Stay away from Babette's
 

Their customer service is awful. We had issues with a chair we bought and it's replacement was absolutely no better. We decided we wanted a different chair, and we were forced to deal with a manager who was also an owner. He treated us like we were beneath him, and refused to help us get any satisfaction (a different chair) until we retained an attorney. Finally after 10 months our lawyer got them to get us a different chair. We will never darken their door again, and definitely dont recommend this store to anyone.

What kind of problems were there with the chair?

We have used Babette's several times in the past 9 months and find their Customer Service to be OUTSTANDING. Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience.

We've purchased furniture from Babettes and found our dealings with them were problem free. The furniture was really nice and the prices were reasonable. If I needed to purchase more furniture the first place I would look is Babettes.

John

Sorry for your problems, but I will continue to recommend them to my friends and use them again myself. I have heard and experienced nothing but good things about Babettes.

I have a sneaking suspicion there's another side to this story!

Who hires an attorney over a dispute about a chair? What was the problem with the chair/ How much did the chair cost at retail?

Did you notice that this was the first post for RJSUZIE? Other posters in this thread have all been complimentary of Babette's.

Could also be a competitor???

Not uncommon.

We've purchased several items from Babette's with no problems.

I love shopping at Babette's. They have a great selection and when we special ordered an entertainment center from them they held it in storage for several months (without full payment) until we were ready for delivery. The delivery staff was prompt, polite, clean and very thorough in setting up and cleaning the piece before they left. No complaints.

I have friends who had to make a return, no problems, prompt service.

I bought all my living furniture there and never had a problem. Would definitely go back again. The saleslady I had was excellent. Gave me alot of good ideas and suggestions.

Babettes
 

Why is it that when someone posts a problem with a local company everyone here in this talk of the villages slams them.

No company in the world is perfect and perhaps you should just let it go and let someone have their say!!!!!!!!!!!!

I find that every time I post something negative and righthfully so that I always get bashed here by the "old-timers" to TOTV.

Let us have our say and let it go. PLEASE. Otherwise, this whole thing is going to go into the toilet

I agree completely. So WHAT if it is the original poster's first post???

What if it's the "first" time an employee or owner-manager showed their true colors and treated a customer like crap, having kept effectively kept their a-hole nature under wraps before that????

Or what if all other employees do treat all customers well and thus have shielded the customer from ever having to deal directly with this manager-owner before on such an issue?

I, too, think there is more to the story and that's why I asked what problems there were with the chair.

It could have been a cheap, junk product to start with......or I've seen customers trying to return things that looked like they'd been used at Woodstock for a month, claiming the thing got that way on its own thru no fault of the owner/user.

With this instance above, we don't know. But please don't discount new posters' credibility just because they're new to the board.

"There's a first time for everything."

I might agree if there was a follow up response, it's a while without one.
Therefore, yes IMO the OP lakes credibility at this point.

I'm with bob and ilovetv.

TOTV went through an ugly bout of personal attacks, bullying, and bashing last summer. We learned about trolls, lost long-time members, and were admonished by Admin.

At the time, I thought that "we" unofficially agreed to return manners and civility to TOTV by focusing on topics and issues, and to not demean, diminish, or disrespect the poster.

The recent situation that ultimately lead to the self-imposed departures of happinow and villagegirl truly saddened me, for several reasons.

In this thread, the OP described a negative experience; several subsequent posters presented counter-points by focusing SOLELY on describing their positive experiences with that same business.

I appreciated the opportunity to learn from the differing experiences; I appreciated even more the demonstrations of courteous behavior

Love going to Babette's. Always have had great customer service. I would recommend them also. All stores will have some issues with some people.. ALWAYS

Being an Ex-employee from Babette's...they are a good place to go and get your furniture, but I do agree. The owner can look & treat you that way... They use to have a manger on staff but he was moved to the warehouse (thank God for that), I do not know if they replaced him, if they did I am not surprise if he/she had left. I love their furniture and some of the sale people are great (if the ones I worked with are still there) I am sorry to hear about your experience. You can try Blockers in Ocala, they have very nice furniture there too! (I worked there too)

The chair in question cost several hundred dollars, was a reputable brand name, and completely broken down within 2 months. The second one only lasted one month. Being average sized people, no one including the representative they sent to the house ever even suggested it was our fault. Also, no we are not a competitor, we are new residents of the Villages.and we love it here.

You have problem with a chair that costs "several hundred" dollars and you hire an attorney...glad you got satisfaction but I cant imagine an attorney, even just writing a letter, to cost less than "several hundred dollars"??

I agree with others and suggest you contribute to the Board more often rather than simply writing a negative post as your "first".

We have used Babette's a number of times for purchases and even had one item serviced.......No problems and will return.

I found Babette's to be rather pricey compared to others. But my experience with delivery and service was just fine.

This was my first post on this website, and from the reactions I got, maybe the last. Thank you all for your judgements and "constructive criticisms" Just thought other people would want to know so they could avoid something similar happening to them. SORRY!

In most forums you can't be too thinned skinned, don't take the remarks so seriously, what got the thread going the way it did I think is you waited a long time to respond.

Surely you shouldn't go.

This forum is an important part of living in TV, or folks thinking about living here.

I am glad you posted again. Although, I am not new to this forum, I'm not active here. When I saw the responses to your post, I was reminded of other posts here, which have turned me off each time I'm visited. This sort of discourteous behavior rather reminds me of clicks in high school!

Now wait. Why would you say that about a clique?

I am glad Suzie posted again too. More information makes everything clearer.

Sometimes a disgruntled employee comes in with a similar post as a beginning post.

The people who posted with positive posts aren't a clique.

Their experiences are valid. They had a good experience.

Suzie had a bad experience.

We bought two recliners at Babettes and they had them made with fabric we chose. They were reasonably priced and we took them home in our van and we enjoyed them. No problems with them.

It appears that this person was attacked for their post. What difference does it make wheather or not it was their first post or how long it took for a reply? What a way to welcome someone to The Villages or to this forum!

FYI, I have lived in The Villages since 1995. Neither I, nor anyone I know who resides in TV finds this forum to be an important part of living in TV or important part of thinking of living here.

I honestly didn't see an attack. They asked for more information. Read this thread over. For the MOST PART people said they had a good experience.

That cannot be seen as an attack.

Come on now. Don't make trouble where there is none.

Suzie had a bad experience. That is unfortunate. No one said she is fibbing.

Others said they had a good or reasonable experience.

When is being positive, an attack? People aren't fibbing about their positive experiences either.

Response from Babette's
 

From the Owner of Babette's:

I wish to reply to the original poster regarding my commitment to customer service. I do not know if it is against the rules to post here but as an owner of a small business, I can not refrain from adding to this discussion. I do not normally frequent this site but was advised of this post from a good friend.

I am intimately aware of this situation and only wish to provide a few comments.

1. We replaced the original chair due to the comfort of the seat. It was not broken, but we replaced it anyway.

2. The second chair was the same as the first; not broken, but it did sit very soft. We offered our customer the opportunity to come in and re-select to a different chair.

3. The customer selected a chair that was considerably more expensive but did not wish to pay the difference. At that impass, I was told that their attorney would be in touch with me.

4. Their attorney did contact me and I afforded their attorney the same offer that I had given them before; A full reselection at the value of the original purchase.

5. We have since received an order from them for a replacement chair.

I wish them nothing but comfort in their new chair and want to thank everyone on here that had kind words for my family's business. It is amazing to see how quickly the positive posters came in.

Brian Ward
Owner
Babette's Furniture & Home Shoppe

Always is, good that you stated that side

Thanks for weighing in...

Can't blame them for trying,but we didn't hear that part of the story.Remember.................life's too short,so don't sweat the small stuff.As that famous american Rodney King once said,"can't we all just get along.":wave:

Well said. Most people I talk with have never even heard of TOTV........and they are getting along in life just fine!

We have purchased several pieces from Babettes and have been completely satisified with the quality, price and service we received.

We just purchased a bed from Babettes and after the delivery men left I noticed a small dent in the lower corner of one of the sideboards. When they came back to deliver an bedside table that had been back ordered I made a note of this on the sheet I signed. I got a call from Babettes and was told that they could order a replacement which I agreed to. There is no chance that the bed will collapse or anything else because of the defect but figured why not get a replacement without the dent. We have purchased about 11 items from Babettes and have always been very satisfied with our selections, the cost, and the customer service. We can highly recommend Babettes. :BigApplause:

John