American Furniture Warehouse [AFW] review: Customer service agent Chelsie in Texas

Good afternoon. My name is Billy Craven and I live in Houston Texas. My phone number is [protected]. I purchased a power reclining sofa 1B-794PRS on May 1, 2022. I called AFW and had a technician come to my home to determine the reason one side of the sofa was not working. Yesterday, he came, inspected the sofa. Originally he wasn't sure if it was the motor or the switch in the arm. His suggestion was to just order both parts to be safe. However, the footrest was not down all the way so he ask me if I would like it down. I said yes and so he removed the motor. He then checked motor by using the opposite side connections and found that it was not the motor and said that it must be the switch. He said that he would turn in the information to customer service, they would order the part and give me a call by the end of the day notifying me about the order being placed. However, instead of calling me and letting me know the part had been ordered, I received a phone message stating, "Hi. This is American Furniture Warehouse Customer Service. I am just giving you a call about the technician visit you had today. I would like to discuss that. If you could please give us a call back at [protected] and choose option six, that would be great. Thank you have a great day."

So today, March 24, 2024, I returned the call at 4:07 PM and spoke to a representative named Chelsie. She put me on a brief hold while she read through the notes. She then returned to the line and informed me that my sofa is a discontinued model and parts were no longer available. She also said that it was outside the 1 year warranty. I then corrected her and read to her from the Customer Care brochure that I received with my receipt the day of the order. It states, "#3 - 3-year limited parts warranty for motion and power furniture includes: power components, recliners, sleeper mechanisms and message chairs." She told me that she had no idea what I was reading from and that the warranty information was listed on my receipt. I checked my receipt and there is no warranty information to be found. I explained this to her and she continued saying that the 1 year warranty had expired. I once again read to her from the brochure starting with #1, then #2, then #3 listed above and said I do indeed have a warranty on the item. She then said that we are going round in circles and that she was going to hang up on me. She then immediately hung up. It says that for quality assurance that the call may be recorded. I encourage you to pull the recording, if is was, and review the call.

I have dealt with many, many customer care representatives in my 55 years and have never had such a rude interaction.

I called the store in Katy Texas where I purchased the sofa and explained the situation and wanted to file a complaint. They told me they were sorry for the way I was treated and suggested I call back and speak to the individual's supervisor. I then called back and the call said I had a zero second wait time and then it hung up again. I then called back a 2nd time and this time spoke to the representative Cameron. I explained that I needed to speak to the supervisor about an incident with one of the customer service agents hanging up on me. But instead of insisting that I speak with the supervisor, I explained the situation to her and she apologized to me and said that it should not have been handled that way. I explained the situation to her regarding the part and the warranty and instead of dismissing me like Chelsie did, she calmly said that she would check the repair department to see if there was a way to get the part and would call me back tomorrow, Monday, March 25, 2024, with an answer.

Having a service representative handling a customer concern regarding a warranty that is written in black and white that I am reading to her and saying that she had no idea what I am referring to is a total disrespect to the customer, i.e. me. If the warranty has changed since the time of my purchase, then I should have been notified in writing of the change. I would have then called and discussed that it was a breach of contract and would have wanted to speak to a supervisor regarding the issue.

I am very disappointed with the way I was treated about something that, according to your brochure, I am entitled to and hope that you will speak to this representative regarding this exchange.

This is my account of the situation to the best of my recognition.

I appreciate you taking the time to hear my complaint and also Cameron for at least trying to resolve the situation of my non-working part.

I have attached all the documents I received regarding my purchase.

Respectfully,

Billy Craven