Carol Ridker Interiors

Ms Ridker was fully aware of the special circumstances in the client?s home: most key, the furniture had not only to be aesthetically appropriate and very comfortable, but had to withstand large dogs' use of it. This meant a resilient, strong fabric choice and sofa cushions that could be flipped. She insisted on payment-in-full for merchandise before delivery, and payment-in-full for her time as it occurred. Yet, she failed to respond to client inquiries in a timely fashion, leaving uncertainties as to ultimate costs and other issues unresolved. She was not present for deliveries, and failed to instruct the client about practice when there were evident problems. The chair delivered had a seat that was far too firm. The sofa delivered was in a navy ultrasuede, as ordered, but with swaths of tan fabric "for breath-ability" on each cushion assuring they could not be reversed and rendering the cleaning technique uncertain; the stuffing of its cushions was so firm that sitting on it too was most uncomfortable. Ms Ridker never discussed the "breath-ability" aspect with the client; she later attributed the firmness of the delivered sofa to the client's expressed preference for the comfort of another sofa in the same showroom. Two upholsterers who examined the sofa said its cushion filling was the firmest and least expensive available - this on a sofa that cost the client, with fabric, some $8,500. The covering of two the extra pillows Ms Ridker?s upholster had made came apart within weeks due to an inadequate seam allowance relative to the amount of stuffing. Ms Ridker?s initial response to this was to meet with the client's husband to assess the complaints. Together they confirmed both that the furniture's firmness was unacceptable, well in excess of the client's expressed desire, and that there were other means than the swaths used to assure the breath-ability of the sofa fabric while allowing the cushions to be flipped over. They agreed verbally: one, the client could use her own upholsterer to make the necessary amendments; two, Ms Ridker would provide the additional fabric to redo the six sofa cushions and three, she would reimburse all the costs to put things as they should have been. She did provide the fabric. She subsequently denied the rest of the agreement, offering to pay a minor share of the cost, and refusing to pay anything at all when that offer was rejected. Anyone who works with Ms Ridker should do so only with a contract from the outset, specifying her charges, the schedule of payment and her commitment to assure that the goods and services she provides are to the client's satisfaction. We did not, and we paid the price.