Shopseating

OK, I'm changing my rating from $#@! To Cool.
My furniture finally came in (after 45 days of waiting) and the bedroom I purchased (Emily-CH king) is GREAT (except it was missing a couple of supports for the frame).
I had some frustration while waiting for my order. The website says it takes 7-10 days to deliver but I got mine only after 1.5 months. But they gave me $150 back for my trouble, so it's cool.
If you want to buy from this company, make sure to call in advance and confirm that they have delivery in your place.

I read the poor reviews for this company prior to submitting an order, but my local store was going to be out of stock for 2 months on the item I wanted, so I gave them a try. Big mistake! Two days after I made the purchase, they added an extra $100.00 for shipping (on an item advertised as having free shipping) without notifying me and without authorization. I only found out about it when I logged in to check the status of the order and if it had been shipped yet. Two emails I sent to figure out the reason for the extra charge went unanswered. I was finally able to get a hold of them and cancel the order all together. This whole ordeal cost me lots of lost time and an additional two weeks delay on getting my furniture (from a reputable store this time).

Don't purchase from them... they lie. I bought a Herman Miller chair 4 years ago and it broke. I called to get the serial number - it was missing from my chair - and they told me my chair was refurbished. They CLAIM it has always been on their website that the chairs they sell are refurbished. That's bull! My partner would never pay full price $850, for a refurbished chair if we could purchase a REAL one for that cost. They're half truths and poor customer service rate this a BAD company!

Waited for over a month for the ACTUAL processing of our order, 11 Herman Miller chairs. Assortment of missteps with their CS. Story ranged from, "we expect them to be to us next week" to being blatantly hung up on when calling. Strangely, after constant status checks, our order magically converted to "this order is in the final stages of processing and cannot be changed". BS. We cancelled and told them we'd refuse it if it arrived and would challenge any charges to the CC provided. Sounds like the company is being run out of someone's garage based on the background noise. Sketchy at best.

I ordered the Eames Lounger in Palisander.
I was charged and paid for sale item.
Was advertised as 2 week delivery, after 6 weeks of calling they cannot sell Palisander-false advertising.
So I switched to Walnut and everytime I call it's supposed to get into their warehouse that very day.
9 weeks later and this is obviously a scam, I am trying to get my money back ASAP.
They do have friendly customer service but they lie and are forgetful.

Why couldn't I have seen this site before I found ShopSeating.com???? What an absolute disaster. This has easily been my worst experience with an online seller in years. I place an order 16 days ago and it's still "processing". What does that mean? It means that you can't cancel/edit your order while you wait, and wait, and wait. I've tried three times to reach customer service via email to no avail. Why email? Because I couldn't get through on the phone and they have a "Live Instant Message" feature that they don't log into. That's no joke. You have an option to "online chat" with a customer service rep in live time, but every time I've given it a shot, I'm informed that they aren't logged in and I must leave a message.

Really, steer clear of this place, people. Nothing they have can be worth this absurd debacle.

They sent me the wrong product, so I complained. They promised to correct the problem. It took a month, but they sent me the correct product. It was damaged. I complained again. They said they'd send me another product. I contacted them every week to check in; eventually they stopped responding. After 2 months, I threatened to report them to eBay (where I purchased the item) and the BBB. They sent another product. It, too, was damaged.
I give up.

I see my story played out here multiple times: ordered two chairs, they arrived late and with not only broken pieces but missing pieces, no instructions. I called "customer service" and they lied to me over and over, pretty much each person I spoke with claimed that they were the manager. I had to fight returning the broken chairs without paying a restocking fee (exorbitant) and finally agreed to exchange. Ordered two different chairs, one came in defective. When I called to get it fixed or replaced, I was told that it was my responsibility to fix them and "don't you know how to use a screwdriver?" (A little sexist, no?) However, there are hex bolts holding the chair together, not screws. Was informed that they would come take both chairs away and refund everything, this was two weeks ago. Still waiting.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS.

03/09 new development:
I've spoken with a rep after annoying the heck out of them by calling a million times. They've said this is all a big misunderstanding and here's why: the chairs they sell are thru different companies, they don't have one huge warehouse for stock. The various different companies, they say, are responsible for much of the delay in returns. They didn't have an explanation for why several emails/phone calls have not been returned other than "we're busy and backed up." Supposedly, they are going to send out a replacement chair to us ASAP. I may change my review based on the timeliness and/or whether the chair comes in functioning order.

Ordered a floor mirror. Found they had the best price for this mirror online. After I ordered from the site this past November 2010, I looked further at their reviews and could have kicked myself for not checking the site out first! Needless to say I didn't expect good things to come from this order. I received notice within a week or so that my order had shipped. I tracked the order on the FedEx website and noticed that the order was actually in my town, but came in damaged so they were going to ship it back to the company. Right away I called Shopseating and told them of the problem and requested a refund of my credit card at that time. I was told by the customer service representative that they would give me a refund. I asked him to give me a time frame for the refund and he said he did not know. I asked him to have his manager call me back and have never heard from anyone. That was back on November 30th, so almost a month ago and I still have yet to receive a refund of almost $300! I called today (Dec. 18th) to Shopseating and the number from my credit card statement rolled automatically to their voice message system. Wow... have I ever learned a lesson of a lifetime! My bank has asked me to wait 30 days then I can submit a formal complaint.

My recommendation... DO NOT ORDER FROM SHOPSEATING.COM

***AVOID SHOP SEATING**** I purchased a $380 chair from ShopSeating.com on October 4,2010. The first chair shipped with a broken arm that needed to be replaced. I described the problem to them accurately and thoroughly, asking for prompt remedy. They sent me one defective/inadequate arm after the other in hopes of remedying the situation. After assurances they sent the correct arm, I proceeded to fix it only to discover that that too was an incorrect arm. However, once the arm is inserted into the chair, you cannot remove it, and you can't tell until it's inserted. Again, though, I was assured this was the correct arm. The arm was locked into the chair and couldn't be removed. To remedy the situation, the company sent me another chair, which was DEFECTIVE AS WELL. At this point I sent them photos of the 2nd defective chair. They agreed to refund my money, but they reneged. They advised me they wanted the chairs back, which I had agreed to. They also agreed to pay the shipping charges, and they sent me two boxes to ship the items back. The boxes were too small, and I advised them of this. They wanted me to take the chairs apart in order to get them into the boxes, which I advised I couldn't do because they would not come apart. I advised them that I needed bigger boxes because of this. They, in turn, continue to ignore repeated requests for appropriate action and follow up. And I have yet to receive a refund. They have mishandled this from the start and we're going on 3 months without resolution. This is a very incompetent staff as well.

I ordered my chairs (Mar 11,2010) without checking out the reviews on this site, but based on the attractive prices and free shipping. It was a HUGE mistake. My experience was not the worst of the lot here, but it was no better.

I called to check the status of my order status after 5 biz days (on Mar 19,2010) and was told the items would be going out that evening. I asked to cancel one of my 3 chairs because I realized it was 1 chair and not a set of 2. The customer service guy on the phone said he checked with his mgr and his mgr was giving me a set of 2 chairs, but this shipment has changes, so they can only ship out next week. I waited... and on the following Tuesday, when I logged into my account, the status is still "processing". I did a live chat with the rep on the chat window. She called herself Jenny B. She told me my items will be shipped the next day or the day after. What is going on? I asked to cancel my order but told me I can't. I am totally pissed. My table I ordered 2 days after I ordered from your site had arrived last Thursday. And I am waiting for chairs to dine! If your stock is not unavailable or any delay. And beware! They had already charged my credit card last week.
I live in the west coast and I hate to know that after they shipped out my order I still need to wait a week for them.
Shopping and dealing with this site is a terrible experience.

I even emailed this guy Mr Pinny Cxxxx, who is supposedly the mgr. I have not gotten any reply from him. Makes me wonder if he is too busy handling customers' complaints. I pity his job, but I want my chairs! Still waiting.

I contacted them today and was told that 2 of my 4 chairs are backorder. ETA is May 5! I called to cancel my whole order. And they allowed this time.
Will need to see if my credit card is refund to be certain.

*[edited for personal information by moderator]

Ordered a Steelcase Leap V1 highback chair via eBay - their listing, pictures and description were very specific about this chair having V1 features.

Shipping was fast but what they sent was a mish-mash chair with V1 base, frame and arms but V2 seat pan (no adjustable lip) and back (stiffer and does not recline as far as V1). Already owning a full V1 chair, the difference was obvious. While the differences are minor engineering-wise, the chairs do not feel the same. I sent them a full description of problem and pictures of what was wrong. Their communications were intermittent and they never fully admitted what went wrong.

They sent a replacement Leap V1 seat pan (without return shipping for the first one) within a week but three weeks later still hadn't owned up to the problem with the back. Had to tell them I was about to leave negative feedback before I got further action.

It turns out that their service department has no clear idea of the differences between the Steelcase Leap chair V1 and V2 and didn't know what part to order to ensure they got a V1 back. At that point we negotiated a $75 refund just to get it over with (I should have held out for more; a replacement back is way more expensive than that) and they sent a shipping label to return the old seat pan.

All that said, the chair is not a bad chair at all. Even though it is refurbished it is in excellent condition and was packed very well when shipped. Shifting from this chair to my "real" V1 when I change workstations is a bit odd but I've gotten used to it. The big issue is simply that the chair is not what they advertised or what I originally paid for and they really did not go far enough on their own to make things right.

The last guy I spoke with indicated they send out Steelcase Leap chairs like this all the time with no complaints... maybe most of their Steelcase Leap customers haven't done their research or don't care as much.

If you're looking for a refurb Steelcase Leap based on the chair's reputation but don't actually own one yet you would probably be very happy with what you get from ShopSeating. But if you're attempting to duplicate the feel of a V1 chair you already own, I'd shop somewhere else.