I purchased a new leather couch from Macys in New Jersey along with a Stainsafe 5-year "comprehensive furniture protection plan", shortly after the couch was delivered, while vacuuming behind it, we noticed a large gash in the leather and that part of the frame of the couch was broken. It seemed that while unloading the couch and bringing it into our home the movers had dropped the couch, and silently continued to install it in our home. While it was obscured to us for a while by the fact that it was up against a wall, even if the movers who brought it into our home did not cause the damage it should have been apparent while moving it. After going back to Macys, the store was gracious and replaced the couch.

In February of 2006, I noticed a small tear in the decking under the cushion of the couch. I immediately notified Macys and opened a work order. Through a comedy of errors and a multitude of phone calls, which are documented below, 16 months later what was a small rip has evolved to structural damage to the couch and now a cavernous hole in the decking.

The structure of the Stainsafe claims process is like a rebate, wearing you down by promising that parts are "in the mail". When they don't arrive, weeks later, they must be re-shipped and when they finally arrive (by the slowest shipping method possible) you still need to schedule an appointment with a technician to come install them who may or may not show up. Once the parts and the technician finally arrive, that technician decides that the parts that were ordered were the wrong ones in the first place and the process restarts all over again.

DATE Stainsafe 1-800-521-0555
Macy's 516-536-4287 / 1-800-526-1202
J.Sechko Furniture Services, 516-536-4287
2/2/06 Opened claim # 1138888, small rip in couch decking area. Per Christina, she will order the decking and send a technician
2/23/06 Received letter, decking ordered
3/15/06 Received a postcard from Stainsafe, claim #113888 is closed. Called Stainsafe, per Simone, disregard the letter, just an error.
3/23/06 Scheduled for repair-should be contacted by technician in 7 business days
4/6/06 No call from technician, called Stainsafe, spoke with Heather at Stainsafe, invoice was not attached so the system closed the claim. New claim #1174212. Will hear by Friday 4/14 on technician.
4/21/06 No call from technician, called Stainsafe. Maria says no work order was set up- she sets up a new work order and the tech will call me by next week Notified Maria, the rip has gotten larger, additional
damage
5/2/06 No call from technician, called Stainsafe. Adrian says call the technician at J.Sechko Furniture Services, 516-536-4287, work order #1356244
5/22/06 Technician says decking too small-will re-order and reschedule. Says be sure to tell them he needs webbing when it is rescheduled.
6/8/06 Sent email to Satinsafe requesting an update, no response
6/12/06 Called Stainsafe- per Shanika, the received the technicians info on 6/8/06 requesting back cushions and decking- decision will be made in 72 hours
6/22/06 Called Stainsafe- per Marsha, cal back on 6/28
6/29/06 Called Stainsafe, per Taryn, the decking was ordered, when it's received, call and schedule. Per Mgr. Samantha, tech says webbing needed
6/30/06 Received letter, deck area ordered
9/15/06 Still no decking, called Stainsafe. Per Tamika, she will follow up with the parts department and, they have 5-7 business days to respond to me by mail
10/2/06 Still no decking, no correspondence by mail, called Stainsafe. John says he will send a follow up email, they are not getting a response from Macy's, suggests I call Macy's 1-800-526-1202 Called Macy's as per above, Tammy will contact Macys Stainsafe liaison Terry Stapleton @ Macy's 1-800-526-1202 x 32519 and follow up
10/23/06 Still no decking, no mail, no calls, called Stainsafe. Greg transfers me Terry, the supervisor (no answer, left a voicemail). Called back, per Jeff, the files are locked transfers me to Linda who promises to call me within 72 hours
12/12/06 New decking is received
12/15/06 Called Stainsafe. Decking received, Told Lashon the technician said to make a note on the workorder that he needs to bring webbing and supports for the decking. She says the technician from J.Sechko Furniture Services should call us in 5-7 days to schedule
12/28/06 Received a postcard from Stainsafe, says technician from J.Sechko Furniture Services should call us in 5 days to schedule or call them so I called and left a message
1/19/2007 Technician scheduled, arrives w/o webbing and support for the decking, says he cannot make the repairs. Scott heard him make 2 calls from here and explained to the parts guy what he needed but there was confusion over what to order as the necessary parts. (2" wide, one strap broken and serveral are ready to go) 3/5/07 Nothing by mail or phone, called Stainsafe. Per Mary, an email request for the straps was sent to the manufacturer - no response. Spoke with Shadell, consumer advocate, she will call the manufacturer and walk over to the parts dept and follow-up Consider sending a letter to Consumer Affairs 561-622-4260 CEO Stainsafe Steve Freidman ATTENTION: complaints
3/19/07 Nothing by mail or phone, called Stainsafe. Per Andrew, something's been ordered, he's guessing its what is needed
4/30/07 Received 6 metal clips with 6 rings on a thin piece of black elastic.
5/3/07 Called Stainsafe, (AJM) Lauren says that 6 elastic straps were supposed to ordered and says she will order the correct part.
5/5/07 Another letter saying decking area ordered?
5/30/07 No parts or correspondence, called Stainsafe, per Tammy, on May 11th, someone from Stainsafe spoke with Janet @ Macy's and the part had shipped 5/11/07
6/25/07 Called Stainsafe, no parts yet. Per R.T. Shur, part order #3092295 was ordered (5/11) and uggested I call the retail store at 973-785-0407 who said call Macy's customer service 1-800-526-1202, Bertha called Macy's Ohio office and left a message, said it was part order #146864. Bertha Williams x 66003 from Macy's says she will call me back today.
6/25/07 Late afternoon, no call from Bertha, call Macy's and Melissa x24218 calls Stainsafe and speaks with Nancy who says she is sending the claim back to parts to follow-up and authorize the webbing. Suggests I call back in a week. I ask to speak with a supervisor, Nancy transfers me to the customer supervisor Monica Richardson who says the part shipped 5/11 and calls the store, says they ordered the webbing and it was shipped 5/11 via FedEx or UPS but there is no way of tracking it. She will email the vendor and find out the status of the parts shipped on 5/11 and call me back as soon as they get back to her.
6/25/07 Bertha left a message to say she followed up and called me back
6/27/07 Monica Richardson called-pls call her (Scott forgot to get name and #) 6/29/07 Received a letter from Stainsafe, decking area ordered??
7/5/07 Received stainless clips and elastic AGAIN NO WEBBING!!!
7/6/07 1-800-521-0555 Stainsafe Monica Richardson not available. Spoke w/ Tamar, she put in the request for J. Sacco Technicians come and evaluate the couch and the tech will tell them if what is ordered is what was needed (7-10 days) . Be sure to get the details, part name and number that are needed and have the tech take pictures!!!

Items for the bathroom like Apskar (a wash basin), Toftbo (a bathroom mat), and Sanni (a bath sheet) are named after Scandanavian lakes, rivers and bays—that seems appropriate.

Stuff for kids is named after mammals, birds, and adjectives. So if you buy your children a Smyg, they're getting a lamp named for a wren. And a child's desk is Fartful, which of course means "speedy" in Swedish.

For the full run-down, Wikipedia has all the answers.

Unraveling the IKEA product naming mystery [a hundred moneys] (Thanks to c-side!)

IKEA hacker has laptop desks or holders created from a sawed-off stool, a paper towel holder (weird), and a kitchen shelf. We like the stool one, personally. It costs $19. The one he was copying cost $150. Win.

need a laptop desk? diy your own stand [IKEA hacker]
(Photo: IKEA hacker)

1. IKEA lives on add-on sales, and where they make their money. The stores are designed to get you though every department, but there are shortcuts. Use them liberally; ask for the fastest way to where you need to go. There's a ton of cheap stuff along the way for you to grab, and it adds up fast. Before you check out, evaluate what's in your cart and if you really need/ want it and you'll save a good chunk of cash. Also, in the first showroom area, avoid what's called the 'open the wallet' area- tons of small, cool, cheap stuff you can grab- it gets you in the buying mood, and 'opens your wallet'. Everything there is duplicated later on, so if you see something really cool, write it down and look for it later.

2. The 30-day return policy is (sort of) a lie. IKEA will generally return stuff like wal-mart (but should not be confused with that evil place), so keep receipts if at all possible. And if anything is wrong with the product, take it apart and bring it backw. Be sure to check the boxes for damage before you check out.

3. Go midweek, even in the evening. Particularly if you're buying a lot of stuff. It's slower, and coworkers are going to be more available and willing to help.

4. IKEA sells tons of cheap crap, but the higher priced stuff is well worth the money, lasts for a long time and usually carries a warranty.

5. Just because something isn't