"I'm never shopping THERE again!" Share your story!

[Shalamar]

I used to take advantage of TeamBuy (which is like Groupon in that, if enough people take advantage of a deal offer, you can buy something for a lower price).  In August 2012, they offered a really good deal on Gilette razor blades - I think it was two dozen razor blades for $50, or something like that.  Those things are so expensive, and I knew that two dozen would last my husband for ages, so I jumped on it.

Towards the end of September, I realized that I hadn't gotten my blades yet.  I e-mailed TeamBuy and was told, somewhat snippily, that the shipments wouldn't go out until 4-6 weeks after the offer expired, which was September 15.  So, in other words, I might not receive my purchase until early November.  Fine.

Early November came and went.  I e-mailed them again.  "You'll receive them by November 15 at the latest!"  Well, November 15 came and went.  I e-mailed them again.   "They're being held up at customs.  You'll get them by the end of November."  Nope.  I e-mailed them again and said "This is ridiculous.  I've been waiting for over three months."  They finally admitted that the vendor had let them down, then they said magnanimously that they would give me a refund - in TeamBuy Bucks.  Riiiight.  I replied "Not good enough.  I never intend to buy anything from you again, so I require a refund on my Mastercard, please."  Their latest e-mail said "It looks like you had received the wrong email. Here is what you should have received as the refund was processed to your credit card.  I have now refunded your purchase and you should see it reflected on your statement in the next 3-5 business days. You will also receive an email with your refund transaction ID shortly."

I'm not holding my breath.   

[Minmom3]

Clipped...

I think it took letters to corporate before people got piddly refunds and abject apologies.  Still not enough for the KofC, so now another hotel in another city gets to host Big Event, and the Holiday Inn in Frederick gets to do something rude and anatomically impossible.

Aw come on!  Twiddling your thumbs is neither rude nor anatomically impossible!     Pretty stupid on the hotel's part, they deserved all the trouble they got into.

[Piratelvr1121]

Not so much mine, but a former neighbor, and she told me about it. Ashley's Furniture. She told me "Never EVER buy furniture from them!"  I don't remember the whole story as it's been a couple years, but it involved less than satisfactory delivery practices, and on more than one occasion.   

I've avoided the place ever since, as there's other places in town to get furniture from instead.

[JadeAngel]

a certain ex-WAG

WAG?  In my vernacular, WAG stands for Wild-Arsed Guess, which judging from context is not the intended meaning.

If I may...
It's used in football circles for the Wives and Girldfriends.

I think I recall which WAG it was too... the same one who accidentally misplaced her engagement ring... 

[Jocelyn]

Not so much mine, but a former neighbor, and she told me about it. Ashley's Furniture. She told me "Never EVER buy furniture from them!"  I don't remember the whole story as it's been a couple years, but it involved less than satisfactory delivery practices, and on more than one occasion.   

I've avoided the place ever since, as there's other places in town to get furniture from instead.

Ashley Furniture stores are a franchise, so service problems at one store doesn't necessarily mean you'll have problems at another. I bought a sofa from them in October, and it arrived sooner than expected, and they scheduled the delivery at a convenient time and were right on time.

[Slartibartfast]

Not so much mine, but a former neighbor, and she told me about it. Ashley's Furniture. She told me "Never EVER buy furniture from them!"  I don't remember the whole story as it's been a couple years, but it involved less than satisfactory delivery practices, and on more than one occasion.   

I've avoided the place ever since, as there's other places in town to get furniture from instead.

Ashley Furniture stores are a franchise, so service problems at one store doesn't necessarily mean you'll have problems at another. I bought a sofa from them in October, and it arrived sooner than expected, and they scheduled the delivery at a convenient time and were right on time.

We had the same experience - then after having our sofa set for a while, discovered the sofa's feet actually aren't connected to the frame whatsoever.  They're literally just glued on to the fabric on the underside of the sofa, which means they fold up at an angle and don't support any weight when the sofa is upright.  I can't tell whether they were supposed to be at the corners and someone put them on wrong or whether it's shoddy design, but our sofa's foam also started disintegrating within two years.  When we replace it (after Bittybartfast is past the "stain the sofa" stage), we're definitely going with someone other than Ashley furniture.  We thought we were getting a deal on a decent sofa at a cheap price - instead we just got a cheap sofa.

[Mental Magpie]

Not so much mine, but a former neighbor, and she told me about it. Ashley's Furniture. She told me "Never EVER buy furniture from them!"  I don't remember the whole story as it's been a couple years, but it involved less than satisfactory delivery practices, and on more than one occasion.   

I've avoided the place ever since, as there's other places in town to get furniture from instead.

Ashley Furniture stores are a franchise, so service problems at one store doesn't necessarily mean you'll have problems at another. I bought a sofa from them in October, and it arrived sooner than expected, and they scheduled the delivery at a convenient time and were right on time.

We had the same experience - then after having our sofa set for a while, discovered the sofa's feet actually aren't connected to the frame whatsoever.  They're literally just glued on to the fabric on the underside of the sofa, which means they fold up at an angle and d on't support any weight when the sofa is upright.  I can't tell whether they were supposed to be at the corners and someone put them on wrong or whether it's shoddy design, but our sofa's foam also started disintegrating within two years.  When we replace it (after Bittybartfast is past the "stain the sofa" stage), we're definitely going with someone other than Ashley furniture.  We thought we were getting a deal on a decent sofa at a cheap price - instead we just got a cheap sofa.

Our sofa is fine, but when we accidentally tore a cushion, the repair under our warranty was shoddy. It went from a 1/2" tear to a 1 and 1/2" inch hard piece of what feels like melted plastic. It's unsightly and terribly done. I will be fixing it myself from now on.

Also, our coffe table got a little drink condensation in one area and swelled up with a lot if bumps, but only in on area. Won't be buying wood from them again.

[rose red]

Not so much mine, but a former neighbor, and she told me about it. Ashley's Furniture. She told me "Never EVER buy furniture from them!"  I don't remember the whole story as it's been a couple years, but it involved less than satisfactory delivery practices, and on more than one occasion.   

I've avoided the place ever since, as there's other places in town to get furniture from instead.

This reminds me of when I worked at a credit card company and we got many many letters disputing charges for Jennifer Convertibles (a sofa chain).  I just looked up the company to see if they are still in business and lo and behold, they own Ashley's Furniture.

[Piratelvr1121]

Yeah, it may cost more but I'd much rather have a coffee table that doesn't warp and bubble, though I am more careful about using coasters to try to prevent it.  We use a trunk now for the coffee table and that seems to work better.

Nevermind it got locked and the thrift store I got it from doesn't have the key and I've exhausted my limited lock-picking knowledge!

[Mental Magpie]

Yeah, it may cost more but I'd much rather have a coffee table that doesn't warp and bubble, though I am more careful about using coasters to try to prevent it.  We use a trunk now for the coffee table and that seems to work better.

Nevermind it got locked and the thrift store I got it from doesn't have the key and I've exhausted my limited lock-picking knowledge!

Ours is a chest, and only one part has bubbled!  The rest is fine and has had many a number of drinks spilled on it (we were the party house for a while...), but one edge has bubbles the whole way across it.  I'll be spending more money next time, that's for certain; or heck, I'll make it myself.  I know how to do that I just don't have all of the tools.

What kind of lock is it?

[elephantschild]

Not so much mine, but a former neighbor, and she told me about it. Ashley's Furniture. She told me "Never EVER buy furniture from them!"  I don't remember the whole story as it's been a couple years, but it involved less than satisfactory delivery practices, and on more than one occasion.   

I've avoided the place ever since, as there's other places in town to get furniture from instead.

This reminds me of when I worked at a credit card company and we got many many letters disputing charges for Jennifer Convertibles (a sofa chain).  I just looked up the company to see if they are still in business and lo and behold, they own Ashley's Furniture.

My goodness! Ashley's is actually on our list of "places that have earned our loyalty." They've been  so wonderful and helpful that they've become our go-to spot for all furniture needs.

Maybe our local store is just good?

[Piratelvr1121]

Yeah, it may cost more but I'd much rather have a coffee table that doesn't warp and bubble, though I am more careful about using coasters to try to prevent it.  We use a trunk now for the coffee table and that seems to work better.

Nevermind it got locked and the thrift store I got it from doesn't have the key and I've exhausted my limited lock-picking knowledge!

Ours is a chest, and only one part has bubbled!  The rest is fine and has had many a number of drinks spilled on it (we were the party house for a while...), but one edge has bubbles the whole way across it.  I'll be spending more money next time, that's for certain; or heck, I'll make it myself.  I know how to do that I just don't have all of the tools.

What kind of lock is it?

Hard to describe, I'll see if I can find a picture.

Okay this isn't our trunk, but the lock is similar:

[magician5]

Not so much mine, but a former neighbor, and she told me about it. Ashley's Furniture. She told me "Never EVER buy furniture from them!"  I don't remember the whole story as it's been a couple years, but it involved less than satisfactory delivery practices, and on more than one occasion.   

I've avoided the place ever since, as there's other places in town to get furniture from instead.

This reminds me of when I worked at a credit card company and we got many many letters disputing charges for Jennifer Convertibles (a sofa chain).  I just looked up the company to see if they are still in business and lo and behold, they own Ashley's Furniture.

Sadly, the furniture business is plagued by many similar problems almost across the board. We've done our best to get our "general use" furniture from Ikea (no problems with it being "out of stock" or with delivery), and some really special pieces custom-made from Amish craftsmen.

[AuntieA]

Piratelvr1121, I believe I know what kind of key you need. It's the one for the center lock, right?  Like this?
http://www.brettunsvillage.com/trunks/howto/parts/keysfortrunks.html 

(second box on page)

I have one, but if I give it away I know my trunk will end up locking itself.

[Kimblee]

And if you get really curious, I have a trunk just like that and I can jimmy the lock open by sliding a butter knife blade between the lock's "flappy" part and the part of the lock behind it. With a good hard wiggle it always comes open, and it really hadn't seemed to damage it, since it still cheerfully locks itself any time I'm in a hurry.