Ashley Furniture Fiasco

What is the name of your state? Arizona

Below is a recent (last week) incident. What are my legal options? What are my rights? What are their rights?


Hi,

We have had a very trying experience with the Ashley Furniture store that's located in Glendale, on Bell Rd. To be brief in this email, we ordered furniture (3 pieces) from this location, and 3 weeks later it was delivered to our house. The sofa was broken, the love seat had tears in the leather, and the recliner was also damaged. I have digital photos of all three pieces. I refused delivery, and they took the furniture back to their warehouse. I tried to contact the Glendale store, and was told the manager would call me back. He didn't. I then proceeded to call Arcadia, Wisconsin (Ashley's corporate headquarters) and spoke with their customer affairs department. They proceeded to tell me that that each store is owned independently, and that I would have to talk with the store directly. I told them that I had tried that route, and didn't have any success. The customer service rep transferred me to her boss, who said that they would contact the store on my behalf. They did. I got a call later that evening from a Mr. Fairchild, who represented himself as the person in charge of the store. He said that they would evaluate the pieces at the warehouse, and give me a call and see if they could be repaired or not. I told him that I would expect a call back the next day, and that I didn't want repaired furniture, I wanted new furniture, because that's what I paid for.
He never called back. The following Wednesday, my 14 year old daughter received a call from Ashley's warehouse saying that our "new" furniture would be delivered on Friday morning.

The "new" furniture was indeed delivered, while I was in my way to work. My wife and daughter noticed that the furniture had someone else's name on the packing materials, and when they brought this furniture into our house, it too was damaged.

While I was on the phone with my daughter finding out how the furniture delivery was going, the delivery people became very hostile towards my wife and daughter, one of them even swore at my daughter, and made her cry (I was still on the phone!). The delivery crew became more hostile towards my wife because she was taking pictures of the furniture to document the damage (even after she told them that she understood that they were only delivering the furniture, and they probably didn't cause the damage), and said many offensive things towards my wife, OUT IN FRONT OF OUR HOUSE WITH 2 OF OUR NEIGHBORS WITNESSING THEIR OUTBURSTS. Both neighbors came over, because they were worried, and didn't know what might happen, and to find out if my daughter was okay.

My wife asked the delivery people to stay at our residence until I could get there, but they crammed the furniture back into the truck, and left in a hurry. After that I called their warehouse only to be promised a call back, which didn't happen.

I proceeded to contact Ashley's corporate headquarters, and finally spoke with someone who understood what customer service is about. He put calls into their warehouse, the owner of the store, the manager of the store, and to the manager of the warehouse. Only after he did this, did I get return phone calls from any of them.

What Ashley's solution at the store level ended up being was to refund our initial deposit on the furniture, and to make my wife sign a piece of paper stating that we can "never shop at Ashley's Furniture again." Only then would they refund us our money. This is truly outrageous, and piss poor customer service.

I would like some type of resolution regarding the incident that occurred at my house, in front of numerous witnesses, I would also like some explanation from them regarding us having to sign a piece of paper stating that "we would never shop at Ashley furniture" before they would give us our money back.

We are very reasonable people who both work in a customer service oriented industry, and we only were asking for what we paid for. Is that too much to ask? At Ashley, apparently it is!

I have the names and phone numbers of all the people I dealt with, both locally and at the corporate level. I have pictures of the damaged furniture (both deliveries), And I also have the piece of paper that they made my wife sign, before she could get her money back! Not to mention the numerous long distance calls to Wisconsin, at my expense.

I await your reply.

[JETX]

"I would like some type of resolution regarding the incident that occurred at my house, in front of numerous witnesses,"
*** Everything you describe as to their conduct is of course, very poor business practices; however, it is not actionable. And though you understandably would like some type of apology, it is unlikely that will occur... and no way to force them to.

"I would also like some explanation from them regarding us having to sign a piece of paper stating that "we would never shop at Ashley furniture" before they would give us our money back."
*** Simply, they chose to lose you as a future customer. That is also within their right.

One thing I find interesting in your post. Unless this "Ashley Furniture' store is a d/b/a of an individual (unlikely), it appears from the state records that it may in fact owned by the corporation in Wisconsin.
[url]http://www.azsos.gov/scripts/TnT_Search_Engine.dll/ZoomAGT?AGENT_ID=356533[/url]

[HomeGuru]

JETX, you're fast and beat me to it.

Jetx and Home Guru,

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my inquiry. I appreciate it.

In your quote:

"One thing I find interesting in your post. Unless this "Ashley Furniture' store is a d/b/a of an individual (unlikely), it appears from the state records that it may in fact owned by the corporation in Wisconsin."

Are you thinking that this is corporate owned? From the better business bureau link here: [URL=http://www.phoenix.bbb.org/commonreport.html?compid=3010392&national=Y]Better Business Bureau-Arizona Ashley Furniture Store, Glendale Arizona[/URL], I think that it's owned by an individual. I could be wrong, since I don't deal with these issues everyday.

In any case, I will file a report with the BBB, and be done with it. Have a great holiday weekend.

Bruce

[HomeGuru]

Good luck Bruce and kick Ashley's ash.

You can write a letter to the Arizona Attorney General Consumer Fraud division-or you can fill out a form on line. The AG will probably respond they will not take action. I know though they are generating a file on this company and once there is enough information they will investigate their business practices. You are not the only one they have done this too.

Good Luck!

Sounds like you got your money back, so what's your beef? They made two attempts to please you, you weren't pleased, you got your money back and cost them two wasted delivery attempts. They lost money, you lost time and your pride. Move on.

You don't like them, they don't like you, sounds like not shopping there again is the perfect answer for avoid future problems.

Ashley sells cheap furniture, it's cheaply made, it's cheaply priced, don't expect too much from it and you'll be happy. If you want quality furniture and quality service you're going to have to shop somewhere else and except to pay for it.

[You Are Guilty]

More importantly, why in the world would you want to shop there again? You have that bad a self-esteem problem? (I'm fairly sure there are other furniture stores in the world who would love your business - why not try one that appreciates its customers?)

Responder, Home Guru, and JetX-

Thanks for the information, but we got new furniture that we're happy with, from another retailer, and I really don't care to waste any more of my time with Ashley. We got the furniture on 7/7/04.

Blameshifting and You are Guilty- Since you didn't read the last line in my post, I'll post it here for you.
"In any case, I will file a report with the BBB, and be done with it."

That means I was satisfied with the answer that I received from the two people who took the time to respond in a timely manner, not three and a half weeks later. At this point, who cares? I had a question. I got an answer. Period.

And with homage to Home Guru and JetX, both of you should 'bone up' on your english skills.

I quote Blameshifting: "If you want quality furniture and quality service you're going to have to shop somewhere else and except to pay for it."

What the hell does that mean?

Quoting Blameshifting, again: You don't like them, they don't like you, sounds like not shopping there again is the perfect answer for avoid future problems.

"For avoid future problems"...You did graduate from school at some point?

Quoting You Are Guilty "You have that bad a self-esteem problem?"

The sentence should actually read "DO you have that bad OF a self-esteem problem?"

You are Guilty and Blameshifting, "He that would live in peace and at ease, must not speak all he knows, nor judge all he sees. - Ben Franklin (1706-1790).

[You Are Guilty]

I am sure the others mentioned in your post will be more than happy to reply to you, so this only goes for me.

Pot, meet kettle. You two will be spending a lot of time together.

Originally Posted by xplantdad

What is the name of your state? Arizona

Below is a recent (last week) incident. What are my legal options? What are my rights? What are their rights?


Hi,

We have had a very trying experience with the Ashley Furniture store that's located in Glendale, on Bell Rd. To be brief in this email,

Whoops, this isn't an email.

Originally Posted by xplantdad

we ordered furniture (3 pieces) from this location, and

Whoops, no comma before "and".

Originally Posted by xplantdad

3 weeks later it was delivered to our house. The sofa was broken, the love seat had tears in the leather, and

Whoops, you did it again.

Originally Posted by xplantdad

the recliner was also damaged. I have digital photos of all three pieces. I refused delivery, and

Whoops, you must really love this one.

Originally Posted by xplantdad

they took the furniture back to their warehouse. I tried to contact the Glendale store, and

Whoops, I can't keep up with all these!

Originally Posted by xplantdad

was told the manager would call me back. He didn't. I then proceeded to call Arcadia, Wisconsin (Ashley's corporate headquarters) and spoke with their customer affairs department. They proceeded to tell me that that each store is owned independently, and

Whoops, this is like what, half a dozen already?

Originally Posted by xplantdad

that I would have to talk with the store directly. I told them that I had tried that route, and

Whoops, just when you thought it was safe to use proper grammar...

Originally Posted by xplantdad

didn't have any success. The customer service rep transferred me to her boss, who said that they would contact the store on my behalf. They did. I got a call later that evening from a Mr. Fairchild, who represented himself as

Technically, "as" should read "to be" but we'll let this one slide.

Originally Posted by xplantdad

the person in charge of the store. He said that they would evaluate the pieces at the warehouse, and

Whoops, not again!

Originally Posted by xplantdad

give me a call and see if they could be repaired or not. I told him that I would expect a call back the next day, and

Whoops, I'm getting tired of saying "whoops".

Originally Posted by xplantdad

that I didn't want repaired furniture, I wanted new furniture, because that's what I paid for.
He never called back. The following Wednesday, my 14 year old daughter received a call from Ashley's warehouse saying that our "new" furniture would be delivered on Friday morning.

The "new" furniture was indeed delivered, while

Whoops, more incorrect comma usage!

Originally Posted by xplantdad

I was in my way to work. My wife and daughter noticed that the furniture had someone else's name on the packing materials, and

Whoops, I really should just assume you'll never get this one right by now...

Originally Posted by xplantdad

when they brought this furniture into our house, it too was damaged.

While I was on the phone with my daughter finding out how the furniture delivery was going, the delivery people became very hostile towards my wife and daughter, one of them even swore at my daughter,

Whoops, improper sentence fragment!

Originally Posted by xplantdad

and

Whoops, we're really rolling with those bad commas now!

Originally Posted by xplantdad

made her cry (I was still on the phone!).

Whoops, nice use of punctuation!

Originally Posted by xplantdad

The delivery crew became more hostile towards my wife because she was taking pictures of the furniture to document the damage (even after she told them that she understood that they were only delivering the furniture, and

Whoops, here we go again...

Originally Posted by xplantdad

they probably didn't cause the damage), and

Whoops, I spoke to soon.

Originally Posted by xplantdad

said many offensive things towards my wife, OUT IN FRONT OF OUR HOUSE WITH 2 OF OUR NEIGHBORS WITNESSING THEIR OUTBURSTS. Both neighbors came over,

Whoops, you and commas just don't get along, huh?

Originally Posted by xplantdad

because they were worried, and

Whoops, guess not.

Originally Posted by xplantdad

didn't know what might happen, and

Whoops, 3 in one sentence, a new record!

Originally Posted by xplantdad

to find out if my daughter was okay.

My wife asked the delivery people to stay at our residence until I could get there, but they crammed the furniture back into the truck, and

Whoops, short paragraph, no chance of screwing three up here.

Originally Posted by xplantdad

left in a hurry. After that I called their warehouse only to be promised a call back, which didn't happen.

I proceeded to contact Ashley's corporate headquarters, and

Whoops, whoops, whoops.

Originally Posted by xplantdad

finally spoke with someone who understood what customer service is about. He put calls into their warehouse, the owner of the store, the manager of the store, and

Whoops. So close on this one, too.

Originally Posted by xplantdad

to the manager of the warehouse. Only after he did this, did

Whoops, screwed it up yet again!

Originally Posted by xplantdad

I get return phone calls from any of them.

What Ashley's solution at the store level ended up being was to refund our initial deposit on the furniture, and

Whoops. Are you getting paid by the comma or what?

Originally Posted by xplantdad

to make my wife sign a piece of paper stating that we can "never shop at Ashley's Furniture again." Only then would they refund us our money. This is truly outrageous, and

Whoops, if you are, I'll pay you to stop.

Originally Posted by xplantdad

piss poor customer service.

I would like some type of resolution regarding the incident that occurred at my house,

Whoops, I'm about "comma'd" out.

Originally Posted by xplantdad

in front of numerous witnesses, I would also like some explanation from them regarding us having to sign a piece of paper stating that "we would never shop at Ashley furniture" before they would give us our money back.

We are very reasonable people who both work in a customer service oriented industry, and

Whoops, clearly you don't work in a proper grammar oriented industry.

Originally Posted by xplantdad

we only were asking for what we paid for. Is that too much to ask? At Ashley, apparently it is!

I have the names and phone numbers of all the people I dealt with, both locally and at the corporate level. I have pictures of the damaged furniture (both deliveries), And

Whoops, not only a bad comma (yet again) but improper capitalization to boot. Nice!

Originally Posted by xplantdad

I also have the piece of paper that they made my wife sign,

Whoops, the final improper comma. Sniff, sniff.

Originally Posted by xplantdad

before she could get her money back! Not to mention the numerous long distance calls to Wisconsin,

Whoops, you sure fooled me with that prior one, sneaking this one in here at the last second.

Originally Posted by xplantdad

at my expense.

I await your reply.

You got our replies. If you don't like them, I'm sure we can offer plenty more new advice to you, starting with your atrocious grammar. Buy a book or something, will you?

You are Guilty should be changed to You Are Ignorant.

Since obviously you didn't read this the last time
Blameshifting and You are Guilty- Since you didn't read the last line in my post, I'll post it here for you.
"In any case, I will file a report with the BBB, and be done with it."

What part of that statement is too hard for you to understand? Why are you wasting your time here? What are you hoping to achieve? If you're attempting to be an _ _ _ hole, you've succeeded.


My, it must be nice to scan this forum and look for three week old posts so that you can offer up your inane and worthless advice. Judging by your replies to other wanting advice, I'm glad that Home Guru and JetX were the ones who replied. Their advice was to the point.

Your advice (yea right) was and continues to be worthless.

Wow, maybe I should quit my job so that I can sit all day in front of a computer and look for three week old posts and give my two cents worth.

That way I can be just like you!

On second thought, nah!

Calmez vous, Monsieur. S'il vous plait. Je ne suis pas en train de vous insulter vous ou vos familes, je vous assure. En conclusion, fermez votre bouche.

Touche!

Au revoir.

Enough said!

"You got our replies. If you don't like them, I'm sure we can offer plenty more new advice to you, starting with your atrocious grammar. Buy a book or something, will you?"

Funny how my atrocious grammar didn't bother the two people who posted responses in a timely manner...me thinks it's you who has a self-esteem problem. Maybe it's penis envy. You can dish it out, but not take it. Why is that?

Worthless advice on numerous occasions:
[url]http://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=184063[/url]
[url]http://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=184919[/url]
[url]http://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=185007[/url]

Notice the lapse in time from the original poster to your wonderful and insightful responses.

You should be proud of yourself.

I want to petition the court to have your forum name changed from You are Guilty to Phallicia. I think that name fits you better.
_________________________________________________________________
Rudeness is a weak man's imitation of strength. - Eric Hoffer (1902-1983)

[You Are Guilty]

Ok, everyone who has a law degree raise your hand. Not so fast xplantdad - GEDs don't count!

And for someone with such a great comprehension of the English language, it's a shame your memory isn't as keen, since you apparently forgot saying this two posts back:

Originally Posted by xdingusdad

And with homage to Home Guru and JetX, both of you should 'bone up' on your english skills.

Telling someone to "bone up" on their English skills (it's capitalized by the way) when you yourself are one atrocious writer, truly takes the irony cake. Moreover, you've managed to highlight your own hypocrisy yet again, because if I have time "to scan this forum and look for three week old posts so that you can offer up your inane and worthless advice", then you must be completely unemployed if you have the time to scan every one of my 200 posts to find the "inane and worthless" ones to whine about. Of course, I see you failed to categorize the other 97% of my replies, I wonder why? Need me to explain them to you?


Tell me, oh Guru of Reply Time, just how long is acceptable to reply to people's questions? More importantly, how long should your particularly vexing and important legal dilemmas be answered (since you clearly deserve beneficial treatment)?

Originally Posted by xrateddad

Maybe it's penis envy.

Yes, it must be. But perhaps, someday, with enough professional help, you will be able to get over that problem.



NB: I can certainly see why you have the problems you do dealing with other people. I wouldn't want you or any other member of your primative family in my store either. I suspect you're a smelly French/Canadian, which would explain all of this.

Good day.

Wow, what an idiot.

And for someone with such a great comprehension of the English language, it's a shame your memory isn't as keen, since you apparently forgot saying this two posts back:
Quote:
Originally Posted by xdingusdad
And with homage to Home Guru and JetX, both of you should 'bone up' on your english skills.

A: I was referring to you, not them. Figure it out! They are considerate and helpful, two qualities that you don't even remotely possess. I should be impressed that you countered with your own phallic reference, though I must point out that it sucks...no pun intended.

Moreover, you've managed to highlight your own hypocrisy yet again, because if I have time "to scan this forum and look for three week old posts so that you can offer up your inane and worthless advice", then you must be completely unemployed if you have the time to scan every one of my 200 posts to find the "inane and worthless" ones to whine about. Of course, I see you failed to categorize the other 97% of my replies, I wonder why? Need me to explain them to you?

A: No, it only took me about a minute and 20 seconds to find your enlightening responses by searching the site with your wonderful forum name. I'm sure if I spent as much time as you do on this board, I could find many more.

Tell me, oh Guru of Reply Time, just how long is acceptable to reply to people's questions? More importantly, how long should your particularly vexing and important legal dilemmas be answered (since you clearly deserve beneficial treatment)?

A: My question was answered 3 weeks before you decided to add your worthless drivel.

Quote:
Originally Posted by xrateddad
Maybe it's penis envy.

Yes, it must be. But perhaps, someday, with enough professional help, you will be able to get over that problem.

A: Wow, I see that you can still dish it out, but not take it. What a comeback.I remember seeing that comeback somewhere else on this forum... Oh wait, didn't you use that in one of your previous posts? Having someone seek professional help.Remember this?

On the bright side, however, you do appear to be an excellent candidate to pay a visit to that "INSTITUTE OF PSYCHIATRY" you work near. Good luck.

Repeating yourself? I guess your memory isn't that good either.

NB: I can certainly see why you have the problems you do dealing with other people. I wouldn't want you or any other member of your primative family in my store either. I suspect you're a smelly French/Canadian, which would explain all of this.

A: First of all, there isn't any reason to involve my family in your rants and rambles. Pure adolescence, but just like you to say something like that. Secondly, it's primitive not primative, ye who professes to be the lord and commander of the english language. Thirdly, if you had read the first line of my original post, you'd see that I live in Arizona. You're a genius, aren't you?

Finally, since you're from New York, they obviously didn't teach any foriegn languages in your school, except English. I must admit, you learned fairly well. You have just got to work on your spelling a bit.

Oh, by the way, the internet is a wonderful place. In fact, they have a website that allows a person to translate from one language to another.
Simply amazing.[URL=http://babelfish.altavista.com/]French to English Translation[/URL]

"Les bâtons et les pierres peuvent casser mes os, mais les mots ne me blesseront jamais"