Rooms to Go, Greensboro, NC - purchased furniture in July, 2003 - still haven't received delivery

# 10 for October 11, 2003

Complaints.com received the following on October 10, 2003:

From:

RE: Rooms to Go, Greensboro, NC - purchased furniture in July, 2003 - still haven't received delivery

Below is a letter I sent to Rooms to Go for poor customer service. October 8, 2003

Re: Order 3466931 To Whom It May Concern: My wife and I purchased furniture from your Greensboro, North Carolina, store in July, 2003. To date, we have not received that furniture. We have attempted to navigate the maze that is your “customer service” to no avail. I am extremely displeased with your company, and intend to tell this story to anyone who will listen. Please tell your legal team to save the defamation form letter; truth is an absolute defense. My wife and I traveled five hours from our home to our beach house during the weekend of September 6, 2003. We had received a receipt from our purchase indicating a delivery date for September 8, 2003. I have enclosed a copy of that receipt for you to review. At no point were we told the delivery date was a “load out date”, or that the actual delivery would be different from the delivery date. That was at least until September 8, 2003, when we phoned your customer service center, and were informed delivery did not really mean delivery. I spoke with Todd about the problem. Todd refused to give me his last name, but he informed me that he was the Assistant Supervisor of the Call Center. He said he had no supervisor, because his supervisor was not on the floor; according to Todd, he answered directly to the President of the company. I ultimately got to speak with Gregg (Johnson I believe; he refused to give me his last name as well, but another individual was able to help). Much like Todd, Gregg said there was not much he could do. Gregg said he was the Supervisor of the Call Center in Duluth, Georgia, and that there was no one who was supervising him, that he, too, was answerable only to the President of the company. We also spoke with Dave Higgins of the Greensboro store. Dave actually told us that the delivery was going to be on the 8th. This was a point that Todd and Gregg directly refuted; according to those two, Rooms to Go does not deliver to Pine Knoll Shores, North Carolina on Mondays (interestingly, store manager Ken Canovali stated that he had furniture delivered to the coast on Mondays. Which of these four has no clue what they are talking about?) My wife and I had taken off work and traveled five hours, as I mentioned. I am an attorney and she is a school teacher. In addition to the gas, travel time, and cell phone expenses incurred as a direct result of this attempt to obtain our furniture, I missed a day of work (my hourly rate is $125.00 per hour), and my wife had to get a substitute teacher to fill in for her (her daily pay is $138.00). Having expressed severe displeasure with Rooms to Go and the service we received, we arranged for delivery on September 29, 2003. Before making the five hour trip again, I went to the Rooms to Go store in Greensboro. I spoke with Ken Canovali, store manager, at approximately 12:15pm on September 28, 2003. Ken was seated on store furniture with two other individuals who appeared to be employees. I informed Ken who I was, and that I wanted to make sure the furniture would be delivered on Monday. He assured me that it would be delivered Monday, September 29, 2003, between the hours of 7am and 11am. Most people would have been satisfied with the assurances given by Ken, but because of my previous experience, I pressed him further. I informed Ken that Todd and Gregg told me that Rooms to Go does not deliver to the coast on Mondays. At that point, Ken got out of the sofa, and walked me over to a computer terminal towards the far right wall of the store. Ken pulled the order up on the computer and again maintained that delivery would be made to our beach home on Monday, September 29, 2003, between 7am and 11am. Again I continued to question him to make certain that this second trip would not be a complete waste of time, energy, and resources. I asked Ken if he was looking at a load out date, or the actual delivery date. Ken showed me the computer screen which he contended indicated that that the delivery date was set for September 29, 2003, between the hours of 7am and 11am. It was at this point that I embarked on the five hour trip to Pine Knoll Shores, North Carolina. I traveled from Greensboro, North Carolina to Raleigh on I-40. Just past Raleigh, I exited onto US Highway 70. After 250 miles, I made it to Pine Knoll Shores, North Carolina. I woke up at 6:00am on Monday, September 29, 2003. I received no information from Rooms to Go. At 10:00am, I called the customer service center to make sure there would be a delivery on that date. I spoke with Heather, and Heather informed me that there would not be delivery as promised by Ken. Heather stated, “I don’t know why a manager would tell you that [delivery would be made on September 29, 2003].” I then called Ken and left a message for him. I was told that Ken was at the bank and would be back shortly. An hour later after receiving no phone call from Ken, I called back. I informed the receptionist who I was, and was placed on hold. The lady came back on the line and said that Ken was on the phone, and I informed her that I would hold. The lady came back on the line and said that Ken had my message, and he would call when he was able. I again informed her that I would hold, and finally Ken came on the line. In response to my question if Ken remembered me asking him prior to making a five hour trip, if the furniture would be delivered, Ken said that he did remember our conversation from September 28th. According to him, the delivery date was changed at approximately 9:30am on September 29, 2003. Someone in Atlanta had apparently made the change, and no one knew about it. Apparently, no one thought it important enough to call me. Ken maintained that the information he provided me the previous day was accurate. He then offered to cancel the order with a full refund, or a $300.00 credit plus a $75.00 gift certificate. I then informed him we would have to think about the options we had. I then called Heather back at the call center. Heather said that the date was a load out date, and not a delivery date. This was in direct contrast to the information that Ken had provided. According to her, there was a notation about loading the truck this morning, but nothing that would indicate a change. I then asked that she cancel the delivery. I informed her that there would not be anyone at our beach home on the date she had for delivery, and that a trip by your deliverers would be a waste of time. So it is October, I have no furniture, and I have missed two days of work, made two ten hour trips, and wasted untold amounts of time on my cell phone. I am completely and totally disappointed with your organization, and I am utterly confused how you continue to stay in business with such poor customer relations. We reported to the Greensboro store manager that we wished to take Ken up on the cancellation of the contract with full refund. Rooms to Go has repudiated the contract. Please send my refund of the sales tax deposited with your outfit to my home address: 402 Greenway Drive, Eden, North Carolina 27288. As it has been over one week since we informed Rooms to Go of our concurrence with Ken’s terms, I expect this amount to be paid directly to me by October 31, 2003. After that date, I will take all steps necessary to recover any and all monies and damages due me. As you might surmise, I will never do business with you again. You have demonstrated the problems with large corporations concerned more with quantity than quality. My money will go to the small businessman who appreciates his customers, keeps promises, and strives to meet expectations. I desire to have this matter behind me as quickly as possible. However, I have a panoply of remedies available, and will use all reasonable steps and processes to protect my rights. Please make full restitution of the sales tax on or before October 31st.

Sincerely, Philip E. Berger, Jr. Cc: John Church (via email)

Better Business Bureau

Ken Canovali (via fax)