Didn't exactly find it, but found something better instead.
We wanted one in the main hall between the doors to the living and dining rooms. While we we looking, we had a chest we'd brought along from the old house. It wasn't quite the right size or style, but it was functional while we searched for the right piece (pictured).
Like always, we looked half-heartedly at many places on the off chance we'd find "The One" while we we really looking for something else.
One day, SWMBO found a candidate on a website for a company that shall not be named. It has a store in a lovely town at the center of the furniture world, also known as Becker, MN. They also have several satellite stores around the metro area.
We went to one of the satellite stores to check if they had the table in stock. The salesman couldn't find it. Anywhere. Even though we had it on our iPad on their website right in front of his face. It took the help of several sales people (all falling all over themselves volunteering to be our interior design consultant) 30 minutes before they finally found it. On a different system. Under a different product code. And, of course, they only had one in stock. At the main store.
We could purchase it, they said, and they'd ship it free-of-charge to the satellite store where we could pick it up in a few days. They'd call us when it arrived and we could take it home. If it didn't work out, we could return it; no questions asked.
A week came and no call. So we called to check on the status. They said they'd check into it and call us back.
They didn't. So we called back a few days later. They said they'd check into it and call us back.
They didn't. So we called back a few days later. They said they'd check into it and call us back. (Don't worry, my keyboard is not stuck.) We said we'd wait on the line while they checked. When they came back, they said it was in and we could pick it up. Now, I don't know if the dude had to carry it on his back from Becker to Roseville, if 2 days in Becker equals 2 weeks in the real world, or if they have phones that don't dial out. And I don't care. But it gets better.
SWMBO picked it up on Wednesday. I knew as soon as I saw it that it wasn't the right one; the style was fine, but the color was off and it wasn't wide enough.
It wasn't until Saturday that we had time to return it. I carried it into the store and back to the "customer service" counter. I waited for the two ladies (who appeared to be doing nothing) to acknowledge my presence. And waited. And waited. Finally one looked up from her computer and glanced in my direction (note that I was standing right in front of her). She looked back down for a bit and then, without raising her gaze asked if she could help.
I waited for her to look at me before saying, "I'd like to return this table. It didn't quite work in the space the way we'd hoped." She didn't offer her hand as I reached with the receipt, so I set it on the counter next to her computer. She looked at it for a bit and said, "Our return policy is seven days. I can't accept this."
I took a deep breath to keep my head from exploding and replied slowly, "If you check, you'll see we picked it up on Wednesday which is 3 days ago by my count and you really don't want to go there." Without saying another word she finally picked up the receipt and began doing the right thing. After several minutes of stuff she handed back the receipt and said, "Here you go."
No "I'm sorry it didn't work out"; no "Have a nice day"; nothing.
Contrast that with the experience we had at Pomegranate Designs.
On a Saturday we were out looking for random decorating things for the house. As soon as we saw the table (pictured) in the shop, we knew it was the right one. They only had the floor sample and it had a small nick in the finish below the bottom drawer. The saleswoman said she'd order one for us. She called first thing Monday morning to say that the table was on back order for 6-8 weeks. She added that we could have the floor sample - the owner of the shop would have the nick repaired to our satisfaction and we'd get a 10% discount. In addition, they'd have the repair done so that we could pick it up on Saturday if that worked for us.
Wow! I couldn't find more opposite experiences if I tried.
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