Complaint Review: A.A. Laun Furniture Company - Kiel Wisconsin

I am becoming aware of the standards that are used in the manufacturing of furniture. I understand all of the above facts about how and why the bookcases are made the way they are. I expected better when I read in the catalog "Crafted primarily of solid character marked maple. Pleasant Hill is a clean transitional group with a feeling of Shaker styling. You will appreciate the quality construction." I thimk if anyone read this description they would expect "mostly" solid character marked maple. True, the store owner did offer to send a repairman to fix the one damaged in shipping although that wasn't what I wanted. The store owner did offer a refund of the purchase price with a 25% restocking fee because they couldn't send them back to the company. This would represent a refund of $975.00 when I paid $1300.00 plus tax. Sorry, I don't like being scammed. I think the items were misrepresented in the catalog.

I have been the Customer Service Manager at A.A. Laun Furniture Co. for over 10 years, and have not experienced this situation before. Laun is a 116-year old company, sustained on quality craftsmanship proudly made in America in Kiel, Wisconsin. Our Pleasant Hill group is a broad collection of maple occasional tables and accent pieces. When talking about the primary focus of the group - the cocktails, end tables, or sofa tables the solid maple components include the tops, the legs, lower side rails, slats, and drawers. For the tables, not much remains that is not made from solid maple. The bookcases Mr. Edward ordered are accent pieces from that same collection. The sides and shelves are maple veneer solid wood core plywood. The plywood is not a laminate, which often refers to a man-made material. Nor does the plywood we use contain particle board. The plywood used is keeping with industry norms for furniture of this type. Furthermore, the plywood, being more stable than solid wood, reduces warping, cracking, and splitting. Initially, we did receive an e-mail from Mr. Edward on 1/16/2006. Our policy, as we replied in an e-mail the very next day, is to deal through the store where the original purchase was made. We do this for several reasons. First, the store is where the product was purchased; the sale is between the private consumer and the retailer. Second, we are not aware of many relevant details in a situation, including subsequent handling and events. Third, if there is a situation, it can usually be taken care of efficiently with the store's repairman. If a repair would not satisfy a damage or defective situation, we do make replacements, but do need to service the private consumer through the store to facilitate the exchange. In this case, the store had already offered other alternatives including a complete refund to Mr. Edward based on the misunderstanding he had on the unit's construction. Beyond a full refund, I do not know what he is looking for as a solution. Tracy A.A. Laun Furniture Co. Kiel WI USA

I have been the Customer Service Manager at A.A. Laun Furniture Co. for over 10 years, and have not experienced this situation before. Laun is a 116-year old company, sustained on quality craftsmanship proudly made in America in Kiel, Wisconsin. Our Pleasant Hill group is a broad collection of maple occasional tables and accent pieces. When talking about the primary focus of the group - the cocktails, end tables, or sofa tables the solid maple components include the tops, the legs, lower side rails, slats, and drawers. For the tables, not much remains that is not made from solid maple. The bookcases Mr. Edward ordered are accent pieces from that same collection. The sides and shelves are maple veneer solid wood core plywood. The plywood is not a laminate, which often refers to a man-made material. Nor does the plywood we use contain particle board. The plywood used is keeping with industry norms for furniture of this type. Furthermore, the plywood, being more stable than solid wood, reduces warping, cracking, and splitting. Initially, we did receive an e-mail from Mr. Edward on 1/16/2006. Our policy, as we replied in an e-mail the very next day, is to deal through the store where the original purchase was made. We do this for several reasons. First, the store is where the product was purchased; the sale is between the private consumer and the retailer. Second, we are not aware of many relevant details in a situation, including subsequent handling and events. Third, if there is a situation, it can usually be taken care of efficiently with the store's repairman. If a repair would not satisfy a damage or defective situation, we do make replacements, but do need to service the private consumer through the store to facilitate the exchange. In this case, the store had already offered other alternatives including a complete refund to Mr. Edward based on the misunderstanding he had on the unit's construction. Beyond a full refund, I do not know what he is looking for as a solution. Tracy A.A. Laun Furniture Co. Kiel WI USA

I have been the Customer Service Manager at A.A. Laun Furniture Co. for over 10 years, and have not experienced this situation before. Laun is a 116-year old company, sustained on quality craftsmanship proudly made in America in Kiel, Wisconsin. Our Pleasant Hill group is a broad collection of maple occasional tables and accent pieces. When talking about the primary focus of the group - the cocktails, end tables, or sofa tables the solid maple components include the tops, the legs, lower side rails, slats, and drawers. For the tables, not much remains that is not made from solid maple. The bookcases Mr. Edward ordered are accent pieces from that same collection. The sides and shelves are maple veneer solid wood core plywood. The plywood is not a laminate, which often refers to a man-made material. Nor does the plywood we use contain particle board. The plywood used is keeping with industry norms for furniture of this type. Furthermore, the plywood, being more stable than solid wood, reduces warping, cracking, and splitting. Initially, we did receive an e-mail from Mr. Edward on 1/16/2006. Our policy, as we replied in an e-mail the very next day, is to deal through the store where the original purchase was made. We do this for several reasons. First, the store is where the product was purchased; the sale is between the private consumer and the retailer. Second, we are not aware of many relevant details in a situation, including subsequent handling and events. Third, if there is a situation, it can usually be taken care of efficiently with the store's repairman. If a repair would not satisfy a damage or defective situation, we do make replacements, but do need to service the private consumer through the store to facilitate the exchange. In this case, the store had already offered other alternatives including a complete refund to Mr. Edward based on the misunderstanding he had on the unit's construction. Beyond a full refund, I do not know what he is looking for as a solution. Tracy A.A. Laun Furniture Co. Kiel WI USA

The bookcases were purchased at Uptown Furniture in Wayne, N.J. and were delivered to to an affiliate store "White House Furniture" in Fairfield, N.J.. Any help to get me a refund would be appreciated. I only want A.A.Laun to approve my returning the items and giving me a full credit because their description of the bookcases was false and they weren't "primarily" solid wood. In future advertising they should describe them as having veneer sides and shelves. Thanks

I live close to Kiel Wisconsin and know where the A.A. Laun corporation is. I would be happy to deliver your comments to one of the owners for you. They are a small family ran operation so it should not be an issue to get it where it needs to go. This is not a joke. I am in outside sales and know what it takes to deal with people and difficult situations without being confrontational. I look forward to hearing from someone.