Lauri Tock wants her money back from Tukwila s Ashley Furniture because she's sick and tired of waiting for her new table to arrive.
I was furious! It was ridiculous. It seemed to me a very basic customer service issue, said Lauri.
The table is more than a month late - and this native New Yorker isn't going to let the company forget about it.
People always tell me I'm very direct. And I always think, you don't know direct, Lauri said.
Lauri's tried to call the company but to no avail.
I felt they should have done something to make it right - or at least talk to me about it, she said. That was the most agonizing thing. That I could not speak to anybody about it. They were just obviously ignoring me and hoping I would go away. But I don't go away.
That's when Lauri called my office.
What she didn't know was that there were eight other people who had also contacted me with issues about the Ashley Furniture.
Complaints have included incorrect and damaged deliveries as well as furniture never received.
One woman even took the store to small claims court. She won because an Ashley Furniture representative failed to show.
Lauri even complained to company headquarters, who told her sorry, but refunds are handled at the retail level.
So I contacted Ashley Furniture who flew a vice president in to take a look at the situation for all of the customers who called me.
And when Lauri called for an update, she got good news.
She came back on and said, oh thank you for holding. I apologize for the wait. Um yes, we can, um, refund your money, she said.
Ashley Furniture promises it will make good with all of the customers who contacted me.
In a statement the company called this incident a teaching opportunity:
We took immediate actions to include management changes and a comprehensive plan for improved customer service. We have expanded our training program and dedicated resources to providing customer solutions more rapidly.
And if anyone out there still has a problem with Ashley, please let me know about it.
