The letter below outlines the experience I had in dealing with Granite
Furniture. After they received my letter the manager of the store called
me and informed me that the repairs had still not been completed but he
would have them done that day. He asked me if I wanted the drawers
to be delivered or if I wanted to pick them up. Given my luck in dealing
with them, I chose to pick them up myself.
When I arrived there, the manager had left for the day and no one was
at the service desk where I had been told to get the drawers. I found
someone to help me and he didn't know what I was talking about when I told
him they were supposed to be waiting for me. I described what they looked
like but he couldn't find them. I was shocked at their ineptitude. After all of
the hassle I'd gone through, I was still having to deal with their poor
customer service. It took
us about 15 minutes of searching the warehouse in the back
of the store to find the drawers. As I left the store that night, carrying
a drawer under
each arm, I vowed never to return. I had expected some effort on their part
to win back my loyalty, but they still screwed up. They didn't offer
a discount or coupon or make any effort to make up for their horrible service.
Granite Furniture Co.
Attn: Store Manager
(address removed)
January 28, 2002
To whom it may concern,
I purchased a bed and dresser on 12/19/01 in preparation for moving into
my new condo. They were delivered on 12/29/01, while I was home.
When I returned and put the dresser in my bedroom I discovered that
two dresser drawers had some staples that had missed the back panel.
This allowed the bottom panel of the drawer to separate from the back
panel. I returned to Granite Furniture during the 1st week of January to
see what could be done to fix the problem. I was told by a salesman that
all that mattered was my satisfaction so the dresser would be replaced or
fixed, whatever I thought was best. Since it wasn't a serious problem
I decided they could be fixed, so he told me to call Customer Service
to set that up. I was very satisfied with the level of service I had
been given up to that point.
I called Granite Furniture the next day and spoke with a customer service
representative to set up an appointment for the drawers to be fixed.
After explaining the problem, they responded by saying "What?" I
explained the problem again and they told me I would have to repeat
myself again because there had just been an announcement in the store
and they hadn't heard anything I had said. The third time I was able to
get them to understand that I wanted to have my dresser drawers repaired.
There was an opening on 1/10/02 for a technician to assess the problem.
I was told I would have to wait at my home for 4 hours because there
was no way to know when the technician would come. The technician had
an appointment at 12pm that could last any amount of time so he could
arrive anywhere between 12pm and 4pm. I asked for some way to have the
technician call my cell phone when he was on his way, but was told that
they had asked for management to get cell phones for the technicians but
the request had never been granted. I explained that I worked full time
and sitting at home waiting for 4 hours wasn't an acceptable option.
Nothing could be done by the customer service representative and I
was told that I would just have to wait. If I wasn't there when the
technician arrived I would have to reschedule for another time and there
wasn't another opening until the following week.
I decided to try to get to work early that morning so I could have
a little extra time for lunch, hoping I could catch the technician
without having to miss much work. On Thursday, January 10th I waited
for over two hours, only to get a phone call from the technician on his
cell phone saying he was on his way. I had just wasted two hours of my
time for absolutely no reason. When he arrived, he was very pleasant
and professional. I showed him the problem with the drawers and he said
he'd take them into his shop to fix them and call me the following day.
I received no communication from Granite Furniture on Friday, so on
Monday, January 14th, I arrived at work early so I could leave before
5pm in order to talk to the customer service representative in person.
I was told by one of the cashiers that Monday was their day off. I called
Tuesday during lunch, and had to repeat the explanation because they
couldn't hear me again. I have never had a problem with people hearing
me on the phone I was using so the problem was most likely on the other
end, but it was annoying to have to repeat myself. I asked about the
status of my drawers, explaining that a technician had taken them on
Thursday to fix them in his shop. This was how the conversation went:
Employee: "Your name isn't listed for Tuesday"
Me: "No, the technician came last Thursday"
Employee: "Nope, you're not listed today (Tuesday) or last Tuesday."
Me: "No, I said Thursday!"
Employee: "Oh, Thursday, here you are."
I asked about the status of the drawers and they didn't know. They said
that the technicians hadn't been around. One was out sick, another's
truck was in the shop and there was no indication of when I would get
my drawers back. The rest of the conversation continued:
Me: "When do you think they'll they be fixed?"
Employee: "Whenever the tech fixes them"
Me: "Do you have any idea of when that will be?"
Employee: "No"
Me: "Well, how will I know when they're fixed?"
Employee: "I'll pick up the phone and call you"
Me: "Do you have my number?"
Employee: "No, why don't you give it to me"
I gave them my number and have heard nothing about the drawers since
January 15th. If I still had them I would have fixed them by now at my
own expense and the problem would have been solved. Now I'm even worse
off than before as I don't even have the drawers to fix. The job would
have taken about a half hour with the proper tools and there has been a
delay of more than 2 weeks. All I am asking for is to have my drawers
returned to me, even if they aren't fixed. I will fix them myself.
I want you to know however that if this is how customers normally get
treated I will not be buying from Granite Furniture again. In fact, a
friend of mine at work asked me where I bought the furniture for my condo.
I told him I had gone to Granite Furniture explained to him how I have
been treated, recommending he not go there to get his couch.
I am not pleased with this situation, but I realize that nobody is perfect
and sometimes these things happen. I feel it is only fair to alert you
of this situation to give you a chance to resolve it in a timely manner.
I'm sure that you don't want your customers to have to go through the
hassle that I have and would appreciate it if you would make the necessary
changes so that this doesn't occur again.
Sincerely yours,
Daniel Hersam