- Report: #218256
Complaint Review: Marlo Furniture - Alexandria Virginia
-
Author Confirmed
Why?
Marlo Furniture
5650 General Washington Dr. Alexandria, 22312 Virginia, U.S.A.
Web:
N/A
Categories:
Business Rating:
(0)
Tell us has your experience with this business or person been good?
Marlo Furniture Consumer Nightmare - 10 Months of Helplessness & Frustration Due to Total Lack of Service Alexandria Virginia and Maryland
THE MARLO SAGA
06/22/05 Purchased dining room furniture at Marlo Furniture in Alexandria.
Consisted of table, 2 arm chairs, 4 side chairs, and china cabinet/buffet.
07/10/05 - 1st scheduled delivery. Marlo Cancelled - Set was damaged.
07/30/05 - 2nd scheduled delivery. Marlo cancelled - Order didn't come in.
08/27/05 - Finally delivered. Driver broke glass door on china cabinet/buffet; Glass shelves would not go in; No hardware to put table together; 2 arm chairs did not match and 1 squeaked; 1 side chair had flaw in material; 1 side chair squeaked.
09/07/05 - It was ten days before Manny came to ASSESS the situation. Manny got the glass shelves to fit, repaired the drawer in the hutch, and switched the seat cushion on a side chair to repair one. Manny wrote, "Need hardware and two men to assemble table. Need glass door. Need 1 side chair and 1 arm chair." Manny told me he could only show the damaged arm chair and that I should explain when the store called that I needed 2 arm chairs since the 2 they delivered did not match and one was flawed.
09/14/05 - I talked to Iris and explained about the arm chairs and the fact that 2 needed to be sent.
09/15/05 (Approx.) I received a call that my chairs would be exchanged on Wed., 9/28/05 - another 2 weeks away. The caller didn't know anything about my table or my glass door! She did not ask if the date would be okay, and informed me that exchanges are NOT done on Saturdays! She did concede that the driver could call 1 hour ahead. (I work just 15 minutes from home.)
09/28/05 Driver did NOT call. I got a phone message that since I was not home, I should call to re-schedule (as if it were my fault.) I called customer service - waited on the phone as I had come to realize was customary. The chair exchange was re-scheduled for 10/05/05 (over 3 months after purchase and nearly 5 weeks after delivery date).
10/05/05 - I received a call from customer service to meet the driver at home for exchange of my "chair" (singular.) I explained there should be 2 arm chairs and 1 side chair. She didn't seem to know about that - was quite snippy. She asked if I was going to meet the driver or not! I said I was not taking time off work for 1 chair. She hung up on me! (I did not say anything else, nothing to warrant such treatment.)
I spent a large portion of the day on the phone -- must hold for 5 to 20 minutes every time I call. Sometimes am disconnected. I made it clear that I wanted to speak with Iris (a supervisor.) I was told I was next on her list of people to call. I waited and called back. I was promised Iris would call in 5 minutes. I waited one and a half hours, until after 6:00. Iris never called.
10/06/05 - Thurs. I tried calling again (and waited.) In speaking with representative, I perceived in conversation that the arm chairs and side chair were on "separate tickets." I had to convince woman to "split tickets" so all 3 chairs could be exchanged at the same time. She did so rather reluctantly.
10/9/05 - Sunday. I received a call at home and was told the SIDE CHAIR would be exchanged on Wed., 10/12/05! I asked her to check again because there should be 3 chairs. She came back and said 2 SIDE chairs and 1 ARM chair were on the ticket. I told her it should be other way around and that they should not deliver since it was wrong. She said she would inform her supervisor, Ann, the following day (Mon.) I heard nothing.
10/11/05 - Tues. No one called, so I called customer service (and waited). Gal who answered found the delivery order and she said she would cancel the delivery for the following day (Wed.) since it was wrong. There was no indication of involvement by Ann, the supervisor.
10/12/05 - Wed. I received a call from the driver who was at my house to deliver chairs! I called customer service (and waited) and I think I demanded a manager this time! I finally spoke with Iris. Told her I was at the end of my rope.
Not only could they not get the chairs straight, but I was still waiting for someone to put the table together and replace the glass door. I had nothing but pieces of a dining room set all over my house 4 MONTHS after purchase and nearly 2 months after delivery. I had also been billed! Iris said she would take care of the table hardware and the glass door, and transferred me to Ricarla (sp?) to take care of the chair exchange. Ricarla said she would call me the following day. She did NOT.
10/13/05 - Thurs. I received a garbled message on my home phone. (I continually requested that they call me at work since that is where I am during the day!) This time it was a male voice, low and mumbling. I THOUGHT he said delivery was set for 10/19. I never heard from either Iris or Ricarla.
10/18/05 - Tues. I called customer service (and waited) to see if delivery was in fact scheduled for the next day, 10/19. Ricarla was not available. I spoke with Tammie. She confirmed that it WAS - for 1 side chair and 2 arm chairs -- YES!! I again requested a 1-hour call ahead. I wanted to leave my work and home numbers. Tammie said I could only leave one. Therefore, I gave her my cell phone number for the driver to call so I could keep it with me.
10/19/05 - Wed. The driver left a message on my WORK phone that he was on his way. By the time I got the message, I rushed home and made it 45 minutes after the one-hour call ahead. I waited. NOTHING! I called customer service (and waited.) I was assured that the driver had not reported in and that he was still coming.
I waited several hours before returning to my office. Apparently the driver had come and gone before I called to check! I was exasperated, angry, frustrated, at my wit's end.
10/19/05 - Joanne called me the same night at 8:35 p.m. She again scheduled the chair exchange for 10/21. She was the first PLEASANT customer service representative I had talked to in 2 months!
10/20/05 - I had a message confirming the delivery on Fri., 10/21. This time I took no chances -- I TOOK THE DAY OFF!
10/21/05 - I waited all day. I called (and waited) at 4:30 because I was getting nervous. Tammie assured me the truck would be there. The truck finally arrived at 7:30 p.m.! They unloaded 2 SIDE chairs and 1 ARM chair!! (Backwards again!) I was nuts (but I fought the urge to take it out on the drivers.) I kept 1 side chair and told them I didn't need the other. They took the faulty side chair. They left the arm chair, which, of course, matched the faulty one! The drivers would not take the faulty arm chair, leaving me with 3 arm chairs! I WAS UPSET!
The drivers reported in and I received a call from Kim in the delivery dept. She was nice. Also got a call from Darrin, also nice. His function seemed to be to listen while customers relate their frustration. I got the sense he was actually doing something else. He said he would call the next day. He did, but had nothing to report! I never heard from him again.
10/22/05 - Sat. Marlin called to schedule the delivery of a SIDE chair! (Poor guy.) For about the 64th time, I related my sad story. Marlin tried so hard - he really cared and promised to help. I told him I had nothing against him, but I would believe it when I saw it Kim called back the same day. I had told her that NOT ONE person from Marlo had ever called me back, no matter how many times they promised. So Kim called me back because she said she would. However, she couldn't do anything to help me. She had turned it over to Darrin (the one I never heard from again.)
10/22/05 - Same day. Marlin called me again. He scheduled the delivery of the arm chair for Sat. 10/29. (Heretofore, I was told exchanges could only be done on week days.) At least someone figured out that I deserved a little special consideration! Marlin said he would check on the glass door and table hardware and get back to me.
Later in the afternoon, Iris called!! She said she would schedule EVERYTHING for Sat. 10/29 That is, exchange the arm chair, put the table together, and replace the glass door.
10/29/05 - Sat. THE BIG DAY! The truck arrived - brought 1 side chair and 1 arm chair! At least the arm chair worked. It matched the good one I had. The driver therefore took 1 of my arm chairs back, still leaving me with an extra arm chair that he would not take! I told them I didn't need the side chair.
Then the technician came. He had the hardware for the table and got it assembled. However, if one looks at the original report from Manny (above), it said 2 men would be required. That was because the table was too heavy for one man to turn over. I couldn't find a neighbor, so I managed to help get the table turned over -- out of shear determination, I think. This man also brought a door for the china cabinet -- a WOOD door instead of a glass door!!
By now I was too numb to even react. I called (and waited) and talked to Ricarla. She said they had pulled the wood door off another unit, so they would go back and pull the glass door as soon as they got the paperwork back. She said she would call me at work on Wed., 11/2. I told her Sat. 11/5 is my deadline. Otherwise, they can come and pick it all up. Well, you guessed it. I never heard from Ricarla again.
11/4/05 - Fri. I called (and waited) to see if the glass door could be installed the next day. Both Iris and Ann were in a meeting (naturally). No one called back. At 5:30 p.m., I called again and waited 15 minutes for someone to answer. I talked to Loren. She conferred with Ann (the one who wasn't available) for about 5 minutes. Basically Loren confirmed that it was clear that I needed a glass door and an arm chair removed! Loren said she would check with Iris in the morning (Sat. 11/5) and call me at home. Yeah! Right!! NEVER HAPPENED.
11/10/05 - Thurs. I called (and waited) and talked to Kathleen. (Is anyone keeping count of the different names?) Kathleen reported that Iris had gone to the warehouse to pull the correct glass door. I mused as to why that wasn't done 2 weeks ago. Kathleen said they would call me the next day to schedule. I said that was unacceptable -- that I wanted that door on the next day, Fri., 11/11. (I'm really getting bold now. ) Are we surprised that I heard nothing on Fri.?
11/12/05 Sat. At least Iris called. I was asleep. She didn't say anything new. She said she would call me "next week" to schedule getting the glass door installed. I mumbled something about Thanksgiving, the holidays, and company coming.
11/15/05 - Tues. It's next week. I called (and waited). Talked to my old friend Tammie. She said Iris was trying to get the glass door pulled and that I should hear from her "tomorrow." (That would be 11/16.) I asserted that I had another Sat. deadline!
11/17/05 - Thurs. Still NO WORD. I called (and waited.) Spoke to my pal Tammie (a very un-empathetic person.) Generally, I am made to feel like I am just a big pain to them.
11/18/05 - Fri. I called (and waited) and begged for either Iris or Ann to have the courtesy to call me with a status report. It is now midnight on 11/18. I'm still waiting for the call.
TO BE CONTINUED!!
This has got to be the most frustrating, exasperating consumer experience of my life. Keep in mind it is now 11/18/05, only days before Thanksgiving, and I still don't have the complete dining room set I purchased on 6/22/05. I have received 3 bills -- haven't paid anything 'cause it is set up on an 18-month interest free plan and who knows? Maybe I can hire a furniture mover to pick up the set with its missing door and extra chair, and have it deposited on a Marlo doorstep. PLEASE HELP ME!!
UPDATE:
11/22/05 - I called (and waited.) Talked to Kara (sp?) She was nice she tried. She agreed that I DID need to talk to Iris since the service order merely said that Iris was still working on it. Kara said Iris would be in the next morning and that I should call back, or Kara would call me.
11/23/05 - Kara did NOT call and I was too beaten down to try.
11/24/05 - Thanksgiving! Marlo again advertised the dining set in the paper (as they have done and continue to do. Yet they refuse to intercept another set to take care of me.)
12/08/05 - My company is here. I called (and waited). Talked to Joy. Iris not in. Joy yelled to the Parts section. Kenitra (sp) in the Parts section said she would call the vendor the next day and have the glass door overnighted. (By now, even I knew that Kenitra could not do that!) Kenitra was to call me on my cell phone.
12/09/05 - Would you care to guess whether or not Kenitra called me? Of course she did NOT!
12/14/05 - I actually got a call! From Kathleen, who said she needed to schedule an even exchange on a side chair! Then she said, Hold on, and before I could say anything, she put me on hold. When she finally came back I told her I have the chairs just need to have one arm chair picked up. But it's the glass door I need. Kathleen asked if a technician had been out (as in Manny, back in Sept.) I told her yes, some time ago. Kathleen said, Well, we only got notice of the glass door at that time in Oct.! I pointed out that the broken glass door was on the original technician report in Sept. and that I have a copy.
It is increasingly difficult to make sense out of any conversation with these people. I gathered that the glass door was only ordered on 12/8/05 and that it would take 6 to 8 weeks for it to come! The order is with the new person, Kenitra! Kathleen reluctantly said she would leave a message for Iris to call me tomorrow at work.
12/15/05 - SILENCE! I have to give up until the holidays are over. I can't handle any more stress.
01/30/06 - I called and talked to Kenitra. She said the door was in, but not yet delivered to Marlo. Is supposed to be there Thurs. or Fri. (Feb. 2-3). Since it takes weeks to get a Sat. delivery date, I asked her to set up a date now. There was no opening until Sat., Feb. 25, so she scheduled that date to bring the glass door and pick up the extra chair.
02/25/06 - Sat. The date has come and gone. Have heard absolutely NOTHING from Marlo.
03/05/06 TOTAL SILENCE. NO PHONE CALL -- NO NOTHING!
03/09/06 Sent copies of above SAGA to:
Neil Glickfield, President
Mike McMullin, Manager
Mark Stuart, Manager-Marketing
03/13/06 Received a call from Kenitra. (I was in a store in Memphis.) Hard to hear, but she said the store would call to set up delivery when the door came in.
03/17/06 Received call from Mark Stuart. He had just returned from 2-week leave. He was very nice and said he would check further and call me back on Monday. He did not call.
03/18/06 Received copy of letter to Marlo from City of Alexandria Citizen Assistance Office re my complaint about lack of service and requested settlement.
03/23/06 Received call from Marie in office of Ms. Allison. Had received complaint. Marie agreed that the situation was ridiculous. She said Marlo would arrange to get door from inventory and have technician install. She said she would call me in the afternoon (it was morning I was home because of oral surgery.)
When I got back from surgery, Marie had left message, wanting to know for sure whether it was the right or left door. Marie said she was going on vacation, and that I should call Ms. Allison. I left message for Ms. Allison stating that when facing the china cabinet, the broken door is the one on the right.
04/02/06 Marlo FINALLY replaced the broken glass door (switched with another cabinet in the warehouse, which they should have done 8 months earlier!) And the extra chair was retrieved.
08/17/06 I received a letter from the Better Business Bureau stating that they had written to Marlo twice, but Marlo did not respond. They sent one final letter to Marlo, but I was never contacted by the store. I had asked for a financial adjustment for my trouble, which the BBB thought was reasonable.
09/??/06 I received a message from Marlo that a part I had ordered was in, and they wondered whether I still needed it! This call I did NOT return.
I am appalled that any store is permitted to operate like this. Obviously, I am not the only one with a horror story. The BBB has very few complaints. I can only surmise that most consumers do not bother to report such negligence. And no wonder. It is extremely time-consuming and energy draining to pursue a store like this. If only consumers would get the word out.
Phyllis
Alexandria, Virginia
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Marlo Furniture
06/22/05 Purchased dining room furniture at Marlo Furniture in Alexandria.
Consisted of table, 2 arm chairs, 4 side chairs, and china cabinet/buffet.
07/10/05 - 1st scheduled delivery. Marlo Cancelled - Set was damaged.
07/30/05 - 2nd scheduled delivery. Marlo cancelled - Order didn't come in.
08/27/05 - Finally delivered. Driver broke glass door on china cabinet/buffet; Glass shelves would not go in; No hardware to put table together; 2 arm chairs did not match and 1 squeaked; 1 side chair had flaw in material; 1 side chair squeaked.
09/07/05 - It was ten days before Manny came to ASSESS the situation. Manny got the glass shelves to fit, repaired the drawer in the hutch, and switched the seat cushion on a side chair to repair one. Manny wrote, "Need hardware and two men to assemble table. Need glass door. Need 1 side chair and 1 arm chair." Manny told me he could only show the damaged arm chair and that I should explain when the store called that I needed 2 arm chairs since the 2 they delivered did not match and one was flawed.
09/14/05 - I talked to Iris and explained about the arm chairs and the fact that 2 needed to be sent.
09/15/05 (Approx.) I received a call that my chairs would be exchanged on Wed., 9/28/05 - another 2 weeks away. The caller didn't know anything about my table or my glass door! She did not ask if the date would be okay, and informed me that exchanges are NOT done on Saturdays! She did concede that the driver could call 1 hour ahead. (I work just 15 minutes from home.)
09/28/05 Driver did NOT call. I got a phone message that since I was not home, I should call to re-schedule (as if it were my fault.) I called customer service - waited on the phone as I had come to realize was customary. The chair exchange was re-scheduled for 10/05/05 (over 3 months after purchase and nearly 5 weeks after delivery date).
10/05/05 - I received a call from customer service to meet the driver at home for exchange of my "chair" (singular.) I explained there should be 2 arm chairs and 1 side chair. She didn't seem to know about that - was quite snippy. She asked if I was going to meet the driver or not! I said I was not taking time off work for 1 chair. She hung up on me! (I did not say anything else, nothing to warrant such treatment.)
I spent a large portion of the day on the phone -- must hold for 5 to 20 minutes every time I call. Sometimes am disconnected. I made it clear that I wanted to speak with Iris (a supervisor.) I was told I was next on her list of people to call. I waited and called back. I was promised Iris would call in 5 minutes. I waited one and a half hours, until after 6:00. Iris never called.
10/06/05 - Thurs. I tried calling again (and waited.) In speaking with representative, I perceived in conversation that the arm chairs and side chair were on "separate tickets." I had to convince woman to "split tickets" so all 3 chairs could be exchanged at the same time. She did so rather reluctantly.
10/9/05 - Sunday. I received a call at home and was told the SIDE CHAIR would be exchanged on Wed., 10/12/05! I asked her to check again because there should be 3 chairs. She came back and said 2 SIDE chairs and 1 ARM chair were on the ticket. I told her it should be other way around and that they should not deliver since it was wrong. She said she would inform her supervisor, Ann, the following day (Mon.) I heard nothing.
10/11/05 - Tues. No one called, so I called customer service (and waited). Gal who answered found the delivery order and she said she would cancel the delivery for the following day (Wed.) since it was wrong. There was no indication of involvement by Ann, the supervisor.
10/12/05 - Wed. I received a call from the driver who was at my house to deliver chairs! I called customer service (and waited) and I think I demanded a manager this time! I finally spoke with Iris. Told her I was at the end of my rope.
Not only could they not get the chairs straight, but I was still waiting for someone to put the table together and replace the glass door. I had nothing but pieces of a dining room set all over my house 4 MONTHS after purchase and nearly 2 months after delivery. I had also been billed! Iris said she would take care of the table hardware and the glass door, and transferred me to Ricarla (sp?) to take care of the chair exchange. Ricarla said she would call me the following day. She did NOT.
10/13/05 - Thurs. I received a garbled message on my home phone. (I continually requested that they call me at work since that is where I am during the day!) This time it was a male voice, low and mumbling. I THOUGHT he said delivery was set for 10/19. I never heard from either Iris or Ricarla.
10/18/05 - Tues. I called customer service (and waited) to see if delivery was in fact scheduled for the next day, 10/19. Ricarla was not available. I spoke with Tammie. She confirmed that it WAS - for 1 side chair and 2 arm chairs -- YES!! I again requested a 1-hour call ahead. I wanted to leave my work and home numbers. Tammie said I could only leave one. Therefore, I gave her my cell phone number for the driver to call so I could keep it with me.
10/19/05 - Wed. The driver left a message on my WORK phone that he was on his way. By the time I got the message, I rushed home and made it 45 minutes after the one-hour call ahead. I waited. NOTHING! I called customer service (and waited.) I was assured that the driver had not reported in and that he was still coming.
I waited several hours before returning to my office. Apparently the driver had come and gone before I called to check! I was exasperated, angry, frustrated, at my wit's end.
10/19/05 - Joanne called me the same night at 8:35 p.m. She again scheduled the chair exchange for 10/21. She was the first PLEASANT customer service representative I had talked to in 2 months!
10/20/05 - I had a message confirming the delivery on Fri., 10/21. This time I took no chances -- I TOOK THE DAY OFF!
10/21/05 - I waited all day. I called (and waited) at 4:30 because I was getting nervous. Tammie assured me the truck would be there. The truck finally arrived at 7:30 p.m.! They unloaded 2 SIDE chairs and 1 ARM chair!! (Backwards again!) I was nuts (but I fought the urge to take it out on the drivers.) I kept 1 side chair and told them I didn't need the other. They took the faulty side chair. They left the arm chair, which, of course, matched the faulty one! The drivers would not take the faulty arm chair, leaving me with 3 arm chairs! I WAS UPSET!
The drivers reported in and I received a call from Kim in the delivery dept. She was nice. Also got a call from Darrin, also nice. His function seemed to be to listen while customers relate their frustration. I got the sense he was actually doing something else. He said he would call the next day. He did, but had nothing to report! I never heard from him again.
10/22/05 - Sat. Marlin called to schedule the delivery of a SIDE chair! (Poor guy.) For about the 64th time, I related my sad story. Marlin tried so hard - he really cared and promised to help. I told him I had nothing against him, but I would believe it when I saw it Kim called back the same day. I had told her that NOT ONE person from Marlo had ever called me back, no matter how many times they promised. So Kim called me back because she said she would. However, she couldn't do anything to help me. She had turned it over to Darrin (the one I never heard from again.)
10/22/05 - Same day. Marlin called me again. He scheduled the delivery of the arm chair for Sat. 10/29. (Heretofore, I was told exchanges could only be done on week days.) At least someone figured out that I deserved a little special consideration! Marlin said he would check on the glass door and table hardware and get back to me.
Later in the afternoon, Iris called!! She said she would schedule EVERYTHING for Sat. 10/29 That is, exchange the arm chair, put the table together, and replace the glass door.
10/29/05 - Sat. THE BIG DAY! The truck arrived - brought 1 side chair and 1 arm chair! At least the arm chair worked. It matched the good one I had. The driver therefore took 1 of my arm chairs back, still leaving me with an extra arm chair that he would not take! I told them I didn't need the side chair.
Then the technician came. He had the hardware for the table and got it assembled. However, if one looks at the original report from Manny (above), it said 2 men would be required. That was because the table was too heavy for one man to turn over. I couldn't find a neighbor, so I managed to help get the table turned over -- out of shear determination, I think. This man also brought a door for the china cabinet -- a WOOD door instead of a glass door!!
By now I was too numb to even react. I called (and waited) and talked to Ricarla. She said they had pulled the wood door off another unit, so they would go back and pull the glass door as soon as they got the paperwork back. She said she would call me at work on Wed., 11/2. I told her Sat. 11/5 is my deadline. Otherwise, they can come and pick it all up. Well, you guessed it. I never heard from Ricarla again.
11/4/05 - Fri. I called (and waited) to see if the glass door could be installed the next day. Both Iris and Ann were in a meeting (naturally). No one called back. At 5:30 p.m., I called again and waited 15 minutes for someone to answer. I talked to Loren. She conferred with Ann (the one who wasn't available) for about 5 minutes. Basically Loren confirmed that it was clear that I needed a glass door and an arm chair removed! Loren said she would check with Iris in the morning (Sat. 11/5) and call me at home. Yeah! Right!! NEVER HAPPENED.
11/10/05 - Thurs. I called (and waited) and talked to Kathleen. (Is anyone keeping count of the different names?) Kathleen reported that Iris had gone to the warehouse to pull the correct glass door. I mused as to why that wasn't done 2 weeks ago. Kathleen said they would call me the next day to schedule. I said that was unacceptable -- that I wanted that door on the next day, Fri., 11/11. (I'm really getting bold now. ) Are we surprised that I heard nothing on Fri.?
11/12/05 Sat. At least Iris called. I was asleep. She didn't say anything new. She said she would call me "next week" to schedule getting the glass door installed. I mumbled something about Thanksgiving, the holidays, and company coming.
11/15/05 - Tues. It's next week. I called (and waited). Talked to my old friend Tammie. She said Iris was trying to get the glass door pulled and that I should hear from her "tomorrow." (That would be 11/16.) I asserted that I had another Sat. deadline!
11/17/05 - Thurs. Still NO WORD. I called (and waited.) Spoke to my pal Tammie (a very un-empathetic person.) Generally, I am made to feel like I am just a big pain to them.
11/18/05 - Fri. I called (and waited) and begged for either Iris or Ann to have the courtesy to call me with a status report. It is now midnight on 11/18. I'm still waiting for the call.
TO BE CONTINUED!!
This has got to be the most frustrating, exasperating consumer experience of my life. Keep in mind it is now 11/18/05, only days before Thanksgiving, and I still don't have the complete dining room set I purchased on 6/22/05. I have received 3 bills -- haven't paid anything 'cause it is set up on an 18-month interest free plan and who knows? Maybe I can hire a furniture mover to pick up the set with its missing door and extra chair, and have it deposited on a Marlo doorstep. PLEASE HELP ME!!
UPDATE:
11/22/05 - I called (and waited.) Talked to Kara (sp?) She was nice she tried. She agreed that I DID need to talk to Iris since the service order merely said that Iris was still working on it. Kara said Iris would be in the next morning and that I should call back, or Kara would call me.
11/23/05 - Kara did NOT call and I was too beaten down to try.
11/24/05 - Thanksgiving! Marlo again advertised the dining set in the paper (as they have done and continue to do. Yet they refuse to intercept another set to take care of me.)
12/08/05 - My company is here. I called (and waited). Talked to Joy. Iris not in. Joy yelled to the Parts section. Kenitra (sp) in the Parts section said she would call the vendor the next day and have the glass door overnighted. (By now, even I knew that Kenitra could not do that!) Kenitra was to call me on my cell phone.
12/09/05 - Would you care to guess whether or not Kenitra called me? Of course she did NOT!
12/14/05 - I actually got a call! From Kathleen, who said she needed to schedule an even exchange on a side chair! Then she said, Hold on, and before I could say anything, she put me on hold. When she finally came back I told her I have the chairs just need to have one arm chair picked up. But it's the glass door I need. Kathleen asked if a technician had been out (as in Manny, back in Sept.) I told her yes, some time ago. Kathleen said, Well, we only got notice of the glass door at that time in Oct.! I pointed out that the broken glass door was on the original technician report in Sept. and that I have a copy.
It is increasingly difficult to make sense out of any conversation with these people. I gathered that the glass door was only ordered on 12/8/05 and that it would take 6 to 8 weeks for it to come! The order is with the new person, Kenitra! Kathleen reluctantly said she would leave a message for Iris to call me tomorrow at work.
12/15/05 - SILENCE! I have to give up until the holidays are over. I can't handle any more stress.
01/30/06 - I called and talked to Kenitra. She said the door was in, but not yet delivered to Marlo. Is supposed to be there Thurs. or Fri. (Feb. 2-3). Since it takes weeks to get a Sat. delivery date, I asked her to set up a date now. There was no opening until Sat., Feb. 25, so she scheduled that date to bring the glass door and pick up the extra chair.
02/25/06 - Sat. The date has come and gone. Have heard absolutely NOTHING from Marlo.
03/05/06 TOTAL SILENCE. NO PHONE CALL -- NO NOTHING!
03/09/06 Sent copies of above SAGA to:
Neil Glickfield, President
Mike McMullin, Manager
Mark Stuart, Manager-Marketing
03/13/06 Received a call from Kenitra. (I was in a store in Memphis.) Hard to hear, but she said the store would call to set up delivery when the door came in.
03/17/06 Received call from Mark Stuart. He had just returned from 2-week leave. He was very nice and said he would check further and call me back on Monday. He did not call.
03/18/06 Received copy of letter to Marlo from City of Alexandria Citizen Assistance Office re my complaint about lack of service and requested settlement.
03/23/06 Received call from Marie in office of Ms. Allison. Had received complaint. Marie agreed that the situation was ridiculous. She said Marlo would arrange to get door from inventory and have technician install. She said she would call me in the afternoon (it was morning I was home because of oral surgery.)
When I got back from surgery, Marie had left message, wanting to know for sure whether it was the right or left door. Marie said she was going on vacation, and that I should call Ms. Allison. I left message for Ms. Allison stating that when facing the china cabinet, the broken door is the one on the right.
04/02/06 Marlo FINALLY replaced the broken glass door (switched with another cabinet in the warehouse, which they should have done 8 months earlier!) And the extra chair was retrieved.
08/17/06 I received a letter from the Better Business Bureau stating that they had written to Marlo twice, but Marlo did not respond. They sent one final letter to Marlo, but I was never contacted by the store. I had asked for a financial adjustment for my trouble, which the BBB thought was reasonable.
09/??/06 I received a message from Marlo that a part I had ordered was in, and they wondered whether I still needed it! This call I did NOT return.
I am appalled that any store is permitted to operate like this. Obviously, I am not the only one with a horror story. The BBB has very few complaints. I can only surmise that most consumers do not bother to report such negligence. And no wonder. It is extremely time-consuming and energy draining to pursue a store like this. If only consumers would get the word out.
Phyllis
Alexandria, Virginia
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Marlo Furniture
