Complaint Review: Hooker Furniture - Martinsville Virginia

We ordered 2 items of furniture manufactured by Hooker Furniture.  The company from whom we bought them is basically a call center located in the same town and they sourced the products directly from the manufacturer (Hooker).  I ordered the catalogs for the 2 collectons directly from Hooker.

-The Raised Lattice Front Chest (item 638-85017) from the Melange collection definitely appeared to be a white or light cream color not only on every website online but in the Hooker catalog for the Melange collection itself.  Nowhere in the Hooker Melange Collection catalog or on their website which has the Product Information sheet (nor anywhere else) was there a color description and it's only available in one color.  When it arrived, it was yellow.  It did not resemble in anyway the color shown in the paper catalog.  It was not a result of a computer view displaying a color that can appear different.  I had the actual color. The company who took our order and arranged for delivery told us that we had no option to return.  We  spent $435 to have a local (to us) custom furniture painting company basically whitewash it in an attempt to get it to resemble the color displayed in the catalog.  Since the design is as stated-a raised lattice- it was impossible to paint it totally smooth and consistent.  So we are out $435 and have a piece of furniture that, despite the custom furniture's attempt to make it resemble what was shown in the catalog, does not resemble the product's color.  

-We also ordered the 5 drawer Chest from the Sanctuary collection (3002-90010) which retails for $2,800 (we paid $1,945). On page 5 of the Santuary Collection Catalog they have a description of the superior quality of the drawer and RAIL construction and show a picture of the rail guides but only address the dovetail fittings of the wood which will "ensure many years of superior operation."  The Chest was beautiful, the wood real wood and the drawrs had dovetailed construction but the guide rails were so inferior that the bottom 3 drawers did not close fully.  We contacted the company we bought it from who sent us "instructions" on how to fix them but they couldn't be.  They are too small to support a drawer that heavy.  I hired a local (to us) furniture maker (an individual) and paid him $125 to come to just look to see if anything could be done.  He was shocked that they had provided such inferior hardware for the guide rails, said he could not fix it and no one could.  They would have to be totally replaced with a different design, which, of course, Hooker and the company they supply their furniture to would not even address.  We had paid extra for "wite glove service" and the chest was brought into our house already assembled and wrappedin thick blankets.  The 2 men placed it where I asked, removed the blakets and I pulled open the top drawer and everything was fine.  So I signed the form, they left and any and all attempts to return it were refused.  We finally came to a "settlement" of sort.  We donated the chest to the Salvation Army and provided all the documentation and also photos of it being loaded on the truck.  We also supplied a statement from the local furniture making atesting to the inferior and defective railings.  We eventually were reimbursed but I never expected a furniture company that has a reputation that is considered to be very good to have some of their products manufactured  (the Sanctuary Chest) and displayed (the Melange chest) in their catalog to deliver what was not claimed (quality hardware on the guard rails) and in a color (the Melange chest) that is so clearly yellow and does not resemble in the least what we expected.  I spent $560 in additional funds to repaint the Melange and have a professional inspect the poor quality and I am never going to see that money.  Nor will I ever buy from this company again.