Oct 24, 2016 03:32 PM
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When you decide to go to Stanley Boutique showroom, with an intention to buy, not just browse, you prepare yourself to pay lot more than other brands, local or international, but are also convinced of a BIG brand that will honour the warranties and give super service.(DREAM-ON)
We(my family accompanied with our architect) also, went in with that conviction, wanted to buy a full sofa set and a recliner. The recliner was in a sense not what we went in for, it was for a sofa-set, but since we had checked out other international as well as local brands, decided to take a look at the famous La-Z-boys as well. We ended up not buying any sofa-sets but buying the Bennet model of the La-Z-boy, despite it costing almost 3 times other brands. One of the reasons, besides the feel, comfort and “the NAME”, to be willing to pay that much, was a 10 year warranty on “all mechanism”. The Bennet, by default does not have a swivel-base. However there was another model(also a La-Z-Boy) displayed side-by-side to the Bennet, which had a swivel-base. The salesman informed us that they could provide the La-Z-Boy swivel base for an extra cost of Rs. 16000, (for just a little more, we could buy a local-unbranded whole recliner). Neither did the salesman clarify, nor did we ask whether the 10 year warranty would be applicable to the swivel-base or not. Come to think of it, WHY would we even question this. An upgrade to a swivel-base, by the same manufacturer, the same swivel-base, carried the same 10 year warranty, when fitted as default, in another model, should carry a lesser warranty? More so, because the “default” non-swivel base not even supplied to us when the chair was delivered. This was in 2014.
The troubles started at the time of delivery itself.: We had the option of choosing the colour and the quality of leather. We had selected a colour they(Stanley Boutique) call “New Camel”. When we were called to go to the showroom and check out the ready recliner, to our shock they had fitted a different coloured leather they call “Butterscotch”. A similar yellow but NOT what we ordered. Yet, the salesman, kept insisting that it was “New Camel” and it was WE who were merely seeing it wrong. Lot of arguments followed about seeing it under lights, seeing under natural light etc. No-way was the salesman agreeing that the leather they fitted was NOT what we ordered. My architect then, contacted the owner of the showroom, Mr. Yusuf Merchant on phone. We had to wait about an hour for him to arrive at the showroom. He, immediately, without even a single word of argument, admitted that the leather fitted was NOT “New Camel” and that he would get it changed. We were pleasantly surprised(AT THAT TIME) that the owner immediately admitted to the error and though it would take some delay, we would get what we wanted. Going by the trouble I went through recently, I am beginning to doubt, that even THAT was probably a ploy(mili-bhagat), the salesman would try his best to convince and “chipkaao” the chair, fitted with wrong coloured leather, and if the customer(us) did not relent, the owner would simply come and admit.
A few months of use, and started repeated problem of squeaking, tilting etc., which WERE repaired, (albeit with lots of pone-calls and delays), each time a problem cropped up, but, then.come to think of it.Stanley? THE La-Z-Boy?.Squeaking?.Tilting? .Reclination-Locking system developing problems? All this within just handful of months time? .A HUGE HUGE let-down from the initial mindset that we walked in the Stanley Boutique
Recently while I was sitting in the recliner, the chair just gave way and fell backward.(fortunately I was not hurt). The nuts/bolts holding to base simply came off the base. When I complained about the same, I was told that a new swivel-base would cost another Rs. 11000. I reminded them(Stanley Boutique) that the chair was carrying a 10 year warranty. This is when the owner himself spoke to me and claimed, that only the “original” mechanism was under 10 year warranty, and the swivel-base being an “additional fitting” was covered for only a year. I argued that THIS was never brought to our attention, neither by the salesman nor the owner himself at the time of placing the order, nor at the time that we had a dispute about the colour of the leather. Moreover, the non-swivel base was never supplied to us, which would prompt us to even think that the warranties could be different. All arguments, explanations went in vain.
Finally I had to settle to getting the non-swivel base fixed under warranty. I was so disgusted with the experience, that I gave them the damaged swivel-base back to them for FREE.
