ComplaintsforTrotter's Electronics, Appliances and Furniture

• Initial Complaint

  07/16/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I purchased a chandelier with a few missing hanging pieces. The owner, **** **************, stated that they would ship the chandelier with the parts when the employee returned on 7/12 that knew where they were, He assured me they were not discontinued, so I paid in full and was given a receipt. On July 13 ****** called seeming oddly unfriendly to say they couldn't find the parts and could no longer order a new one due to Covid. I left a msg for **** and returned to Trotters late 7/14 after not hearing back. **** stated harshly that he heard his employee very clearly say that they couldn't order it and suggested I order it elsewhere. I called back to ask if they had any leads to point me to get it. Dennis said "google". So I asked for an item.#. **** picked up and said he would try again and call back but didn't.. With no help from them I found the light and the issue: they undercharged me. On 7/15 I called **** who replied that it isn't available and got angry when I let him know that I

  Business response

  08/23/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/08/02) */ The customer came in on a Saturday, passing through town and saw the chandelier in the store. Parts were missing from the product and could not be located. The customer was given their money back first thing the following Monday morning. The customer was told we would try to locate the parts after she kept calling insisting we find them, even after being given a full refund. The parts could not be ordered and the customer was told several times. Parts are not readily available during these times and it can be very time consuming trying to locate extra parts for anything. We did not want to hold the customer's money trying to locate them, that's why it was refunded immediately. While we regret that we weren't able to help her, we also have the right to move forward with our business. Apparently, the customer saw the piece online and decided we "owed" it to her to sell it and then work to find parts when we know how tough it is to do that and refuse to hold money in a situation we know will not happen. Ultimately, this was a situation we remedied immediately to keep from having a customer waiting for something that would not happen. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2021/08/03) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) The important details that the owner left out and that there was not enough characters available in the original complaint follows: Availability is not a factor and the "Covid availability" favored excuse although valid in so many cases doesn't apply, as I will explain. I only purchased the chandelier because the owner, in front of his salesperson, assured me that the light had recently arrived and the parts were in a box somewhere. Before paying I asked what would happen if they didn't find the parts, and he responded in front of his salesperson that it would be no problem to order a brand new one and ship directly to my house. I asked if it was discontinued and he said that there would be no problem getting another one as it was recently received. I specifically asked these questions because I was taking an 8 hour shopping road trip for decorating and could cross chandelier off of my list if this was a done deal. I paid and left expecting a call on Monday about shipping. Instead they called Tuesday with standoffish, short odd tone about not being able to get the light and needing to refund me. The conversation seemed scripted. The owner who had assured me that it would be shipped was unavailable to talk but would return my call. After no return call, I stopped into the store on Wednesday and was very rudely treated by the owner who said I should buy it somewhere else and that he had stood by the phone and clearly heard his salesperson tell me on the that the light was not available to ship (but remember he was unavailable to talk to me). Astonished, I left and called back asking if they could point me to somewhere that I could buy it, and I was rudely told to google it. Speechless. I thought this was very strange behavior to a paying customer who just spent $500 at this store and called back figuring they would at least tell me the item number, so that I could find it elsewhere. They refused. A day later I found the item, price, and abundant availability at many vendors and discovered why they didn't want to give me the item number. He had undercharged me and needed a way out of the transaction rather than explain what he had done like a reasonable business man and try to work out some compromise over his accidental discount of likely $300-$400. When he didn't return my call by the following day, I called him AS HE HAD requested to check availability again. This time he told me it was out of production. At this point, I let him know what I found out and his response was an angry outburst. It was ugly, so I hung up the phone and never called back. The behavior of the owner and the salesperson was unmistakably shady. They absolutely know that I should not have been treated this way and should have known that their behavior would make me curious enough to dig a little deeper. Had the 1st call back not seemed so scripted and nervous, I would have moved along completely unaware. After later reading reviews though, I see that I shouldn't be surprised by his outburst. He had an opportunity to be honest about what happened and make a better business decision but did not. I now understand that I should have been charged more which he never admitted, but in no way should I have been treated this way.

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