When we cut away the cloth covering the bottom of the ottoman, we found that the support that held the leg in place was made out of particle board instead of a solid piece of wood (click on either of the photos to see enlarged photos on the craftsmanship details).When we called Ethan Allen, they told us that they would not take the product back, and that if we wanted it fixed, we would have to pay for it. Ethan Allen then sent a "technician" to our house to examine the product. He claims that we broke the product on purpose by hitting the ottoman with a sharp object.
So we should have assumed that the product was of poor quality when we purchased it? The Sales person told us that it was a floor model; it was not marked as a second, nor was it marked defective. However, it broke the first time someone sat on it at our house. The very day we brought it home! So we're to assume that Ethan Allan won't stand behind their products?
By the way, we agree with the technician's assessment that someone or something had to have hit the ottoman pretty hard in order to break the leg. However what the technician failed to mention on his report that there was no tear in the fabric underneath the ottoman that covers the bottom. So it would have been impossible for us to have "struck" the ottoman to break the leg without tearing the cloth. So we are then forced to assume that the ottoman was broken before we ever got it.
We continue to be disappointed that Ethan Allan won't stand behind their products, even though it broke within one day of bringing it home. We can only assume that this point that the sales person knowingly sold us a defective product or a second, and not a floor model as promised.
6 comments:
From close observation of the pictures, it appears that the wood failed at the point where a big staple had been used. Said big staple doesn't appear to serve any structural purpose and in fact appears to be an easy means of holding the screw anchor in place during the manufacturing process (i.e. before the leg is screwed in as a final assembly or post-shipping step).
vsumpter: good observation. Does seem unusual for a reputable merchant like Ethan Allen to use something as weak and marginal as a staple to hold a key structural component together.
BTW. If you do have to pay out of pocket to make the piece work, you might try:
Case Furniture Stripping (& repair)
2526 Pulgas Ave
Palo Alto, CA 94303
(650) 324-1691
He did some very nice work for us when we used to live in the area and needed some antiques freshened up...
Given the quality of the product, it's probably smarter to throw it away versus trying to fix it. They'd need to replace all the multi-layered laminate board in the support structure with solid pieces of wood. That's probably going to cost more than to buy something new from a reputable, quality merchant.
Hello. I find your blog very interesting. I think that it is better to consult a specialist before buying furniture. The high price does not always mean quality the same as the brand name. I consider Ethan Allen Furniture to be great. It is not that expensive but the choice is enormous and the quality of the furniture ios great. I looked through www.pissedconsumer.com for clients’ feedbacks and I found very few of them. Now, it is up to you to decide what to choose.
Lesly, thanks for your guidance. Our previous experience with Ethan Allen furniture had been very positive. We bought a number of pieces from them back in the 80's and 90's. All the pieces were solid pieces of wood and lots of solid joints. Unfortunately from this ottoman, it appears that the quality was more along the lines of a piece from K-Mart than traditionally from Ethan Allen.
But regardless of the product quality, the level of service (or lack of service) from Ethan Allen was abysmal. They wouldn't stand behind their products, which even K-Mart will do.
Very disappointing...
Post a Comment