we were just doing our jobs all of the employees just did what we were told. its the owner pappas that told us what to say anddo. from heather and arthur and linda and eleanor all employees of who you have discussed here just did what they were told to. its the owner that kows what the situation is not the employees. we did our level best.
we were just doing our jobs all of the employees just did what we were told. its the owner pappas that told us what to say anddo. from heather and arthur and linda and eleanor all employees of who you have discussed here just did what they were told to. its the owner that kows what the situation is not the employees. we did our level best.
we were just doing our jobs all of the employees just did what we were told. its the owner pappas that told us what to say anddo. from heather and arthur and linda and eleanor all employees of who you have discussed here just did what they were told to. its the owner that kows what the situation is not the employees. we did our level best.
we were just doing our jobs all of the employees just did what we were told. its the owner pappas that told us what to say anddo. from heather and arthur and linda and eleanor all employees of who you have discussed here just did what they were told to. its the owner that kows what the situation is not the employees. we did our level best.
Ellen Roseman TORONTO STAR -
Vicki Low ordered a computer desk from Neoset Canada last August.
Jenya Zukershtein ordered a desk and shelves from Neoset last June.
Both were told to expect delivery within six to eight weeks.
Months later, they had received neither their products nor their money back.
"I'm at my wit's end, " said Low, who paid in full ($573). "The head office has stopped returning my calls and the store on Jarvis St. has been unhelpful and unapologetic."
Zukershtein is still waiting for the refund and four months' interest on her $593 deposit that she was promised last December.
Neoset Canada has five company-owned stores in Toronto, which import modular furniture from Greece.
The Better Business Bureau gives the company an F rating (unsatisfactory), reflecting the number of complaints filed and lack of response to the complaints.
Owner Greg Pappas responded quickly to our intervention on behalf of the two customers.
He said Neoset's problems started a year ago, when Greek workers held rotating strikes to protest government plans to privatize container handling operations at two major ports.
This resulted in a backlog of containers headed overseas.
"We didn't receive any containers for 14 to 16 weeks and fell significantly behind, " Pappas said.
"We tried to communicate with customers, but the staff was not prepared to deal with it. This was my fault. There was no training plan."
As the strikes continued, Neoset started getting containers with orders only half complete.
"We kept falling farther behind, " Pappas said. "We fulfilled orders for customers who screamed the loudest."
Neoset has 170 stores in Greece, but sold its Toronto stores to Pappas two years ago.
The parent company started to care a bit less with the divesting of Canadian operations, he said. There was no need to ship across the ocean for its other stores.
"We didn't foresee the strikes or danger of having one supplier in a country that's going through some unrest.
"It was bad risk management on our part."
Yesterday, Pappas said he would process Zukershtein's refund within 24 hours.
He said Low could have her choice of getting a refund or her long-awaited desk – which had arrived in Canada, after all.
"It was not prioritized and was sitting in a pile of orders, " he admitted.
People can live with delays if told what's wrong and offered refunds. But if they're ignored, they contact newspapers and write nasty comments online.
Ellen Roseman
Vicki Low ordered a computer desk from Neoset Canada last August.
Jenya Zukershtein ordered a desk and shelves from Neoset last June.
Both were told to expect delivery within six to eight weeks.
Months later, they had received neither their products nor their money back.
"I'm at my wit's end, " said Low, who paid in full ($573). "The head office has stopped returning my calls and the store on Jarvis St. has been unhelpful and unapologetic."
Zukershtein is still waiting for the refund and four months' interest on her $593 deposit that she was promised last December.
Neoset Canada has five company-owned stores in Toronto, which import modular furniture from Greece.
The Better Business Bureau gives the company an F rating (unsatisfactory), reflecting the number of complaints filed and lack of response to the complaints.
Owner Greg Pappas responded quickly to our intervention on behalf of the two customers.
He said Neoset's problems started a year ago, when Greek workers held rotating strikes to protest government plans to privatize container handling operations at two major ports.
This resulted in a backlog of containers headed overseas.
"We didn't receive any containers for 14 to 16 weeks and fell significantly behind, " Pappas said.
"We tried to communicate with customers, but the staff was not prepared to deal with it. This was my fault. There was no training plan."
As the strikes continued, Neoset started getting containers with orders only half complete.
"We kept falling farther behind, " Pappas said. "We fulfilled orders for customers who screamed the loudest."
Neoset has 170 stores in Greece, but sold its Toronto stores to Pappas two years ago.
The parent company started to care a bit less with the divesting of Canadian operations, he said. There was no need to ship across the ocean for its other stores.
"We didn't foresee the strikes or danger of having one supplier in a country that's going through some unrest.
"It was bad risk management on our part."
Yesterday, Pappas said he would process Zukershtein's refund within 24 hours.
He said Low could have her choice of getting a refund or her long-awaited desk – which had arrived in Canada, after all.
"It was not prioritized and was sitting in a pile of orders, " he admitted.
People can live with delays if told what's wrong and offered refunds. But if they're ignored, they contact newspapers and write nasty comments online.
Ellen Roseman
Vicki Low ordered a computer desk from Neoset Canada last August.
Jenya Zukershtein ordered a desk and shelves from Neoset last June.
Both were told to expect delivery within six to eight weeks.
Months later, they had received neither their products nor their money back.
"I'm at my wit's end, " said Low, who paid in full ($573). "The head office has stopped returning my calls and the store on Jarvis St. has been unhelpful and unapologetic."
Zukershtein is still waiting for the refund and four months' interest on her $593 deposit that she was promised last December.
Neoset Canada has five company-owned stores in Toronto, which import modular furniture from Greece.
The Better Business Bureau gives the company an F rating (unsatisfactory), reflecting the number of complaints filed and lack of response to the complaints.
Owner Greg Pappas responded quickly to our intervention on behalf of the two customers.
He said Neoset's problems started a year ago, when Greek workers held rotating strikes to protest government plans to privatize container handling operations at two major ports.
This resulted in a backlog of containers headed overseas.
"We didn't receive any containers for 14 to 16 weeks and fell significantly behind, " Pappas said.
"We tried to communicate with customers, but the staff was not prepared to deal with it. This was my fault. There was no training plan."
As the strikes continued, Neoset started getting containers with orders only half complete.
"We kept falling farther behind, " Pappas said. "We fulfilled orders for customers who screamed the loudest."
Neoset has 170 stores in Greece, but sold its Toronto stores to Pappas two years ago.
The parent company started to care a bit less with the divesting of Canadian operations, he said. There was no need to ship across the ocean for its other stores.
"We didn't foresee the strikes or danger of having one supplier in a country that's going through some unrest.
"It was bad risk management on our part."
Yesterday, Pappas said he would process Zukershtein's refund within 24 hours.
He said Low could have her choice of getting a refund or her long-awaited desk – which had arrived in Canada, after all.
"It was not prioritized and was sitting in a pile of orders, " he admitted.
People can live with delays if told what's wrong and offered refunds. But if they're ignored, they contact newspapers and write nasty comments online.
Ellen Roseman
Vicki Low ordered a computer desk from Neoset Canada last August.
Jenya Zukershtein ordered a desk and shelves from Neoset last June.
Both were told to expect delivery within six to eight weeks.
Months later, they had received neither their products nor their money back.
"I'm at my wit's end, " said Low, who paid in full ($573). "The head office has stopped returning my calls and the store on Jarvis St. has been unhelpful and unapologetic."
Zukershtein is still waiting for the refund and four months' interest on her $593 deposit that she was promised last December.
Neoset Canada has five company-owned stores in Toronto, which import modular furniture from Greece.
The Better Business Bureau gives the company an F rating (unsatisfactory), reflecting the number of complaints filed and lack of response to the complaints.
Owner Greg Pappas responded quickly to our intervention on behalf of the two customers.
He said Neoset's problems started a year ago, when Greek workers held rotating strikes to protest government plans to privatize container handling operations at two major ports.
This resulted in a backlog of containers headed overseas.
"We didn't receive any containers for 14 to 16 weeks and fell significantly behind, " Pappas said.
"We tried to communicate with customers, but the staff was not prepared to deal with it. This was my fault. There was no training plan."
As the strikes continued, Neoset started getting containers with orders only half complete.
"We kept falling farther behind, " Pappas said. "We fulfilled orders for customers who screamed the loudest."
Neoset has 170 stores in Greece, but sold its Toronto stores to Pappas two years ago.
The parent company started to care a bit less with the divesting of Canadian operations, he said. There was no need to ship across the ocean for its other stores.
"We didn't foresee the strikes or danger of having one supplier in a country that's going through some unrest.
"It was bad risk management on our part."
Yesterday, Pappas said he would process Zukershtein's refund within 24 hours.
He said Low could have her choice of getting a refund or her long-awaited desk – which had arrived in Canada, after all.
"It was not prioritized and was sitting in a pile of orders, " he admitted.
People can live with delays if told what's wrong and offered refunds. But if they're ignored, they contact newspapers and write nasty comments online.
