Buying Furniture: Plan for Disappointment

I moved house a few months ago, and since then have had the pleasure or displeasure of liasing with several Furniture Retailers. Unfortunately for me, and for many others (I assume), it has not been the most pleasant of experiences. In the world of 'mass-producing' goods overseas, buying a new leather sofa, fine oak table or mahogany desk is certainly more affordable than ever before, yet getting that item in to your new home when you want it and how you want it is just too much for any customer to ask for. Sounds funny seeing as the customer is typically 'king', but in the age of cost reduction, cut-throat competition and multi-channel marketing, it's just the way it is.

For one......Furniture Retailers don't practice the basics of retailing anymore (this goes for pretty much all of em'). The idea of a retail store is to have inventory on-hand so that when a customer walks in and chooses to buy something, that the store has the item in stock and the full transaction can occur. Nowadays, the customer typically goes in, chooses what they want, leaves a deposit and pays the balance upon delivery which typically occurs many weeks, if not months, after the original transaction took place. Not very exciting for the customer, but with Retailers stocking less and less inventory as every day passes, it's the new reality. Coupled with not having it in stock, as soon as the retailer gets their shipment from overseas, they then turn around and ship it right out the door because (a) they want to collect the balance of payment ASAP from the end-customer and (b) the customer wants their furniture as of yesterday.

Then... The fun starts. Delivery men marked in uniforms branded to a company that the end-customer has never heard of before show up at the door with the furniture. Because they are 'on-contract', they don't really care if the customer is happy or not with the service and this is an issue because more often than not, the quality of the product when it arrives, is not what the customer was expecting. Why? Because the furniture is mass produced and after it arrives, the rush is on to get it to the customer (in this case; Me) and with vitrually no quality-control inspection in place, the furniture typically arrives scratched, marked-up, stained or ripped. Not exactly the 'customer experience' that most are looking for, but typically it's what 85% of North American consumers go through. Having said that, the customers have the following choices:

1. Keep the Furniture and don't say anything
2. Call the Retailer and advise the it's not right and return it with the driver
3. Call the Retailer and schedule to have the furniture serviced
4. Cancel the Order and demand a refund

No matter what option occurs, the end-customer is ultimately inconvenienced. Having to wait for their goods, deal with the imperfections upon arrival and then work with the retailer to get the goods in tact or get them replaced or returned or having to start over again is just not what they signed up for. As a result, the after-care service has to be top-notch for Retailers of Mass-Produced Furniture along with meeting promised delivery times and having compelling prices. Personally, considering all of the time that I have had to spend visiting stores, returning deliveries, meeting with leather and wood technicians, and waiting for replacement parts, I would have been happier to pay a little more to get something that was in-stock, had been checked and delivered to me within a week of paying for it. Hey, but that's just me.