Amanda L.

Carefully consider buying expensive items—especially furniture!
I received the Calcutta arm chair in last week of May ‘14. With shipping, the chair was just over $1,000. Although the chair was not very comfortable, it was beautiful and fit well in the room. I was happy to keep the chair. I went on vacation in early June for two weeks. In mid-July I noticed the fabric on the chair was torn in several places and the stitching where the saris are sewn together was coming undone in several places. I wrote an email to the company July 20. No response in three days so I called. The customer rep I spoke with was very nice and assured me the company would look into the issue. Over a week later I received an email apologizing for the delayed response (my email was lost). The email stated Dot & Bo would offer a $50 credit if I provided pictures of the damage. Fifty dollars is. 05% the cost of the chair. I asked to speak with a manager. Two weeks went by without contact. I called and again, the representative I spoke with apologized saying she left a message on my phone and was unsure why I never received it. My contention is this: One THOUSAND dollars is a lot of money to pay for a chair. Yes, I called about the damage after the two week return policy (I had at this point owned the chair for about a month and a half). Considering the price of the chair I felt Dot&BO should do one of three things: 1. Replace the chair, 2. Provide a store credit, 3. Provide a refund. The representative said they had no way of knowing if myself (small children, animals, wild and crazy parties…had caused damage to the chair). She also said this chair was among their best-sellers and no one else has called to complain. Again, implying that the cause of damage was due to excessive use during its two month stay in my home: "We try to be clear about our returns policy, and when a product uses sensitive or reclaimed materials so you can be as informed as possible upon purchase what to expect from your item and how much use it can likely withstand… I am sorry if the material was not able to sustain, but there is no way for us to determine the cause at this point." I have no animals in my house. I do have small children. However, I also have a house full of furniture ranging from 6-over a hundred years old—three couches, several chairs, even a four year old all white sectional and none of the upholstery is in as bad of shape as this two month old chair. If other customers are not experiencing similar problems, perhaps my chair was somehow defective as the material is recycled sari fabric. My experiences and concerns as a customer should be valued and considered as individual and unique.
The rep asked me to send her pictures and promised she would look into the issue. Two weeks went by with no word. I sent an email inquiring about the status of my request and again, the company offered a fifty dollar credit stating this compensation was "very fair" since my complaint was "well outside" the return window.
Consumers! Learn from my experience. If you are going to spend a large chunk of your hard-earned change on a piece of furniture—buy from a company that stands behind the quality of the products they sell.
Although every time I actually spoke with a representative from Dot & Bo, they were polite and professional, the customer service was very poor in returning emails and phone calls in a timely manner. I will not shop at Dot & Bo again, not even to use the fifty dollar credit. You are almost sure to get better quality furniture and better customer service at Room and Board, Pottery Barn, West Elm even Target, or your local used furniture store than Dot& BO. Every time I look at my chair I see my wasted money. Oxfam, the local high poverty school I work at…. All the things I could have done with this $1k…if only I had known. Dot & Bo: such cute products. Such potential. Such a disappointment.