On February 10, 2003, my wife and I special ordered a buffet-hutch combination through Havertys Furniture. Our salesman told us that the piece would probably arrive in 30 days, but at worst it would arrive in 8 weeks. In the purchase paperwork, Havertys states that they cannot guarantee a shipping time for special orders. However, we trusted the experience of our salesman with the manufacturer, so we expected to see the piece in about a month.

30 days came and went, and our salesman did not call to follow up. So at the 5-week mark, we called him to see what the story was. He did not return our call until about a week later (6 weeks elapsed). When we spoke to him on the phone, it was clear that he had not been tracking our order because he said he needed to call the manufacturer to see what the status was. So he calls us back a few days later and tells us that the manufacturer has messed the piece up and that they have to redo it. (Had he stayed on top of the situation, we would not have arrived at this late point in time having just figured out that there was a problem.)

So he resubmitted the order and told us that it would take about four more weeks. Once again, we had to follow-up with him about the status of the order when we arrived at the new projected delivery date. We asked to speak to a manager about the problems we had been having. A manager did not return our call.

Finally, at the 14-week(!) mark, a manager called us and said that the piece would be in the following week.

So, here we are, at week 15, and the piece has finally arrived, 11 weeks after the initial projection and 7 weeks after the 'worst-case' projection.

We went to Havertys today to make a complaint with the manager about the absolutely horrible service we have endured for the last three-plus months and to see if they were willing to offer us any compensation for our troubles. The manager told us that we had already gotten a fairly good deal (when purchased, there was a 15% discount) and that they couldn't knock any more off of the price (we paid $1643). When we asked how much it had cost them, she said she was not allowed to tell us (why is the furniture industry not like the auto industry in this respect?). The best she could come up with was free delivery (already promised to us at some point by our salesman) and a $50 gift certificate. What are we going to do with a $50 gift certificate from a store that not only gave unbelievably poor customer service but also will only go so far as to give us $50 towards a future purchase that we are unlikely to make there given how much they evidently value our business? Is that all our business is worth to them?

If Havertys Furniture wants a fighting chance at ever having our business again, they need to take AT LEAST another 10% off of the purchase price, even if it cuts into their profit. If, as their manager stated, this sort of thing rarely happens, then another $160 off the purchase price shouldn't hurt them too badly.

Garrett
Olive Branch, Mississippi
U.S.A.

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