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Below is my experience (With pictures and videos at the bottom of this email) :
I got my brand new ogawa comfort massage chair (Black colour) - cost rm3, 800
Http: / / www. Ogawaworld. Net / ourproducts / relaxation / comfort / comfort. Php
From ogawa on 8th jan 2009.
After less than half - year of using it, the remote - control got no display. I called their customer service, their technician came and fix it within a week (Good respond) .
Again, after a few months, the roller of the massage chair became louder and louder, i called them - they turned up after 2 weeks and after 2 calls of pushing them (Although they promised they will come within 2 weeks) .
After the fix, i found that the rollers from the massage chair are still very loud, called them again - they turned up and fix - but still the same after the fix. I gave up calling them. Furthermore at that time our family members seldom use it.
I received marketing call from ogawa asking me to buy their equipment with discounted price. I rejected them, they called again after a week and i told them my experience of their massage chair and i asked them to fix it for me first in order for me to consider their deal. Their marketing team never call again ever since.
Last year october 2010, i found that the leather of the massage chair is getting bad - but due to we seldom use it, i ignore it.
Recently this year april 2011, my mother got backache, she started using it very frequent. The leather of the massage chair is so bad that it dirty the cloth after sat on it.
I called them twice, they promised they will get back to me - but after that no news.
I lodged a complain on their website: http: / / www. Ogawaworld. Net / support / service_req. Php
For 2 times - but also no news.
So, i called them and asked the status of the complain on the website. A person - in - charge called elaine said she will sent me a quotation to change the leather.
She sent me an email with price of rm735 to change the leather.
I actually asked them why this happened to the massage chair and end up they sent me the quotation.
I called elaine again and asked why this happened - she said i am the first customer who complain this and she promised she will ask her manager - mr. Simon to give me a call. (The call is recorded)
After waiting for a week - there is still no news from her manager. I called again (The call is recorded) and elaine said like wonder and asked me why her manager didn't call me (Hell. . . How do i know, i'm calling you to ask, end up with she asked me why her manager no calling) and she promised her manager will give me a call end of the day - which is as expected no one from ogawa is calling me at the end of the day.
After 2 weeks, i decided to lodge a report in consumer tribunal malaysia (Http: / / ttpm. Kpdnkk. Gov. My)
And i am using e - tribunal: (Http: / / ttpm. Kpdnkk. Gov. My / portal / index. Php?Option=com_content&task=view&id=53&itemid=43)
Which i can lodge report online without the hassle of going to their office.
The whole process (Form) costs rm5.
The case was dated for hearing in consumer tribunal court, shah alam on 21 july 2011.
Case no: ttpm - b - (B) - 604 - 2011
Let me tell you a few of the interesting things that spoke by mr. Lee from ogawa who represented ogawa in this case:
1) he handed over a modified version of warranty card to the judge and said in the warranty card itself it stated that leather is not under warranty in any terms.
The thing is my warranty card does not have that phrase. So, i handed over my warranty card to the judge and mr. Lee twisted the story and said he is new and he doesn't know the policy changed. The judge accepted his answer.
2) i asked him why their company did not respond to me after so many calls + complain on the web - ends up he said their company already replied me with the change leather quotation.
He keeps on the above answer even though i am asking him why his company does not reply me with an answer why this happened (All i want is an answer of the caused of the problem) .
Note: my massage chair warranty period is 24months (2yrs) and it was already over this year january.
The reason i lodged the report are - i am not satisfy with their way of treating customers and also just want to find out the more details of the problem.
I also told the judge about it my reasons and to prevent more and more such cases of being happened - rm3, 800 for a massage chair that needs to change the leather every 2 yrs (Which costs rm735) is not a good deal for me.
3) mr. Lee admitted that they are a lot of room for improvements for their customer service and also corporate responsibility.
As a public listed company, i find that at least he admitted his company shortcomings is something very encouraging.
4) this is what i am totally not satisfied about:
Before the case dismiss - due to my warranty is over, the judge said i (Complaint) cannot take any action against them (Ogawa) .
Then, mr. Lee from ogawa said that i (The complaint) might done all these things maliciously to complain against them and he said i (The complaint) might purposely abused the product to make such a false claim.
All of the case conversation are recorded by the judge assistant, so i am not making any false statement in this email. The no (4) statement is totally wrong.
I already fed up with such a product and company. I am writing this email to share my experience and to help future massage chair buyers to have more details.
Also, ogawa is not a japanese company. It's a malaysian company called healthy world lifestyle sdn bhd which is located at kota kemuning, shah alam. (This question asked by the judge and mr. Lee told the judge so) .
We, consumer spend such an amount to buy something good for our parents but end up with such a tragedy.
If you know someone who are going to buy massage chair, please let them know such a true story. Earning money is not easy.
Below are the pictures taken from my ogawa comfort massage chair (Some sensitive data already pixelized) :
Https: / / picasaweb. Google.com / 102323107022689361219 / ogawacase
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer's satisfaction.
Just want to add some info. There are information that the fine black dust is toxic. If inhale will have health issue.
I bought OGAWA massage chair for my mom too.
Their so called leather cover is sulk. My mom did not like the massage so much because it is hot when she use it.
We didn't use that much and to my horror the leather of the chair got fine black dust coming out. It is coming off a lot.
I called them to ask if I can change the whole cover. The rude answer is ...
Sorry now no more spare part for the cover. You can only trade in to buy another product. What? I spend RM8k++ to buy and now they gave me this answer.
The sales outlet says that they will help to throw away my RM8k chair to the dumpster if I trade-in with a new one. Oh GOD.
Their own staff treat their product like rubbish. Bear in mind that my OGAWA massage chair have only leather peeling problem.
Same thing happen to me also. Bought a 10k massage chair, but the screen is no working... I'm going to post in FB soon!
Bought a chair for decoration only...
I bought 2 massage chairs from OGAWA Miri, Sarawak outlet branch at Bintang Mall on 7/4/19. The cost of the 2 chairs are RM10, 500. The sales assistant promised to deliver within 1 week. After more than 1 week the chair was still not delivered. When I called, was informed that the my telephone no was wronlgly filled in. The assistant forgot to write one of the telephone no digit on the invoice. She was practive enough to find our address and asked for the correct no but she didn't call me to inform on this matter.
After calling twice the second week, the chair finally arrived on 18/4/19. The very frustrating part is that the delivery person just put it outside the house and didn't dare open the box because there was no Ogawa Techincian on site to supervise the oppening and install the chairs. This is really BAD service from Ogawa Company.
I called the sales assistant and she told me that she can only come in the late evening.
I am already very scared as this is only the beginning and the service is already very bad. Imagine if the chairs encounter problems...are we able to get the expert to diagnose and repair the chairs? These are not cheap equipment.
Ogawa Malaysia has the responsibility to look into this matter urgently and provide good services to the customers. Not only making sales and abandon the customers.
I will not hesitate to inform OGAWA Japan on the services of their business agents in Malaysia.
Disappointed customer
Nurasiah Putit
Miri Sarawak
Is there anyone who can recommend the best product among the ones listed here? https://chairsbuddy.com/best-massage-chairs/
Very dishonest sales people and staff in ogawa. Beware and avoid ogawa. No integrity
Dishonest sales n tricks. Dishonest management too. Avoid ogawa
Agreed. KPDKNKK Malaysia should take action on this company. They should be order to compensent all of their customer.
I have bad experience regarding ogawa services . I had buy a smartspace massage chair from ogawa . After 1 year the cheap controller cant function . I came back to the ogawa shop and ask for replacement but they ask me to fill the form and pay rm100 to send over the technician . I put down my pen and said can i buy a controller only ? No, he said . I walked back and frustrated . Thats is how they made business . No deal with ogawa anymore .
Case around [protected] cant remember the year and dont want to remember at all .
To be honest, I completely disagree with this.
Here's my story.
I wanted to buy a massage chair for myself as I visit the massage parlor quite often and have been spending a lot on massages alone. To reduce on the cost, the first thing that came to my mind was purchasing a massage chair, which would tremendously cut down on the cost in a long-term. After researching on the brands and models, I’ve decided on 2 brands, Ogawa and Osim. Before making the purchase, I did head down to one of their outlets to try out the chairs first.
Upon arriving, since I saw Osim first, I did not hesitate to walk into their store as I was welcomed. J (Osim’s seller) guided me through very carefully. I was very delighted by the service at first until I asked how good Osim is as compared to Ogawa. To my surprise, J quickly courted me to the side and showed me bad reviews of Ogawa’s massage chairs through his phone (mainly about leather peeling). This was also how I come this site.
This came to me as a shock because I’ve never seen such an unprofessional seller who bad-mouth their competitors to their customers in an attempt to sabotage their business. When we were speaking of Ogawa, all of their comments were negative. Naturally, I feel pressured as J continued to criticize Ogawa as their way of selling their own products. Through that, he claimed their massage chair’s leather as “authentic” and of “higher quality” (I know all massage chairs use synthetic leather). Feeling kind of pushed, I left the store telling them that I’ll “think about it”. Then I headed over to Ogawa.
Once over at Ogawa’s outlet, I intentionally shared what I heard from Osim’s staff to the sellers working in Ogawa. I was taken aback when W (Ogawa’s seller) agreed to whatever I’ve just told her and she even admitted that Ogawa had this problem in the past. Apparently, Ogawa acknowledged that they had this problem before. It’s true, only thereon after I realized this review/complaint was posted many years ago, and there’s the word [RESOLVED] in the title.
Followed by that, W proceeded to educate me on the reason why massage chair’s leather peels. She said that the humid environment and the lack of maintenance are the main causes for the problem. She also taught me how to properly take care of the leather (I shall not explain any further or else it would be too long). I asked her the same question on how good Ogawa is as compared to Osim.
Being a salesperson that she is, she was a real good talker. :) She explained the differences to me and allowed me to judge by myself. With that in mind, I was impressed by Ogawa staff’s honesty, trustworthiness, and professionalism. After going home, I researched online again to find out more information about synthetic leather. I have to say that leather does peel if not correctly maintained and handled. This is a fact. Rest assure, my final decision would be Ogawa.
happen to me also
my Ogawa massage chair have exact same problem as yours. Those 'leather' peel off. The worst is I bought 2 unit (different model - rm2500+rm5000) and both have same issue. my 30 years old ### looks better than 2 years old ogawa.
OSIM had the same problem with cracked and peel synthetic leather problem on their U chair after warranty >3 years but when I called them they replaced the leather for free and gave another 6 months warranty. OSIM said the replaced synthetic leather will not cracked nor peel like previous one. I suggest getting OSIM!
Well, It is good that consumer put all these up. I don't understand why the Header put RESOLVED?
It has NOT! In all fairness, Ogawa is a good Chair, just OVERPRICE and POOR FAUX LEATHER material, depites so many feedback, OGAWA still continue to let this damage their Brand.
For those who want to buy OGAWA THICK TRICE. At this price you could get TWO ITALIAN Genuine Leather recliner, instead of Faux leather that would peel in 2 years times... Customer Service? Only keen to sell you the same cover and the worst part, still the SAME MATERIAL that would peel. (Would you pay for the same food that caused food poison?)
I have the same problem that my massage chair leather peel off and lodge the complain online. Ogawa told me this model has discontinue and suggest me to buy a new one with trade-in mine old chair. Finally I found an upholstery who able to reupholster the leather cover for me. I'm very stratify with their workmanship, it look like new now. If anyone looking for reupholster, please contact [protected] Karen from Steady Cushion at Oldtown PJ.
"This post was posted by me earlier and I want to clarify that I lost my complaint in the consumer tribunal with Ogawa. I have been trying to remove the post above but fail and I want to apologise for the inaccurate post above.”
Hi im Jim from Malaysia... facing the same problem.. hav to say that ogawa product is of bad quality.. not to mention the service... had to change the leather after 1 year.. then the remote went black.. no display... technician came after almost 3 weeks.. when he came all he said was to ask me to trade in for a new one.. no effort at all to check n repair... he spent only 15 min just looking at the chair and said that the model had already been discontinued n theres nothing he could do... no spare parts... he then again offering me to trade in for a new one.. bull... say no to ogawa.. u buy something expensive that can only be used up to 3 to 4 years.. then they come out wt a new model..
Yesterday I stumbled upon a promotion in the mall, they are selling off their display units at a reasonable good discount. I was attracted to the Ogawa Smart Sense, although I was told it is a old model, first launched 2011. I have also tried the Ogawa Delight Plus, very comfortable as well, unfortunately it is way out of my budget. Nonetheless, the Ogawa Smart Sense has good Thai Massage function. The sales manager is very knowledgeable, not pushy and patient (spent nearly 4 hours explaining!). After deep consideration, I have few questions to ask before I make up my mind (I have 3 days before the promo end in 31 Dec):
1. Will there be any major problems for display/refurbish set? Th unit i enquire comes with 3 months warranty.
2. Will I have a problem getting the spare parts since it is a 5 year-old model?
3. Am abit concerned with the after sales service as most people had complained here. Any recent encounter with the Ogawa service center in Malaysia.
4. Does it require high maintenance?
Thank you for sharing.
First of all the sales part was really good, the sale staffs are very attentive and helpful.l. I was convinced and bought one about 2 1/2 years ago. 5 weeks from today the control panel just went blank and a complaint was lodged. The service center was able to make the earliest available appointment 3 weeks from the call date. A very polite technician came and discovered that some parts were needed and he would make request for the parts to be sent to him and subsequently the final job can be done. a week later a personnel from the service center made another earliest possible appointment 2 weeks from that date of call which was 12/11/2015. On 11/11/2015, the polite technician informed me that the parts could not be located because the warehouse relocation process. So the waiting and calling process goes on.
My point is the gap between sales and services should not be such a wide one. I still have faith in you Ogawa, kick out the service manager and replace one with one who is customers oriented.
Please boycot ogawa. Its cheating alot of people in a sence that will make you buy today than tmr. Everyday is a promotion day no limited or last day offer. From ex salesman ogawa.
Ppls don't buy guys.. my Ogawa massage chair also problem already. The roller motor become weaker and the leather seat have torn and dirty my cloth every time using the chair.
Thanks for such information. Really appreciate it. I was planning to buy present for my father but since it is a fraud, I cancel to buy it.
Hi Everyone,
Thanks for the information given. I was looking into buying either an Ogawa or Osim massage chair but after reading all the reviews I have decided not to buy any. But I do feel sorry for all who have undergone a bad experience but am ever so grateful for the information. thank you all.
Does anyone have a Ogawa customer care number in India?
I have a foot massager which I had bought from Malyasia, the motor has stopped working.
Check this this : wasr-mudds.blogspot.com/2015/02/ogawa-smart-sento-review-part-2.html?showComment=[protected]&m=1#c7297375677322262439
Please visit this linked for more information https://m.facebook.com/manuel.rama.75?ref=bookmark
Well, I can't comment anything now b4 purchase. As I can see here are few of the bad reviews compared many of their customers. Things surely have good or bad I believe. Thanks for all the input. It's help me to think twice before purchase. I'm so impressed by their latest promotion. Price to own their highest range only RM11299 without freebies.anyone purchase the new model recently? Mind to share the quality or problem? Thanks!
Bad Quality products and they never response to your emails and the shop assistants also getting your contact and told will asked technician to give u a call are nonsense. Not only 1 outlet but several shop also do the same, taken your contact and hope someone will call you help you to fix your problems but never. They just swept all under your carpet.
Bought over for nearly RM10K product last two year now they offer trade in for 1k to buy their another 10k over new product. Crazy, wanna drop into any trap again... Think twice shopper for Ogawa..
NEVER BUY OGAWA again ... GO for other brand ! I bought Smart 10 Generation 4 year 2007 cost about >RM 7500 which considered expensive at that time. They told me it was a leather massage chair. I hardly use and probably less than 3 times per month. When so called leather started peeling off and it looks so disgusting and I only found out they were using cheap synthetic leather. Well believed that I was not the only victim and I have done whatever the same being as a smart consumer but end up I donated this massage chair to old folk home. I bought another brand and the quality of the synthetic leather was much better than this Ogawa. Hope OGAWA, a listed company will look in to this matter seriously to ensure customer satisfaction before all your potential customers run away to your competitor.
Hi CY Ong, would like to find out from u what is the model that u bought? And how long u had bought..?
same experience here, is seat "leather"is now all peeled off and the chair is not left in my backyard - let it rott...
Hi...i'm facing very bad experience with ogawa chair, killer issue with ogawa chair..my sister use it and that chair hold tied her legs and cabnot open until her leg become blue and cool..we try to do many thing change the mode, on and off it but still cannot open hold tied at their leg area..my sister almost died almost 40 minutes it's hang..it's really bad and that chair still under warranty and this already my 2nd complaint to them but this 2nd issue seriusly can kill person.. i really frustated wiyh this brand
Thank you i too was going to purchase a massage chair from Ogawa but after reading these reviews there is now way in the world i am going to part with my hard earned cash to have more stress in my life, its kind of funny what they are offering is stress management, but what you get is unmanaged stress.
I am so glad to come across this site as I am also having a few issues with an unused Ogawa Massage chair that has been lying in my house for a long long time. Reasons for not disposing this useless junk are : Despite it being serviced and parts replaced, the machine was not as comfortable as it used to be - the rollers hurt my back instead of massaging it, Ogawa allowing only trade in for another similar product and giving very minimal rebate for trade ins. For the price charged, the Company should have better corporate social responsibilities towards their purchasers. They may secure more loyal consumers that way.
Hi, thank you very much for sharing your experience.
I saw an offer online, I was nearly rushing into buying, I'm glad that I did some research and read your review.
Here's the link for the offer, the price is really attractive.
http://www.groupme.my/deal/Ogawa/Ogawa-Comfort-Massage-Chair/?utm_source=GroupmeNewsletter05sep2012&utm_medium=Email&utm_term=Ogawa-Comfort-Massage-Chair&utm_campaign=GroupmeNewsletter05sep2012
By the way, the product is no longer available on Ogawa website.
Thanks again, you saved my life!
Hi, just happened to see this complaint over here.
I've been a loyalty customer of Ogawa Singapore itself. But nevertheless, I've never had any bad experience with this company as named above (I mean so far so good..)! I owned a Ogawa SmartSense massage chair now, and before this I had another 2 massage chairs which i trade-in 1 after another ( 1st one from Osim and 2nd was from Ogawa.) The last one i bought was from IMM bullding this year after comparing a few brands. I was told by my relatives that IMM have got all the major brands selling massage chair in Singapore.
2 points I wish to highlight about my situation : ( and this is strictly personal )
1. The reason why I trade-in my last 2 massage chairs was also because of the leather problem as faced by alot of people. But i finally came to a conclusion that all massage chairs company in the industry are using synthetic leather. This is a experience as faced by me after having 3 massage chairs in 10 years.
Having done a research before changing my last massage chair, Synthetic leather will tend to "crack" and "peel" after some time (depending on region ). And this same problem occurs to all sofa and car seats too!. Ask yourselves, did you guys maintain the synthetic leather?. Maybe the company was at fault too for poviding the wrong information. However, I've got to admit that I'm lazy in maintaining the leather. That's why I've got no choice but to change 3 massage chairs in 10 years (trade-in 1 after another!).
2. Why i chose Ogawa instead of other companies is mainly because of their service and assurance. The explainations and demostrations by the sales staff was much more detailed and less "pushy" compared to other companies. I did a comparison on 3 major Brands but still decided to stick on with Ogawa, reason being the after-sales service (10 years free servicing) and the attitude of the staff. Other brands are also providing good aftercare service, but some charged up to $100 for a single servicing after warranty. Although their massage chairs feel "GOOD" too!. But I still decided on SmartSense because of the "THAI" massage. And after spending so much on 3 massage chairs, this will be a better choice for me.
Guys, if you have the chance to pass by, just have a free try and you will know what I mean. Lastly try searching online, I believe all companies in the market are facing the same problem with the leather, my aunt just bought a new massage chair (Smart Delight) from Ogawa which they claimed is "attacking" the massage chair industry for the leather problem.
Mike from Singapore.
(Just some personal opinions.)
Hi
I also got a scandalous story around an Ogawa massage chair, whereby the scandal is about the Thai based sales company AMAXS ! Never ever think about to buy stuff from this company ! They cheat you where they can !
Amaxs runs in Thailand stores e.g. in shopping malls, where I also purchased a "japanies" massage chair, which they say is manufactured by a company called "Chase". Reading the comments in this forum and having checked the website www.ogawaworld.net I have to say, that also Amaxs seems to lie to the customers, because they also say, it's "japanies technology". Having said that, I bought many years ago a massage chair in Tokyo and I have been absolutely happy with that chair until I gave it away to a friend a few month ago.
This is how my story goes after 6 month of extrem frustration :
Im March 2012 I bought in the Amaxs store in the Festival shopping mall in Thailand a massage chair for around 3200 US$. Plus I wanted it to get delieverd to my home in Switzerland. The store manager checked with someone from their headoffice on the phone the shipping costs and so they charged me another 320 $ for the shipping by sea. I asked the store manager twice, if this extra costs covers all costs ( excl. local VAT and taxes of course ) to get the chair delivered to my home address. She said :"Yes, yes, don't worry, shipped to your home address in Switzerland.
So I returned home to Switzerland and did wait around 3 month until I got a call from Swiss a transportation company asking for around 1030$ for the shipping from a port to my home. I explained them, that I already payed the seller for the shipping, but they said, that was only to a port in Europe ! So I was forced to pay thouse extra costs, but did complain to Amaxs by e-mail about that story. After a reminder Ms. Oraporn from Amaxs wrote back to me, that they never said that the shipping is payed to my home address ! So I wrote back to them saying that they did obviously lie to me at time of purchase to get me buy the massage chair. All costs summarized I could get a similar chair locally and even cheaper.
Anyway, I was happy to get the new chair delivered 2 weeks later. But now the real scanadal starts... ! When I assembled the chair, I recognized first a bad smell, than I recognized scratches everywhere and that the leather and other parts were defective and worn out ! Amaxs shipped to me an old, broken massage chair which wasn't working at all !
I immediatelly took lots of photos and sent thouse along with a serious complaint mail to Amaxs, telling them, that I'm extremly pissed about this scandal and that I'm gona sue them if they try to chat me this way. Still after more than a week no reaction ! So I called Amaxs and asked for the managing director. Ms. Oraporn said, that they haven't received my mail and that I shall resend it, which I did. Still after a few days no reaction at all. So I called MS. Oraporn again and she told me, that her boss, Mr. Somchai ( Chase James ? ) was actually travelling, but gets back next week. Next week over, no reaction at all. So I called Ms. Oraporn again : Mr. Somchai still travelling ! Of course, my mail couldn't be forwarded to Mr. Somchai, so I had to wait again. After another call from me, she said that I shall get a response soon. Indeed, I got a mail from Ms. Oraporn saying, that they have no idea why I got sent an old, fully repacked broken chair and that they offer to send me a new one. I told Ms. Oraporn, that I'm going to accept this offer, but that of course I do not accept to pay again for any shipping costs to my home. So I sent that response along with a list of the extra costs and my bank details for the reimbursement of the shipping cost arose on my side. After that, a few mails have been gone forth and back between Ms. Oraporn and me about a few details, but never ever they informed me, that they are not willig to pay back the shipping cost of the first shipment of the broken chair. Having said that, I made to them very clear, that I only accept the shipping of a new chair, if I have not to pay twice for any shipping costs.
Then... of course, I got another call from another transport company in Germany (!) asking again for around 900$ for the shipping ! So I was forced to pay again the shipping costs ! All in all I payed a fortune to buy finally this chair, made by Ogawa ( on the old chair it is written "Ogawa", on the new chair at the same place it sais now "Amaxs", so they must be linked together very closely.
The new chair so far works, but for the final price I payed to get it, I could have bought 1 1/2 new high end massage chairs locally !
Amaxs did lie to me from beginning about the shipping costs to make me buying the chair in the shop in Thailand. Then they shipped me an old, stinky and broken chair ! Than they did hide from me the fact, that they never did intend to pay me back my shipping cost at all ! Then they did not answer my complaints mail, where I informd them that I'm gona sue Amaxs for not paying me back my costs on top of the replacement chair.
All in all I have to warn everybody to buy anything from Amaxs. Don't trust them, don't believe what they say, since they tell you what ever you want to hear, just to make a sale to you... !
Cheers from Switzerland, Roger
Me too has the same problem with the leather. It's peeling and it looks so disgusting. I have complained but they said I have to pay to replace the leather. The company infact offered to trade-in the old one but my family has lost faith in their product and after sale service. We see no point to dump in more money then we already have. I wish other people will read the review before parting with their hard earned money. Btw I bought my massage chair from ogawa Indonesia.
7 Sept 2011 - I have exactly the same problem with the leather of my Ogawa Smart Mate massage chair! I just called their customer service and they advised that they'll be arranging a technician to come over to check out the problem. However, they also told me that the leather is not under their warranty clause and it will be chargeable if I want it changed! The salesperson who sold me the chair assured me that the leather is of good quality and will not crack. Apparently they had such problems in their older models but has since improved on the leather for new models. Furthermore, he claimed that the leather is under lifetime guarantee and they will replace it if it cracks. Obviously the story is different now. < Another unsatisfied customer >