You want something done right…
You know the adage. Well here’s a perfect example of customer service gone terribly wrong and customer service gone terribly right… in two examples. First…
Macys vs Chateau d’Ax
We purchased a new Chateau d’Ax (* sorry about the link; the only thing good about their site is the model on the sofa) leather recliner sofa from Hecht’s (Macy’s) back in February ’06. This was a long process and we were thrilled to finally have it over with. Kristin and I trucked all over the DC Metro area to find something to go in our sunroom where we spend most of our time with kids, eating, playing, etc. The couch replaced a scary old dog hair covered futon which was uncomfortable and hard to get in and out of, but came to us free so we didn’t complain about it openly much. Getting the new leather recliner really boosted the look of the room and the usability of the space. Although Maggie was a little bummed because she wasn’t allowed on the new sofa.
The troubles started happening a few months later when a rip cord style pull (used to extend the recliner footrest) started to weaken and then broke off one day while reclining. The design really isn’t that good, as it’s located right next to your leg when you sit down it tends to bend, sometimes pretty sharply. Well, Kris called Macy’s to set up a repair call. They told her that they would order the part and once it arrived to call them so they could schedule a tech to come out and install it. Few weeks later the package arrived, Kris called, tech arrived, and guess what… wrong part. Strike one. Guy tells her to call Macy’s back and order the correct part. Which she does… but it doesn’t arrive… for weeks and weeks we wait. Eventually she calls. “OH, the part is there… UPS says it is.” …”no, it’s not here” … “well, they say it is… have you checked your front porch?” Strike two.
So Kris calls… again and again, trying to get them to reorder this part. The miscommunication and incompetence levels were soaring, just burning us hotter and hotter. We waited patiently for the part to arrive. Kris lamenting the hours of her time she lost calling Macy’s (20-30 minutes at least on each call she made, mostly on hold) still holding on to the hope that the part would arrive. Remember, this was last SUMMER that this started.
Last month she got a call from Macy’s telling her that they won’t be able to find the part and that they’re giving us the option to a) keep the sofa, b) get a full refund or c) choose a new sofa and deduct the cost of the old against the new. Strike three. We just love the sofa we have. We did not want to get rid of it. But having a recliner that doesn’t recline is like having a car that you can’t adjust the seats in. Not very comfy. This had to be fixed… but how?
Enter the internets. Sunday (yesterday) morning I sat down on the sofa and pulled the rip cord on the left side (the side that still worked) and it popped off, just like the other side had done 8 months earlier. Now neither side reclined and that was that. I went down to the office hopped on the trusty Mac and ran around online trying to figure this out. All I had was my sofa manufacturer and model and the receipt from the store. Wading through all the rubbish (goodness there is so much of it) I eventually found a forum discussing Chateau d’Ax furniture ups and downs. Anyway, someone made a reference to Gardiners in Towson, MD. I thought “ah ha!” a local place that carries Chateau… I bet they could help.
So if you’ve stayed on this far, you’re ready for the happy ending… right? OK, here it comes. So Gardiners tells me that they can’t locate the replacement part for my sofa because I didn’t buy it from them. BUT, they do have the number of the Chateau d’Ax factory in the USA and I could try them. “Finally!” I thought, “a real lead.” So it’s a Sunday and I don’t expect to talk to anyone, but luckily the number they gave me went to the Chateau d’Ax directory listing and I was able to easily leave a number for their parts department in which I described my problem, the model number, etc. I fully expected to not hear from them for days, maybe weeks… if at all, based on the experiences I was having with Macy’s. SURELY if a store like Macy’s couldn’t summon the resources necessary to locate a part for my sofa I would have little chance. Right? WRONG.
This morning (that’s right, at 8:47am) Ed from the parts department at Chateau d’Ax phoned me and told me that he was going to send me a couple of the replacement parts, no charge. All he needed was my mailing address. I was flabbergasted. Almost tongue-tied. All at once I was happy and utterly confused as to why Macy’s had such a problem locating this part. I guess they have some sort of arcane method of managing their parts program, because this was possibly one of the best experiences I’ve ever had! Ed was very friendly and straightforward. He informed me that I could order more in the future from him if I needed them. I felt so good after that call, but it burned inside when I realized how bittersweet it would be to inform Kristin since she spent all those hours on the phone dealing with the grunts at Macy’s “Service” department.
OK, that’s all for this one. Now we just need to get the parts in hand and get ’em installed so we can go back to the leather recliner luxury goodness. Thanks Chateau d’Ax! Thanks Ed! Thank you for restoring my hope in this situation.
May 31st, 2007 at 5:49 pm
Congratulations. I,too, am having issues with a Chateau d’Ax piece. Would you care to share their factory phone number, or web address if they have one?
October 2nd, 2007 at 11:37 pm
I have had a horrible problem with the Mission style of my leather Chateau d ax sofa set. It started with the leather chair of the set and a broken arm. I might add that neither my husband or I ‘abuse’ or furniture in any fashion. Turns out the frame which the Meier and Frank sales rep told us was constructed from kiln dried hardwood, was in fact (the arm section anyway) was constructed of crappy particleboard, thus the clear cause of the breakdown of the arms on my set. Now I am experiencing the same problem with the sofa of that same set. I won’t ever buy another piece of furniture from Chateau d ax until stronger insistence on their part in not allowing particleboard whatsoever in the construction of their furniture line. I’ve contacted both Macy’s (who bought out Meier and Frank) and the USA factory located in NC tn#336-885-9777 to no avail. I talked with a rather snotty sounding fellow by the name of Chris Langford who I asked to speak to his supervisor by the name of Julio Reinhold and I am awaiting his return call to date 10-02-07. Hope your problem is solved easier than what mine appears to be. I paid $3000 for my sofa set and have hardly had 4 years of reliable comfort and use. Shame, shame on Macy’s and Chateau d ax. Please advise of your problem with Chateau d ax. (An Italian Corp. as I understand).
October 5th, 2007 at 1:23 am
Today, (Oct.4th)I received a call from Macy’s Furniture and Bedding section, Customer Service. (Sadly, no return call from Chateau d ax, the Italian owned corporate parent of Chateau d ax). I am pleased to say that Macy’s is crediting back my purchase price so that I will be able to repurchase a replacement sofa set. I must say my confidence as a consumer has been restored with the offer. Now, I only hope I am able to find a sofa set and manufacturer which can affirm to me that absolutely no particleboard is used the construction of that sofa set and hopefully that it is an American owned company constructed with safe, dependable, and durable components with the consumer’s satisfaction as the ultimate goal.
October 9th, 2007 at 12:39 am
Effective today a new e mail address.
October 22nd, 2007 at 12:31 pm
My wife and I bought a complete leather sofa (lounge on one end, 2 seat sofa area, curve piece turning 90 degrees then another 2 seat sofa area). We bought it as “closeout” and “display” about 2 years ago and since it was display it was missing the hardware that connects the 4 pieces together! I know basically what it must look like but I do not even know where to start looking for it. The tag on the bottoms of the pieces say:
“Divani
Chateau d’Ax” and having some free time today I started Googling and this page was one of the top search results I came across! Could someone give me the phone number for the phone number for the Chateau d’Ax factory in the USA mentioned above? Thanks!
-Zac-
November 8th, 2007 at 9:27 am
Can anyone share the contact info for Chateau d’Ax. We are having a defect problem on one of our couches and it needs to be addressed before it gets any worse. Email address, phone #, mailing address, etc. would be much appreciated.
November 8th, 2007 at 10:48 am
I’m not going to give out the info here, but I will tell you how I started my journey to get it. I called Gardiner’s Furniture in MD (http://www.gardiners.com) and asked them if they could get the part for me. They said no, but offered me the contact info for the Chateau d’Ax NC HQ office. Good luck.
November 10th, 2007 at 9:43 am
Thaks for the website info. Would you mind sharing the contact info via email? My email address is lerts2@hotmail.com. Just note the subject line Chateau d’Ax NC HQ INFO. Thanks in advance.
December 4th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
My wife and I purchased a 3 piece Chateau d’Ax leather set in September 2005. We had to have the set returned because of a defect in the leather. We waited months for replacement. Now we have another problem with the set. It appears that we need to return this set for replacement because of defective leather. You can bet we will not be purchasing Chateau d’Ax this time around.
December 26th, 2007 at 1:02 am
Chateau d’ax Malone
Sectional Missing Hardware Connectors
Just got it missing the hardware to connect the two pieces together anyone have a suggestion
January 16th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Can anyone give me the contact information to Chateau D’ax for Missouri or IL? I have my own horror story and Macy’s has decided to ignore my calls. I’ve had a broken couch (received that way) since April ’07. It’s now January 08 and still no resolution. Macy’s still carries Chateau D’ax which is even more frustrating. Who’s to blame here…Macy’s? or Chateau D’ax. Someone’s dropped the ball and all I want is to get the frame relplaced on my couch. Any help would be appreciated. Email w/subject line Chateau D’ax Thanks!
February 22nd, 2008 at 3:15 pm
I am joining your ranks. I just purchased a leather double reclining chateau d’ax sofa and one of the two electric motors has failed. I was told by my sales rep that he had sold many of these couches and never had a problem with these motors. Too bad mine is the first one the day I brought it home.
Have others of you had problems with the motors? We might return it altogether if that is the case.
Otherwise, I appreciate Janet Marshall listing the phone number. I’m waiting for a call back from the parts department.
I’d appreciate any updates people may have at kellerchch at gmail . com
February 22nd, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Thanks Janet for posting the Chateau D’ax phone number. It happens to be the same one that Gardiners gave me.
I just got off the phone with Chris Langford from Chateau D’ax. He was equally unhelpful, darn’t. He said he cannot sell an individual part to a consumer and that he only works on warrantied units. I asked where I could find a person to sell me an individual electric motor measuring about 6″ x 2″ x 2″.
He said they don’t sell the individual motor (even though it looks like it disconnects from the larger recliner mechanism) and that the individual motor ships on a pallet two feet across that holds the entire reclining mechanism that goes under the frame.
That is a bunch of crap. How unfriendly to service. So, after their 1 year warranty, if I have a problem, I have to contract with a local repair provider who will call him and order the part and then replace the entire mechanism under the chair. Boy, sign me up for one of those experiences.
My second question – Okay, tell me what sort of failure rate you’ve had with these motors. His answer – I can’t tell you since we are just the business office in North America and I don’t have that information. Well, that is really helpful Chris. So why do they give you the title of “Services Guy” if you are so unserviceable. Wow, remind me not to hire a Chris Langford type. So, I ask who can give me that information. He said I would have to talk with the manufacturer of those parts since Chateau D’ax in Italy uses multiple providers. Wow, isn’t that a black hole.
So, I ask (even though I don’t want to call Italy) if he can you give me the number of the Italian manufacturer’s office so I can get my answer.
The answer – No. I am sorry sir, I’m not privied to give out that information. Wow, so helpful aren’t you Chris. You took me down that path and then you tell me there is no option. What great customer service, eh??
He then tells me I’ll have to work with my local RC Willey to get service and I’m left wondering if I shouldn’t just bag the whole deal, return the couch and get a manual recliner model from Lazy Boy since I know that brand and have seen them around for years.
Well, thanks for no service at all, Chris. I just might do that.
I couldn’t believe that he was so unresponsive. Didn’t it make sense to him that one ounce of helpfulness would have gone a long way to satisfy a “current” customer? I guess not.
Oh, and for those of you doing your research, do a few more Google searches on Chateau D’ax and you’ll see more unhappy customers. What I couldn’t get a sense for is how representative we unhappy customers are. What percent do we represent of total customers?
March 14th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
WOW!! Can’t believe all the comments about Chareau d’Ax furniture and Macys! We’ve had the same experience here in Sacramento, CA. Our leather loveseat was replaced once, then the arm fell off. We love the set (we have the larger sofa and the loveseat) and wanted it fixed. However, after waiting months for Macys to fix it, we found out they don’t carry Chareaud’Ax anymore and will only credit us for a new sofa from Macys. We’d like this loveseat fixed. What is the phone number to contact the company direct? Thanks! Liz
March 19th, 2008 at 11:17 am
Liz,
The number that Janet posted works 336-885-9777 for the US Chateau dax office but you’ll likely get the same runaround I received.
On a very happy note, I did get a very nice reply by email today from grainoldi at chateau-dax . it. He read my blog post and offered to help.
I was very delighted. I don’t have resolution yet, but he offered a solution. Try sending him an email with your request. Good luck.
You can email me at kellerchch at gmail . com
April 14th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
i just purchsed a chateaudax leather sofa from carson pirie scott (or bergners in some locations) i get delivery of it 04-26-08….i hope if comes in 1 piece and that nothing goes wrong with it! i have read the horror stories here and hope i do not have to reply aanything is wrong with my new sofa when i get it.
good luck to you all (i did write down the us# just encase)
laurie
May 19th, 2008 at 3:12 am
I don’t know if this will reach anyone but I recently purchased a chateaudax leather sofa from a funiture place besides Macy’s. Love the sofa!! I couldn’t have asked for a better pick for our living room.
However, I purchased not one but two defective beds from Macy’s and have only yesterday figured out the accounting of getting my money back after 2 months. The store manager was great in the begining and then towards the end started throwing his employees under the bus, so to speak because of all of the confusion. I purchased a bed, sent it back, got another bed, returned it in less then 5 months and asked for my money back. Macy’s would refund the money but I could buy a less expensive bed. They tried to make me pay for a warrenty I no longer have and I still had to purchase the $50.00 metal stand (for the Queens size bed I don’t have). It is a mess, what I am trying to say is no matter how desperate you are…don’t buy furniture at Macy’s. If this blog and others don’t say something about their appreciation for their customers I don’t know what other proof you’d need. Their shameless!
July 18th, 2008 at 7:40 pm
I am looking for the red chair that Macy’s called TUSCAN – even though I had to return the matching sofa bed because of defective leather, I would like to get the chair because Macy brought a better sofa in exchange. From what I hear, Macy no longer carries the company, does anyone know where I can find it *the number above is not working –closed for day!
September 2nd, 2008 at 4:09 pm
Well I will jump on with this. I purchased the couch, loveseat, chair and ottoman. The arm of the chair has caved in. The problem Wicks Furniture the store that it was purchased from alittle over a year ago has long since filled BK. Lucky me that I got what I thought was a extended service plan. Turns out the sales person did not give us all the information needed. The set cost me over 4,000.00 and the warranty $309.00.
If that was not bad enough today I found out it is only for the leather not the frame work. I contacted Stain Safe (the leather warranty people) in regards to shotty workmanship of the leather and was hung up on 4 times and finally got someone who decied that since there were 3 different problems “THERE IS NO WAY I JUST NOTICED IT” the claim was denied. When we asked to speak with her supervisor we were hung up on. I called back and got the same response from the supervisor. I am now writting their legal department per instruction of a very nice receptionist.
Then I contacted Chateau D’Ax and spoke with their customer service dept. yeah that was like talking to a box of rocks. He informed me that since Wicks filled BK they are not holding up to their end of their warranty for the 3 years of frame defect. He told me it has to wait until it is out of court even though they have nothing to do with the furniture comapny. What kind of crap is that. I decided to contact the supervisor and the receptionist at Chateau D’Ax informed me he is out for the remainder of the week. I asked for someone else and she said he is the only one there that can make any type of decisions. It was a small office of only a few people.
I don’t know about any of you but I am so sick of the run around and corporations taking advantage of me because they can. If anyone has any ideas for me please, please help me out. My e-mail is lquirk1631@yahoo.com
Thanks and Good Luck all
Lisa
September 2nd, 2008 at 9:54 pm
I just filled a claim against BBB for StainSafe and Chateau D’ Ax lets see what comes out of that. It was a free service people so please do the same. The more the better maybe we will get some service. I am not going to sit back and let people take advantage of me. I work way too hard for my money. Good Luck I will try to keep all informed.
December 1st, 2008 at 1:09 am
I bought a whole livingroom set back in 1999 from Foley’s stores in Dallas Tx and I still have it I’ve never have had any issues… The sofa it is the most comfortable piece everyone that comes to my house and sits there falls asleep truth be told must of my guest do not want to use the bed or the air mattress …. I can not find anything wrong with any of the pieces…. I been looking around because we want to buy more pieces my fiance and I are getting a bigger place, so if any knows where I can get them locally here in the states I would really appreciate it.
December 16th, 2008 at 1:15 am
In the last year, I’ve been contacted by four individuals asking to share the contact of the person who helped me so. For the last year, I sent this email to those individuals, but I’ve reached that time when I want to stop sending one-off emails and so I’m sharing publicly the info of the kind person who offered to help me.
Giulio Rainoldi
December 29th, 2008 at 10:35 pm
My wife and I purchased our sofa, overstuffed chair and ottoman from Rooms to Go furniture store approximately four years ago. Recently a small tear developed in the couch on a seat cushion. While that was disappointing, the real disaapointment is how the tear has grown. It now is easily 14″ in length and is a gaping hole. This surely is a defect in the leather that was used. I am sure that your company does not want to have a reputation of shoddy workmanship and will stand behind this. I look forward to a response from you regarding this problem. Thank you for your concern.
Bob Devore
January 22nd, 2009 at 5:52 pm
I purchased a 3 pc sectional from Rooms to go. I love it. I say “I love it” every time I sit down. It’s so comfy, in all it’s white leather. It has a full sofa (Meaning 2 arms) a one arm chaise and a armless love seat. But the stitching started coming out. Rooms to blow said it’s not being manufactured any more, and I have to reselect.It couldn’t be repaired. I had 30 days. It took me 90 days to finaly go with white,and I didn’t find anything nearly as comfortable. And then I designed my room around it, and the ajoining room.
I faxed then called the manufaturer, to great satisfaction. I will buy from them again. They offered me full money back. I have 6 months. (the rest of the warrenty period).
August 31st, 2009 at 6:07 pm
In October of 2007, my husband and I purchased a Chateux D Aux espresso leather sofa from Macys in Santa Rosa, CA. The only model Macy’s had that fit the size of our family room was a “floor model” to be sold as is. We had shopped for months to find the right purchase. The sofa was gorgeous and met our needs. In less than 1 year, the sofa completely broke-down. The sofa is now unusable and unsittable!!! You cannot sit on it for more than a few minutes without getting up with terrible back pain. The cushion support COMPLETELY broke down. You SINK into the sofa. It is aweful. I am now beginning my research to hold Macy’s accountable for providing us a full cash refund. Macy’s has refused to refund our money, indicating since it is not under warranty, I have to go straight to the manufacturer. Chris Langford with Chateau D Aux stated since we did not buy directly from Chateau D Aux and it was purchased as is, there is no recourse and we will need to deal directly with Macy’s. I had to call Chris multiple times, over three weeks before I could receive a returned phone call.
I don’t know about you, but over the years, my husband and I have spent 10’s of thousands of dollars at Macy’s and this is an absolute outrage that we are being treated the way we are. It is amazing that BOTH Macy’s and Chateau D Aux are unwilling to take responsibility for selling poor-quality furnishings. Shame on them both. In this day and age, it is typical to see companies not stand up to do the right thing. We as upstanding community members deserve to be treated better than this and not to be jerked around.
Janette Angus-Ramstead
December 11th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
bought sofa and loveseat (chateau d’ax) at raymour and flanagan. bought insurance.sofa cushion developed a tear took 4 months to replace.the insurance is only good once for each piece ( not explained at time of purchase ) two years later and 2nd sofa has developed a tear, same cushion same spot.r and f no longer sells this brand ( thats odd ). they sent a tech?, he took a picture, i ordered 6 8×10 glossies . now i wait. to be continued.
July 10th, 2010 at 8:34 pm
Thank you all.
I was contemplating buying Chateau D’ax from Macy’s. I have to rethink after reading such horror stories.
July 12th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
I have a Divani Chateau D’Ax sectional that I got from Macy’s in 2005. It has been a wonderfully comfortable sofa, soft leather, great quality so far. Sadly, two of the connector pins broke when bungling movers tried to take it apart. I called the number listed herein, dialed the parts department, and Chris is sending two new connectors….no charge. Not bad!
August 29th, 2010 at 12:00 am
The service end of this business sucks. They dont fix anything and they show up at your house with aglue stick!!
January 20th, 2011 at 1:59 pm
Like many of you, I also reached a dead end after contacting Macy’s and Divani Chateau D’Ax’s local distributor, Chris. Purchasing the four peice leather set was the worse mistake we’ve ever made. My biggest problem with this set is that the leather began to crack and peel not long after we purchased the set. Macy’s sent a technician out who essentially told me that I would be better off trashing this set. To make matters worse; because there wasn’t a rip in the set and the structore was sound, my warranty was useless. I was also told by Chris that the manufacturer’s warranty was only good for 1 year. I’m so upset about this purchase and feel like this complaint is the only retribution Chateau D’Ax and Macy’s will ever experience. With manufacturers only standing behind there pieces for 1 year, cheap may be the way to go. At least then I’ll be able to say it was cheap anyway and have money to purchase a new set!
February 10th, 2011 at 4:16 pm
Bought a Chateau d’Ax Divani expresso oversized ottoman from Rich’s. Of course the leather easily tore. The backing on the tear makes me think that it is not full thickness leather. It appears to be a cloth/fiber backing. Anyway, found this website and realize that it is a waste to follow up with the manufacturer, and the retailer has since been bought out by another company. I’ll just try a repair kit on my own.
November 22nd, 2011 at 5:02 am
I too am very dissappointed, well sick, about my 4 piece espresso leather set. It was purchased at The Bon Ton in New York and we too were told it had only a one year warranty. It was beautiful when we got it and we were so excited as it was our first living room set after 10 years of marriage, so nice not to have hand-me -downs anymore. Now, only six short years later it is an embarrassment. It is torn, peeled and cracking and IT WAS NOT A CHEAP SET!!! Now we look like we have old hand-me-downs again(actually, they were in better shape) and can’t afford a new set. These companies should be ashamed for selling such inferior products:(
November 5th, 2015 at 5:29 pm
I bought a three piece power reclining sofa set. I lost the adopters for all three and Macy told me they cant help me and they can give me chateau dax customer service information. I am not asking for free adopters. I will to buy them.
Totally insane.