That Smith

The first rep I talked with seemed a bit taken back by the fact that they’ve already sent four glass tops that broke. It was already after Christmas and the website said the tables were in stock, so I asked about canceling the order and purchasing another one. Perhaps that would make them send it faster since it seems they don’t give a priority to someone who has had such a horrible experience thus far. No such luck though.

The rep explained how they take the order, but the actual production and shipping is done by Hillsdale Furniture, who was in fact closed until January 8th.

What kind of business shuts down entirely for two weeks after Christmas, and doesn’t carry a backup stock? I have no idea.

I asked the rep if he would ship the next one overnight since they had done a crappy job each of the other times (5 glass tops and 5 “unexpected” delays). He told me that was not an option unless I wanted to pay for the upgrade.

I personally think paying extra for premium shipping on a replacement (something that should have come over a month ago) is insane. I refused and asked about a partial refund. He said that was not an option either since technically it was not their fault.

Like any unhappy consumer, I thanked him for his help and hung up.

I called back and immediately asked to speak with a supervisor. I probably would have gotten one too, but the new rep was sneaky and asked if she could try to help before sending me to one. I told her about the delay, the other glass tops, the previous rep that would not offer a discount or expedited shipping, and that I had drafted an e-mail to their company’s founders, Niraj Shah and Steven Conine, regarding the issue.

She placed me on hold to check on the delay, and confirmed that it was indeed because the warehouse was closed. Then, unlike all the reps before her, she offered the choice of a partial refund or returning the table.

As you and I know, I already put the table together and threw out the boxes, so returning the table (without a hefty restocking fee)was not an option. My hard work of putting the table together would have been wasted, plus it looks really nice.

I didn’t want to be too greedy, otherwise they probably would have told me to just send the table back, so I said I would take a partial refund. She offered a credit of $50 through Google Checkout, which I balked at, but decided to accept.

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