Ashley Furniture
Abysmal Customer Service and Dreadful Craftmanship

I am writing this complaint after attempting in good faith to work out this dispute with Ashley Furniture. I purchased the Millennium bedroom set from Ashley Furniture in Yorba Linda, CA on April 15. Within several weeks of the purchase, the bedroom set was delivered to my home.

Several weeks after delivery, my wife and I started to clean the armoire and move our belongings into it. At this time we noticed that there was a large crack in the back panel of the armoire. This was a defect that was missed by Ashley Furniture and my wife, who accepted the delivery. We contacted Ashley Furniture and requested a new armoire. A furniture technician from Ashley Furniture came to our house and concurred with our finding. He forwarded his report to Ashley Furniture and on June 1, we received a post card from Ashley Furniture stating that our new furniture piece was available for delivery. On or about June 7, the new armoire was delivered.

After returning from work that very same day, I noticed a small crack in left side of the armoire in the area where the door hinge met the body of the armoire. Again, we called Ashley Furnitures customer service number (714-278-1821) for assistance. Around this time I began to notice that the sable finish on this furniture was unevenly applied and rubs off with little or no contact. Further, the furniture dents and nicks very easily, which is not indicative of well-crafted furniture. This furniture does not perform to the level professed by an Ashley Furniture salesman. It is reasonable to assume that furniture of this price should not begin to fail so shortly after purchase and use. I have purchased furniture in my house from other retailers and I have had no problems with these pieces and sets.

Over the course of two weeks, my wife called Ashley Furniture numerous times and each time never reached a live person, which necessitated leaving a message. Finally, I called the Ashley Furniture store where I purchased the bedroom set to speak with a manager about the damaged armoire. I spoke with two different managers multiple times between July 2 and July 15. I expressed my dissatisfaction with the quality of my bedroom set and the customer service in replacing my damaged armoire. Finally, my complaint was given to the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager. I finally spoke with the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager on July 30.

This conversation with the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager was enlightening and shocking at the same time. I expressed my dissatisfaction with the furniture I purchased as well as the service I have received after the purchase. He acknowledged that Ashley Furniture offers great value for the money and I should have purchased furniture at Ethan Allen or another high-end furniture retailer if I expected a higher quality product.

The product I purchased is of poor quality and not manufactured with care, quality and craftsmanship that the salesman claimed at the time of purchase. This product is made from a wood composite product but not of solid wood. The product cannot even be cleaned with a wood cleaner or other wood type polish. The Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager acknowledged that there are challenges with their sales consultants because they sometimes straddle the line between truth and deception in making sales. The Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager stated that their sale consultants are trained to be truthful.

In some cases under bright light, it is easy to see that the furniture finish was unevenly applied. Furthermore, when I went over the entire furniture set with a fine tuned comb, I noticed that Ashley Furniture used touch up tools and markers to mask the poor quality of their furniture. The very fact that it took three armoires to get me one that was not damaged proves that quality is an issue. This is in addition to the armoire that the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager said he had in his warehouse to swap out with our damaged second armoire.

When he inspected the armoire prior to delivery, he insisted on ordering a new one and not sending the one on hand. Obviously, quality is a problem. I invited the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager to dispatch Ashley Furniture technicians to look over the furniture, but none has come. The Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager believed there was no need to come to my house to address my quality concerns. The Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager attributed my quality issues to wear and tear but could not provide a reasonable explanation to why my bedroom set was failing so shortly after purchase.

On August 8, I sent a letter to the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager outlining my request to resolve the issue directly with Ashley Furniture. On August 13, the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager sent me a letter stating that they will not exchange the furniture based on various reasons.

Later, I received a letter from Ashley Furniture via my credit card company. Ashley Furniture attempted to blame me for this situation by hiding behind their sales agreement. This is about abysmal customer service, poor furniture craftsmanship, and the failure of Ashley Furniture to meet its warranty.

This dispute raises many questions about the way Ashley Furniture conducts business and handles customer complaints. I have never been so offended by any company as I have been by Ashley Furniture. The furniture I purchased failed, plain and simple. Ashley Furniture sent me a letter outlining how they market furniture. I am unsure how lean manufacturing, distribution equals well crafted furniture. The Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager position throughout this dispute has been that Ashley Furniture is incapable of making a mistake or manufacturing a piece or pieces of furniture that may not meet all the necessary performance standards.

The furniture did not perform as professed by the Ashley Furniture salesman who sold me the furniture set. I tried to work through the store but no one returned my telephone calls. Then I went to the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager. I fail to understand why Ashley Furniture does not value my patronage. As for the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Managers claim that Ashley Furniture cannot assume responsibility for the environment in which my furniture is kept and maintained, this is assuming he knows how my furniture has been kept and maintained. His argument is both disingenuous and uneducated. The Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager was invited into my home to inspect the furniture. I would not ordinarily invite a stranger into my home, but decided to extend the offer to the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager because my concern was serious. He could have seen with his own two eyes the environment in which I maintained the furniture.

Within a month of owning my furniture, it began to fail. The armoires were damaged before they made it to my house even though Ashley Furniture inspects each piece prior to delivery. It took Ashley Furniture three armoires to finally get me an undamaged armoire. Even the most uninformed reader can conclude that craftsmanship is an issue. I have purchased many pieces of furniture from a variety of companies since I started remodeling my home. The only furniture that has failed is the bedroom set I purchased from Ashley Furniture. The only company, furniture retailer through construction contractors that has not valued my patronage and worked to ensure the highest level of satisfaction is Ashley Furniture.

I believe Ashley Furniture is unwilling to satisfy its legal obligations to a paying customer. According to the warranty card that accompanied all my furniture, Ashley Furniture warranties their products for one year, to include the furniture finish. I have included in this letter a copy of this warranty information. I brought up specific issues to the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager, which should have been addressed by the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager as warranty issues. For example, the finish is rubbing off in multiple places. Also, I expressed my concern about the obvious poor and quick stain that resulted in an uneven finish.

I let the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager know that when someone leans against the headboard, the entire bedroom set lets out a load and annoying squeak akin to the twisting of metal under pressure. I opened up my home to the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager and invited him to inspect the furniture set. He found it unnecessary to inspect the furniture. Yet he finds it necessary to render an opinion on my furniture and its maintenance from his office in Fullerton. I can state unequivocally that the maintenance and care shown by my family to this furniture would in no way caused the central issues raised in this dispute.

As I previously stated, this is about getting what I paid for. I cannot fathom why Ashley Furniture will not adequately address my concerns. My only conclusion is that they are afraid to confront poor craftsmanship or set precedence in dealing with complaints. I have never been rude or threatening towards Ashley Furniture or the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager. I stand by my synopsis of the conversation between he Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager and me. The Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager may believe parts of my summary of our conversation to be absurd, such as my point about salespersons using questionable methods to meet sales goals.

Ashley Furniture provides training to ensure that this does not occur as indicated by the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager. Why provide training if it is not a problem? I find it suspicious that the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager never indicates that the salesman received the requisite training nor did the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager indicate he contacted the salesman to obtain the salesmans side of the story. My situation may be one where the salesman used trickery to make a sale. The Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager states that these methods would not be tolerated and could be grounds for dismissal. Has the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager investigated my complaint to ensure that the salesman did not deceive me or violate Ashley Furnitures polices? The Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager has summarily dismissed my complaint without fully investigating the issues.

I work way too hard for my money; all I want is decent furniture. The Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager saw fit to steer me towards Ethan Allen for quality furniture, a point that the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager did not contest. This should speak volumes. I do not want to seek legal action. I would much rather handle this like adults and reach a compromise. I have reached a point now where I will never do business with Ashley Furniture nor do I want anything from Ashley Furniture inside my home. I am no longer interested in accommodating the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager or Ashley Furniture. Even if the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager acquiesced and agreed to consider my complaint, the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager has made it abundantly clear that my furniture will not be returned. Therefore, I do not believe that the Ashley Furniture Customer Service Manager can remain impartial and genuinely consider my complaint.

I caution everyone when considering purchasing furniture from Ashley Furniture.inspect what you intend on buying. Ask about craftsmanship. Know customer service after your purchase may be poor. Returns are rare if not impossible. These are based solely on my relationship with Ashley Furniture. There are better companies out there to do business with. As our economy begins to slow and there is less discretionary income to spend on items like furniture, I find it odd that Ashley Furniture does not value my business. I will take my and my extended familys money elsewhere and I encourage everyone else to do the same.

Company: Ashley Furniture
Country: USA
State: California
City: Yorba Linda
Address: 22705 Savi Ranch Parkway
Phone: 7143639900

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