IVAN SMITH FURNITURE

I purchased/financed a couch here in March from Mary Lou- I struggled with her because she likes to do all the talking, but she was knowledgeable, I will give her that. Still, it wasn't a pleasant experience to start with. I purchased a dual recliner with console. Very shortly afterward, I noticed that where my feet rest on the recliner was discolored. So I called and asked for how to clean the couch, since no fabric instructions were included up on delivery, nor in box. The rep I spoke with (nice lady, not Mary Lou) said that it sounded like it was a defect and set up for service to come inspect. The service person did that, concurred that it appeared defective and they would get back to me after contacting manufacturer. After several follow ups on my part, they finally said that they couldn't replace the couch, so they would have to exchange it- but of course they didn't have anything that was comparable without extra expense on my part (recliners with no console, lesser fabrics, etc). I didn't want to spend more, so it was negotiated with Mary Lou that I would receive a $200.00 discount off the financed price of the couch if I paid it off that day.. I said I would but I wanted the paid receipt. I was told it would be sent later that day. I paid the rest of the amount owed on the couch ($356.72) and now, nine days later and numerous calls, they refuse to give me my paid receipt. The discussion and payment happened in the morning, I called late afternoon and was sent a receipt showing I still owed the money (so they didn't take off the 200.00 agreed on) I brought this to their attention and they then said Mary Lou would have to take care of it, and she was gone. I called back the next day and Mary Lou said my manager will have to take care of it, and he is gone..but i'll make a note of it. The next day it was...he's on vacation, he'll be back Tues. Tues came and went, and I called today, and Mary Lou's story today is "i'm just a salesperson" I can't do it...and any objection that I made was talked over, and I was not allowed to get word in edge wise. I called to corporate, and was told that they don't have a customer service complaint department. These people are the worst kinds of sales people; I have been in sales my entire life- I have worked for furniture stores, car lots, printer sales and shutters...some of the hardest products to sell. Ivan Smith employs the kind of practices and people that give the profession a stigma for being sharks. Be aware of what you are in for should a problem arise

Called sales associate, explained the style of furniture I wanted. We located it on the webside and they were going to check an additional style for availability and cost. Never received a call back. This was a cash sale we were discussing. In this economy you would expect a store to be interested in making a sale. By the way, this happened at the Tyler store, who didn't complete the sales inquiry and also the Marshall store, who answered the phone, took message regarding item and never called back.

On the date of delivery one sofa was delivered in good condition. The other, however, had scuff marks on the front where the vinyl material had actually been rubbed off. The delivery men agreed it was damaged and took it back. A second delivery date was set by the company. Upon the delivery of the second sofa it was also damaged. Material was scuffed off the side and there was a tear in the material about an inch long. Again, we refused the sofa. When the third sofa was delivered it had five circles on the back section of the couch that appeared to be burned into the material. They were perfect circles about the size of half dollars. Very unsightly and an obvious defect as opposed to a variation in the run of the material. Soon afterward I received a call from the store manager, Jesse Freeman. He informed me that we were too "picky" and that they were just going to refund our money. I told Jesse that it wasn't that we were too picky because we had accepted the first sofa the first time it was delivered because it was not damaged. I was shocked that he expected a customer to accept damaged goods. I asked to set up an appointment with him and the regional manager so that we could all three look at the couches that had been rejected. Jesse put me on hold while he talked to his regional manager. When he returned he said his regional manager didn't have time to meet with me and they were just going to refund our money. The next day my wife called the main store in Shrevepor La. and talked to yet another person in the chain of command. She had originally purchased the two sofas. This person told my wife that we had not spent enough money (he called it a dollar point) for us to warrant the kind of service from his company we were expecting. We couldn't believe what we were hearing. In other words, Ivan Smith only offers good customer service to customers paying over $1,600.00 with them. Final result - we received the refund check but ONLY after I had to call and ask why it was taking so long to receive our refund. We found this company to be totally insensitive to our complaint and totally uncaring to resolve the problem. It was easier for them to just send us a refund. One last thing. When I was talking to Jesse the first time he told me that he had personally inspected all three couches and that the damage was not so bad that we shouldn't have been willing to accept the sofas (that in itself was unbelievable). But at the end of our conversation he asked "when they could pick up the sofa". That's when I realized he had not been honest with me when he said he had personally inspected all the sofas. How could he if he thought we still had a sofa? When I pointed this out to him, he became defensive and said he thought we still had the first sofa that had been delivered. Of course, if we had still had the sofa it still would have been impossible for him to have "personally inspected" all the sofas. Totally untrustworthy.