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Lots of things can go wrong when you buy furniture. It can arrive broken. You can get the wrong style or model, or the wrong color. Delivery can be delayed. Even though you have already paid, the store can suddenly discover the item is out of stock and unavailable. These problems aren't unique to Furnitureland South but they managed to commit each of these blunders several times in the last few years, judging from our mail.
Interestingly, we've received numerous responses from employees, none of them actually addressing any of the concerns raised by dissatisfied consumers.
Harol of Greensboro NC (09/24/07)
On September 24, the Flexsteel sofa we ordered on June 27 finally arrived (we were told it would take 4-6 weeks). I understand the difficulties of dealing with manufacturers but I believe the length of time on this was a bit excessive. Nevertheless, the furniture arrived in good condition and the delivery men were polite and careful moving and setting up the furniture.
However, an incident arose, the outcome of which insures that we will never again deal with Furnitureland South.
On Friday, my husband made a special trip to the bank for a Cashier's check because we were told by Furnitureland South that they did not take personal checks. I was out of town over the weekend and didn't see where my husband stashed the check. When the delivery call came, I was unable to either find the check or reach my husband at work. After delivering and setting up the sofa, when I explained I was in a panic trying to find the check and/or reach my husband, the delivery man kindly called their customer service department and eventually put me in touch with a woman by the name of Angel or Angela Davis.
I explained the situation to this woman and offered to drive the check to Furnitureland South (about 1/2 drive for me) that day as soon as I could reach my husband and determine its whereabouts. She refused, insisting there were only two choices: 1) I provide a personal check (indicating of course, that the company lied to us initially about a cashier's check, resulting in wasting our time), or the men would have to take the sofa back. I told her I could not write a personal check because we had already purchased a Cashier's check made out to Furnitureland South and I didn't want to have an extra $1500+ check payable to FS.
She refused any solution other than taking the sofa back, which is how I left the conversation with her.
Fortunately, the very nice delivery men waited around another fifteen minutes until I finally reached my husband and found the check. However, for more than a half hour I was stressed out of my mind over this situation. I have lived in Greensboro for over 30 years and dealt with nearly every major company in Gso and High Point and NEVER have I received the treatment I experienced at the hands of Furnitureland South's customer service department.
Joe of Sarasota FL (08/27/07)
June 2006 we visited the showroom and ordered over $65,000 of new furniture for our home in Florida. It was the worst mistake. Item after item was delivered either damaged or wrong. The customer service department is horrible, you speak to a different person each time. They are totally clueless, wrong fabrics, no fabrics, etc. On my final delivery, after numerous negotiations for damage credits, after waiting 6 months for a rug, the rug gets delivered wrong. We decide to keep it for 50% off. Well that was Jan. 07, and still no refund for the difference. Numerous calls to no avail, numerous e mails that get ignored, all the way to the top. Now, they deny any refund is due.
This is one bunch of losers, wouldn't exist one month in the north. I'll get my compensation somehow, buy your furniture from local companies in your area.
Maureen of New Bern MD (07/10/07)
We purchased over $20,000 in furniture. When the first half of the order was delivered, one recliner had a stain on it and a round pedestal table (with leaf)would not open or close properly. Of course, we had to give a money order for the total of the furniture being delivered that day, approximately $14,000. We would not accept delivery of the chair. Customer service did not have a name of anyone in the area that could clean the stain. So the chair went back. Unfortunately, we listened to the drivers' advice, and accepted the table with the promise that customer service would find someone to fix it. The drivers noted on the delivery form glides are defective...pieces of the table do not butt against each other properly, attempted but glides themselves are wrong, will contact customer service, Jamie Payne. A week went by without hearing from customer service about how they will resolve the issue. I called 4 or 5 times, but I could not talk to anyone in Customer Servie. I was told each time to leave a message for Jamie Payne, he was the only one that could resolve it. Finally on June 7, Jamie returned my call and suggested I try a candle or beeswax! The drivers themselves said the glides were defective! They could not fix it. How would candle wax help? I told Jamie that was ridiculous, and that I would not accept delivery of any more furniture until the table was fixed. The first delivery date available was June 29. We were out of town, and so we could not accept that date. The next date was July 7, from 7am-12pm. We accepted that date. Two days later they changed the time to 9am -2pm. I told them we had a wedding out of town and would need to leave by 2:00. I asked if we could be put at the front of the delivery because the last time they delivered furniture, they came 90 minutes after the given time frame, and needed 3 hours to assemble the furniture. I was told no. The next delivery date was between July 13 and 19. I didn't want to wait that long just to have the table picked up. I realized it would be months before I would get the table back. Reluctantly, I accepted the July 7 delivery. Of course, they didn't show up on time. At 2:45, they were still 20 minutes away, and we couldn't wait any longer. I had called during the week and that morning to remind them that we had to leave at 2:00. The drivers said they were never told this. So, I still have a damaged table in my house that cost over $1300 and is now scheduled to be picked up anywhere between July 19 and July 29, two months after it was first delivered. I am tired of dealing with this prioblem, adn I jsut want my money back for the table, and the deposit on the matching chairs and bar stools. I have called Todd Garcia twice, and his supervisor, Joe Gneiser, but they haven't returned my phone calls. I would never do business with this company again.
Alice Coe of Oak Island NC (05/27/07)
My daughter and I drove over 300 miles to buy furniture and was told at the door we couldn't shop at their store unless we had cash or a check. I do not travel with 5000 dollars cash or a checkbook. I do not understand why this business does not take credit or debit cards.
I wasted 4 days of travel, motel and gas expenses to be told we couldn't shop at their business.
Daniel of Durham NC (05/09/07)
My house is nearly full of furniture purchased from Furnitureland South. I couldn't be more trilled with the experience. Owning two businesses myself, I can appreciate minor problems or setback. However, the furniture store always has followed through to quickly resolve any problems to my complete satisfaction. I'm writing this as you state on your website that you have received no letters from satisfied customers. Here's one! Please post it for more balanced content.
Kathy Cash of San Diego CA (04/13/07)
Today in my mail I recieved a letter from an attorney in Los Angeles threatening me to pay a TAX on furniture I purchased 5 years ago(June 27, - July 9, 2002. It appears that Furnitureland South made a billing error and is expecting me to pick up the tab 5 years after the purchase. I never received any notification at all from Furnitureland South and now recieve a NEW billing with a tax due 5 years later!
I am very disturbed to be recieving a threatening letter from an attorney about a matter I was not informed about until 5 years later!!!! I am bothered that FurnitureLand South could not notify me FIVE years ago and that I am now receiving letters from an unknown attorney informing me I have fifteen days from the date of the letter which was March 30.
Jennifer of Aiken SC (02/19/07)
My furniture was delivered at 2:00 a.m. sat. June 25, 2005. It was raining when they delivered and the next May 2006 we moved. When we started to move I noticed placed and marks on the furniture and called immediately. The furniture is Bernhardt and very big and heavy and once it was placed by their movers I never moved it. In the process of my move I could not find the cords to the digital camera and when I did I e-mailed and labeled the pieces that were messed up and sent them to Furnitureland South now they are saying it is to many months and they do not want to do anything, even thought my furniture as states on the warranty card from Bernhardt states for five years the furniture should be free from defects in material and workmanship. They do not want to honor the warranbty and after I sent my picture and complaints I had to e-mail weeks later, they did not call me and now do not want to do anything. They sure got $10,000 dollars you may want to go somewhere else and get what you pay for.
I have furniture that has the top coat peeling off in all different places and have to now try and go to a lot of trouble to get it fixed.
Annette of Surfside Beach SC (01/02/07)
I purchased a Hooker Portraits Dressing Table and was told later the unit had to be sold complete with the stool. I then purchased the stool. The product description of the dressing table as shown on the web site was Butterfly Cream, Eleven Total Drawers. When the unit arrived it only came with the table ( nine drawers) and no mirror or the other two drawers. I have tryed numerous times to have them send me the rest of my order. They now are saying that I will have to pay extra for the mirror and drawers as shown on the web site. I was told at the beginning I had to buy the total product and now they want more money. I call this false advertising. I wanted the product as shown on the web site. Not run arounds and no return of calls even made to his manager Milred Cook. This false advertisement has left me completely speechless that a company can do this to their customers. This issue had still not been resolved and the product was purchased 11/22/2006.
Merri of Gainesville FL (12/10/06)
Below is the letter I mailed to the CEO of Furnitureland South:
The purpose of this letter is to advise you of the many difficulties we encountered with our post-sales consultant, James Lincourt. Your website boasts of Furnitureland Souths legendary customer service, however, we have had the exact opposite experience.
Mr. Lincourt is exceedingly difficult to reach. He does not return phone calls or emails. The issue arose out of a problem with two chairs in the Jensen Jarrah set we purchased. It took me several days to reach Mr. Lincourt. I first tried to reach him via email to no avail. It then took me several attempts to reach him by phone.
This saga does not yet have an ending. He emailed my husband a couple of weeks ago regarding the chairs. My husband emailed him back the next day and then also a week later after he did not receive a response. We still have not heard from Mr. Lincourt.
I understand your post-sales consultants may be busy, therefore, a simple email from Mr. Lincourt acknowledging he received our email would have sufficed. A matter that could have easily been resolved, has turned into a very frustrating experience.
It is my hope that you will be able to resolve this matter appropriately. Even with your fine selection of furnishings, we would be hard pressed to recommend Furnitureland South to friends. We were also planning on purchasing a new dining room set from you in the spring. At this point, we do not have the confidence in your company to place the order.
My time is valuable and I am sure you feel the same. There are many other things I would rather be doing at this moment than writing a letter to you - especially with Christmas only a couple of weeks away.
The matter is still ongoing. The chairs have not been replaced and we cannot reach our post-sales consultant. The attached letter to Mr. Harris is in the mail. I also emailed the letter to Executive VP, Jason Harris.
Richard of Houston TX (10/21/06)
Delivery Problems continually. I never get a complete order or even what they have received that is sitting on their warehouse shelves. Months go by, and the (prepaid) stuff sits there. The drivers tell me there was no more room on the truck. When they finally do a partial delivery, they dump the empty boxes in my front yard and leave. I've waited over 2 months for several items that have been sitting in their warehouse for months... (per their documentation). Unbelievable, as they don't tell you the truth. The drivers try to charge extra money, even when the order is prepaid.. (this has happened on the last 3 deliveries -twice to me, once to an attorney friend). After-sale-service is non existant. I bought a 4 poster bed in july that was in stock. I received a 3 poster bed. Nothing has been done. No new bed, no replacement post. No one cares. I've been overcharged twice, and then dunned by the drivers, when the reality is they owe me a large refund for overpayment. You can't get a credible response. This company has gone bad. It use to be a reputable company. I have spent $25,000 at FLS since July. The only message you get is 'there is no room on the truck'... two months ago; last month: 'there is no more room on the truck'; today's delivery: only partial with the driver telling me 'there was no room on the truck'... so the stuff sits, as they refuse to use a common carrier or other transport. so the customer suffers. and waits, waits, and then is overcharged again and again. This company has some major ethical problems in their accounting/delivery money handeling... and customer service is a joke. Currently, they violate several interstate FTC laws... but no one there cares. You never get truthful information. Should I call the police, or just file with the FTC? Please advise. Thank you.
prepaid furniture never received, even though it sits at FLS. Damaged furniture never replaced. Overpayment never refunded and drivers try to extract extra money... Pretty serious problems at FLS
Larissa of Morrisville NC (10/03/06)
In June 2006, my family relocated to NC. Within 2 weeks, we made a trip to Furnitureland South and were very impressed with the size and options available. Our sales associate soon greeted us with a smile.
Once my husband and I started to shop around, we actually found several pieces of furniture we liked and paged the sales associate to assist with possible purchases. That is where things started to go downhill.
Our salesperson acted very frustrated with my questions and did not seem to want to help me out. He was very rude and condescending. If I did not love the kitchen set as much as I did, I would have left right there! But I did forego any possible additional purchases I was thinking about so I could leave as soon as possible.
Once we paid (IN FULL!) for our kitchen set, we left with the expectations that our furniture would be delivered in no more than 12 weeks from the purchase date. Well, 14 weeks later and we are still using a card table to have breakfast on.
In speaking with customer service on several occasions, we are being told now that we MAY get our furniture by the end of October - I know houses that were built quicker than this!
Although a place like Furnitureland South has a lot of options and it is fun to go and window shop, I would recommend that NO ONE EVER ACTUAL BUY FURNITURE there. There is no sense of customer service or sense of urgency. It is truly a factory operation and the customer is treated as a mere invoice number. I will never wish this horrible and stressful experience on my worst enemy and will most definitely never recommend this place to anyone! I have yet to even receive an apology for the inconvenience I have experienced.
Dianne of Conway SC (07/20/06)
I ordered furniture delivered to my temporary apartment till I moved to my new home. The white Broyhill coffee table has a line of paint extending 23 inches along the length of the table and 13 inches along the width gradually diminishing from 1 and 18 inches thick along the edge. The furnitureland rep asked me to take a picture of the white paint on the white table which I did. Their reply was that they couldn`t see the white paint on the pictures so therefore I was stuck. The
Broyhill representative also sad tough luck. Now i sit in my family room and can see the extra paint along the edge of this five hundred dollar table and their response is Tough luck So much for the much advertised Broyhill company and the wonderful service of Furnitureland South. All I can say is think again before purchasing from this company. Thanks again Broyhill rep for your great concern and Furnitureland for your great customer service, sincerely, an upset customer.
Debra of Hillsboro Beach, FL (06/12/06)
I purchased a vanity sink last January but still have not received it. FLS claims it came in damaged and they wanted me to take it anyway. When I said forget it and please give me back my deposit they said the only way that would happen is to pay a $75 restocking fee. This is the most frustrating company I have every dealt with.
Wilson of Herndon VA (01/10/06)
On July 11, 2005, I ordered dining room sets from FLS. It was charged on FLS credit card. On September 10, the company delivered partial furnitures of the set including dining table with broken column. They promised they will order the parts and will deliver within 10 - 15 days. However, the parts status is still in order condition as of today, 01/10/2006.
11/10/2006, I filed this dipute charge to credit card company, afther another two months investigateion, finally I got the credit back towards this purchase. However, FLS said I still have obligation to take this order since the sales contracts are non-cancelable. I told them this is not cancel and refund issue. That is FLS cannot deliver the products which I paid.
My question is that I signed non-cancelable contract. Since FLS cannot deliver the products, the credit card company issue the credit to me but FLS is not willing to close this account. They insist on letting me to take this order regardless how long it will take. I think this is not fair business.
Leonardo Hernandez of Elizabeth NJ (11/08/05)
I ordered $15,000 worth of living room furniture.
Waited 5 months. Out of seven pieces ordered 5 had to be reurted broken legs, stains, seams placed incorrectly on furniture. Still waiting for repairs and or replacements. Pillows included in purchase have not been delivered
Liz of Cape Coral FL (09/24/05)
WE purchased over $20,000 in furniture from FurnitureLand South in March, 2005. Among the pieces was a Superior Furniture fireplace priced at $1600 which was delivered April 27, 2005. By June, however, the top of the piece was pulling apart, so I contacted the Customer Service person, Donna Hill, who asked for pictures of the damage. They were sent, and she acknowledged receipt and said the fireplace would be replaced. Several times in the following months we had to contact her to follow through with the manufacturer, and finally on July 28, 2005, she said it would arrive at Furnitureland South within 10 days. She would then contact us for delivery scheduling. Several calls from us to her followed until Aug. 20, when she said it was finally shipping to NC next week and that she would call me back in a couple of days to schedule delivery. That is the last we have heard from her.
On Sept. 8, I called Walter Wilson, supposedly the supervisor, and was told he would get it resolved right away. That was the last we have heard from him.
I warn all my friends,new neighbors, and anyone who will listen about the company. Since we are among the recently retired baby boomers who are building new homes and furnishing them, we have a number of contacts who are very interested in who NOT to trust. While the prices appeared to be less expensive on the pieces we purchased, the quality is very poor for the prices we paid. I will shop at home from here on, where I can see the sales person face to face, and where local laws better protect me.
Anne-Marie of Bilixo MS (08/12/05)
I purchased some off the floor items at Furnitureland south. 8/1/05 I was told I would recieve the merchandise in about 30 days. I thought this was quite long for floor items, but I went along with it. I expressed to them I needed by 8/27 --four full weeks-- again the salesman Steve Jacks said it would not be a problem. I've tried to track my furniture with their website. However the information is not accurate. I have sent emails and left messages for Karen Walker with no response. I was told by someone named Betty that the truck for MS had left on the 8th and furniture didn't make it. The next delivery truck won't be until October!!!! Two months for off the floor furniture? I hope someone at Furnitureland south reads this posting.
Michael of San Juan Capistrano CA (06/13/05)
In 2002 I ordered $7000.00 of furniture. All pieces arrived on time. One piece was damaged. Driver stated it would take tow weeks to repair and ship.
A 2nd replacement was scheduled to be shipped when it was discovered damaged. A third replacement was damaged, later. Finally they chose to no longer repair the damage but to order a new dining room table.
They informed me that the warranty was for one year from the date of the origicanl shipment! I complained that it ought to be from final arrival. I was instructed to speak with their attorney. His response....you should have read the contract you signed.
Every time I called I was instructed to speak with a different person. I was never able to touch base with the salesperson.
Over six months had past before I finally received the dining room table.
Kay of Austine TX (05/25/05)
Since I could not determine from your site how to submit a positive message about a satisfactory resolution of a problem with leather furniture that we ordered from Furnitureland South, I am using this forum to do so.
On April 9, we received delivery of a number of products that we had ordered from Furnitureland South. Our dealings with the sales representative were very positive and had been so with a previous order which was delivered in prime condition. However, a more recent order, delivered on April 9, 2005, included some defective leather furniture which we did not accept. We communicated our dissatisfaction to our sales representative and to the customer service department. We clarified the balance on our account with an accounts receivable representative. We also communicated with Vice President Harris. I must say that all FLS employees with whom we dealt were courteous, professional, and concerned.
The outcome, communicated to us on May 25, was very satisfactory. Although some patience was required to allow time for checking and analysis of the problem, we are most pleased with the way company conducted itself in resolving the issue.
I would not be uncomfortable about ordering from Furnitureland South again. I hope that you will post this positive message on your site. I notice that previous complaints are dated, and I think it would be fair to share positive, current news.
Francis of Kennett Square PA (03/18/05)
I complained about the replacement of damaged furniture with repaired furniture rather new furniture. I wrote a long letter to Mr Darrell Harris, the president, regarding my problem. I will not rewrite the letter for this complaint, but a copy can be made available if so desired. In the letter I not only expressed my dissatisfaction with the lack of Customer Service and their unwillingness to address my problem, but I pointed out that I had been a customer for over 10 years having purchased about $100,000 worth of furniture. I have not only not received a response but have not only even received a acknowledgement of the reception of my complaint. I stated that if my complainmt was not addressed I would never deal with Furnitureland South again. It seems that they don't give a damn about a customer as loyal and who has bought as much furniture as I have. This is the same attitude that the automobile companies took in the fifties and sixties that led to the Japanese automakers taking 1/3 of their market.
Matthew of Delray Beach FL (02/04/05)
We purchased a new home in 2001. Our home is 4,700sq feet. My wife spent over a week in NC picked out furniture gave the deposit. We are still trying to complete this order.
The furniture keeps coming to our home damaged. The sales person can't be bothered (Mrs. Green). I left two message with Mr. Harris a few months ago still have not heard from him. A quote from Mr. Harris at ConsumerAffairs.com 12/13/03 We are a family own business & we are a great company & we focused on servicing our customers. I am still waiting for your call or someone from the Excitative office.
One of the pieces we ordered was a table set. The first time it came to our home the table top was chipped in many areas. They replaced the table three (3) times & the chairs a few times. They finally agreed to give us a credit & pick out a new table set. Again the sales person can't be bothered with one item order. So we found a set we liked at a local store, Call Mrs. Green to order the new table set. My wife left a few message before she would return the call. This set came in damaged. I wish this was a lie. The top of the table & one of the chairs was dented & chipped. They replaced the table top. Looks great. But the chair is damaged. When they picked up thetable top they said FurniturelandSouth would repair the new chair. They delivered the chair &it had more dents & chips then before.
Fred of Pensacola FL (01/27/05)
In November, we ordered a dining room table and 4 chairs from Furniturelandsouth. They were manufactured by Nichols & Stone.
When the furniture arrived several weeks later, all four of the chairs had seriouc defects. On one, the seat had never been attached and it fell out. On one, the legs had not been glued and they separated. One had a deep gouge and one had several paint scratches. These were major defects. They had certainly not been inspected.
We sent all four of them back for what we thought would be replacement. The chairs were repaired and shipped again at the end of January. Three were ok. One had been patched on the back, by filling in deep dents and painting over them. It looked like a child had done the work. It was rough and needed to be re-done. The black paint overspray was all over the natural wood seat.
I did not want to send it back and wait another 5 or 6 weeks. I asked Furnitureland south's customer service (?) representative to discount the bill and let me have repairs made locally. NO WAY. They suggested I pay the full price, have it fixed and send them the bill. If they felt the bill was reasonable, they would reimburse me.
Geri of Oakville CT (10/26/04)
In May of this year I purchased a VCR/CD storage cabinet and a double wide curio cabinet for my dining room from Furnitureland South. At the time of purchase, the saleperson was quite nice and helpful (naturally). I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly my items were delivered. However, the curio cabinent came damaged. So obviously damaged, that it should have never left NC! We sent it back. The driver/delivery men seemed annoyed for some reason. They proceeded to leave their garbage on our front lawn, which no other delivery people had done. (I had purchased an enormous amount of items from another vendor in NC at the sametime and had absolutely no issues at all! Too bad I did not just stay with them!) Anyway, it is now, the last week of October and I am still getting the run around from customer service that the part is not in, they do not know when it will be in, I can not cancel my order, etc, etc, etc. I am so disgusted with this particular company that I hope they find themselves continuing to lose business on a daily basis!
It is just so frustrating to have a piece of furniture that they could have just shipped a replacement by this point to me, and everyone could have been happy. They could be paid by now, I can have all of my pieces and my attitude might not be so poor towards Furnitureland South!
Carolyn Sabatino of Parkersburg WV (10/16/04)
On Feb. 24, 2004 we visited FLS to select a new sofa. Our Service Rep. was very nice and seemed very eager for our business. We placed the order on Feb. 28, by phone. The fabric order was placed on April 5. We made three trips( 6 hours each way)to the store, at least 17 phone calls (I started keeping a log), nearly all of which were NEVER returned, and 31 weeks later we requested our deposit back. Throughout the summer whenever we called we were repeatedly told it was in production and we should receive it in 6 weeks. We never received a call from our rep to apologize about the delay. Follow-up and customer service are NOT a part of their philosophy. I would never order another piece of furniture from FLS nor would I recommend the store to others. What a frustrating experience.
The consequence is that our living room renovation will not be completed in time and all the other fabrics, drapes, reupholstery etc. were selected to compliment the sofa. Now I must try to find another sofa and fabric that will blend into the new room scheme.
Charles of Arnold MD (07/06/04)
My wife and i drove to North Carolina from Maryland, around the first week of DEcember 2002 to purchase a new sofa I have purchased furniture before in North Carolina and was very happy with the service and the priced that I had paid. I have made that purchase at Boyle's, which is across the street from Furnitureland South. On this trip down my wife and I decided to try FLS, big mistake. We did order a leather Natuzzi sleeper sofa and left a deposit. The sofa arrived April 17, 2003. The sofa broke about the last week of December 2003, I called FLS and spoke to Jaye Bly. She informed me to contact a locl repair shop and I would be reimbursed from FLS. After contacting several repair companies, none of them would work on leather or any products from FLS even a company that FLS recommended. I called Jaye and she told me that I wanted I could have the sofa repaired at their repair shop, If I had been offerd this option to began with I would gladly accepted, since the sofa was covered by a warranty. FLS came and picked up the sofa about January 14,2004. It is now July 6,2004 and I received a phone message at home that part that they where waiting for was the wrong part! I have called and given my work, home and mobile number they decided to call home and dodge the confrontation from me, knowing that in the middle of the day that i was a work. I really don't think they have done anything to fix this sofa. If they wanted they could taken a piece of a floor model anf replace it with the part that is supposed to be coming. I even requested some kind of compensation, reminder they never offerd, I got a coupon for 200.00 off my next purchase, it expires in 6 months. They now have my sofa and full payment, I wished that I would have gone back to Boyle's.
Mahendra of West Windsor NJ (10/02/03)
We purchased Broyhill Dining Room and Pulaski Bedroom Furniture. Both furniture came darker color then we show in Showroom. The china closet door does'nt close properly, table has few holes that were hidden becasue of darker shade of colors, the chair is not the same as we show in showroom. The bedroom furniture - drawer is such a poor quality that hinges is resting on piece of cheap wood. 2 of hinges cames off when we open the drawer.The reason for darker color is to hide all defects.
We complain to Gayle Williams, Max Knoots, Kevin Williams and salesman Richard Pope. We also sent lot of pictures to shows them the color and defects. There is no response from them. If we dont't get response in few days then we plan to take legal action. We spent almost $11,000 on furniture.
Jill of Apex NC (09/05/03)
To begin the story, my husband and I picked a bedroom floor sample, waited one hour for them to return to say that it had been sold, but could get us one in stock. It would be delivered in 3 weeks(okay, fine) Four, Five, Six, Nine weeks go by and our bedroom furniture is finally delivered. Upon delivery they sent 2 little guys to handle some very bulky furniture which they could not handle. The guys broke a little ceramic monkey of mine not moving the furniture in but tripped and fell on my furniture. At this point the guy became a little disturbed, as I was very disturbed already because we were actually helping them move the furniture in and they had asked us to go and get neighbors to help to them. He became very rude with us and we finally just asked them to unload the furniture off the truck and we would talk with Furnitureland South later. We basically had to ask him to leave. I told them I had never heard of such a thing in my life. That this was the most unprofessional and the most ridiculous thing I had heard of or dealt with. So after talking to customer service at Furnitureland South, she said they would send another crew the next week to move the furniture from the garage. We have not heard and no one will return my calls since then. I have bought furniture from many places in the last few weeks and have not dealt with such unprofessionalism in my life. And after all that they left there trash from the furniture in our front yard, no other furniture company has ever done that.
Our furniture is still in the garage, and I am very very upset.
Kathleen Bray of Bishop GA (07/14/03)
We purchased $16,000.00 worth of furnishings from them in May of 2003. When delivery time came around all of a sudden three chairs were much higher in price than our signed contract price. Furnitureland South says that if we don't pay the higher price we will loose our deposit! They never contacted us (they say they emailed us but it was never recieved). If they had contacted us I would have cancelled the order because 2 of the chairs were about $300.00 higher than the price we contracted for! I am outraged! They are trying to extort money from us!
We are devastated and don't really know how to proceed. No higher-ups will return our calls. We are out the money because we will not give in to extortion.
Andrea of Pittsburgh PA (06/26/03)
I wish I would have found this site sooner. I had ordered a dinning table and 4 cameo back chairs from Furnitureland South about 2 years ago. When the chairs arrived one was damaged and taken back to the company. After further inspection, I noticed that 2 other chairs had gapping seams. After contacting my sales representative, I sent in pictures of the chairs and was told that they would be replaced. I thought- how easy. After waiting another 4 months, 3 new chairs arrived -not one of them matched in wood color. I once again contacted the company and was given a customer service person who never answered her phone and never returned my calls. On several occassions I asked to speak with a manager who then would refer me to the Customer service representative. This company is very good at avoiding responsibility.
On three separate occassions, after several ill fated deliveries, I was told that Furnitureland South inspected their furniture completely and would color match all chairs and send me 4 new ones. They would even go the extra mile and have a furniture repair person match the chairs. Once again when my four new hairs arrived only 2 matched and one of the chairs was the original from my home. If the company truly inspected their pieces, I would not have had 3 delivery attempts and 4 mismatched chairs each time.
In the meantime, I was told the furniture company I ordered from changed their design and my original chairs were no longer available. I was told to keep the chairs or replace the entire set. Out of pure frustration and 1 and 1/2 years of not having my furniture - I accepted my losses and kept the chairs.
When I made my last contact with the FLS, I told them I would never order another item with them. Their reponse -That's your choice ma'am.
I found that FSL does not truely care about their customers nor their service. I would not recommed purchasing a single thing from them.
I spent over $2000 on a kitchen table and chairs that are not in the original condition they should have been in.
Steve of Durham NC (04/30/03)
My wife and I bought $7,000 of furniture the first week of Jan. 2003 and paid 2/3 of the price in advance. We were told the wall unit would arrive in two weeks, the two leather rocker-recliners in four weeks, and the sofa and love seat in 3-6 months.
After two weeks we got a call that the wall unit we ordered had been discontinued and we needed to pick out something else. I live 1 1/2 hours from the store. They said no problem, they would send me brochures. It took me and my wife 3 trips to pick out our furniture, and there was no way we could pick out something in a brochure. They sent the brochure anyway, and it was nothing like the unit we had picked out. We cancelled the order on the wall unit and got a refund. 6 weeks past and the recliners had not arrived. we called. they said two more weeks. we called after two weeks. they said two more weeks. finally , they arrived the first week in April,2003 3 months after the purchase date and more than two months late. they weren't what we ordered but we decided to keep them since they were close and we didn't want to waited three more months to get replacements. three months have passed, so we called about the sofa and love seat after we got an email saying it had arrived and someone would contact me shortly. two weeks went by. I called and asked when there were going to be shipped. I was informed they had not become ready until last week. It seems like available and ready mean entirely two different things at FLS. I asked why didn't i get a call like the e-mail said since the furniture had been ready for over a week now. They said they were running behind, and perhaps they were busy calling people who had been waiting longer than us! These people just plain lie about shipments and delivery dates.
Charlie of Hertford NC (10/13/01)
In August 1999, furniture we ordered was delivered and everything was fine with the exception of 1 bar stool. We had ordered 3 stools; two matched, however, the 3rd did not. I followed all instructions to correct the problem by sending a photo of the stool and it was obvious in the photl that it did not match the others. We did not hear anything, so I called several times. We finally did receive another stool, however, it did not match either. The last time I called, I was told the company would send a brochure on similar stools since the original stool was no longer available. I never received the brochure or a call back. I would still like to have 3 bar stools that match since they are all for use together. The person I spoke to said that the original person whol handled the complaint was no longer in that department and she would take care of the problem.
Donald Traut of Batavia IL (08/06/01)
We signed a contract for purchase of furniture of which only a part of the furniture has been delivered to date. The accounting department at Furnitureland is incompetent. They have created to one bogus contract in addition to the one we signed, applied monies paid for the right account to another account and have showed up trying to delivery furniture worth $5,000 and demanding payment in the amount of $16,000. We have called at least 60 times and have kept getting busy signals. No one takes responsible for the account. The sales person just pays lip service to the whole situation. Furnitureland has set up delivery and cancelled delivery of the same furniture 4 times and is in the process of making it 5 times.
We should have had one set of furniture in mid June and still have not received it. Another set was due three weeks ago (the set was actually in our driveway and we would not pay the $16,000).
Donna of Middletown PA (02/18/01)
In October 2000, I ordered an L shaped desk and return from Furnitureland South on site. Because we were not sure that the desk would fit through our office door, I asked the sales person (Andy Gragg) to hold the order until we returned home and could verify the door measurements. Upon doing that, both Mr. Gragg and I were uncertain as to whether or not the desk would fit through the door. Mr. Gragg called the manufacturer of the desk with our measurements and he was assured that the desk would fit. Upon delivery on January 26, 2001, the desk was unable to fit through the door without unassembling it (which would invalidate the manufacturer's warranty). Unsure as to how to proceed, the delivery person called a sales manager at Furnitureland to inquire as to what our options were. I was told via phone that we could refuse acceptance of the desk and return. Further, I was told that if we would order a replacement desk we would not be financially penalized. If we choose not to order another desk, worst case senario would be that we would lose 20% restocking fee. My husband and I have called Mr. Gragg (sales associate)and Mr. Garcia (Sales Manager) a total of eleven times trying to reach resolution on this issue and have been basically ignored. I spoke with Mr. Garcia and Mr. Gragg once each both times they told me that they had to check with their manager as to what to do. They promised to call me back and have not done so. Because the order was paid in full via certified cashier's check, we find ourselves without bargaining power in this situation.
We paid approximately $1700 in full for the desk and return that we refused delivery.
Denise Vorbach of Spencerport NY (01/30/01)
Around Nov.15, we received a truckload of merchandise from Furnitureland South. One table did not fit and we were told we could return it for strore credit. Mid-December, I called with a new order and was told to fax it. On Jan. 11 I did and was told they would not take it back. Nothing in the literature, website, or salespersons offer ever mentioned a deadline. The table was covered and unused in a corner of my living room. I also had been willing to order three times the cost of the table to make up for the trip back to my house.
I am stuck with a $350 table that I cant use. If I had been told I had 2 weeks to return it I certainly would have. Since this was the third room I have outfitted from this company and thousands of dollars later, I would think that time was not such an issue. I was told it was management policy. Why is this policy not mentioned?
Tressie Kennedy of Willingboro NJ (08/27/00)
On July 9, 1999, my husband and I purchased furniture from Furnitureland South Inc. When the furniture was delivered, it was not what we ordered. Five of the pillows were incorrectly covered in the wrong fabric. I have asked Mr. Tony Collins, sales person, and his manager Mr. Mike Riley to correct this problem but they have refused to cooperate. On August 22, 2000 I received a letter from Mike Riley, Sales Manager, he stated that the company would be willing to pay for half of the cost of covering the pillows . I believe should not pay for half of the pillows if I have already payed for the orginally ordered.
I am thoroughly dissatified with the unprofessional service I receive from furnitureland South. I spent more than $80.00 making calls to Furnitureland South's sales personnel and management trying to resolve this problem. My husband and I have saved for many years to purchane new furture. This situation has cost my family great emotional heart ache and pain. we spend $3225.000 at a company we believed would be honest. This kind of service is fraudulent and I will persude this matter to the full extent of the law.
Some customers were unlucky enough to have almost everything go wrong with their, like Michael of Shrewsbury, MA (5/22/01):
Please see my letter to the company below. It is now over one year and I still don't have my piece of furniture.
March 20, 2001
Mr. Varell Harris President
Furniture Land South
5635 Riverdale Dr.
Jamestown, North Carolina 27282-1550
Dear Mr. Harris:
Please allow this letter to express my great frustration and disappointment with Furniture Land South. Although I am taking the time to write this letter (the first complaint I have ever written to a corporation), I expect, based on my experience with your company thus far, that this letter will either be ignored or receive a cursory response.
My wife and I visited your showroom in April 2000 and were serviced by your salesman Dennis Oldham. We were furnishing our entire house and left a list of approximately 15 pieces of furniture for which we were interested in receiving specifications and pictures. As Mr. Oldham was involved with another customer upon our departure from the showroom, we left our list with reception who promised to give the list to Mr. Oldham. We still have no idea what may have happened to that list, we certainly never received the information that was promised.
Despite not receiving the information, we were able to get pictures of some kitchen furniture from a local dealer here in Massachusetts. Because of our positive experience (and large savings) with two other N.C. vendors, we decided to order the Nichols and Stone furniture from North Carolina. Because of our inability to get information from Furniture Land South, we decided to try other vendors in your area first, but found that FLS was the only vendor whom we could locate that carried that particular manufacturer.
When I called to place the order with Dennis Oldham, I left three messages during a three week period and still did not receive a return telephone call -- and this despite being explicit in my messages that we were ready to purchase furniture. After three weeks of not receiving a return call, I finally called and left a message for Mr. Oldham's supervisor, asking the supervisor to call. We never received a response from the supervisor but finally, after a month, received a return call from Mr. Oldham. We were not provided with any reason why we never received a reply to our repeated calls, although Mr. Oldham did seem annoyed that we had contacted his supervisor.
My wife and I placed an order in June of 2000 for three pieces of furniture totaling about $3000.00. And then we waited. We waited for about seven months. During this period we were told by FLS that the furniture was hand made and therefore would take some time. We have no problem with the amount of time it took to deliver the furniture provided that the delay was due to the manufacturer. However, when I called FLS shipping in November 2000, I was told that two of the three pieces had arrived from the manufacturer and were being held until the third piece arrived. I inquired as to when that was expected and was then told that according to your records, the third piece actually had arrived but could not be located. I asked when the piece could be located and had the feeling that if I hadn't called to check on the delivery that no one would have actually put the delivery and misplacement of the other piece together. I was told that someone would look for the piece and call me back. I never received a return call.
Instead, I called about a week later and was told that the piece had been found and that someone from shipping would call to set up delivery. This seemed fine, and I expressed my understanding that in a large operation such as yours, sometime things get misplaced or don't connect. However, I still wonder how long the furniture would have sat in FLS's warehouse and how much longer it would have been there had I not been diligent in my attempts to receive delivery.
Finally, the furniture was delivered (I believe it was sometime in December). This is where our real problems with FLS began. One of the pieces that was delivered was seriously damaged in that the casings were cracked and one of the doors was off its hinges and the hinges were bent. In addition, the piece was delivered without the proper glass (it was ordered with "straw" glass and arrived with plain glass). Interestingly, the piece that was delivered damaged also happened to have been the same one that we were told had been lost in the warehouse. We still wonder today whether this was in fact our piece of furniture or whether another piece was substituted for it at the last minute - perhaps a "second" or piece that had been returned by another customer? We were assured by FLS that this is not the case, although have never been presented with original documentation for this piece of furniture.
Finally, we were told that the piece would be taken back to FLS and repaired and would probably be re-delivered in about two weeks (this according to the FLS driver). Although we have serious issues with FLS's policy that a refurbished piece of furniture, damaged due to the negligence of FLS, should be repaired and billed at new furniture prices, we recognize that we agreed to this policy when we ordered and must now accept the policy. It is now more than three months later and we still do not have the repaired piece of furniture.
I have called your customer service repeatedly and received either no information or no return telephone call. Each time I call I am forced to deal with a different person who tells me that they need to "investigate" the situation. FLS actually tried a few weeks ago to schedule delivery. I asked whether the proper glass had been put into the piece - no one could tell us. FLS called three different times to try to schedule delivery. Each time, we refused to take delivery until someone could tell us whether the order was correct. Finally, on the third attempt, we were told by someone named Chrysal (the only FLS employee who was somewhat helpful) that "no" the furniture still did not have the right glass. We asked when and why despite explicit instruction, the glass still was not right. No one could tell us.
I was again transferred to customer service. The person in customer service was condescending and unhelpful. I told him that no one ever returns our calls. About an hour later he left a message on our answering machine to tell us that he had researched the complaint and that he had discovered that the piece only comes with "straw" glass so he wasn't sure how it could have plain glass in our piece. Of course, had he bothered to look in the catalogue, he would have seen that this was not true. He also made it a point to state, in a very condescending tone, that "please notice that we did return your telephone call." Of course, that was a week ago, and we haven't heard anything since. I have since left yet another message with yet another customer service rep. on Saturday. Today is Wednesday and I haven't received a return call yet.
I want to let you know that I also work in an industry focused on customer service. I frequently read and address customer complaints. I am convinced that half of what I read is exaggerated and/or false. However, I can tell you that even if half of what is written here is exaggerated or false, which I assure you it is not, your company has some serious, serious problems. The fact that we have taken the time to write this detailed letter should say something to you.
We frankly don't care whether you address your company's problems or not, we just want you to correct our situation. We have been frustrated and our concerns have been ignored. We will most certainly never purchase anything from your company again. Our intention, had we had a good experience was to purchase numerous pieces from you.
During the past ten months, we have gone ahead (while waiting for our FLS order) and placed orders from several other N.C. vendors which total in the tens of thousands of dollars. This would have been your business had your organization been even remotely competent. We look forward to hearing from you or an authorized representative of your company who has authority to right this situation within the next 10 business days. If we do not receive an appropriate response within that time, we intend to take whatever other steps may be available to us, including delivering a copy of this letter to the Better Business Bureau and state Attorney General's office for action.
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