Living Spaces Furniture

I went to Living Spaces in Huntington Beach. I was looking for a cantilever umbrella which I found on the show room floor. I thought it was reasonably priced and functioned well. I ordered one as a result but later discovered that they had none in stock. So I waited a week for one and picked it up in the back of their store. I took it home and put it together.

Here is where everything went to wrong:

I discovered that the cantilever function of the umbrella was defective. The umbrella would not lock into position which is the main function of the umbrella. The base of the umbrella and the canopy were fine. The sticker on the umbrella said made in CHINA. The umbrella was defective out of the box.

I went back to the same Living Spaces store in Huntington Beach. I waited in line and spoke to a female employee. I explained to her the cantilever umbrella that I received was defective. I explained that I only needed the part that contained the cantilever mechanism, the post, and the canopy of the umbrella. I did not need the base or base mechanism. She showed me a picture of the part I needed. I confirmed it and scheduled a delivery.

The delivery should have contained only the cantilever mechanism, the post, and the canopy of the umbrella. The delivery arrived a week later as scheduled with the wrong parts. It contained the base only. The delivery company would not take the broken umbrella even though there was 30-feet of free space in the delivery truck.

I drove to the Living Spaces store to complete the return and try to get my money back. I explained what happened numerous times. I was told that they could partially refund me now and in a couple of days fully refund me. The delivery truck would need to return to the factory before they could complete the return.

This was a horrible experience. I told the manager that I wanted to file a formal complaint. I was told that she would handle it and that it was not needed. I was never given the paperwork or method to file a complaint.

Here is my conclusion:
The quality of products on the showroom floor are completely different from the product that you receive for your home. The customer service department is terrible. The employees don't know how to work the inventory system, the employees can't solve costumer complaints, the stores return process is broken. DO NOT BUY PRODUCTS FROM LIVING SPACES. I will never be a costumer again.

I recently had my first and last experience with this poorly managed company. The staff seems to have almost no training in the product or the company policies. I was told different stories by almost everyone I encountered. Three scheduled delivery dates were ignored after keeping me waiting 4 hours with no phone call. Merchandise was not in the store when I was told to come pick it up. Staff and "management" were unresponsive and seemed to care little about the situation. I am a designer and I have worked with almost every retail and wholesale furniture company and I have never been treated with this level of unprofessionalism. They should be ashamed of the way in which this company is managed and operated.