GREEN FRONT FURNITURE INC

I had a very unpleasant experience with the customer service in this store and disappointment in the lack of care for and the quality of the products that they sell. At first glance the products seem modern and stylish. In fact, when leaving the store with my purchase, I even said “This store is great, I don’t think I’ll ever shop at another furniture store again!” Wow, how wrong I was, and how very impolite, deceiving and exploiting this store is. When you really take the time to look, the furniture and rugs are old, dirty, made of poor craftsmanship, and they treat them horribly. I was looking at a rug that they had put outside on the ground, resting on top of cigarette butts and bird droppings. Not really putting as much thought in that as I should have at the time, I made the mistake of purchasing the rug and deciding to return it the next day (simply because of the mismatch of the color with my decor), and noticed that they then just left it sitting on an upholstered chair that they are trying to sell, for 2+ hours while I looked around the store for something else. (I feel bad for the person who buys that chair!) The reason I was looking for something else was because their “return” policy is store credit only, or a 15% restocking fee charge. As I said, I spent over 2 hours looking for something else but upon careful inspection realized that the quality of the products is pretty poor. Various pieces are filthy, scratched up, rugs thrown about, etc. And while taking note of how they were treating their products, I realized I wouldn’t want anything from there anyway. Going back to when I bought the rug though, I was told about their return policy, so I had picked out a Dinning Room table (among other things) that I would be willing to purchase instead (as I was shopping for multiple pieces of furniture for a new house) and wanted to avoid the 15% restocking fee (which would ultimately turn into a $286 loss). I even discussed this with the sales associate (Susan) before purchasing the rug to make sure that I could purchase the table as “Option B”. When I called Susan to tell her I would be returning the rug (within one day of purchase, simply because the colors looked different in my house than in the store) I asked if she would be willing to waive the restocking fee if I brought it back right away and the answer was just a blunt "no, that's not possible". That's it. Silence. No fluff, "I wish we could, but that's just the policy, etc, etc", not trying to polite or helpful, just a blunt "no", which really rubbed me the wrong way. Regardless, I knew the policy so I dealt with it and told her I wanted to get the Dinning Room table in exchange. She told me that the table that was sitting on the sales floor was all scratched up, but I could buy a new one for $250 more! Nowhere on the table does it say “Floor Model” to indicate that the price would be different if I didn’t want that exact one that has been sitting on the sales floor for who knows how long, and never did she explain that to me beforehand. I have never been to a furniture store where it costs more to order the piece of furniture than what the price listed says, unless of course it is labeled as “floor model”, which this was not. I found this extremely misleading. So beware, if you don’t want the dirty, scratched up piece that has been sitting on the floor for months (if not years!), the price listed is not actually the price. Because my “Option B” was no longer an option, as the prices were more than stated on the sales tags, and many things in the store seemed of poor quality and poorly cared for, I decided to cut my losses and return the rug for the 15% restocking fee. (I should mention that this restocking fee is quite silly, as they happily take the rugs down for you to look at, even if you don’t buy it, so really they need to hang it back up anyway. If they even hang it back up again, as over half of the rugs are lying in a heap on the floor.) I did try to question the restocking fee though and ask the purpose of it and got nothing but patronizing rolls of the eye and shrugs of the shoulders. Like the before reviewer also mentioned, there was no care for customer service in apologizing for the inconvenience or explaining the purpose of the restocking fee. No trying to be curious, give an explanation, understanding of my disappointment and frustration, or anything in the form of customer service or care at all! In fact, I felt they were down right rude, whispering behind their backs at me and wanting to avoid even helping me. Finally, I noticed that not only did they charge the restocking fee of 15%, they also charged me tax on the restocking fee! (which is certainly not explained in their policy)! While this seems absurd to me and possibly illegal, whether I am right or wrong, I was hoping for some sort of explanation of why, and even after placing a phone call and whispering to the, as quoted in a previous post “invisible manager”, all they did was again roll their eyes, shrug their shoulders and dismissively say “that’s the way it’s always done”. Well, that doesn’t make it right, or explain anything to the customer, even if that is correct. One of the associates (Edward) even muttered under his breath as he rolled his eyes and walked away, “I need to get back to my customers now”. I suppose I don’t count as a customer since I am questioning your company and it’s policies? In the end, what could have been at least an ok, but disappointing situation, as I did have a written description of their policy (as exploiting to the customer as it may be), I felt the company was deceiving and their customer service was awful. And as silly as it may sound to an outsider, I walked away from the store in tears, with my two very young children by my side, and my 4 year old asking why mommy was crying.

We were pleased with the furniture selection and service. The floor sample was sold but they gladly pulled one from their on site warehouse and allowed us to examine and try it before purchasing. We saved the delivery charge by taking our selection with us when we made the purchase. When we look for furniture again, we will return to their showroom.

lOverall, I love this store. Such a wide range of styles and price points. From start to finish it was a pleasant experience.

From the start until payment was merely O.K. I didn't like the fact when negotiating for thousands of dollars worth of furniture all decisions were made by an elusive manager. Especially did not like the outcome was a "no we can't do that" at least show some tact and tell the customer why not, or meet in the middle, something. The other mid-higher end furniture salespeople (Havertys, Crate and Barrel, Resto HW etc) are willing to work the best deal they can in order to get their commission. Furniture piece is great, made well, and looks fabulous. The delivery service is why the grade for this review is poor. First off Rita the salespeople made sure my invoice was marked as to call at least 1 (preferably 2) hours before delivery. Even the delivery lady (very sweet) that schedules all of that work reiterated this when she called me the day prior to verify. Sure enough the delivery crew called 30 minutes prior to being at the house......30 minutes to get from northern Fairfax county to southern PWC... Upon delivery everything looked good to go, the delivery guys brought everything into the house where I asked but it was when they put the table back together is where I almost completely lost it. They placed the drawers back into the table and were shoving them in pretty rough, slide them in and out with some force, viewing this one can tell something wasn’t right. On the very last one they did not seat the draw properly and of course, with a loud snap all the bearing from the track came spilling all over my floor. Awesome, 4 grand and the table draw is broke....They tried frantically to fix it. I understand mistakes happen, but not one, not one apology from the guys. I made it very clear I will not sign for anything if the piece is broke at least not without calling the store first. They didn't seem to care in the slightest (if they even understand English). The one guy told me if I do not sign he will take everything out and I have to go back to the store and I have to figure out a solution. Are you flipping serious? What kind of tactless people are they hiring to do their LOCAL deliveries? Also if you not on your invoice something is wrong or broken. You DO NOT get a copy of the invoice these jokers of delivery man get to keep the original ink signed invoice. Not a good way to do business Green Front. I took pictures of everything on my iPhone and called immediately. Rita my saleswoman (after being on hold for 15 minutes) assures me she can order a new piece but without a clue for an estimated turn around window, not her fault I know she can doing her diligence and if I decide to ever step foot back in the store she is who I will go to. I was beyond livid, I expect this sort of service from the Roomstore, Value City Furniture or Ikea but not Green Front. Needless to say if they do not come through on making this right, more than my direct neighbors will be hearing about this.

This store requires a lot of patience on the part of the customer. You have to have patience to look through the items they have in stock to find items you may be interested in. You have to have patience if you want assistance from their employees as they are working with several customers at the same time. The store did have some decent pieces that I was interested in especially in their rug selection. However, I was frustrated in their customer service in the sofa section of the store and ended my trip there. I would go back if I have time to spend looking for a piece.

They have a big selection of high quality and furniture that could be purchased for almost immediate delivery at discounted price which is great. The sales were very helpful as far as bringing you around and showing you what they have and helping you find information about their products that they have available.

We have used them for several purchases throughout the years. The cushions on our couch remained much firmer than we remember them being in the showroom. We communicated with the sales person and she was really good about working with the manufacturer. The manufacturer is going to re stuff them with a different kind of material. They have very competitive pricing and good customer service. They have a wonderful on site selection of furniture.

Greenfront called me the day before delivery to give an approximate delivery window. The delivery team arrived within the window. The three young men were fantastic - despite the very heavy furniture, they took great pains to ensure they never bumped the furniture or the walls as they got three sets up to the second floor and placed them in their rooms, and then a fourth set down to the basement and placed it in its room. They even politely agreed when I asked them to move one set from the first upstairs bedroom where I had told them to put it, over to a second room when I realized I had told them to put it in the wrong room. They took better care of my furniture than I would have. After this experience, I am planning to return to Greenfront to buy more furniture, since I feel pretty confident what I see will get to me without a scratch.

Rita came back to check on me several times during the afternoon, and helped me find a missing nightstand (one dresser's nightstand was located elsewhere on the floor). She answered my questions and gave me time to decide among the many choices and then helped me place my order. She promptly tagged as SOLD all the pieces I had bought, and she arranged for a delivery on a day convenient for me (as opposed to other stores where you have to conform your schedule to that of the delivery truck.) I finally finished at 3pm - three hours - but felt the time spent was worth it for the quality I purchased and the service I received. The only disappointment I have is that Rita says they don't have any links to the GreenFront stores in Farmville (south of Richmond) to be able to scan what they have there. There might be more inventory I'd like, but six hours of roundtrip driving on the chance I might find something doesn't motivate me. If they had a link, they could perhaps split the commission with the folks in Farmville for referring us to them.

Green Front Furniture called June 16, 2011 and informed me that they had my new furniture ready for delivery. I immediately asked them what furniture, as I had not heard from them in over a month. Needless to say, they had ordered all new furniture and delivery was arranged for that following Saturday, June 18, 2011. The delivery was prompt, courteous and expeditious. Although they came through on the final product, albeit late and without adequate communication, it still does not absolve them for what we have gone through. At no point did we hear, "sorry" for the inconvenience, or anything of that nature. They have excellent furniture, but from my experience, having nice furniture isn't enough. The complete proactive customer service package was and is missing from their toolkit. I won't be using them again.