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05 July 2007

Post-purchase remorse [More:]
Today a friend and I went shopping in Paulsc's fabulous city. I've been wanting new furniture for a while now. Our current couches have seen better days.

I visited Bo Concept and dropped some serious cash. I put down a 50 percent deposit that could have bought me 2 or 3 couches at Crate and Barrel. Anyway, I arrived home and began to read the less than favorable reviews of Bo Concept, mostly at Apartment Therapy.com.

I definitely want to cancel. The policy says I have 7 days to cancel. I'm calling tomorrow, but I'm scared. I've read so many negative things about customer service. I'm paranoid that I will be confronted with an unwillingness to grant a refund.

Hopefully, these thoughts are irrational. Hopefully, I am worried for nothing.

I probably should visit the actual store.

I got sucked in. It's pricey, but I thought I was buying "quality" "from Denmark".
Which sofa did you plan to buy?

You're lucky -- you live on the east coast where at least there's a decent chance of finding some cool furniture. Over here on the WC it's all Rooms2Go krap.
posted by contessa 05 July | 20:54
If you're worried about no refund, I would fib and tell Bo Concept that you're afraid the choice you made there wasn't the right one and you want more time to consider and make a different purchase at Bo Concept. That should do the trick. They should refund you rather than risk losing an entire purchase.
posted by shane 05 July | 20:57
You can do it, you can do it, put a little power to it! Be strong- be a broken record if you have to. "No, thank you, I would like a refund".
posted by ThePinkSuperhero 05 July | 20:59
I would fib and tell Bo Concept that you're afraid the choice you made there wasn't the right one and you want more time to consider and make a different purchase at Bo Concept. That should do the trick.

no offense to Shane, but I absolutely don't think that's a good idea -- it just opens the door for them to say "okay, we'll give you a store credit." Then you're painted into a corner.

You want a refund, you're entitled by their policy to a refund, so ask for a refund. It's hard, I know -- I hate doing things like this, too.
posted by scody 05 July | 21:04
Oops, I didn't think of the store credit angle. Good point, scody.
posted by shane 05 July | 21:06
Totally hard.

But scody's right -- their policy is clear.

Lori, if you really dread it and want someone to make the call for you, send me an email. I'd be happy to have a customer service confrontation tomorrow. Might be therapeutic. (I just unloaded on a telemarketer who's been calling here for WEEKS after my insistence that they take me off their list. Felt good.)
posted by mudpuppie 05 July | 21:08
Mecha Assistants: Doing the Hard Work So You Don't Have To

A friend oftens calls restaurants pretending to be her own assistant. Makes her feel fancy. Hehe.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero 05 July | 21:13
Thanks guys. My friend and I were in there forever. We were chatting with the salesman and they were moving things all around for us to see how this piece and that piece would go together, yada, yada. I didn't feel guilted into it. I really wanted the furniture at the time.

contessa, the couch I ordered is from the Mezzo series. I also ordered a sofa bed that has a really neat design.

I'm coming to the conclusion that I probably paid too much. Plus, it takes 10 to 14 weeks delivery time. Not a real problem for me. But, I could probably buy the same quality for a lot less and not have such a long wait. I wouldn't mind the cost, but all of the bad reviews have me panicked. I'm certain I've made a mistake. I can't cancel soon enough, but since I'm a wimp, I'm scared. My sister has already agreed to call for me. Is that pathetic or what!? I'm sure husband won't mind calling either. He's out playing cards and I've yet to tell him I want to cancel. At the price I paid I am sure he will be very happy to cancel.

They have an email, and I thought about writing them. I'm not sure if email is the best way to go about it. I have fears of them telling me they never got my email. Did I mention that I was paranoid?

OK, must stop boring bunnies with furniture story. Sorry guys. This is me being a worrying Nervous Nelly. I have one of these episodes at least once a month.
posted by LoriFLA 05 July | 21:13
Don't email. Definitely call and weather the hard sell. And yay for your sister!
posted by mudpuppie 05 July | 21:14
definitely want to cancel. The policy says I have 7 days to cancel. I'm calling tomorrow, but I'm scared. I've read so many negative things about customer service. I'm paranoid that I will be confronted with an unwillingness to grant a refund.

You have the right to do this.

End of story.

I understand how difficult this can be; I'm not one of the more assertive people in the world.

At the same time: You have the right to do this. They spelled it out themselves.

TPS gives good advice here; the "broken record" tactic has worked very well for me.
posted by jason's_planet 05 July | 21:16
Thanks again everybody.

I'm going in! I will assert and repeat!

I'll let you know how it went.
posted by LoriFLA 05 July | 21:26
Write down the exact time and the name of the person you spoke to every single time, even if it's just someone transferring you to someone else.
posted by small_ruminant 05 July | 21:57
Good point sr, I will definitely do that.
posted by LoriFLA 05 July | 22:00
I am the bureaucracy mastah!
posted by small_ruminant 05 July | 22:24
Remember, Lori, that in general only people really displeased (or super wowed) with a service will make the effort to talk about it online. The other 98% of people - "It was fine, I had no problems" - you'll rarely hear from.
posted by muddgirl 06 July | 07:52
Echoing others' comments to definitely call, and small_ruminant's suggestion to get names & numbers & when you called is also an excellent one.

If it makes you feel any better, we got sucked into (let ourselves get sucked into) a piece of land deal that was $7000 higher than the original site we'd picked out. The guy was a salesman, and we had no experience buying land, what can I say?

I read the fine print, took a look at the state's business contract guidelines, and then called and cancelled - kept plenty of documentation. There was little resistance b/c I followed up with an email that let them know I did my homework and wasn't going to get fully sucked in.

I felt like a moron - both when I wrote the downpayment check onsite and when I had to cancel. But I learned to trust that clunky chord in my gut, and that it's totally ok to take time with high dollar decisions. If they can't wait, then it ain't worth it.

Good luck!
posted by chewatadistance 06 July | 10:22
You should record the conversation, that way if you encounter hardcore jackassery you can post a juicy mp3 to MetaChat for personal catharsis and the delectation of all!
posted by Atom Eyes 06 July | 12:12
Die Hard 4 || I ate sardines for the first time today.

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