Thursday

THE GREAT SOFA DISASTER

HGTV's addictive properties:  I watch, even when it drives me crazy. Like when, yet AGAIN, another homeowner orders a piece of furniture that won't fit through the front door and the whole thing turns into the home decor version of a scary surgery nightmare:  The saws! The hammers! The spurting cushion foam!


And then I did it too. Rewind to last Friday, now a reminder that the Ides of March don't confine themselves to Romans. I'd ordered a beautiful new couch - The Couch - from Z Gallerie, for which I'd been waiting months, since it was being custom upholstered in a grey velvet fabric. In case I hadn't mentioned it (which I haven't), I just moved to D.C. and I'm furnishing my new apartment, which is really fun, and also really annoying, because you do things like sit on your living room floor for weeks waiting for a couch to come.

And then it only comes as far as the lobby. 

The Couch (wrong color). Love the tuxedo style and nailhead detail.

Just like the Roman generals of that other fateful March, I had to evaluate my strategy - what went wrong? It turned out to be a classic battlefield maneuver:  I was taken by surprise. You see, I did all the reasonable things one does when preparing for a couch. I measured the elevator. I measured the door. I checked these measurements against the couch measurements. What I forgot to check, it turns out, was Z Gallerie. Because the couch I got vs. the measurements I got, were... different. 

The delivery guys, whose helpfulness was directly inverse to the number of stair flights between the lobby and my apartment, began highlighting the failings of The Couch, beginning with the fact that the feet were not removable. It turned out the feet should have been removable, in fact. For some reason, I'd been sent the old design... unlike the happy customer earlier that day, to whom, they assured me, they had easily been able to deliver the couch by popping off 5 inches of feet. The dispatcher that I spoke with on the phone had other ideas about the issue - "It's all your problem," was his thoughtful analysis.

I was so desperate to get it in the door, I began hallucinating.

So I stood out on the stoop and waved goodbye to my beautiful grey velvet couch as the deliverymen callously tossed the (now-unwrapped) cushions directly onto the dirty floor of the truck bed and drove away. (P.S. the truck was actually sporting Williams-Sonoma logos, as the delivery company works for them, as well as PotteryBarn and Z Gallerie.)

So, bloggerland, here are the options for bringing seating happiness to my humble home. Please log your vote in the comments!

Option One:  Full refund. Walk away, or rather sit away, with no couch. 
And start the hunt all over again. A tall order. Or a short one, if you're going by inches.
(I liked this Crate and Barrel sofa - for $500 more.)


Option Two:  Z Gallerie mans up and sends me what I should have gotten to start with:  a new couch. With removable feet. The catch? They refuse to promise it any sooner than 2 to 3 months from now, a bit surprising since I was unwittingly helping them get rid of old stock. Basically, I will have spent half a year waiting on ONE COUCH. What are they doing - still growing the trees for the frame? 
(The Couch. Again.)


Option Three:  Choose another Z Gallerie couch in a stock finish I can "live with."
(Couch in Pearl... velvet? Microfiber? Description doesn't say.)


What do you think?
Image credits:  car/couch, bent sofa, z gallerie sofas, z gallerie.

22 comments:

Britney said...

what a tricky situation! i say, if they're so callous as to not bend over backwards to fix their mess, then pottery barn it is! otherwise I'd wait for the right one...why get stuck with something that you merely can "live with"? best wishes on getting your hands on it soon! :)

quintessence said...

What a pain!!! And too bad because it is beautiful but I wouldn't want to give them the business! I hate to say but I don't like the other couch as much - there must be something out there!! What about a local store in DC? Perhaps there would be a floor model they could discount for you?!

Beach House Living said...

Oh my the wrong size. I would likely start over. Your dilemma is the reason we do not have a new couch seems few I like have removable feet.

Get what you love that fits.

Paris Hotel Boutique said...

Wow. That's a tough one. I would go up the chain to the top dogs at Z Gallerie and demand a rush on it. If their top dog supervisor who is there to provide customer service, does not, then I would start over. Good luck...what a pain!

Unknown said...

Wait for the right one. If you don't, your couch will always remind you that you settled and you'll soon be looking for a new one...

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
MaryBeth said...

I wouldn't order another sofa from them ever. You know they can get it done faster if they wanted to. $500 would certainly be a small amount if you can actually have a sofa.

Cat said...

I say you need a lawyer to make a phone call to Z. They should be bustin their butt to get this to you ASAP.Of course you could hate them forever and not give them a dime. You are sooo funny, glad i found you. Crate and barrrel is not great quality so be careful...
Cat

Kitty said...

I'm cussing for you. Really. What a beautiful sofa and a stinky bout with customer service. Send this blog post to their corporate right now. Bummer.

Averill said...

Ouch! How frustrating!!!!!!!!! I say hold out for what you love the most, and maybe rent a sofa in the meantime (if that's even doable--that or go to home depot/walmart and buy a few cheap plastic chairs in the interim.

Samantha said...

I feel for you!

Don't know if it's an option or not, but Macy's has almost the identical sofa on sale for $300 less and it comes in a color called Storm. It's the Jacqueline Sofa

Vickie H. said...

This is NOT customer service!!! The nerve of these louts!!! I would make phone calls AND complain and stick to my guns and WAIT for the sofa I wanted. You work hard for your money...no point in settling for less than you deserve. ZG is really making a very poor decision in their (mis)handling of this situation. Blogs and blog readers reach far and wide. And many of us are decorators and/or have friends/family members who are decorators. Word is now OUT!!! If we can't rely on ZG, we won't be ordering custom work from them...period. I hope they lose business....they deserve to.

Anonymous said...

STOP! Don't waste your money on something so costly.
Even if it fit... you are far too and young to have something so bourgeoisie. Also it looks like it might not be all that comfortable. This is a mistake often made by first time sofa buyers anxious for style-stylish comfort is great but comfortless style is an expensive bummer. I feel certain that this sofa will look like stiff blocky chunk in a little apartment.

MK said...

I say wait for what you really want. And follow others' advice and send this post to their corporate headquarters and also demand a rush job. This could be quite bad publicity for them. But if their couch is your dream couch, I say wait. You could get an upholstered chair or love seat super cheap ($100-range) from Ikea while you wait, then sell or donate. Settling for something you don't really like doesn't work well, I don't find.

Jena said...

Option one or two - don't settle for a color like Pearl... the grey velvet is stunning! Option 2 and 4:Find something cheap cheap cheap to get you by for the next 2 or 3 months!

Tamra {ever swoon} said...

what a frustrating situation!!! Hope you find that perfect couch! btw - your hallucination couch was awesome.

Anonymous said...

I'd suggest calling the President of ZG and let him know how this customer service has taught you a valuable lesson with never using his company again for spending your hard earned cash.

Meanwhile. I'd possibly consider renting a sofa or grabbing one at a local Goodwill! 6 month's is a long time with no sofa. I would not settle however.

I'd wait for what I wanted. I love the sofa design you chose. If it's the sofa from Pottery Barn I nearly purchased it myself. But, I made an "awful" choice and I wish I hadn't. Now I'm stuck with a theater style sofa and love-seat black leather set I can't stand.


It looks like something straight out of a movie theater! It's way too masculine for a single woman! Was I blind? Honestly, I don't know what I was thinking when I handed the guy my credit card.

Always hold out for what you want. I searched for nearly 3 years for the sofa from (heck) I have now.
Good Luck!

Robin from SC

Katherine said...

So sorry about your couch (but by the way, just found your blog and you are a great writer!) I might just go with Option 1 as it's the least amount of hassle and stress....for that amount of time I think you should get your perfect couch.

Anonymous said...

take the design to a couch maker and get someone to custom build. I've discovered it's not that much more :)

Anonymous said...

You can hire people for around $100 to take the couch, dismantle it, move it to the final destination, and reassemble it. We had to do that for a sofa bed from Crate and Barrel that we could not get up our staircase which has a platform and turn near the top. Worked out perfectly. Good luck.

Agung Faz said...

thanks for sharing. I became more know how better to get a corner sofa bed.

Hannah said...

Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon the blog and wished to say that I’ve truly enjoyed browsing the blog posts.

Disclosure

Shop Hop, Great Steals, and some posts may include paid links. View our disclosure policy here.

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails