Baer's Furniture
Reviews and Complaints

Terrible Experience:
Our Salesman (George) was asked to provide a price and configuration of Hooker Furniture for our study. A sketch was provided and two or three visits to the store to finalize all the Hooker Study furniture pieces we would need and Salesman recommended the study configuration and pieces necessary fit our room. He priced the furniture; one price for the product in stock and a second if we special order same product different finish. We settled on the special order once it was determined by salesman it would not save us but a few hundred dollars( at first it was substantial but after he spoke to manager it was minimal), so we settle on special order paid half up front as requested. We left happy the furniture selected would fit perfectly along the wall space provided salesman.
After one week, contact salesman, asked him if we could cancel the order and go with the same product with different finish they had in stock to receive items faster. When he called back the price was 1, 000 lower than the item we ordered, so we said go ahead and cancel special order. The next day the salesman said he spoke to his manager “Bears” and he said too late it was on the Manufactured dock, so we left the order as is. Point being the salesman lied to us about the difference in price between the two products and the manager was not welling to help out a client (as many other furniture companies have we have dealt with).
Prior to delivery the Store called and said they had to be paid in advanced the balance before they deliver the furniture (odd because never had that happen before). We did and a few days later they delivered the items. To our surprise one 32” Book Shelf was missing, we checked the delivery invoice and sure enough the Salesman had quoted us a price excluding the bookcase without telling us (just to get our business). Next the pedestal desk could not be fastened to bookcases because the wooden connecting piece was missing. Delivery staff promptly contact warehouse and told us the missing piece was ordered. A week later checked on order, no order the warehouse said we didn’t need the piece they would send out a second crew. Crew arrived two men, and after a short discussion I convinced them the piece on the installation paperwork called for a wood piece not steel bracket as they insisted on. Before they left one man said, Nice pool you have can we go swimming and then asked if we had alcohol for them to drink. I reported this to the warehouse.
A number of days go by and I call in again, and I am told by warehouse the part will be in about 8 to 10 weeks. I contacted Hooker Furniture, spoke with Colleen, great person, who said they never received an order for the missing part. Went back and forth with Baer’s Warehouse, then contacted Colleen who contacted their regional representative for S. Florida involved to track down and order the right part. They did and after additional mis-information provided by Baer’s Warehouse staff, we finally received missing part “wood attachment” and after six or more weeks had a desk.
After everything that happened Baer’s would not compensate us by providing a good price for the missing bookcase or take actions to resolve the problems pointed out in this complaint. The Salesman finally apologized for deleting the missing item just to get our business, but confirmed Baer’s would not compensate us for their poor service and our inconvenience. Our Study remains incomplete.
In conclusion, I would never recommend or shop at a Baer’s Furniture store they convinced us they are “too big for their britches” and care little about customer service.

We had ordered a house full of furniture. Our Bernhardt leather furniture from china came damaged. Baer's policy is they send a repair guy out to fix it. You can not return it. No return policy. Buyer be aware! We ordered five book shelves and a desk and evey piece came damaged. We told Baer's to take it back they said no. They sent a repair guy. He gave an estimate of 2-3 hrs to repair all the damage. Seriously, we did not buy used furniture. We called and wanted at least 1/2 off. They said only $400. I wanted the president of the company to come and look at this piece of furniture by Hooker and honestly tell me if he would buy it off the show room floor even for half price. Once again we wanted new furniture, not furniture that was damaged! The customer service department kept blowing us off. They said talk to your sales person. In turn she said you need to take it up with corporate. That bounced around for about four weeks. Finally we called our credit card company and disputed the claim. The credit card company reversed the charges because they gave Baer's 15 days to respond, they never did. A company that doesn't stand behind there product, the worst customer service I have ever dealt with. It's sad to know that quality isn't something to stand by these days. Stay away or be prepared to take a long journey of a company that could care less how much money you spent, or that you have damaged goods and it's not there problem! I would have been out of business along time ago if I operated like Baer's.

Bought defective sofa in 2010. It immediately started flaking and peeling. Called store and they said they have not had any complaints and essentially blamed me
Saw expose on the today show about the same issue and said it is a long term issue that manufacturers and stores were aware of
They are so bad at baers their customer service office won't even respond to complaints
Don't shop there if you value honesty and a company that stands behind their products

Being that I'm 59 years old, I have naturally had my fare share of problems with companies. In the vast majority of cases, sending a polite letter to the president or owner has usually brought a satisfying resolution to the problem. But Baer's Furniture store in Ft. Lauderdale is one of those rare exceptions. Once they have your money, they no longer care about you in the least.

I went to the Baers Furniture store in Fort Lauderdale on US1 just north of Oakland Park Blvd. I had recently done some home remodeling and needed a bookcase among other things. Almost immediately, I found a bookcase that I really liked and purchased two identical units to go side by side. Each unit consists of two pieces, an upper and lower unit. I asked Vicki, the sales lady, if she had them in stock and she said "yes."

A delivery date was scheduled for the following week on October 28th. A few days prior to the delivery date, I called Vicki to reconfirm the delivery. First, she tells me the delivery would not be until a later date and secondly I was told that only three of the four pieces were in stock. I was told it would be another couple of weeks to get the fourth piece but that they would not charge me for the second delivery. (Gee, how nice of them!) So for a couple of weeks, I had 1-1/2 bookcases sitting in my office.

After not hearing back from anyone for about two weeks, I decided to call. Vicki was not working that day but another employee told me that the fourth piece came in "several days ago." I was livid that nobody had told me and I proceeded to call Vicki the following day. I asked why I wasn't told that my furniture had come in days ago. She replied by saying she had been off for the past few days. I said, "So you mean the whole place shuts down when you're not there?" She offered to give me a discount on a future purchase but I said I wanted a discount on THIS purchase before I would ever consider coming back. After Vicki consulted with the owner, she called back and offered me a $50 discount off the $2, 200.00 purchase. That amounts to about a 2% discount and doesn't even pay the delivery charge. But I politely thanked Vicki knowing I would never step foot in that place again.

They finally delivered the missing top section of the second bookcase the following week. But it was at that point that my real problems were just beginning. When the delivery men were setting it up, they noticed that my first bookcase was wobbly and had been assembled improperly by the first delivery crew. So they attempted to fix it after they assembled the other unit. Everything appeared fine and I signed off on it. But after they left, I discovered that the top section of the unit they "fixed" was now rocking back and forth and the second unit was lopsided. So both delivery crews screwed up and now I had to wait home of third time for someone to come and fix them. But when the service man finally came, he said that one of the top sections was defective and had to go back. In addition, there was a missing bracket used to hold the two units together. So now I had to wait home a fifth time for the bad top section to be swapped out.

Remember that $50.00 refund that Vicki had promised me? I had to call and give her my credit card number THREE times over the course of a month before my Amex card was finally credited. But once again, no apologies and no regrets.
I wrote a very polite letter to Ira Baer, the owner, and expressed my disappointment with my purchase experience. My main complaint wasn't all the screw ups but rather the way in which they were handled. Whether I spoke with Vicki or someone in another department, nobody seemed to give a damn about anything. In fact, this is the first time I have ever written a complaint letter to a company and not even received the courtesy of a reply.

At my insistence, Vicki talked to Mr. Baer about giving me some additional compensation due to everything that had gone wrong since being promised the original $50.00 credit. He agreed to do so once everything had been settled. But I had to call Vicki no less than ten times "to remind her" to speak with the owner about the amount of the compensation. The final offer was either another whopping $50.00 or a discount if I came back to buy more furniture. For them to even entertain the idea that I would ever shop there again, shows just how out of touch they are with their customers. Needless to say, I took the $50.00. But just as with the prior $50.00 credit, I had to call more than once to get the actual credit. Once I received the credit,
I went to one of their nearby competitors to get the rest of my new furniture. I would no doubt have gone back to Baer's if I had not been treated like a red headed stepchild.

I realize that all businesses occasionally make mistakes. But what separates the good companies from the bad is what they do to make it up to the customer. This is where Baer's gets an F in my book. Never once, in my numerous phone calls with Vicki did I ever get any empathy such as "Mr. M., I'm so sorry that everything seems to be happening to you." Instead, whenever I spoke with Vicki about any problem occurring, she down played it and would typically say, "It's just another LITTLE thing."

Customers routinely have problems with all kinds of businesses whether it be with an airline, a moving company or a contractor. But what people really want, besides compensation, is for someone say how much they care and that they're going to do what it takes to make it right. But if you expect to get any empathy at Baers, think again. All you will get from them is apathy.

These peopele are totally incompetent. I paid for blinds which were going to be installed just before or after I had to return to my home country being 10 October 2011. It is now 10 December 2011. They don't respond to emails and their complaints department sends you one liner notes, all in lower case, no salutation. Do they employ monkeys there?

They do not have the ability to respond to specific questions or requests via email. I don't believe this - not even in Africa's standards. Stay away from this place. Read the other complaints and take good advice. Don't be fooled by their so called "interior decorators". What a fricken joke. Where is my money? At least respond to my emails.

I purchased a leather sofa from Baers Furniture Store in Altamonte Srings in Florida in May 2011. In June 2011, I noticed that the leather sofa was blistering. I immediately contacted their constomer service and they sent a furniture specialist who reported that the item was a factory defect! I requested a replacement in instead of a repair! They insisted on a repair and was told 6 to 8 weeks for the delivery of the item from China! It's November 2011 and to date no repair or new sofa! This company has the worst constomer service department that I have ever encountered! Never take delivery of any item regardless of any assurances they give you! Inspect everything! Attempts to contact company officers is futile! Their website do not list individual names it just goes directly to constomer services!I will never recommend them!

When I bought my furniture at Beares furnitures, they added insurance to my bill. they said if I later on decided to specify my goods with my current insurer, I can submit proof of cover and cancel their expensive insurance. When I contacted them they replied that after you sign sir, nothing can be changed...

baer's furniture is the worst business i have ever dealt with. i purchased $ 10, 000 worth of furniture and on delivery arrived with at least 7 different areas of damage. i was told they would not take it back and to call customer relations to set up an appointment with their tech to repair the damages. he was very talented, probably from all the work he is getting. one issue was not resolved. the couches had extreme wrinkling and after 2 seperate visit was not any better. i spoke to the store manager who promised to resolve the issue. ater three weeks i contacted him again and he told me to contact customer relations myself. several attempts later i found someone there who spoke some english and was told the head of customer relations was in a meeting. i left a voicemail for her to call me back, but to date i have been ignored. i believe their business model with issues is to ignore the customer until they give up. a happy customer may not say anyhting but an unhappy customer will never stop talking about the poor service.

I purchased a dining room buffet and it came damaged. It also was a showroom piece and was charged full price. When i went to the manager to discuss this he would not make eye contact and refused to fix the piece. Also, their policy is NOT to refund money, but give store credit. The sales person lied and sold the piece as new. The manager accepted no responsibility, was indignant and did not try to make things right. Also, the corporate manager in Pompano would not come to the phone after calling several times to try and correct this situation. When asked about having a repair person fix the piece, they would put me on hold for long periods of time hoping i would hang up in frustration, so they did not have to fix the piece. One of the service people accidentally told me they do not refund money after the manager had promised to refund my credit card in full. Now i am stuck with thedamaged buffet or let them take and trust they will refund money. It is the worst experience i have ever had purchasing furniture. I will never purchase from them again and i will tell everyone of my very negative experience. Buyer beware. Dishonest people. Poor customer service. I wish i would have read the complaints first. I have never written in about a complaint before.

I wish I would have read all the complaints about Baers Furniture before I spent $10, 000 there special ordering furnishings last February. The frame of a $2000 chair was broken in two places when we unwrapped it. Baers said they would reorder the chair but they ordered a different chair. We refused delivery of it and now - Oct - 16 - they won't return our calls about when we will get our replacement chair. I am afraid they are just trying to blow us off and swindle us out of the money. I have never encountered this kind of dishonesty before in a retail purchase. Never! Additionally we purchased two very pricy rugs. They are unraveling and we've only sat in the furniture on those rugs about 5 or 6 times. The rug salesman won't get back to us about it. Poor quality and no customer service. Stay away from Baers!

Welcome to Baers. Purveyor of high quality furniture made in China. We bought stools in February of 2010, paid for them in full, but were told they would take two months because they were coming from overseas. Ok. Six months later our stools arrived. We were told they were at the warehouse and we could pick them up. Since they were only three stools I decided to pick them up instead of paying $129 for set-up and delivery. When I arrived at the warehouse the stools were in pieces and boxes. The salesman failed to tell me that "set-up" means putting the furniture together. Got that. You pay $900 for 3 stools and you get to put them together, like IKEA. I get the stools home. We start to put them together and my wife realizes they are not the right stools. We didn't realize it right away because the stools were picked out six months ago and came in pieces. We checked our receipt. The salesman put the wrong number on our order form. I didn't think to make sure he didn't screw up the order number before we left the store. When we alerted Baers, and in fact spoke to Michael Baer (who should never be put on the phone with a customer due to his indifference and awful customer service skills) he refused to send someone to put the stools together for us unless we lugged the stools and the large/ heavy box back to the warehouse. This is how you treat a customer that you lied to and screwed up his order. So we went back to the store and alerted the salesman what had happened. He was gracious and professional. Too bad he doesn't own the store. Cathy Baer would only allow an exchange and we had to pay extra for set-up (IKEA) and delivery. So we compromised unable to get the stools we originally wanted because we were informed it would take about a year, settled for a lesser quality stool and paid extra to have it delivered. Go to Baers if you want less for more. That would make a great tag line for their store. Cathy Baer refused to ship the stools to us unless we paid for the delivery. Way to make up for your screw ups. Baers Furniture, never again.

Don’t be fooled by sale prices and personable designers. We used them in July, 2009 and spent over $70, 000 to design our new home and it is just not worth the trouble. From receiving inferior quality furniture, deceivingly substituting a floor sample as a new item to terrible delivery and the worst customer service, it just isn’t worth the money you save on sale items. We are still waiting for merchandise that was defective or damaged during the delivery or installation process. It is a wonder they are still in business. Don’t be foolish...Go somewhere else.

Dont be fooled by sale prices and personable designers. We used them in July, 2009 and spent over $70, 000 to design our new home and it is just not worth the trouble. From receiving inferior quality furniture, deceivingly substituting a floor sample as a new item to terrible delivery and the worst customer service, it just isnt worth the money you save on sale items. We are still waiting for merchandise that was defective or damaged during the delivery or installation process. It is a wonder they are still in business. Dont be foolish...Go somewhere else.

A copy of this letter was mailed to Baers Furniture and American Express Card

I am writing to complain about Baers Furniture unfair business practice. My husband and I have been loyal Baers customers over the years and we were very disappointed about the manner in which the top executive and customer service person, Mrs. Baers handled, I should say mishandled this issue.
We bought furniture at the Boca Raton store and were awarded a $300 Baers gift card because we used our American Express credit card and the total purchase amount met the criteria. We returned to the store on three occasions but were not able to decide on a purchase. On one visit, we even took the gift card to the customer service desk to check the balance because we were worried about the incremental decrease over time. We were assured that the full value would be maintained until it was used. At no time were we informed that this was only a promotional gift card that was due to expire shortly. There was no expiration date or notice imprinted on the card. We wrongly assumed the card was a real gift card that was like other gift cards (the value did not disappear) and bearing the Baers name we were confident that it was legitimate.
Finally, we found the perfect items that were valued at $300 and tried to use the card. Only then, after several calls were made we were told that the card could not be processed. We were advised to return during the week when a supervisor was available and could make a decision about the card. The following Tuesday when my husband returned he had the misfortune of meeting Mrs. Baers. She informed him that the card had expired and that there was nothing to be done and added that he wanted her goods for free.
As I stated we have been loyal customers because we had enjoyed previous purchase experiences. My husband felt that Mrs. Baers actions and comments were insulting and her customer service skills were below that which we received from the mere employees.
Mrs. Baers had the authority and ability to make right the injustice of issuing a “gift card” with the Baers name knowing full well it would have NO value by the time it as used. The card should clearly show that it is not a real gift card because it expires, without warning. Under the circumstances, the card should have been honored and the mistakes corrected for future promotions. I am sure that American Express would have done just that. I will be sure to caution American Express to choose their partners more wisely when using their good name to make promotional sales.

I ordered a sleeper sofa in Oct2009, it was delivered in Nov2009, so good marks for fast delivery even though it was a special order for the fabric. BUT, there was a stain on one of the cushions and a plastic part broken on the side of the sleeper bed frame. A service tech came out the following week and worked on the stain but could not get it all out and said he would order a new cover as well as a replacement for the broken part. I never heard back so I called in Feb2010 to be told they did not have the parts and they needed to be ordered. I called March 1st to check and was told they needed to order parts. I called March 16th to be told by customer service they didn't know anything, but finally they said they would order parts. I asked if I could return the sofa because it has been broken since the day it was delivered. Customer service rep said I would have to call the store. I called the store in Port Charlotte where the sofa was purchased and they said they can't authorize a return and I needed to call customer service! This company will give you a big run around. Do not purchase from them!

Two weeks ago my husband and I visited Baers in search of a recliner. We were assisted by a salesman in finding what we wanted in our price range, which we found.We needed to make sure it fit so we returned the following day ready to purchase it. Our original salesman was not available, so we were assisted by David Baer who told us the price tag on the chair was wrong and the chair was cosiderably more. We we unable to afford the new price so we selected another one. to save money we decided to hire somone to pick it up the following Thursday. When they arrived we saw Baers had sent the wrong chair. I called the store and spoke with our salesman. He said it would be another week for a new one. I asked him if couldn't bend a little on the delivery price, his answer was "No I won't bend a little. I had asked him because we could have had the chair so much sooner and it wasn't our fault they had delivered the wrong chair.Also I would have to again pay somrone to pick it up. We have done alot of business with Baers over the years and when I told him they had lost our business, he really didn't care. I have two friends who are interior designers and were apllaled to hear what happened. We were wondering if this is Baers policy regarding customer service. Pam Rooney, Sarasota Fl [protected]

Please donot ever buy from Baers and donot give them a security deposit if you are doubtful about your purchase... For one, they are too pricey..secondly they love to keep your money by saying any number of excuses. They would not answer your phone calls and then when they do, they are very rude . We were told that we would be given a refund anytime before the order is being shipped by the sales reo...and now the manager changes the story and says he wouldnot give our money back. The worst experience in shopping I ever had..

Ordered bunk beds, were delivered without the necessary hardware to put them together. Taken a week to get a re-delivery of the hardware to put them together and David is unwilling to waive the delivery fee or even discuss a discount for their error. Huh guess it's our fault they forgot the nuts & bolts. Us that has to sit at home AGAIN and WAIT for the delivery guys. Some customer service huh. Totally would not listen or compromise on the phone, very rude to my wife.