Two Cents Tuesday: The Brick!

 

 

 

 

 

 

First let me clarify that the following opinion is mine and mine alone ( although I think there are many who are royally PO’d with these guys).  With that said I will share with you what my beef is with The Brick.

First, for those of you who do not know, The Brick is a Canadian owned furniture store that sells it all.  Couches, mattresses, appliances, TV’s, etc.  My husband and I have made a few purchases at The Brick over the years and most of those items are still in our home.  Hard to believe, but this company is 41 years old.  It was first opened on September 1st, 1971 ( one day before I was born 😉 ).  The items that we have bought at The Brick include the appliances in our home when we first bought it ( new build ), our TV and entertainment unit, coffee table and end tables, a couch, a TV and even our daughter’s bedroom furniture.  So to say The Brick has received our business over the years is an understatement.  We have always paid our bills on time and been kind and polite to the sales staff ( although they follow you around like the Pied Piper at dinner time).  I myself have no complaints about the quality of the furniture, although some would say it is inferior ( to what I am not sure). 

My beef with The Brick happened this past weekend.  We purchased a TV with them about four years ago and at that time we also bought the extended warranty ( Doug’s idea, not mine 🙁 ).  There was a nice little incentive to purchase that warranty, which was if you do not actually use your warranty, when it expires you will be given a credit for the equal amount to use on another purchase.  Not too bad a deal if you are inclined to buy warranties, right?  Well, as luck would have it we never needed the warranty and so we, during a visit to the store about two months ago, were told the amount of our credit and that it could be used on any store purchase, but just on one item.  We were also told the date this credit would expire and that there would be no “change” if we do not use it all on that one purchase.  Fair enough.  There was no other little details provided and I know this because I wrote it all down.  I am a bit anal retentive like that 🙂  From that day forward we attended the same Brick location three different times and spent several hours looking at new fridges and other appliances.  These trips are not easy as we have two very restless children, one of whom likes to try and climb in the dryers that are on display.  We received lots of information so that we could make an informed purchase.  Unfortunately we did not always have the same sales person ( they receive commission for their sales), but we always had the business card for whomever we dealt with and we always mentioned who had previously helped us.  Who knows, maybe they split commissions like staff at a restaurant.

So, here’s where it all went south.  This past Saturday, our fourth visit, we were ready to buy.  We spent another half hour with a new sales person and we mentioned our credit, just like we did the other three times.  We always mentioned it because the amount would make a significant change in the end total we would be forking out for the new fridge. This gentlemen went away to confirm the item we wanted and upon his return he let us know that we could NOT apply our credit to the new fridge.  I was like, “what you talkin about Willis?”  He again said that the credit could not be used on appliances, but anything else was fine.  Now, I am not an unreasonable person, but I was dumbfounded with what he was telling us.  It was all I could do not to yell at this man!  To make this already long story short ( I know, I am kind of wordy, but hey, that’s what writers do, right?) we headed to the Customer Service area with this man in tow.  I was ready to blast someone, but knowing my penchant for slightly over reacting Doug took the lead. 

The bottom line?  We could not apply the credit to an appliance purchase.  I did jump in then and mentioned that during our previous three visits we were never told this, not even once.  I talked about the time and energy we put into researching the fridges and chasing the kids around the store.  The Brick didn’t care.  My husband spoke with the Store Manager and using his humor tried to get her to see the trouble we went to in order to make another expensive purchase from them and this was to no avail.  She was rather ignorant in her dismissal of him and no one offered us an alternative solution.

So, my beef with The Brick?  They have a lousy way of communicating with their customers.  They don’t care about you or your time, they just want their money.  I suppose this is normal in many businesses today, but having worked in a customer service setting for over 19 years, I know that a little sugar goes a long way.  There was no apology for the staff not being upfront with us.  There was no attempt to offer us some other type of deal.  Nothing.  Well, it is The Brick’s loss.  We have made our last purchase there.  The new fridge, well, that is now on hold because without that credit an already expensive appliance becomes that much more costly.  As for The Brick I let their customer service people know what I thought of their practices and that I would be airing my grievances on my blog.  I am pretty sure they still don’t care, but I feel a bit better for venting here.

Lesson of the day:  Do Not Shop At The Brick!

Suz

FT&PD