If You Have to Have a Repair

Hopefully, any furniture you buy either locally or from an out-of-state dealer will arrive with no damage or only minor problems which are easily fixed.

If you have to have a piece of furniture repaired, it's going to work out a lot better if it was made in the USA. Not assembled in America but actually made here.

If it's an import and it has problems, there won't be any parts in someone's inventory, or options for ordering whatever was damaged. The only option will be to hire a local repair person and that won't always go well.

Unfortunately, there are situations where it doesn't matter where a piece of furniture was made, neither the dealer nor the manufacturer will take any responsibility. Even when the dealer does help, sometimes the repair at the factory is done poorly. I've had a full range of experiences over the years. I've listened to them blame the other guy, and of course, it was always my fault for something I did or didn't do. That merry-go-round can spin for a long time, and when it stops it's often not in your favor.

I have gotten some of the worst service from the larger local dealers that advertise that customer satisfaction and service is their number one priority. It is until you need it.

Furniture is hard to get delivered defect free. I've moved 18 times in the last 40 years . The local and long distance guys always damage something. Ever try to collect from them. They'll patch your stuff using White Out. I've had several sets of leather furniture. Most of them were pretty good. One or two were total crap.

My Hancock and Moore appears to be the best made of all of the leather furniture I've had. Initially, it sits the best, it's very comfortable and well made. Ask me in 5 years how it wears. The Hancock and Moore service wasn't perfect, but it was pretty good, and they offer a wider range of repair options at more reasonable prices than other companies. I understand the range because I've had to use their service, and before I bought I checked the prices and repair options.

If your set of leather furniture lasts 15 years and costs between $5K and $10K, saving $200 to $500 buying from the cheapest dealer amounts to $30 a year in savings maximum. If you need new cushions, repairs or replacement parts, saving $30 a year is nothing compared to what you'll pay if the dealer or the manufacturer doesn't come through for you. I've been there and done that, so now I check everything before buying.

People spend $4 for a cup of coffee 5 times a week and think nothing of it, but they will nickel and dime a television, appliance or furniture dealer to death. I guess they think the memory of the coffee lasts longer than the use of the furniture. Coffee doesn't need after the sale service and support. Most furniture dealers only dream of having the margins that Starbucks has.

I'm not suggesting you pay a big premium thinking it is going to buy you better service, faster repairs or a dealer that even cares. That is certainly not the case most of the time.

I am suggesting that sometimes buyers get too obsessive about the last dollar on the table and forget what's important over the long run. You can't go back and buy good service later when you need.

I don't buy furniture made in China. I don't care about the quality control promises. Shipping anything that far by boat under so many variable conditions of heat, humidity, handling, and packing and unpacking is going to cause problems like warping, veneer losing, racking, and other problems. If you must buy items made in China, make sure you're getting the one off the floor so you can give it a 100% inspection before it's brought to your house.

No matter what you buy or who you buy it from, there's always a degree of buyer beware. So shop carefully. As far as dealers go, Duane and The Keeping Room have given me the best service of anyone I've bought from. Hancock and Moore has been very good also.

Jim T.

You are spot-on, Jim.

It's also why I don't carry Chinese-made furniture lines, or anything from Pacific rim countries. Forget about getting a part for something or a repair, as you say. I learned that lesson the hard way, when several years ago one of my delivery guys caught a leather sofa base on a Chinese sofa on a sharp corner of our truck and ripped the leather appx 4". (I tried one order of Chinese made leather, and one only). I called the company here and asked to return it to the North Carolina factory where they made the USA pieces in their line and they said "No, we can't fix it, don't send it, we have no leather for it." I had to call in a leather repairman who did a marginal seam of the rip, and it went to the floor to be marked way down as a second. In that same order were some made-in-China office chairs. Customer bought one, used it for 6 months and the gas strut failed on it. I called to get a replacement part and again got "no can do, no parts available because its made in China". They sent a whole new chair and we tossed the 6 month old one in the dumpster. That's fine when under warranty, but once out of warranty and the parts fail - the customer is pretty well stuck with the broken piece.

The USA-made lines ARE repairable, and that's good to have those services available. Yes they cost more, Americans don't labor for $ .75 an hour like the Chinese, but they build a superior product in the furniture industry.