We ordered Baby Furniture back on June 10th and we finally received the proper product today – on October 14th – that is over 4 months. The pieces were originally delivered roughly on time but dressers were different sizes, and the crib was built wrong so we could not even put it together. And while we thought we were ordering in plenty of time – needles to say my baby arrived and her crib was in pieces and her room in shambles.
While I understand that there are delays in manufacturing and sometimes it takes longer than desired to replace faulty furniture – I will deal with the manufacturer separately – this review is all about customer and after sales service – or in the case of Brooklyn their disregard for customer service or treating customers with any level of dignity and respect.
Here are the facts and they are not disputable – regardless of what response the company may or may not provide:
1. The owner of the store had me call the manufacturer directly – my relationship was with Brooklyn and not the manufacturer – they should have been my advocate for my issues and not had me call them (yes they did call the mfg too but didn’t accomplish anything and told me to just call them – the only reason I got my dressers replaced was because I talked directly to the mfg)
2. They tried to tell me that the problems with the furniture were acceptable – in the case of dresser depth there was nothing wrong with a difference of more than a quarter inch - “don’t put them side by side then you won’t notice the variance” is what I was told
3. The store NEVER provided a follow up call to tell me the status – they would tell me they would call me in 2 weeks, follow up with the manufacturer, make sure their replacement time was on track, call me the next morning etc. - I never received one follow up call – I always had to call them – and when I did they acted like I was annoying them by calling
4. I was laughed at, yelled at, criticized, and hung up on by numerous people at the store – including the owner
5. Their favorite line to tell me was “you don’t understand how busy we are –how hard we are working” – why should that matter to me – they weren’t busy trying to resolve my problems or making me feel like I was an important customer – they had my money – nothing else seemed to matter to them
6. I was verbally attacked by one of their installers in their own store telling me that I owed him an apology for stating that he was “unsavory” as we did not want him in our house for many reasons which I wont even go in to here(why someone from Brooklyn would tell him that we didn’t want him in our home when I was in the store and allow him to attack me like that is beyond me)
7. When I finally spoke with the Owners Wife (when the crib pieces were first replaced after 6 weeks and they sent the wrong pieces) – she was the only person who actually seemed to take the situation seriously – and treated me with some level of respect. She did, however, try to tell me that I wasn’t supposed to put a newborn in a crib which I told her that I wasn’t a first time parent and I didn’t appreciate her trying to tell me when to use a crib vs a basinet. I explained to her more of the history and the way her husband (the owner) treated me and she acknowledged that I was right and that he shouldn’t be doing customer service.
8. Even after that phone call and a promise of more follow ups and better service I still had to deal directly with the manufacturer, call to find out the status of my delivery, and was again yelled out and berated by the owner and his staff.
I understand that sometimes things happen that make it difficult to please some customers – and while I wasn’t happy with the faulty furniture or delays in getting the replacement pieces – what really bothered me the most was the way I was treated. With constant promises of better service and better treatment they managed to treat me worse each time I talked with them – and not once did they try to do anything to compensate or make up for the delays or they way they treated me.
In the end they not only didn’t make me a happy customer but they down right offended and infuriated me – over and over again.
If I could have gotten out of this purchase and had my money refunded I would have. I would NEVER buy ANYTHING from this company again – if anything goes wrong you can’t count on them to resolve it for you in a timely manner and don’t expect sympathy, courtesy or to be treated respectfully. Next time someone tells you they can discount the price of something you should ask what they eliminate in order to offer such a price. With Brooklyn I now know – they remove customer and after sales service. Buyers Be Warned!
