Dining Chair gave way....

[seamonkee]

My dining chair bought less than 2 months only from barang barang gave way....

It happens when I lean back (first time ever to do so) and was horrified to see the hems on the leather joints split and the chair gave way....

Realised the wood joint between the back legs and frame are very thin and poorly glued... never able to see the insides until the leather hems gave way... in another way, the back support depends on the hems to hold on!!!

Barang barang will get their logistic person to come by and have an assessment before deciding whether to refund me or give me a new item....

In any case, if the worst happens (where they dun give me a refund).... who can I go to? If I feel that there is a safety breach in the chair quality....

PSB? Small claims tribune?

Pls advise....

[mUAr_cHEe]

My dining chair bought less than 2 months only from barang barang gave way....

It happens when I lean back (first time ever to do so) and was horrified to see the hems on the leather joints split and the chair gave way....

Realised the wood joint between the back legs and frame are very thin and poorly glued... never able to see the insides until the leather hems gave way... in another way, the back support depends on the hems to hold on!!!

Barang barang will get their logistic person to come by and have an assessment before deciding whether to refund me or give me a new item....

In any case, if the worst happens (where they dun give me a refund).... who can I go to? If I feel that there is a safety breach in the chair quality....

PSB? Small claims tribune?

Pls advise....

small claims i guess.....

if u have no budget.... get a lawyer??? heehee...

hope barang barang will be able to settle it with ya....

[diabolus]

call the New Paper hotline.

no company will want this kind of negative advertisment.

dun bother about small claims, try CASE 1st, but have to join as member 1st.

so you have to see if its worth it anot(as in price of chair vs. membership cost)

[seamonkee]

Will be taking some pixs and bring up the issue with barang barang first...

chair cost me $250.... so $35 CASE membership is acceptable...

but giving barang barang a chance to see wat they can do for me first....

[seamonkee]

Went down to Great World City....

Lodged an official complaint in writing together with photos....

Now just sit back and see how good and efficient their service is as they claim to be....

Here's the chair... less than 3 months old...

Many thanks to bros for advice on what to do and where to go...

[pegasus1010]

just asking...wat's your weight bro?

[seamonkee]

just asking...wat's your weight bro?

Yeah.... I'm 500kg and my middle name happens to be King Kong Bundy...

U har... so insensitive... asking people their weight openly on the forum... how can? Good thing I not "Char Bo".... Wah Kaoz.... [hitting head on wall]

Think about it lah..... Common sense... common sense.... use ur blain... us ur blain.... if I have a physical frame like Moses Lim, would u think I am so foolish to walk into Barang Barang and tell them that their chair is defective and its not my fault?... so dun ask silly question lah, bro... duh!!!

BTW, just asking too.... what's ur IQ level? I tell u my weight hor... it's 80kg.... ur turn to give me an answer too...

Anyway, found out this model came out for a short while and was snapped up shortly.... no more stock for this model... The sales staff admitted having looked at the pictures that the chair is definitely poorly designed or in defect... sales staff a bit worried now... about the rest of the chairs that were sold... The purchaser is definitely in deep s**t....

[pegasus1010]

dun take offence coz I kena b4.. called up & tat's wat they asked me..hahah I'm not tat heavy, only 70kg.

[seamonkee]

dun take offence coz I kena b4.. called up & tat's wat they asked me..hahah I'm not tat heavy, only 70kg.

juz joking with u lah.... (if u notice the tone).... hahah....

If I'm offended, I won't scream out 80kg liao m BTW, I not "char bo" too....

So what happened in the end for ur case?

[seamonkee]

Wrote a super long email to the managing director, cc to customer care department after the )($)(%#()%#$@ cocky response from the store manager.

[diabolus]

bro,

so wat did the store manager reply you?

[pegasus1010]

mine was settled peacefully.

[seamonkee]

bro,

so wat did the store manager reply you?

Seems like they were more keen to resolve the issue quicky.... claiming it is an isolated incident... and Manager said insinuately that many others who bought this item has no problem....

I asked them if it is really a defect, what will they do with the rest that were sold to others? He refused to say anything.... On this note, IKEA Is more responsible with its recall practices....

Manager asked me (in standard policy manner).... to return the two chairs, get two replacements and if the value is higher than what I paid for, I must top up.... damn, what insensitive thing to say at a point when you are an angry customer...

I told him that I have taken the trouble to come down by taxi all the way to Great World City to fill in one stupid form and whether this is the best he can do... and why he is more concerned with dollars and cents now than trying to sooth me down.

All I wanted was an apology (which he did not gave), an explanation (which he did not bother) and all he asked is for me to come select two other chairs and A REMINDER TO TOP UP FOR ANYTHING HIGHER IN VALUE!!! ALL I am asking them to do is to give me back a cheque refund and now they pissed me off... I am asking them to send it by hand to me.....

With such a bad experience, what makes them think I am gonna pick up another two chairs from them?

Damn... i'm waiting for the General Manager to reply on this matter.... Otherwise, I am calling the New Paper Hotline.

It's an obvious a defect in design but they are making it sound like I am the whiner and it's my problem instead.

[AquaRa]

haha, very good.

[pegasus1010]

damn..dun give them chance if they act liddat.

[shiraz]

if the GM replies to u in a bad manner... call the new paper only... super negative report! my dad got a coffee table from barang2 a few years back too... gave way when i placed a jerry can on it! went to complain.. store manager said they would send the peice back to italy if im not wrong and we'll get back the same table.. AND we had to pay for the repairs!

my mom then wrote a letter to the some high auth.(maybe GM) and the matter was resolved quickly... as in.. they gave us a full refund...

[riot]

Seamonkee

not sure if you have written to the Gm yet but suggest you do so calmly and rationally. Dont get into a hot headed argument as it will make you really appear a whiner and that you are pushing blame onto the manager. GM might side withthe store manager if he finds you unreasonable and emotional. Instead, use the necessary language that will connect to any competent business man.

1) Your experience of poor customer service at the store. State examples

2) Your impression of Barang Barang products (before this and after)

3) Your expectations of their products (superior quality and brand)

4) Suggest to them corrective measures that will be agreeble with you.

5) Comparison to competitors (barang a bit niche here) or industry standards and benchmarks.

Do it nicely hor- people tend to respond better when you dont put them on defensive.

Good luck bro- wish you best

[riot]

oh yeah key words:

Excellent impressions of organization

Disappointed at standard of service

Expected more from world class / leading company

Sad that elegant design compromised by inferior workmanship

Hope that organization can evolve and improve

Loyal customer of company

Have many friends comment on beautiful furniture during Chinese New Year

Embarassed to have to tell them that furniture does not last. (that should get their attention)

[seamonkee]

Thanks for everyone's advice.....

Will think about it carefully...

[seamonkee]

Customer Service Manager called.

Apologies given and will present cheque personally at my place....

[riot]

thats brilliant!

[seamonkee]

thats brilliant!

Yeah, forgot to tell you.... I am a customer service trainer too....

So probably more aware of which buttons to push.....

Let's see whether they will go the extra mile to win me over...

On top of the chair, my dining table surface cracked away from its beams in less than 3 months too... this was highlighted (to both shop manager and customer service manager) but not penned in the feedback form... let's see whether they will bother and what they will do to win my confidence back...

I have drop hints but I'm seeing whether they are quick to pick up those cues...

She will be here at 4pm...

[williammuk]

oh yeah key words:

Excellent impressions of organization

Disappointed at standard of service

Expected more from world class / leading company

Sad that elegant design compromised by inferior workmanship

Hope that organization can evolve and improve

Loyal customer of company

Have many friends comment on beautiful furniture during Chinese New Year

Embarassed to have to tell them that furniture does not last. (that should get their attention)

Riot, you're good!

seamonkee, any updates?

[amteo]

Having said all that, can I find out, how you Barang Barang customers feel about their stuff? Quality/Workmanship comparable with industry standard? Customer Service OK? Princing reasonable? Can buy things from there?

Reason I'm asking is because Sea Monkey's incident, giving Barang Barang the benefit of doubt, might be a one off situation. Anyone else have any positive or negative experience to share?

[seamonkee]

Customer Manager came..... and she looks equally stunned at the make of the chair... but they will bring it back for further investigation....

Maybe its only for that model.... which came in Aug-Sept 04 but was snapped shortly by December....

Hope it is a one-off incident like she said otherwise I wonder what will happen to the rest that were sold to others....

In any case, they paid me back full refund in cheque... and will also notify me on the outcome of the investigation. If it is truly a design flaw, then they will recall back all these chair models...

This is what IKEA is good in... at first, I thought why IKEA so silly as in engage in recall practices... it is like telling anyone their products are not 100% quality made... then again, I realised that by doing that, it add a sense of social responsibility and in fact, customers like that! It shows that they do practise QC checks and all....

Sigh, in any case, I'm disappointed because that particular model is one that fits exactly my theme.... Well, furniture hunting again...