Marlo Furniture Store I know the economy is down, but does that call for incompetant and rude service Forestville Maryland

I have been a loyal customer to this store for many years now, but after this last incident, I probably will not buy anything else again.



Staring with August 2, 2009 I viewed a bar online that I wanted to purchase. It was the Royale Bar, sku number 656357554. When I called your Rockville store to inquire about the item, I was connected with a salesman. He was supposed to look up the information and get back with me. Needless to say, he never returned the phone call. I had to contact the call center again to have them check to see if the item was in. This is where I came in contact with "Joyce Doe." Joyce at first appeared to be quite a help. She looked up the sku and determined that the item was discontinued. But they had one in the warehouse and she would have someone pull it down to make sure it was not damaged. First of all, why would you have an item on your website that has been discontinued for quite sometime?



After that information was revealed, I called the salesman back and let him know that the item was discontinued and would he have any other bars in stock? The salesman said he would put me on his waiting list and call me back. (Joyce called me back sometime between August 3 and 4 to inform me that the bar was not in good condition and had handles and legs missing). Since this was unsatisfactory for me, I called Joyce back where she informed me that there wasn't a problem and told me about two other bars, Master Bar and the Tamarind Grove 2 made by Fairmont that was available. I sized up both bars and decided I would like the Tamarind bar. Joyce went on to say she was going to check and see if she could do an invoice and allow me to pay with a revolving account that I have. I gave her all my information and an invoice and customer code was created. Joyce told me she would call me back in 10 minutes and she touched base with her supervisor. Additionally, the item was out of stock (of course) and Joyce said she would talk to the buyers to see when the item would be in the warehouse. Apparently, the buyers were in a meeting. By the end of the day I had not heard from Joyce and I called her back to see if she had recovered any information. I was told by another associate that Joyce was on an extended lunch and that the buyers were gone by another associate (who by the way refused to give her name).



Now we are on August 3, 2009, I contacted Joyce and asked if she had received any information. I was told she would have to call me back. I gave her my private cell phone number and waited. By 1:00pm, I called again and explained that I was having a function and needed the bar as soon as possible and if that couldn't be met, then I would have to look elsewhere. Joyce informed me that, it was my choice, but she is working on it and I am not giving her enough time to do that. Additionally, she let me know that I was not her only customer. We talked and I understood her position but I really needed this bar. Joyce went on to tell me how she didn't like working there and if they had any jobs at my agency. Okay, this is not what I'm calling about and furthermore, no customer wants to hear about your likes or dislikes about your job because that doesn't invoke confidence in purchasing furniture from Marlo's. It leaves the impression that, this is why the customer service is so lousy and why would I want to deal with this company. Needless to say I didn't receive a return phone call on that day.



I called continuously on August 4, 2009. It got to the point when other people answered the phone, they would automatically relay the message that she was unavailable at which point I asked for the supervisor and was told he does not take phone calls? Okay? Around the 5th time of trying to reach her, Joyce answered the phone and immediately said Why are you harassing my co-workers and started to chastise me for trying to find out information on an item I am trying to buy from the company YOU WORK FOR. I was livid, and told her if they didn't want me business, just let me know. Joyce called me back later on in the afternoon to tell me her supervisor said I had no revolving account through this company because that company does not do revolving accounts. I explained that I did have a revolving account that I have had for years. I called the company and placed Ms. Taylor on hold and did a conference call between the company, Joyce and myself to verify that I had a revolving account. Even after speaking with customer service representative, I was told by Joyce that it didn't matter and she didn't need to speak with the company and that it would have to be approved by a manager in the store and I would have to reapply with the company. When I said I already had an account, why did I have to reapply? I was told they needed a new signature and a valid ID and I would have to go to the store. I was also told that the bar was not in stock and she had no indication when it would be coming into the warehouse. Out of curiosity I called back to ask about ask questions and told the associate that I did not want to deal with Joyce anymore and wanted to speak with a supervisor, I was told the items were not in stock now, but were due to be delivered to the warehouse on Saturday, August 8, 2009. Additionally, the young lady put me on hold and Joyce got on the phone and berated me again about calling so much. I in turn became angry with her because if she would return phone calls when she said I would not have to call so much! Joyce stated that since she had been working with me and was going to see it to a close, that she was off on Wednesday, August 5, 2009, but would call me from her private home phone and see if she could talk to the manager at the Laurel and Alexandria stores so she could reserve a floor model for me.



My husband and I went to the store in Rockville and I signed the application and was ask to give my id and a major credit card as well. I was concerned about my credit card number being exposed, but Larry Doe who I was told was the manager by an Asian sales associate told me he would wite out my card number and that they just needed the logo???? Larry called Joyce and told her he had the signed document and what she wanted him to do with it, fax it to the company or fax it to her. I don't know what was said on the other end, but Larry called the company and inquired on what he should do with the application. He was given an approval code by the customer service rep and I purchased the bar and 2 bar chairs totaling $1699.00. In the meantime, I asked Larry if he could call the Alexandria store since it would be closer than the Laurel store due to the fact I live in West Virginia. Larry called the store and was put on hold for the manager and no one from the Alexandria store ever came back to the phone. I was then told by Larry that the manager was probably gone and that I should call both store in the morning and see if I can reserve one of the floor models??? Why am I being asked to do all the leg work? I have a job that I go to everyday as well.



August 5, 2009, I waited for Joyce to call, by 4:00pm. I was pissed and I started trying to get in touch with the managers at both the Laurel and Alexandria store because number one, you're trying to charge me for a brand new bar and you're giving me a floor model. That's not going to work for me. Secondly, I would like to see the items to ensure that they are not damaged. I kept getting rerouted to the call center because no one at either store answered the phone. By the time the end of the day came around, you could have boiled an egg on my head.



Now this is where I am today, August 7, 2009. Joyce is no longer was in touch with me, so I didn't know the status of the items and I called the Rockville store and asked to speak with a manager to cancel an order. The call was taken by the same Asian sales associate from before, who told me the manager was with a customer and she would have them CALL ME BACK. I told the sales associate No and that I was hold as long as necessary because I had to get this taken care of today. A woman who identified herself as Lottie and stated she was one of the managers took my call. She went through the computer and told me my invoice number was unusual because of the D0 in the invoice number. I gave her the customer code I was given and she told me it was no where to be found. After 15 minutes of going through old items that I have purchased in the past and me calling my husband to get information, Lottie finally found the invoice and informed me that the items are in the warehouse as we speak and when did I want to pick them up. She was courteous and helpful and for the first time I felt like I was really being helped. I scheduled a pick up for Tuesday and thanked Lottie ever so much for all her help.



As you can tell by the length of this email, it was a long and exasperating experience that I would never wish on anybody. Maybe I should have paid more attention to the negative information about your company on The Ripoff Report on the internet, but since I had dealt with your company in the past I never thought it would be this bad. So many calls, so much rudeness and just plain unaware of where items are, when they are coming in and if they can be available to the customer. When I am dealing with my money, I expect things to be handled correctly and courteously. As of this time since neither, Joyce, Larry and any other manager from Laurel and Alexandria have been in touch with me, I bet they don't know I'm scheduled for pickup on Tuesday. There no communication between stores or the call center. This was poor and crappy work done by incompetent people who need to be retrained in the art of dealing with customers. If you are frustrated with your work conditions, you just need to find another job quickly.



After all of the frustration I had to go through tying up my cell phone line, calling a wasting valuable time from my job. Someone needs to compensate by taking something off the price because I am sure I wasted much of my talk time on the phone trying to get correct answers. I guess I will have to write my own blog on The Ripoff Report and let customers know, it is much worse than you think and go to Ashley, Wolf or Grand Furniture and do business.



Elaina m
Charles Town, West Virginia
U.S.A.

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