Furniture Repair & Chair Re-Glue By E Cilek

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The chairs were reglued. They were not able to do the caning that was needed on the backs but they had told me that they don't do that anymore. I did have to call them several times to find out whether the chairs were done and I finally just went over to see if they were done which they were. They do an excellent job of reglueing and I only wish they would make home visits so they could do my table.

Very pleasant overall experience.

I initially got an estimate from a furniture-repair store that intended to carve a new back for the drawer, complete with dovetail joints, and said that it would cost $150. I decided to see how much Cilek's would charge. They offered to repair it for $20, so I left both the broken drawer, and the drawer that matched it, so that they could see what they were trying to match. The guy said he'd have it done in two days. I should note that there seem to be two men who work there -- I think father and son. The younger one is middle-aged and very quiet. The older one is really old, and not at all quiet. When I dropped it off, I dealt with the younger one. When I came back a few days later, it was the younger guy again. The drawer wasn't done, but he gave me back the matching drawer, saying they didn't need it any more. He said I should come back on Monday, November 5th to get the finished drawer. Which I did. The younger guy was there again. He said that if they hadn't cut a deep enough groove for the drawer slide, I could bring it back and they'd fix it. As I was leaving, the older guy drove up and leaped out of his car to follow me. He wanted to reiterate that I could bring it back if I needed to, and he also wanted to ask me who I was voting for the next day, and then...he wanted to argue. And argue. And argue. This guy's political views are apparently somewhere to the right of Bill O'Reilly's. He was cheerful and enthusiastic in his argument, though, and when I said I had to go home and make dinner he held out his hand for a friendly handshake and wished me well. The drawer didn't fit. I don't know why they sent me home with the matching drawer, because if they'd had it, they could have done it right! I had to go back. They fixed it properly on the second go; I didn't see the old guy again. Anyway, this was without a doubt one of the most eccentric service experiences I've had. The reviewer who said that it's like visiting your eccentric great-uncle to have your furniture repaired was dead on. His prices are AMAZING, though. He didn't carve dovetail joints, but it's the back of a drawer; I was perfectly happy to have it cut, fitted, and glued into place. (I was less happy about having to make repeated trips, but he's close to my house, so it wasn't a huge deal.) One other thing -- they don't post hours. Often, when you go, no one's in the shop. If you call the number from your cell phone (it's on the sign out front) someone will come out within a few minutes. I would go to this place again, but maybe not the day before an election.

Mr. Cilek is an older fellow and he has a severe case of pack-rat-itis (his shop IS a mess) but he does a great job. Going to his shop is kind of like going to visit your eccectric great uncle. You go out to his garage to listen to him talk and you sneak glances at the piles of stuff, wondering what he is going to do with that moldy taxidermied bird or the stacks of magazines or all the broken down boxes. Bring your chairs to Mr. Cilek for his reasonable prices and good work but don't expect a retail environment!

I called Mr. Cilek on the recommendation of a friend, saying I had a large glider that needed a repair. He insisted I bring in the glider as soon as possible. The friend who recommended him helped me deliver the glider. Upon seeing the damage, he estimated the price at $43. The gilder turned out to be too large for his crowded workspace, so the friend had to come back the next day with it. The friend informed Mr. Cilek that it might take a business day or so to arrange to pick up the glider, and Mr. Cilek agreed. The repair was quickly completed and Mr. Cilek called on Wednesday or Thursday to ask me to have it picked up. He reiterated the $43 charge. My friend broke a bone in his foot and was unable to drive to pick it up. Mr. Cilek became very irate that we wouldn't be able to pick the glider up immediately (even though we had said at the beginning we might not be able to) and began bullying me, because his workroom was too small and the glider was taking up too much space. I finally agreed to allow his sons to deliver the glider on Sunday, and he told me it would be $35 on top of the base cost of $85. I asked him why the base cost had doubled, since he told me after completing the repair that the price would be $43. He insisted that his estimate and cost had been $85 throughout (however, my friend remembers hearing the $43; we were both surprised at how inexpensive it was) but reduced the delivery charge to $20. When his son dropped off the glider, I paid $105 but repeated my dismay at the change in price and intent to contact the BBB. The son insisted that it was a great repair, and no one else could do such a good job, and he was "just the delivery guy." His behavior was unprofessional and dishonest, and I was glad a friend was with me to accept the delivery. I called Mr. Cilek back one last time before going to the BBB. He was again extremely unpleasant, but finally agreed to refund the difference. In the end, I paid only the original quoted price plus the $20 delivery charge. Though he had taken my name and spelling several times, he addressed the envelope to "occupant" and the check to "cash"; fortunately, I was able to deposit it. He also sent a long letter explaining how he had only taken the repair out of pity for me, because no one else in town would be able to fix the glider, and told me not to refer him to anyone, EVER, no matter how much they needed their furniture repaired. So far as I can tell, the quality of the work is good. If Mr. Cilek had given me the $85 price when he had first completed the repair, I would have paid it happily. However, his extremely unprofessional and bullying behavior means that I recommend against his services. In addition, I suspect that men may have a better experience with him than I did.