My husband and I went to Gardner White in Warren, MI, to buy a mattress in September of '06. We were first looking at some living room furniture and asked a salesperson their return / exchange policy. He said items could be returned/exchanged within 7 days from the date of delivery with a 25% reselect fee.
We come to the mattress section of the store and our sales person was a guy named Scott Gdyra. We decided on a mattress and asked Scott if he could talk to the manager about any discounts. At first he said he couldn't do it, but afterwards brought in a guy named Salim Ahmed and introduced him as the manager. Salim gave a final price of $2395 (incl tax) and said it would be delivered in one or 2 weeks.
We got the mattress on a Saturday morning and after laying on it for a couple of nights, realized it is too soft and we needed a firmer one. We went back to the store 5 days after and asked if we could exchange it for a firmer one. Scott immediately told us that mattresses could not be exchanged/ returned.
We asked if we could talk to Salim, who was apparently somewhere inside, and waited for him. We waited for more than an hour and were finally told that Salim was busy and couldn't come out to talk to us. This whole waiting time was so suspicious and cast doubts as to whether Salim is indeed the manager. Scott actually lied that Salim is the manager. Scott said that there was nothing that could be done except get used to the mattress. He also said that there was a federal law that prohibits return of mattresses once they left the store. We returned home disappointed after spending so much and knowing we couldn't use the mattress. We were actually quite surprised that neither Scott nor Salim ever mentioned that mattress sales were final. There was no sign/note ever in the store that mattress sales are final. Even in a small dress store in America, if a dress cannot be returned, they put up signs all over. Why couldn't Gardner White put up a sign somewhere in the store about their policy, especially when the cost is huge? We now have a $2400 dollar mattress that we stopped using a week after we bought it.
Only recently, we went to Art Van to buy another furniture set, and asked about their exchange/return policy on mattresses. We were told that all returns/exchange should be done within 30 days. We were very surprised that Scott had told us there was a federal law that prohibits return of mattresses once they left the store. Is there anything that can be done in this case?
Thanks,
Sravya
Gardner White stores have horrible policies. I and my boyfriend purchased a living room set for a house we had just moved into. The furniture arrived and we thought that the color did not match and went back to the store the very next day for an exchange. They said there was an exchange fee of 750 dollars. We were very dissatisfied but kept the furniture anyway. There should be a note put up about their exchange fees and return policies. We never went back to Gardner White again. For the other rooms in the house, we purchased from Art Van. And Sravya, thanks for letting us know about their nonexchangeable mattress policy.
Buyer beware.
-Sara
Hi Sravya,
I totally agree with you. Gardner White stores have horrible policies. I and my boyfriend purchased a living room set for a house we had just moved into. The furniture arrived and we thought that the color did not match and went back to the store the very next day for an exchange. They said there was an exchange fee of 750 dollars. We were very dissatisfied but kept the furniture anyway. we never went back to Gardner White again. For the other rooms in the house, we purchased from Art Van. And thanks for letting us know about their nonexchangeable mattress policy. Buyer beware!
-Sara
You guys are just whiny %%%%! There is no way that these stories happened like you said. You waited an hour and you never asked anyone else to see the manager, or even the managers name? Come on. I bought a mattress set from there recently and when I bought it, my receipt was put into a folder with the return policy in there.
I have no problems with ripping people and/or companies with crappy service, but I cant stand people that lie and make stuff up even more.
First off, You have the opportunity to test the mattress out in the store... and Thats just nasty that you want to return a mattress after you laid on it after a couple of days... Do you return your dirty panties too? And as far as Sara the fee is 25% if you idiots would read receipts before you sign them you would have known this... Buying furniture is Huge purchase... And if you both look up MI laws you will see that If up to the Company to accept a return..These companies do this as a favor to the customer... This time spent complaining about your mistakes for not reading the receipt before you made these purchases can only be blamed on you... STUPID
P.S. Thanksgiving is coming up go ahead to art van and order your dinning room set and have them return it after thanksgiving, thats why the economy is ###ed... inconsiderate Fools!
She said the mattress she received felt nothing like the one they tried in the store; exactly how does that make her stupid for buying it? They offer the "Best Sleep Guarantee" saying if your not happy you can exchange it for a 25% fee (probably the stores actual cost for the insanely marked up garbage). Should it be called the "Nasty Used Mattress" guarantee? You just sound like an ignorant employee.
I just bought a mattress set from G/W and it is nothing like the one I tested at the store, I called the next day after delivery and asked about return / exchange policy and they told me shame on me, sorry, deal with it. They will get not another of my pennies. and Susan is obviously a furniture sales person who needs a BIG *SS boot inserted in her BIG ### rectum!
I purchased a sofa, loveseat and cocktail table on June 17th 2008. At the time of purchase I was informed that the cocktail table was on backorder and it would be about 2 weeks before I received it. Well it's been 5 weeks, no one even had the nerve to contact me to let me know what was going on. I've called the store several times and have received a different excuse each time. I finally spoke with a manger 2 weeks ago, who was sending out a gift card for my inconvience I guess it's with the cocktail table.
I have to agree with you. Gardner White sales people tell you what you want to hear. We recently purchased mattresses, from Sales Rep Jessica Jane at the Warren store on 14 mile road, she informed us that the old mattressess would be taken by their men. However when it came down to it they would only take the old mattressess if in great shape as they donate them. When I spoke with the manager I was told that both my husband and myself must not have heard her tell us this. The company states they have trained sales people well I agree they are trained to deceive the consumer. Also, don't be lured in by the "We Pay the sales tax" line, it to is a lie.
Gardner white is a RIPOFF.
Do you see the quality of their furniture?
Lets say you pay the average, 5ooo.oo for a living room set, will you happy with nail holes dead smack in the center of your cocktail table?
Or you purchase a formal dining set, for 8 grand, will you be happy with nail holes dead smack in the center, and all over the surface of the table, server, china cabinet?
For 8 grand i could of bought a FINE ITALIAN SET, MADE IN ITALY !
The wood is the cheapest wood available, craftsmanship is garbage, your paying way over the price.
When I walk into someones house, I can be dead accurate of knowing where they purchased their furnature from just by the quality and style.
People, save yourself a migrain, DONT BUY FROM GARDNER WHITE.
OH and i forgot to add:
DO NOT USE GARDNER WHITE FINANCING!
What ever you do, dont do it!
I dont care if your credit score is -200, and your home wIll take 5 years to furnish because at the moment you cant afford to pay in full.
DONT USE GARDNER WHITE FINANCING.
im a credit specialist, gardner white financing is a complete ripoff.
No matter what issues you have with your purchase, once you use gardner white financing, your locked into that debt for life.
I used to work at Gardner White and left on bad terms and I still would have to say that this was not their fault. Of course it didn't feel the same as it did in the store, it was NEW! Sounds like you had buyers remorse. The receipt that you are given at the time of purchase tells you all of the stores policies. Also to sit for an hour to wait to talk to someone is absurd. If you couldn't get satifaction from the store, why didn't you just go to the corporate office? It's the black building behind the 8 mile and Groesbeck Hwy Store.
Why do you complain; anywhere you go to shop the sales person is going to lie thats their job to get you to buy the merchandise. It's your responsibility to inquire about their policies; ask to read it. they have it available. Before you sign you life away you should read. We learn that in school or did you skip that day. If you're being distracted while trying to read as the sales people do tell them to shut up/go away and let me concertrate on what your reading. As buyers you need to do your job like the sales people are doing their job. After all it is your money your spending. It is your money they want it call paying their bills with your money. Art Van is no different they lie two. You can't tell where people got funiture from because everybody sales the same thing at different price. I see alot of items in Art Van, Garner White and TEC (when they was open) and Value City that has the same thing. I shopped at Art Van and Garner White and others. The only different I see is the price and the cancelation policy. You can get your money back from Art Van any you get a store credit from Garner White. My living room set I brought from Garner White is fine. I have had it for over a year. I brought my 1st living room set from Garner White I had it for several years it held up well. Maybe if your funiture is not holding up what is you doing to it or on it.
The bedroom set I brought from Art Van is fine. The Kitchen table I got from Garner White if fine.
Yes, you was dump for waiting more than 5 minutes for a manager. I would have call chanel 2 or something or go to the cooperate office.
furthermore if you spend 5000.00 on a living room set your stupid anyway whats the different from 1500 and 5000 funiture one don't last longer than the other it's all about how you take care of your stuff.
Stop being sour because you got got. Who have you deceived in your life time. Complaining is not changing anything. If your not going to do anything about it shut up.
Sentra King Size Mattress Model #: SENTRACF6/6MATT By SERTA Is On Sale for $99.00 today Macomb, MI
45300 Hayes Rd.[protected] Because of 5 Years No Interest & We Pay Your Sales Tax or $500 Instant Cash Back.Im Going there Today to try to get One.the Sales Man Seemed p*ssed that I want to buy one.COMCAST STILL SUCKS!
I agree that gardner white policies and customer service sucks. When I purchased my living room set from gardner white I used the wrong debit card noticing after I entered my pin # and the cashier voided the transaction, so she thought. The money was stil taken out my account. So Gardner White charged me twice. They wanted to ingore the fact that they had charged me twice and that the cashier had made a mistake voiding the transaction. The store manager is never there I had a hard time speaking with someone from corporate.No one did anything to ratify the mistake until I raised hell.I'm not satisfied with gardner white at all and will never shop there again.
Ok, the people that are posting remarks bashing the person who posted it originally are most probably Gardner White salespersons. It is true that it's a Michigan law that mattresses with stains on them can't be returned but well we don't really know what is considered a stain right? A 1 mm spot can be considered a stain which can very well be present on the mattress before it is bought. Anyway, I had a bad experience in Gardner White recently. I will not try to bore people with the description of the experience but we (our family) bought a bedroom set from Gardner White about two years ago. We are still using it but it has been falling apart slowly and is still falling apart. For example, the handles to the drawers started falling out of their slots a month after purchase and yes I tried to restore them the way they were by tightening the screw but it doesn't work. Anyway, now we open the drawers by pulling on the slots the handles were attached to. Why did we go back there, because, we needed a mattress that day and Art Van did not have it and was expecting it in a week. Gardner White's salespersons are horrible om general, even though mine was nice. Art Van is a bit more expensive but we bought a TV shelf 10 years ago and we have moved five times each time disassembling and reassembling the shelf. It is still usable and in good condition. And no, I don't work for Art Van and I generally don't like the salespersons in Art Van either but Art Van's furniture is way better than Gardner White's and at least Art Van's salesperson are professionals.
I was reluctant to go to Gardner White since I know someone who works at Art Van. But I really liked the sectional and it was slightly cheaper than the similar sectional at Art Van.
So I went there, and I loved the Sectional, the sales rep also said he'd throw in the two side tables and cocktail table for an extra $240. I was pleased with this offer and purchased the sectional and tables.
The sectional came promptly the next day, but to our disbelief, NO TABLES. The delivery guys looked surprised that no one had informed us and simply said, "It's possible that they're on backorder."
I called Gardner White immediately. I needed my new couch and tables for the weekend because I was hosting a Mother's Day party. The sales rep said, the tables were very popular and were sold out. He said because they were coming from China, it may take 3-4 weeks to receive my tables. Well, of course I had a fit. They came in a week and a half.
Now, FIVE months later, I have slumping in the Chase, and fabric detaching underneath the couch. What an ABSOLUTE DISAPOINTMENT.
I won't buy from them after buying two recliners from them. The two were delivered and were defective. Neither recliner base would accept back. Rather than politely apologize and call back to see if there any more in the warehouse the delivery insisted I would have to set up a service call to fix the two defective recliners. I told them no and said I would not accept delivery. I wanted my money back so I went to the store in Westland. Rather than refund me the money immediately they said it would take two weeks. I have no recliners and they get to sit on my cash for two weeks. I eventually got a refund in 5 working days and had to deal with smart ### sales person in the process. Never, ever, buy from them. Their service sucks.
The store in Mich is ###! Salim is ### too. They are a bunch of Liars! People that don't agree with this... they work there or friends of employees!
LIARS LIARS LIARS
U GUYS DONT KNOW SALIM . U SHOULD ATLEAST READ THE POLICIES. THEY DONT LIE. U GUYS R JUST A BUNCH OF GUYS WHO JUST ARENT STATISFIED OF WHAT U GOT.NO NEED FOR HATRED.
Ah, but they DO have a policy for returning a mattress, they just charge a couple hundred bucks to do it. Gardner White and most of it's staff are trash; like your grasp on the english language.
G/W is horrible. It's unfortunate really, we furnished our living room 1 years ago. Whole set. Great price! As of today 2 of the sectional legs are broken. Fabric under the couch is all falling off. Fabric seperating on a few seems here and there, mainly wear and tear. But what really gets me are the two bedrooms we completely furnished about a month later, Crap. Trump mattresses CRAP. We complained. After 6 months our king was saggy, lumpy, and divots where my wife and I lay. Furniture issues. They came took pictures. Said. " yeah. Omg. Your right this mattress is horrible. We don't sell them anymore, but we're gonna do something about this.". Took pictures and left. Couple days later my wife calls, they tell her sorry there's a small stain in the picture. They can't help us. Literally hung up on my wife. After telling these folks we don't want our money back. We want a store credit. Towards a Poster Pedic. I was willing to spend a lot more money for a nicer matereess. Not any more. After spending close to ten grand at there store I know now I bought Crap! Never again! Warren Michagan Store. Consumer Beware!
G/W is one of the worst places you can shop. Not everyone can be lying about them and besides if I spend 2000 + I think I deserve to be happy. They sell a protective sheet under the pretence that you can return the mattress if you're not satisfied or so they say. I just tried to return a mattress after only 20 days and was belittled by two employees and told I will learn to live with my decisions. 3 years ago I bought a couch from there and I paid $900.00 and within 5 months the material was all wore out, and I live alone and work 10 hour days, There's no way the fabric should have worn so bad. So to the IDIOTS that call us whiners and Liars I say UP YOURS I don't have to lie, those sales men are without morals and will say and do anything to make a sell.