A Reminder for Forum Readers

A gentle reminder that the forum is the place to ask questions of a general nature regarding furniture. Seems to be less and less people posting, and more people calling me on the phone to ask their questions. Please understand that I run a retail store operation by myself and am not waiting here by the phone day in and day out to provide free information on a 30-minute rambling phone call. That circumvents what the forum is for, and it is causing issues. The forum is free to use for everyone, there's no charge for it. I answer the majority of questions in the evening when I am home in the evening, and I am glad to do that regardless of maker and brand. But when you call me to 'pick my brain' at the store then you are using the time up that I need to run my business, and its not fair to me, so I am going to ask you to post your questions here. Type them out.

Please do not call me on the phone unless its of a nature regarding a purchase from my store.

If you still decide to call my store then some ground rules:

* Do not call me for advice on product I do not sell. This includes other brands at a store you are shopping, craigslist finds, old furniture, general furniture construction, leather knowledge, etc. These are all forum questions.

* Be organized. Have a pen and paper hand to write down prices. Often I repeat price quotes three and four times because the caller has nothing to make notes on. This frustrates us both.

* I am not a mind reader. Tell me the brand, model number (specific model numbers are better than names) of the pieces you are interested in. Also where you are calling from so I can compute shipping/delivery.

* I will not browse the internet with you on the phone. Please be concise and efficient. As soon as you begin to ramble and go off-topic I will excuse myself from the call.

* The Forum is full of information, usually it is already typed out here. Do a search for your questions. Create a user account and the search feature will work far better than if you use the forum anonymously.

* My pet peeve: Do not call me and ask me if I got the email you sent earlier, or the forum post you just submitted. I get to 90% of all questions and requests in 24 hours or less, I will respond as time allows. Sometimes it will be in half an hour, other times it will be the next day.

* If you get the voice mail - PLEASE - leave a message. Some refuse to do so and call continuously which doesn't make me finish up with another customer any quicker, its annoying to see the same name on the caller ID repeatedly when I'm on the other line with another customer.

* All sample requests are done via email or here on the forum under QUOTES. I do not take them verbally over the phone. Be sure to include your name and full mailing address.

At my store I am the salesperson, the buyer, the truck unloader, the bookkeeper, the ordering agent, the janitor, the diesel truck mechanic, the shipping person, the repair guy and the warehouse man. Every day is busy.

Although the above may make it seem like I'm an old grumpy, imagine the frustration of being halfway carrying a new recliner into the store on a hand truck to stop and answer the phone and hear on the other end "I saw your blog and I need some advice on re-finishing my grandmother's old dresser and for you to tell me what its worth". This happens almost every day and just has to stop, hence this post.

Respect my time and I will be more than glad to answer all your questions to the best of my ability. And of course, if you are placing an order through my store, then we will take whatever time is necessary on the phone to answer all the questions relating to your purchase.

Thanks
Duane