- Report: #78308
Complaint Review: Value City Furniture - Middletown New Jersey
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Value City Furniture
Hwy. 35. Middletown, 07748 New Jersey, U.S.A.
Phone:
732-671-4500
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Value City Furniture - Crest Furniture Failed to deliver furniture on dates promised lousy salesperson & customer service cocky manager who makes his own refund policies Middletown New Jersey
This complaint is in regard to Value City Furniture & our overall unpleasant experience with them. My story is very long, but I ask anyone who is reading this to please be patient & look this complaint over thoroughly. My husband & I are determined to at the very least spare some people of the same horrific experience that we have been through with this business.
Our story begins on August 17, 2003 when we purchased a bedroom set at Value City Furniture. For starters, our estimated delivery date was scheduled for October 20, 2003, and had been changed at least 6 times due to one piece (a poster headboard) that had not yet reached their store.
There had been a total lack of communication between our salesperson, Richard & myself (on his part) in regard to the status of our order. Each time it had come close to our next sceduled delivery date I had to contact the store to inquire about the delivery. I spoke to a number of employees there, including our salesperson, and got a number of different explainations as to why our headboard hadn't arrived yet. Here are just a few examples:
At first we were told that the headboard arrived at their store damaged & that they had to reorder it. Then they were blaming the delay on Broyhill, and the most ridiculous excuse of all was the manufacturer was behind on their wood carving.
My husband & I tried to cancel the order more than once, because we felt that it was becoming a huge inconvenience. Each time we requested a cancellation, we were assured that we would have all of our furniture on the next scheduled delivery date.
NOTE: In our contract with Value City Furniture it states: "If the merchandise ordered by you is not delivered by the promised delivery date, Value City Furniture must offer you the choice of (1) cancelling your order with a prompt full refund of any payments you have made, or (2) accepting delivery at a specific later date."
In the whole 5 months that this has been going on, Value City Furniture has offered us partial delivery until the headboard arrives in their store (which we declined, because we figured that it would be pointless for us to have half of a bed). They have also given us the option to have the furniture delivered on a later date, but they have NEVER given us the option of cancelling our order.
After 5 months of waiting we finally agreed to have all of the pieces delivered with the exception of the bed. Our delivery date for the dresser & 2 pc. armoire was scheduled for January 8, 2004, and it was agreed between our salesperson & ourselves that the complete bed would be delivered no later than January 15, 2004.
The day before the dresser and armoire were to be delivered, someone from Value City contacted us to confirm delivery & go over our order. It wasn't until then that we found out the headboard wasn't the only piece missing to our bed... The side rails were also not in the store yet... Something that our salesperson failed to let us know after all of these months. After that issue had been discussed, we arranged for the dresser & 2 pc. armoire to be delivered on the next day.
When the furniture arrived the dresser was brought in first. Then the delivery people went back out to the truck, came back in & told us that they didn't have the base to our armoire. They notified the store from our home & pur me on the line with Liz from customer service. She informed me that for some unknown reason our salesperson didn't add that piece of the armoire on the apecial order form when we purchased the furniture. She went on to explain that if we still wanted to order it that it would take an addition 6-8 weeks to come in, because it was a special order item.
I thought that I had been pretty patient up until this point, but I felt that this was the straw that broke the camel's back. I let Liz know all of the details of our unpleasant experience with Value City Furniture. I told her that at this point we would be willing to keep the dresser since it had already been in our home, but would like for the rest of our order to be canceled. She was very sympathetic towards our situation and explained everything to their store manager, Tim, who agreed to cancel the remainder of the order.
After all of that was settled, my husband & I were looking the dresser over, and found that it was damaged in three different areas on the left side. I called Liz back, explained the situation to her & described the damage. She then offered for their service dept. to come to our home & repair it, but I was so livid at this point that I told her we would just prefer if they would send someone over to pick the dresser up, and that we would like a full refund on our deposit. She spoke to Tim again. He agreed to cancel our order & refund our deposit, but said that we would be charged a $300 restocking fee, because the merchandise had been "special order" items.
I then got in touch with Tim & explained to him that we had gone over our contract thoroughly, and it did not mention anything about restocking fees. His argument was that it states on our receipt that there will be no cancellations or refunds on "special order" items, but because of our inconvenience he was willing to refund $700 out of our $1000 deposit. I personally didn't see what one thing had to do with the other. After arguing this fact with him, he got really cocky with me & threatened to take us to court if we refues to either accept the order & wait for it to be delivered, or cancel it & pay the $300.
I told him that was unacceptable, and let him know that I was ready to take the matter to the BBB, Consumer Affairs, etc. to let them know just how unprofessionally things are handled at their store. He didn't even seem to care, and just kept pointing out that there will be no cancellations or refunds on "special order" items & basically telling me that they were doing us a favor by refunding part of our deposit.
Because my husband & I didn't want anymore added stress due to the situation & against our better judgement, we agreed to keep the dresser & pay $800 for it under the conditions that someone from their service dept. come to our home & repair it free of charge, and that Value City Furniture would credit our account for the amount of $200. After explaining this to Tim twice so that he would understand, he agreed. But, after the way that everything else has been handled, we have to wonder if things will be finalized in an appropriate manner.
Since all of this has ocurred I have been informed from quite a few peole that they have also had bad experiences with this business. I have also read numerous horror stories regarding Value City Furniture from all over the states on this website, Most of which are very similar to mine. I only wish that I had accessed all of this information before I made the mistake of going there to shop for furniture. I honestly cannot fathom how this store is able to stay in business.
Margaret
Union Beach, New Jersey
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Value City Furniture
Our story begins on August 17, 2003 when we purchased a bedroom set at Value City Furniture. For starters, our estimated delivery date was scheduled for October 20, 2003, and had been changed at least 6 times due to one piece (a poster headboard) that had not yet reached their store.
There had been a total lack of communication between our salesperson, Richard & myself (on his part) in regard to the status of our order. Each time it had come close to our next sceduled delivery date I had to contact the store to inquire about the delivery. I spoke to a number of employees there, including our salesperson, and got a number of different explainations as to why our headboard hadn't arrived yet. Here are just a few examples:
At first we were told that the headboard arrived at their store damaged & that they had to reorder it. Then they were blaming the delay on Broyhill, and the most ridiculous excuse of all was the manufacturer was behind on their wood carving.
My husband & I tried to cancel the order more than once, because we felt that it was becoming a huge inconvenience. Each time we requested a cancellation, we were assured that we would have all of our furniture on the next scheduled delivery date.
NOTE: In our contract with Value City Furniture it states: "If the merchandise ordered by you is not delivered by the promised delivery date, Value City Furniture must offer you the choice of (1) cancelling your order with a prompt full refund of any payments you have made, or (2) accepting delivery at a specific later date."
In the whole 5 months that this has been going on, Value City Furniture has offered us partial delivery until the headboard arrives in their store (which we declined, because we figured that it would be pointless for us to have half of a bed). They have also given us the option to have the furniture delivered on a later date, but they have NEVER given us the option of cancelling our order.
After 5 months of waiting we finally agreed to have all of the pieces delivered with the exception of the bed. Our delivery date for the dresser & 2 pc. armoire was scheduled for January 8, 2004, and it was agreed between our salesperson & ourselves that the complete bed would be delivered no later than January 15, 2004.
The day before the dresser and armoire were to be delivered, someone from Value City contacted us to confirm delivery & go over our order. It wasn't until then that we found out the headboard wasn't the only piece missing to our bed... The side rails were also not in the store yet... Something that our salesperson failed to let us know after all of these months. After that issue had been discussed, we arranged for the dresser & 2 pc. armoire to be delivered on the next day.
When the furniture arrived the dresser was brought in first. Then the delivery people went back out to the truck, came back in & told us that they didn't have the base to our armoire. They notified the store from our home & pur me on the line with Liz from customer service. She informed me that for some unknown reason our salesperson didn't add that piece of the armoire on the apecial order form when we purchased the furniture. She went on to explain that if we still wanted to order it that it would take an addition 6-8 weeks to come in, because it was a special order item.
I thought that I had been pretty patient up until this point, but I felt that this was the straw that broke the camel's back. I let Liz know all of the details of our unpleasant experience with Value City Furniture. I told her that at this point we would be willing to keep the dresser since it had already been in our home, but would like for the rest of our order to be canceled. She was very sympathetic towards our situation and explained everything to their store manager, Tim, who agreed to cancel the remainder of the order.
After all of that was settled, my husband & I were looking the dresser over, and found that it was damaged in three different areas on the left side. I called Liz back, explained the situation to her & described the damage. She then offered for their service dept. to come to our home & repair it, but I was so livid at this point that I told her we would just prefer if they would send someone over to pick the dresser up, and that we would like a full refund on our deposit. She spoke to Tim again. He agreed to cancel our order & refund our deposit, but said that we would be charged a $300 restocking fee, because the merchandise had been "special order" items.
I then got in touch with Tim & explained to him that we had gone over our contract thoroughly, and it did not mention anything about restocking fees. His argument was that it states on our receipt that there will be no cancellations or refunds on "special order" items, but because of our inconvenience he was willing to refund $700 out of our $1000 deposit. I personally didn't see what one thing had to do with the other. After arguing this fact with him, he got really cocky with me & threatened to take us to court if we refues to either accept the order & wait for it to be delivered, or cancel it & pay the $300.
I told him that was unacceptable, and let him know that I was ready to take the matter to the BBB, Consumer Affairs, etc. to let them know just how unprofessionally things are handled at their store. He didn't even seem to care, and just kept pointing out that there will be no cancellations or refunds on "special order" items & basically telling me that they were doing us a favor by refunding part of our deposit.
Because my husband & I didn't want anymore added stress due to the situation & against our better judgement, we agreed to keep the dresser & pay $800 for it under the conditions that someone from their service dept. come to our home & repair it free of charge, and that Value City Furniture would credit our account for the amount of $200. After explaining this to Tim twice so that he would understand, he agreed. But, after the way that everything else has been handled, we have to wonder if things will be finalized in an appropriate manner.
Since all of this has ocurred I have been informed from quite a few peole that they have also had bad experiences with this business. I have also read numerous horror stories regarding Value City Furniture from all over the states on this website, Most of which are very similar to mine. I only wish that I had accessed all of this information before I made the mistake of going there to shop for furniture. I honestly cannot fathom how this store is able to stay in business.
Margaret
Union Beach, New Jersey
U.S.A.
Click here to read other Rip Off Reports on Value City Furniture
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Kathy
Chicago,Illinois,
U.S.A.
Customers Are The Company
#2Consumer Comment
Mon, February 16, 2004
This comment is especially for Mike in Yorktown, VA. Mike it sounds like you are an employee for Value City Furniture. You seem to know a lot about the company and how the distribution goes. The point is, when you go into a place to make a purchase, whether its furniture, car, clothing, etc, you buy the merchandise because you want or need it at that time. You don't want it 10 years later. I understand a customer should be patient but let's be reasonable. My sales person never told me that there may be a delay in receiving the furniture. He was so happy to make the sale until he forgot to cover details. Yes! I agree the prices at Value City is great, but without customers there would be no sales. Customer Service should be top priority in any business. A Manager should always get involved when there is a problem with an order. The Store Manager should contact the customer and not the customer having to call the store daily. Come on, Nothing Beat's Good Customer Service!!!!
Mike
Yorktown,Virginia,
U.S.A.
Absolutely Ridiculous
#3UPDATE Employee
Sat, February 14, 2004
In response to not only this report but all claims leveled against Value City Furniture, there are a couple of points nobody seems to want to grasp. First and foremost, Value City Furniture is the largest wholesale furniture store in the world. In order to pass on the very savings that brought you into the store in the first place, value city has to use a distribution center approach to storing furniture. This means that you will ocassionally have to wait when certain items become popular because the store cannot afford to warehouse large quantities of items simply because they could become popular. You have to accept the possibility that you are not the only person on earth who has ordered that same merchandise. Also, Value City Furniture gets merchandise from hundreds of different vendors in different countries. This is an extremely hard effort to coordinate. Some situations are out of the stores hands. As far as the salespeople go, I think anxious and excited consumers get caught up in the moment and forget to actually listen to what the salesperson is saying. Value City Furniture's sales associates are paid only in commision and receive payment on orders only when that order is properly picked-up or delivered. It is absolutely counterproductive and of no benefit to the employee to tell you anything other than the truth. So please pay attention when they say "approximate" or "expected" and stop confusing these words with "guaranteed" or "certainty". No one makes up return or refund policies. They are clearly printed on the back of your receipts. If you stop to read them it will say that once you pick up merchandise or have it delivered, returns and refunds are done on a case by case basis solely by the manager. In summary, the furniture buying process can be frustrating at times no matter where you go but "listening" more and "reading the fine print" on occasion can save you alot of hassle.
