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La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries

La-Z-Boy
• Sales Practices
• "Lifetime Guarantee"
• Wrong Model
• Delivery Delays
• Sofa Problems
• Graphite Stains

For many consumers, the recliner is the best place to spend the evening. If you're among them, heed the advice of the La-Z-Boy customers we've heard from:

• be sure you understand the terms of the warranty;
• be very clear about what model you are buying; make sure the model is correctly specified on the invoice;
• be sure the anticipated delivery date is specified on the invoice;
• be certain the specifications of the model you're ordering are the same as the floor model you see in the store; and
• pay with a credit card. If the item doesn't arrive on time, or if it's the wrong model, you can dispute the charge through your credit card company. If you pay cash or write a check, you have very little leverage.

Keep copies of everything and if things go wrong and the store refuses to make it right, don't hesitate to go to Small Claims Court. It's your best hope of getting matters straightened out.

A last word of advice: Don't get too la-z. Whatever your age or physical condition, it's important to get up and move the carcass around every few hours.

Here are a couple of the most recent complaints:

Debra of Bayonne NJ (12/17/08)
My elderly parents bought a sectional and lounge chair from Lay z boy; both were defective. Instead of stating their lounges are not built to be swivels they charge an extra fee for the service then the chair is useless. The swivel was not placed properly so anyone attempting to sit in it winds up on the floor, including the delivery man! This happened to my handicapped father and anyone who attempted to use it. The area manager claimed my folks needed to return to the store to LEARN how to use a lounge chair! Then the two lounges of the sectional would not open and don't till this day.

The owner and tech suggest my folks purchase 'lifts' for the furniture. This would make the furniture too high cutting off the circulation to the legs of people with severe arthritis! Then a week or so later the lounge chairs had a sink hole and the technician claimed it was normal, but he would...let them know. Nothing has been done to date (several months later) this causes excruciating pain for those with spinal arthritis.

It seems about time for a class action law suit against Lay z boy for selling inferior merchandise which is represented otherwise in their showrooms. They also claim all their furniture is quaranteed for LIFE! and will be repaired should any damage happen. This has yet to happen!

Due to my father's fall out of the lounge chair his walking ability has diminished. Preventing him from getting around. My mother suffers terribly whenever she wants to watch television due to the hole she sinks into every time she sit in the chair. When the sectional loung was open I cut my leg on the metal mechanism just by passing! The metal is so thin...

R. of Burlington, ON December 9, 2008

R. of Burlington ON (12/09/08)
I was so excited that I had finally purchased furniture that was of excellent quality and would look beautiful for years. Then it was delivered. The delivery men rammed the chair (with wooden arms) through the front door scratching the paint on the wall as well as destroying the wooden arms on the chair. I called immediately and they had someone come out to look at the problem. He said the arms would have to be replaced. I also pointed out the wear that showed on the seat of the chair after just one week. He said he would note it on his form and that he would return with new arms. He suggested that I call the company to tell them abut the fabric on the seat.

When I called Erin informed me that some of the fabrics they sell loose some fibre after being used and that they would have the serviceman who replaced the arms on the chair also shave the seat - that would solve the problem! The service man has come and gone and he only replaced the arms, saying he did not shave furniture. So I called the store again and this time Erin informed me that they do not shave furnite for free and it would cost 55 to have someone come out to do it for me. My point is: This is a minor problem, I know! But, they are selling fabric that is faulty! My chair looks awful -and I was guaranteed it would look like new for 5 years. It didn't look like new for 1 week! I am a very disgrunted customer - and won't shop there ever again... nor will my friends and family!

Dominick of Edison, NJ December 8, 2008

Dominick of Edison NJ (12/08/08)
We purchased a sofa at the Springfield store, which has now closed. Delivery was was arranged by the store at a fee to us of 89. The two men who delivered the sofa broke a leg of the sofa and tried to hide it from us. They left quickly. We noticed after they left that the sofa was leaning down on the broken leg.

The sofa is on three legs. We contacted the repair service today and were told that it would take two weeks to make replacements. This hardship on our days before and possibly during the Christmas Holidays, are unbelievable. We realize the sofa was as is, but there was no problem with the leg in the store when we purchased it. Please contact us to assist us in resolving a problem that was not ours but the LA Z Boy Shipping Arrangement. Can you help to speed up the repair? We paid for shipping and it caused us distress. How can we have company in our house and tell them they cannot sit on the sofa? Please respond as soon as possible.

Bette of Bremerton, WA December 5, 2008

Bette of Bremerton WA (12/05/08)
ON 4-3-05 bought a lazyboy lift chair,needed it badly since difficulty getting up from any place.Was a life line for me,even slept init since could breath better.On 11-11-08 the lift went out and would not go up or down,took 3 days for a service call. No part available and none for an estimated 3 or more weeks,that is ridiculous,is a small part and know there is overnight delivery!!!

Am 87,congestive heart failure,diabetic and have Neuropathy, which means my feet and legs are twice normal size so can hardly move them.Suppose to sit with them up.Was able to rent anpther chair from a medical supply for 108 a month,been 3 weeks tomorrow---12-5-08.Service call was81.25,part will be another 81.25. Live on Social Security which is not much.If anyone had even cared what a hardship it was,would not have been so bad.Can't reach anyone on the phone and wrote to the store in Silverdale but wasn't even acknowledged. Sure will never recommend Lazyboy!!!

Dr. of Powell, OH December 4, 2008

Dr. of Powell OH (12/04/08)
Ordered 4000.00 modular section on 8/15/08 from Bruce. Chose La Z Boy from other competitors for perceived quality and style. Received phone call on 9/30/08 that sectional was in, but piece was damaged. The remaining pieces would be delivered on the last delivery of the day on 10/1/08. Delivery men came at 8:30 pm, had difficulty putting pieces together and left at 9:00 pm. Afterwards, my husband and I thoroughly inspected the pieces and found additional defective problems with the pieces.

I immediately called (~9:15 pm) the service number to report the problems (we thought we may have received the damaged unit by mistake since there were so many issues). Problems included: broken pull out drawer on drop down unit, slats not put in properly for drawer operation, scratched wood on drawer due to incorrect bolt sizes used in manufacturing, bent brackets causing the units not to fit together properly, fabric on back of chaise unit did not cover the bottom of the frame, seat cushion/seams of drop down unit did not visually match the other modular units (uneven seams and construction).

Received a call on 10/2 from service apologizing for the problem and they scheduled a technician to come by that day. Technician came by and took pictures and agreed that we had multiple issues that needed addressed. On 10/3 I requested that the drop down units be replaced with a basic armless middle given the extensive problems and I was told no from his manager because my order was a custom order. Not sure how this is truly a custom order since I was only given 2 fabric samples to choose from when it was purchased.

After this I waited ~4 weeks! I never received a phone call so I then called service to see what was going on. After phone tags, it was arranged for Wednesday 10/29 for technician to come out and fix the problems. On 10/29 technician arrived and delivered the second drop down unit (that was damaged initially and missing from the 10/1 shipment) and we (the technician and I) found the same manufacturing problems with this drop down unit as with the one I already had (seat cushion/seams did not line up and did not look the same as other units).

After approximately 20 minutes, the technician sadly reported that he did not have any of the proper parts to fix the the other reported problems. He was not sure why the proper parts were not ordered initially. He also found that the back of the chaise unit was in fact broken in addition to the fabric issue. He assured me that he would put a rush on this as I had waited long enough and this was not typical of La Z Boy manufacturing or service.

I spoke with Kerry in service on a number of occasions immediately after the technician visit on 10/29 and he felt confident that these issues could be resolved before the thanksgiving holiday. on 11/19, I had not received any phone calls regarding a service date, so knowing that nothing would done before 11/27, I called the service dept to let them know I had reached the end of my rope and that I wanted the unit picked up and my money returned. On 11/20 I spoke with my sales rep, Bruce regarding my issues and my demands that I wanted my money back. He referred me to his manager.  

I then went back to the store on that day to speak with Bob to ask that the unit be picked up and my money returned as I had completely reached the last of my patience. He said it was a service issue and there was nothing he could do. I was in total disbelief at the lack of responsiveness and responsibility of the store manager and left the store after placing a call to the service manager who was in a meeting. On that same day, I then called and requested from the service manager, Roger, that the unit be picked up and my money returned.

He was very cordial and asked if there was anything else he could do to keep my business instead of issuing us a store credit. I told him that if the unit is picked up, that I do not want a store credit as I had completely lost faith in his company and would never do business there again. I said if he could get the units fixed immediately (my expectations were the first week of December) that I would be willing to accept a refund of 20% of the purchase price be given for these continued and unacceptable problems. He agreed to 20% off my sales price with the promise that the units be fixed as quickly as possible during this busy time. He did not supply a date and was still unsure as to the status of the parts. I expected a call on 12/1 and did not receive it.

I then called both service and the store manager again on 12/1 to demand that the issues be resolved by 12/11 or that I would be seeking legal counsel/small claims. On 12/2, the service manager said he had all the parts and arranged for the technician to now come out and take my 2 drop down units out of my house so that he could manually manipulate the upholstery on the seat cushions to get them right. Technician came on 12/3 and took the units. I now have 4 out of my 6 pieces and I do not have proper seating room now for friends and family.

The pieces are not latched together properly and could present a danger if they should tip over. A date of return for these pieces was not provided. I am now waiting to see what happens. I have since filed a complaint with the BBB, notified our local news investigative team, disputed the charges on both credit cards (VISA and finance company) and am filing this complaint with your organization. I am in complete disbelief at the lack of quality product that is partially in my home and the lack of responsibility of the store manager to step up and take the unit back and deliver a new unit or an alternative given the money that was spent. He has twice now (11/20 and 12/2) said it is policy and that service must deal with it. I completely disagree - this is a manufacturing/store issue - I was not delivered the complete unit and what was delivered was defective/damaged.

Kathy of Cherry Hill, NJ November 29, 2008

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