As with any story, there are two sides to this complaint against California Furniture Galleries. First, this customer purchased part of their bedroom set from another retailer, namely Homestead House, as a floor samples in order to receive the lowest price possible. They later ordered a gentleman's chest and two nightstands from California Furniture Galleries because our price was lower at the time. When they came into our showroom to order the additional items, they selected the items from our color catalog. They had a copy of the quote they received from Homestead House in their car, but did not bring it in with them. They also already had delivery of the items they purchased from Homestead House, and therefore should have been very aware of what finish they had. When we attempted to deliver the furniture to the customer, they stated that we ordered the wrong finish.
This purchase was for THEIR furniture, they chose the items they wanted and they signed the order indicating the order was correct. Had they taken the time to bring the quote from Homestead house into the showroom, this error could have been avoided. Had they questioned they fact that there were two finishes shown in the catalog, we could have clarified what finish they already had. A little effort on their part could have avoided all this unhappiness and unnecessary cost. Yet, they want the retailer to take responsibility for their error. Even though we had a valid, enforceable contract, we offered to take our valuable floor space and sell the items for this customer. It took almost one year to sell these items for this customer. We then refunded 75% of the purchase price to this customer.
We make every effort to be sure what a customer orders is what they want, but ultimately, the responsibility is the consumers'. We also make every effort to resolve those few situations that do arise without bearing a disproportional amount of the cost. The fact that this transaction happened in November of 2001 shows that this customer is having trouble letting go of their mistake.
One final note, this is the ONLY complaint on the internet about California Furniture Galleries, that in itself indicates what great lengths we go to in order to satisfy our clients. We have been in business since 1958.
