I would like to add to the already angry and dis-satisfied CUSTOMERS. I moved to Manassas, and was shopping for a furniture store that I could build a relationship with, as I am starting over after my divorce and looking to aqurie ALL new furniture over the next couple of years. I visited CL Barnes at the Manassas Va location and I was fairly pleased with my initial service provided to me my a sales rep named "Chrissy".
I was looking to purchase on my initial purchase a Bed, 2 nightstands, dresser, mirror, chest of drawers, computer armoire, leather sleeper sofa, a multi-reclining sectional in micro-fiber, and a chaise, as well as few other odds and ends. I was looking to spend between 10,000-15,000 on my initial purchase. I has already found the make and model of most all the furniture and it was now about avaliability, and price, and SERVICE.
I decided to purchse my entire bedroom suit off the internet with a company called North Carolina buy direct furniture, what a great outfit... I highly recomend them and my salesperson was named Lance. He called me every week with the status of my order, and advised me through out the entire process. I chose them as they best the price on the bedroom furniture by almost 50% over CL Barnes. I decided to purchase the chaise, and sectional, and a coffee table from CL Barnes. I wnated to view the material of the sectional as the Manassas location nor anyother location had the samples for the model sectional I was looking at.
My salesperson Chrissy said she would call the factory rep, and order the sample for me. I waited about 6 weeks, and called a couple of times and NOTHING. I finally went to the room store and asked them for a color sample as they also carried LANE and they did not have the samples either, and said that they would order it. I then went to the CL Barnes store in Manassas and spoke with a manager "Lynn" and she was going to also follow up with the factry for the samples.
WOW, I got a call back form the Room Store in just under a week, with samples in hand, and after all that time waiting on Barnes, they called me a couple of days later with the samples, I went to the store in Manassas and ordered it, and I addionally bought a chaise, and a coffee table.
This is where my fustrations start. I am now already unhappy as I feel mislead, LIED too, over the whole sample ordeal. I am willing to swallow it, and move forward with my decision. We were told there would be some time between ordering, and delivery, FINE, I understand and I am ok with that. I got a phone call on a wednesday from the "whse" and they said to me that they would be delivering the chaise on friday and gave me a 4 hour window or so, ok.
I take the day off work, and I am waiting all day, NOTHING. I call the whse and they said it was not out for delivery, I called the store and again spoke with Lynn, I thought crissy was the problem, but now I know its the whole company it seems like, anyway Lynn advise she does not know and she would call, and have it deliverd saturday, apoligized, and said she would call the delivery center, and call us back on friday, saturday AM at the latest.
SURPRISE, no call, I called Lynn around 11am on saturday, and Chrissy answered and I told her what had happened, she advise me that the delivery people called Lynn thursday night and told her that they could not deliver because the products were "unpaid". I made the requested down payment and took advantage of the financing program that CL barnes offered, it was approved and I am assuming that Lynn never made any attemp thursday to correct the problem to ensure my friday scheduled delivery, I felt again mislead and lied too now by the store manager.
The deliver people were off saturday, sunday, monday. Lynn called tuesday to advise she had "fixed" the mistake and the chaise would be delivered on Wednesday. And I was told by Lynn that I was the very first delivery wednesday morning, and that I could expect an early AM delivery around 8/9am, they showed up at 1130 and I was about 2nd to the LAST stop, again LIE. The 2 delivery people were fantastic, and were very nice, and professional. They delivered the chaise, and the coffee table. No damage, no problems...
I called Lynn to try to resolve my inconvience on that friday that i took off work for nothing, and again on wednesday to take/accept the delivery. I was offered a discount on an accessory, I asked for more, and was told NO. I asked for her manager, who does she report to, and I was given information for a Steve Amberger, the acting VP of CL BARNES, I have left now about 15 msgs for him with no reply from him or the main office at all, not very good customer care.
I was called about a week later and told that my sectional would be delivered on 1/18/05 between 2 and 4 pm, I arranged to again take off work to take delivery of my furniture, and at about 12 I got a call that the delivery guys were having truck problems and would be late, I was told between 7/9pm, and was told that they would call me at stop 7 and that I was stop 9 so that I could make sure I was home to accept delivery. I am already on my way home and was already angry as it seems every step of this whole transaction has been an abortion. I was leaving my house around 545pm to get some dinner, and I had not heard from the delivery guys yet, and just as I pull out of my driveway they pull up.
I complained about the lack of a phone call to let me know they were coming, and they just did not seem to care. They then were floundering through the truck in the dark to find all 3 pieces to my delivery, and were banging them around, and handling them very rough. The first piece they brought in was a dual recliner love seat with a console in the middle and well, they took almost 15 minutes to get this piece 20yards, my house is on level ground, a direct shot from the truck, flat asphalt, normal front door, fairly hight ceiling on the ground level, and then once in maybe 15' straight down a marble hall into the room that the couch was to go in.
They fought for 10min pushing and pulling and struggling at the front door, and I could hear the frame of the furniture cracking as they were forcing it, they finally got it in, and dragged it upright on the arm of the couch to the floor, all the way to where it went. Then the next piece a dual recling sofa they decided to take through my garage, and then make a hard turn into the same hallway to the den, again struggling and forcing it to the point it even damaged my door frame, took wood off my door frame. I was already boiling and called Barnes, they advised me to accept it, and not it with the driver, and that Barnes would dispath a technician, but more than likely it would be replaced. The third piece was a matching wedge, and again 2 big guys fought this thing to get it in.
My new sectional is very badly damaged as well as substantial damage to my house. On the dual recling love seat, the frame is broken, and chips and pieces of it were all over my floor, and there is a rip in the microfiber, from dragging it on the floor, the wedge has some microfiber damage as well as it wobbles, I heard it"crack" from upstairs when they were bringing it in, the long dual recling sofa, also has severe microfiber damage and seems to be very flimsey, I am ssun=ming that the fram on that one was tweaked in the forcing of it through the door frame. I have a chunk of hardwood missing out of the floor in the den, the doorframe from the garage to the house damaged, and the transition cap from the foyer to the den, a piece of wood between the marble, and th ehardwood destroyed. My front storm door now does not latch, I am assuming the whole door frame was tweaked while forcing the sofa through it. I am really NOT very happy, or satisfied now.
I will continue to add to this as I have now called the delivery/wharehouse for Barnes, and was advised that a technician would be contacting me in the net few days to come and inspect the damage and advise of replacement, or repair. I was told to collect and forward estimates for the damage to my house and it would be "CONSIDERED", so it looks like I have a long uphill battle on my hands, and I have already been inconvienced enough, I am looking at now 2/3 days of work already missed, the cost of the couch, the cost of reapirs to my house, the time I will need to take off work for the tech to inspect, and then again for the repair or re-delivery, the time off to meet a repairman for the damages to my house and then again for the repair, by the time this is all said and done, if it is ever, i will have almost a week or more time missed from work over a sofa... I honestly feel that Barnes owes me more than a verbal apology and they owe for time, in-convience, loss of product, and some good ol-fasioned CUSTOMER SERVICE. I hope that they read this and call me or I will seek satisfaction from other sources up to but not limited to law-suit.
Oh and by the way the furniture from North Carolina, I was told 3 months, and it was 3 months, and I was told a date and a 4 hour window, and BAM they were here, the furnitur in perfect condition, and very professional movers, delivery people. They took furniture larger than the furniture from Barnes, through the same door, but then up 3 fligts of windy stairs to the top level of the town house to the master bedroom, no damage to the house, or furniture, NONE...
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