City Furniture experience - yuck
 

4-2-2016 UPDATE - Good news, City Furniture finally decided to replace the sectional without penalty. We are finally happy with our purchase. I sincerely hope they change their attitude toward customer complaints. Instead of refusing to do something, they should listen to the issue and address it...... Worst buying experience of my life!! Recently purchased a six piece leather sectional from this company. Was talked into buying the 3 year in home service agreement also. Their rationale was that if ANYTHING went wrong within 3 years I would be fully covered for repair or replacement - my complete satisfaction was their goal (insert laughter here). After it was delivered and assembled I noticed that 4 of the six pieces were not uniform. One recliner was two inches lower than the rest, one piece had very noticeable crooked stitching, another had a crooked upper cushion, and one backpiece was stuffed so that looked like a pointed bra not a rounded cushion. I called their customer "NO" service and a service tech appointment was set. They arrived, fluffed a few cushions and promptly said that nothing else could be done and left. After emailing customer "NO" service several times with no response I called and was told my issues were preference items and that was it. I asked the lady if she thought it was my 'preference' to have crooked stitching, sagging seat backs, and incorrectly stuffed furniture. Theresponse was noncommittal. Basically I was told that there was no recourse - end of story. After my experience I went online to research this company and was stunned to read the hundreds of negative reviews. My bad for not checking ahead of time. They absolutely do not seem to care. I have never encountered this type of stonewalling before. They will take your calls and wear you out saying no, no, no ad nauseam. If anything, I have learned to check the online reviews of any company that I plan to make a major purchase from in the future. One positive note - I called my original sales person and requested a refund of the $315 service agreement charge. They complied after hearing of my experience with corporate. The sales person did not seem surprised at how I was treated.

You're not the first and won't be the last. Two places to avoid in the Villages @ all costa,

CITY FURNITURE & TIRE CHOICE-- Tire Choice is the biggest automotive rip off chain in Fl,as City Furniture is the same as furniture goes--check them out on line, unbelievable--cons

With all these complaints why does the developer use them to furnish the new houses ?

I had to say 'no' at least six times to buying the 3 year warranty, then later the 1 year warranty, then told I had to buy the specal boards if I wanted to be able to return the mattress I bought with my mattress that didn't have a box spring. The last thing my salesperson said was I had x days to add the warranty. Relentless!

The developer maybe gets the stuff @ cost, & the store jumps when the developer says jump.

Really??? (sarcasm intended) I'm referring to the reference towards "the developer". Doubt they're involved (other than collecting rent) with how they conduct their business.

We just bought a new house and looked at several furniture stores in the area. We decided on Kane's in Ocala and are very happy with the experience.

We took one tour through City Furniture and knew it was not for us. I'd also heard a lot of negatives about them.

I'll second the opinion on Tire Choice as well. Had a very bad experience there. Stay away at all costs.

and Service Smart

Kane's guarantees their furniture for life at no charge. We purchased a powered reclining love seat from the store in Ocala 3 years ago. The motor stopped working about a year after we purchased. We called the store in Ocala and a tech came out and replaced the transformer at no charge.

There was a negative thread started last week on TOTV and another the week before, I remember because I posted on one. This makes 3 this month and November is not over yet.

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...city+furniture

https://www.talkofthevillages.com/fo...city+furniture

We shopped at City Furniture this spring. The store just didn't feel good to either of us ~ we left.

Purchased all living room and dining room furniture from Babette's. Very pleased. Changed our mind on love seat and cancelled order ~ no problem. Chose another piece with the help of the sales person.

I would guess that when The Developer sold the stores to City Furniture, the contract required they purchase from City Furniture. Just a guess, but I wouldn't be surprised.

OP, if you paid with a credit card, you may have some leverage. Call your credit card company, explain what is going on, and see if they can intercede. See if you can force City furniture to either replace or take back the furniture. I have had some luck with this approach in the past when a supplier was unwilling to stand by their warranty, my credit card company held up the payment until the matter was settled.
Hope this helps.

Fred, if I may offer a suggestion. If you paid by charge card, telephone them. Explain to them that you did not get what you paid for. They will advise you on your next step. My personal experience was when we purchased a pool while living on Long Island. To make a long story short, the liner was torn from a penetrating piece of wood that was in the vermiculite which the pool company supplied. The pool company denied this. I then called my credit card and informed them I did not get what I paid for. The credit card company then sues the merchant for their money which is returned. Should this be a frequent occurrence, the merchant (City Furniture) will have their credit card privileges denied. I hope this helps you. Call your credit card company. Let us know what happened. Best of luck. Kathy

I love this place and have utmost respect for the developers.

However, I think one of the biggest mistakes they have ever made was to close the Southern Lifestyles store at Lake Sumter Landing and allowing that junky City Furniture to assume the huge, happy customer base.

Also, the reduction of beautiful retail space on the square, by removing Southern Lifestyles and putting the district office in the store space is terrible. Yes, the district offices should have moved to the more central location, but not into that prime retail space where new home buyers and long-time villagers loved to shop. The district office should have been placed on the back loop behind the square and to the west of Winn Dixie, the investment group, urgent care, etc.

Loss of retail on the square is really bad, and then allowing the junky furniture dealer in down the street turns off shoppers even more. We have bought lots of furniture here, and quickly took all our business to Babettes, Family Furniture, and White Furniture.

Having 3 thriving downtowns with retailers open every night till 9pm is what sets TV apart from all other cities whose downtowns died to the malls. We wrote this in the annual survey.

Is anybody listening??

I thought the district offices were put on the second floor, which was not retail space, but held the design center. Where are the district offices taking up retail space?

I do agree that City Furniture did benefit from all the good will generated by Southern Lifestyles. I saw very few complaints about that place. I think Villagers go to City expecting the same concern and care they got from Southern Lifestyles and are severely disappointed.

The district offices take up the whole main floor of the former Southern Lifestyles store--the large portion that was left after an investment group moved into the right end of the building a couple of years before, taking up what Southern Lifestyles used as their clearance showroom.

They turned that beautiful furniture shopping showroom with QUALITY, brand-name furniture into district bureaucracy offices.

A huge nail in the coffin of retail at Lake Sumter Landing.

You all do realize that City Furniture belongs to the Developer….

I am pretty sure The Developer sold the stores to City Furniture. I think that's where you got the connection from.

Why would anyone buy a 3 yr. warranty on furniture?

Great experiences with Kane, both on the sale and service when required.

we recently furnish our whole house from City Furniture and our experience was completely different than what is being mentioned here. We bought over $14,000 worth of furniture from them and would definitely use them again. We had a couple of pieces that need repaired and replaced even after there are three day inspection and they were excellent to work with. We also felt like their selection was far superior to any other stores in the area. Every piece we wanted was in stock and was delivered within a couple of days. I would also recommend our Sales Rep, Victoria Vos. She was very helpful, professional, and not pushy.

Great experience with Whites Furniture, and when we noticed the finish on the headboard was not quite right, they exchanged no problem. We did go in City Furniture, once, fortunately they did not have what we wanted. Based on all of the negative comments, will not return.

Glad we purchased when we did. We originally were ready to purchase a living room set, a kitchen and dining room set and two bedroom sets from Southern Lifestyle in Sumter Landing but all five sets were 'out of stock'. Between sister store, Showcase Direct in Spanish Springs and White's for bed and mattresses, we purchased our goods and never had a complaint as the sales people and delivery people were extremely competent and courteous. Good thing too because we had two lawn chairs and a $10.00 Sony radio.

I don't think that is correct.....City Furniture has 10+ stores in South Florida and only two are here. Doesn't mean the Developer doesn't gain some compensation for the exclusivity, but can't imagine how City Furniture fits their model. If you have some facts please enlighten.

I agree. I think they got out of the furniture business when they closed Southern Lifestyles. That was real customer service! I don't think the developer would retain ownership and let customer service go to pot.

Luckily I was able to buy all my furniture from Southern Lifestles, White's and Babette's. Excellent customer service from all of them. It sure improved my life from the lawn chair and radio I had when I started here. I did buy one item from Showcase Direct later and was less than pleased when they closed the store and the separate "insurance" I bought on the Broyhill chair was not honored since it was store insurance. I will be replacing the chair.

Contrary to the theme of this thread, I had a very good experience with City Furniture. Bought a dining room buffet/server. Was delivered on time with a 3 hr. window and a call when they were 15 min away. delivery people were professional and polite. the piece was undamaged and fit perfectly. The salesman was courteous and knowledgeable. Would buy there again, but then again maybe I was lucky

I went into City Furniture earlier in the year looking for a sofa table; couldn't get anyone to acknowledge I was in there - probably due to my cargo shorts and Hogs tee shirt. Anyhow, we've never been back and never will.

I see their delivery trucks speeding all over TV most days; must be still finding suckers everyday to buy their crap.

I don't doubt that all of the reviews are correct and it makes me nervous to purchase there again, however, I do have to say that I bought a very expensive bedroom set and a sleeper sofa from them with no problem. The delivery guys were great.

One can only attest to what they had experienced.

We loved Southern Lifestyles their inventory sales people, etc

When we decided to shop for additional replacement Southern was now City Furniture. We did not like the inventory nor the sales guy who appeared to be to probably have a name like slick willie.

So we purchased elsewhere finding both quality product and service

After we closed last Spring, we purchased a sectional for our living room from City, the price and quality were competitive, delivery was quick and professional. There was a minor issue which a service person came out and fixed within 2 days. I had read all the reviews too, but we wanted what we wanted and were pleased.

FWIW, we've just returned to TV and after many days and miles of looking, found Kanes in Ocala to be where we purchased two bedroom sets and our dining room stuff. The BR set we picked was also available at Whites and Family for about 1500 more all in, so the drive was worth the time.

My experience was similar, bought a pair of recliners,
very pleased with them!
Must be hard to be in business these days,
when some folks will post negative comments,
having had no personal experience with a firm!

When any service or merchandise has mixed reviews, I pass. I'm not willing to chance needing to write a negative review.

We have also had a problem with City Furniture. We bought a bedroom set and told then we had a sleep number bed with no box spring. They assured us the bed would work fine. We had it delivered and assembled and found out it was slats only with no support down the center of the bed. They said they wold come in and put in a support. When the repair person came he said they did not send the right parts and did not install the bed correctly and put 3 blocks of wood under the slats down the middle. The first time we moved or rolled over in bed the wood pieces shifted. Called customer service again and they ordered support parts. Took 8 weeks came form China. Came to put them in and they were for a bed with a box spring. The repair man then said there is nothing they can do. The sales person is no longer with the company and we have to spend 180.00 to buy a center support that will go down the center of the bed. All of this has taken a year and had not been resolved. Never again will we do business with City Furniture. We are in the market for all new living room furniture and will go to Kanes. Oh and they dropped the dresser when delivering and had to come and repair it, would not replace it because it was only a blemish that could be fixed.

We can now put furniture on the list of topics including sex, politics & religion not to discuss. [emoji851]

We should also add dog poop & smoking. :a20:

And, stinky dumps.

Wait a minute, off topic again. Let's get back to furniture. Please carry on...