Ordered 250 pew-style chairs for a local church. Told Church Chair's sales rep. The date we needed the chairs (for a special event at the church), the fabric choice, and accessories needed (the pastor was sitting next to me on speaker phone at the time and can verify). Church Chair's Sales rep. Said delivery of specified product and deadline were no problem.
The fabric was not a stock fabric but available within 7-14 days. They would call us when fabric arrived to schedule delivery of chairs. Delivery be 2-3 weeks from order date. I confirmed with the sales rep. That the chairs would in fact be delivered by our deadline.
Company required half down at the time of order, which we paid via credit card to speed process.
When our confirmation arrived their paperwork said they did not give specific delivery dates so I called again to reconfirm deadline. I was told chairs would arrive that during the week prior to the event, so I documented the conversation on the confirmation and faxed it back with the time and date of conversation.
No one called/contact me that delivery would be delayed. I called daily the week prior to delivery as we had heard NOTHING. This is when Church Chair said they made no promises regarding delivery.
Two days prior to confirmed delivery date, Church Chair called and scheduled delivery. The pastor scheduled cleaning service, a moving truck and volunteers (who left work) to remove existing pews. Church Chair called later in the day to cancel delivery.
In fact, Church Chair DID NOT EVEN HAVE THE MATERIALS to manufacture the chairs. The pastor was forced to pay for services he couln't use and his parishoners (who took vacation time!) are out that time. And move the existing pews back in!
I called Church Chair to negotiate a discount or refund for the amount the pastor paid (that DOES NOT include volunteer hours).
Their office manager spoke to Dean Sammons, Church Chair's president. His response via the office manager: If they (the customer) expect Church Chair to give them anything, we do not want their business.
If that's the way Church Chair does business, you shouldn't give them YOUR BUSINESS.
We have been promised delivery next week.in the words of my customer (a pastor): "How can we trust thier word?"
I will update this report to reflect any action Church Chair takes to correct the situation. Things can go wrong even with the best of planning. How Church Chair (or any company) corrects the problem shows the mettle of their business.
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