ARA'S GALLERY & ORIENTAL RUGS

She's very professional and she knows her stuff.

She's great, she knows her stuff

We never heard from the provider after that, and so after several weeks called to follow up. We were told the supplies were back ordered but they would be in the next day and so a time was set the following week for the work to be completed. The time for the appointment came and went without anyone either showing up or phoning to explain why not. Again, another phone call with virtually the same excuse, and once again a specific appointment time was established, and yet again the date and time came and went without any response from the provider. Today we phoned and left a message, and requested a full refund on our credit card for the work not performed. So far, there has been no response.

We have had this rug for over 40 years and it was in our foyer. For many years it wasn't used and we had it stored in a closet, so there wasn't any visible wear on the rug. We never had the rug cleaned, but in November 2012 our dog urinated on the rug. The rug wasn't stained, but wanted to get it cleaned. I called a couple of oriental rug dealers in the area for their suggestions on who would do a good job cleaning the rug. One recommended Ara's. We dropped the rug off November 28th and signed a form which I'll discuss later. A few weeks later we drove to Ara's to pick up the rug and were told that it hadn't been cleaned yet. According to the owner she had been out of town on a family emergency and just returned. We live in eastern Jackson county so it was long drive for us, but I guess I should have called first. A week or so later we got a call from Elizabeth, the owner, saying that the rug was washed. The first thing I noticed about the rug was that the fringe which was originally white was now pink. Also the fringe was not loose but was wadded up in stiff little balls, apparently from the soap and dyes drying up. Elizabeth took a damp sponge and loosened up the fringe. She said I could use white vinegar to clean to fringe and remove the pink color (tried this and it didn't work - fringe still pink). When we got the rug home we noticed in better light that there was significant bleeding of the dyes, and the once vivid reds and whites of the rug were mottled. The whites were now pink and the reds and other colors were dull. I phoned the company and complained to Elizabeth about the condition of the rug and told her that they ruined our rug. She said that often the first time or two a rug is cleaned the dyes will bleed, and she thought the rug actually looked better now. At one point she brought up the form that I had signed. I didn't realize when I signed it that it was a release from all claims etc. When I signed the form the terms and conditions were on the back of the form, and I didn't read them until it was too late, after the rug was washed. The release says "I understand that during the . . . . washing of my rug . . . . colors in the rug may fade, run or bleed . . . . and agree to accept . . . damage due to negligence, gross negligence, recklessness or similar conduct . . . . " In my opinion, if this was a reputable company, potential bleeding of the dyes would have been discussed up front before the rug was washed. I found our later that there is a very simple test that can be done on a rug prior to washing to determine if the dyes will bleed.