RoveConcepts Beware RoveConcepts - Their Policies are NOT in Your Best Interest Vancouver British Columbia

Buyer Beware when dealing with RoveConcepts - their policies are NOT in your best interest!

We are building a new house and I wanted to use Eames loungers for the theater, but I just could not bring myself to spend $5K per chair when I needed 4-8 of them!  So after doing a lot of research among reproduction companies...and based on the mostly positive reviews seen online...I ordered one Eames lounger from RoveConcepts to check it out before ordering the rest.   Glad I did the 'test' order first as it didn't go well at all.

Without getting into the time delays....of which there were a few....the customer satisfaction of the experience was astoundingly bad.

Here is the short version and my recommendation if you decide to order from RoveConcepts. 

1. Ordered the chair in November...supposed to arrive first week of January, but did not come - and not without a fight - until February
2. Chair arrived damaged with screws overdriven and the points breaking the surface of the finished wood - not delivery damage but construction damage which should not have passed even a cursory Quality Control inspection
3. Rove policy states that you MUST inspect the chair before the delivery driver leaves so that they can verify the damage - this was done
4. I called Rove while the driver was here and was instructed to refuse the order, not accept the shipment and send it back - this was done
5. I was assured by the CSR that all would be taken care of - I thought that meant me and my order...turns out it meant them
6. They received the chair back at their warehouse and emailed me saying the damage was barely noticeable, but they did note that it was damaged - a statement was made to the effect that the damage could have been addressed with a 5% damage policy - now I don't know about you, but $90 isn't enough to make me happy with a damaged chair I paid $1600 for...I want an undamaged chair (or possibly 8 of them) - so I would have declined this regardless
7. They emailed and offered to send out another chair - which I agreed to
8. Then 'management' changed their mind and offered me a full refund - which to them does not include the $199 shipping fee because this is what their policy states - this I did not agree to - I requested that a replacement be sent out
9. Then in the most astounding act I have ever seen, they simply refunded the lesser amount and ignored my future emails - I have NEVER experienced this level of arrogance before in a retailer

I have full documentation on all of this, but the above gives a clear picture. 

Now my story has a happy ending because all it took was a 10 minute call to Visa and they credited the funds to my card.  BUT this may not be the case for you.  I have a longstanding business relationship with my bank and credit card supplier.  From my understanding Visa simply did not want me to be the victim and credited the funds.  Whether they go after RoveConcepts or not for reimbursement, I do not know.  However, this shows what true customer service looks like.

I did call Consumer Affairs even though I had satisfaction from Visa and was told it is BUYER BEWARE.  It is YOUR responsibility to be aware of all the seller's policies - whether they make them known to you or not.  So be sure you know all of RoveConcepts policies as listed on their site - specifically that YOU are responsible for shipping - even when the item is damaged.  Also take a close look at the warranty...it does not appear to cover a great many things that seem important at this price level.  I didn't look at this at first, but sure would now.

To put things further into perspective, I buy a LOT online.  By that I mean literally 1000+ purchases to date.  And the fact that this is the first review I have ever written and the only time I have not been satisfied with an online purchase experience says a lot.

So why did I write this review?  It is not to say anything about the quality of their furniture because I did not even have the chance to try the chair, so I cannot comment on that.  It is my hope that if you decide to buy from RoveConcepts, that you can ensure that you are treated more fairly than I was. 

How to do this?

Before ordering I would simply ask them to put in writing that they will be responsible for any and all shipping charges for ANY damage, defects or warranty replacement/work.  If they won't agree to this, then I think you have your answer as to whose best interests are being looked after - and it is not yours.  In my few phone calls with their CSR, I got a lot of 'don't worry about it' and 'not a problem' and 'we'll take care of it', but this simply didn't turn out to be true...so get satisfactory terms of sale in writing BEFORE you give them your money!

If enough of their potential customers demand this, perhaps they will change their policy to better represent the customer and take more care in their quality control.