We went to this shop in search of some solid wood pieces with the intent to sand and stain them. We were looking for a dining table & chairs, coffee table, and there was a possibility of other items as well. We were greeted by the manager, Wendy, at the door and notified that items that had been in the store since before October 2015 were half the price listed on the ticket.
I was very happy when I found a farm table that would have fit our needs perfectly - and at half the price. We asked Wendy about the table and on multiple occasions, she referred to it as "solid wood". We even went into a detailed conversation with her our plans to sand and stain the table.
We decided on only buying the table that day. We paid for it with agreement to pick it up a little later when we had access to a truck. My boyfriend's brother met up with us at the store to help transport the table to his home for storage. Before we took it out of the store, there was yet another discussion about the table and what it was made out of. Once again, Wendy wasn't sure what kind of wood, but claimed it was a "solid wood" table and that it "might be oak". It wasn't nearly heavy enough for oak, and we suggested maybe it was pine. She agreed "oh yeah! ...maybe it's pine".
When we got the table home to Moncks Corner, we noticed that some of the spots that looked like scratches were in fact laminate cracking and peeling up. It's not a solid wood table - it's particle board. At that point, I felt like it was all just a big mistake. Wendy seemed sure that it was wood and to be fair, we all thought it was. I called immediately, because by that time it was 20 minutes to close and there was just no way we could load the table back up and make it back in time.
Wendy told me that they "don't usually do returns" but she would see what could be done - she would talk to the owner tomorrow afternoon when they were in and get back with me. She took down my name and my number. Once again, at this point I thought it was no big deal and all just a misunderstanding. We were all very polite with one another and while I was bummed about the table, I assumed we would get things settled. I was excited still to go back to their store with intention to spend more money on much needed furniture for our new home.
I didn't receive my phone call the next day. At 5pm, I gave in and called myself. I'm not sure who I spoke to - I only know it wasn't Wendy. The employee told me "Oh yes. Wendy and the owner have spoken about the table. I'm not sure what the outcome was, but neither are in the store right now for me to ask..." Now I'm starting to question everything. But okay. I've worked retail and I was willing to give them a chance still.
I called again the following day and spoke again to Wendy who told me she hadn't yet talked to the owner who had, according to her, just walked in the door and wasn't even there the day before. She went away from the phone for a couple of minutes and came back to tell me that they couldn't do a return and had to uphold their no refund policy because the consignee had already been paid. She claimed that they get paid their money the day after a sale.
I retorted "Even tho I called you the day of purchase... within the hour of it leaving the store... to tell you that something was wrong?" She claimed she had no control over it and that once the money was in the system, it's done. Well, I don't know what kind of system they are using, but it sounds pretty terrible to have zero control over your cash flow.
This table was sold to me under false pretenses. I want so badly to believe otherwise, but the multiple lies and runaround make me wonder otherwise. But that isn't even the half of it. When asked over the phone later today, they suggested that they don't pay consignees until the 10th of the month. We bought this table on January 27th... many, many days before the 10th.
We will be doing as suggested and filing a dispute with our credit card company. I am so thankful we used our credit card and didn't just hand cash over to these people. read more