Patrick and I have been looking for bedroom furniture for what seems like ages. We didn't want to spend several thousands of dollars for it, nor did we want to go the particle board route that we've gone so many times before. We wanted nice solid pieces that aren't too modern and aren't too traditional. Plus they had to be AFFORDABLE!
We found a set we really like from Costco (we *heart Costco furniture). It is by Hamilton Spill…solid hardwoods, nice lines…etc. But the whole set was still a few thousand dollars - eep! We also weren't sure if we wanted to go the matching route. SO we held off on buying it. A month later we opted to buy a bedframe/head board from Costco…it is a really lovely upholstered microfiber headboard…we really like it!
The hunt for the rest of the pieces continued. We needed two night tables and a dresser for me and one for Patrick. We came across the exact bedroom set at The Bay. …but instead of an ebony colour it was more like a chocolate brown stain…we loved it even more! It gave us the options of buying piece by piece…AND it was on as a Manager's Special. We registered at The Bay for our wedding and knew there was some sort of discount…I called and they said it was 25% off - holy deal! We wanted to order it right away. We had some money left on a gift card we'd received, but had to come into the store to use it towards the order.
So we go into the downtown Victoria Bay store to order it. One of the sales guys says they're must have been a mistake and he can only give me 10% off…well…that isn't nearly as much as 25% and that's besides the point, 'cause I was quoted 25%! He says they "don't honour verbal quotes, only written ones." WTF?! We ask to speak to the manager. She comes down and says "sorry, he said we can't give you the 25% off, so he we can't..." she then mumbled something and just stood there…wouldn't answer our questions about the sales person who gave us the quote etc. She just stood there ;p
Seriously, so weird…so we say forget it…hoping the sales guy will be desperate enough for the minimal commission and come after us. He doesn't.
So I am super peeved and Pat says "you should write a letter"…well, from past experiences writing letters has gotten me no where. I've invested so much time, effort and passion into previous letters I promised myself I wouldn'write another one. I've also worked on the other side, receiving these letters…and see that nothing happens! ….but I ended up writing one anyway…lol And I am so glad I did! I emailed The Bay with my story. The next day I get a reply saying my email has been forwarded to the store manager for response. I don't hold my breath.
But, that afternoon I get a call from a VERY apologetic store manager…saying they obviously have some "issues" in the store to work out…etc. AND they are honouring the 25% I was quoted!
So, we go in that evening and buy the furniture…25% discount is huge! AND because we have a registry there we get FREE shipping - whoot! It is a $60 savings! The only crappy thing is that they can't deliver for a couple of weeks…bummer.
Fast forward to our delivery day. The people in Richmond forget to put our product on the truck to bring to Victoria…OMG…it never ends! So Pat complains saying that the service is terrible, etc. They say to call them back for "compensation" once the product is delivered. Our funriture has been delivered and we love it! The cherry on top is that I just followed up on the "compensation" and they are crediting our VISA $110 for our troubles - whoot!
Moral of the story: a quick email/letter can be worth several hundreds of dollars!
