Gardner-White Furniture
Reviews and Complaints

Protective plan is not covering the fabric problems I'm having as I was told when purchased that this chair was covered for any thing that happens to it from anything. My salesperson said that it would either be fixed ore replaced for 5 years. I had the tech come out and he said to call in for the results and when I did they said that there are no reports of problems with the fabric so they aren't going to fix it.

First, during the shopping trip, my friend and I were treated quite rudely. Especially after the sales person insisted I apply for the Gardner White credit card (which I already knew I would be denied due to credit issues). Well, he ran my credit, and just as I told him, it was denied. Right at that point, his whole demenor changed, as though we didn't matter as customers anymore. I was approved for their other financing though. Once decision on whether I was going to make this purchase, was really how much the monthly payments would be. This sales person tried to tell me $181.00 per week for a year! That would make my total cost 4x's what the actual total was. And he argued with me over it, making me feel like i was an imbecile. I should have just walked out at that point. But I didn't. To make a long story short, after several -"just give me 5 minutes and I will take care of you" from the sales person, we finally made a decision on our purchase, and to give them a try anyway.. Big mistake! Sales person assured us that the child's bed that we were purchasing, along with the dresser was all in stock and would be delivered next day, as we told him this was our final deciding factor. IF the bed was not in stock and able to be delivered the next day as promised, we were not making the purchase.. He did tell us that there was a part of the bed that was back ordered, but that he would send a metal frame in it's place, free of charge for us to "borrow" until the bed rails came in. So. Delivery day - the only Thing dropped off was the metal frame and my fireplace/entertainment center! Driver told my friend that everything else was on back order, and there was no timeframe on when it would be in, and that wasn't conveyed to him until they were walking out the door when they were finished. I am seriously upset right now. called the store, and the excuse I was given was that everything was in stock yesterday, but when everything was being loaded on the truck this morning, everything was damaged. Really? Why couldn't anyone give us a call to tell us that? Not to mention they were supposed to call this morning to give us a timeframe for the delivery. Surprise, that didn't happen either. The young lady I spoke to on the phone said she could refund me 1/2 the delivery charge...I don't even know what to say to that. I can't say that I will never shop at Gardner White again, because I have in the past, buying 2 complete king size bedroom sets, and I was very happy with the staff, and everything. That was a different location though. Right now I am just wishing I would have went with my instinct, and just went to that store instead. Very disappointed. All I want is the furniture I purchased, as promised in a timely manner. I don't think any customer should be lied to or treated the way we have. It's unacceptable.

Purchased 5k in furniture and a $500 warranty. Warranty is a huge scam. Company is called Guardian Protection. They denied my claim based on a minor issue that could have been resolved quite easily. Saleperson definately "sold" it. The store is the Hall Rd. and Hayes store in suburban Detroit. Don not shop there or any Gardner White. Huge scam.

Not amused! On Aug 9th while I was home for a friend’s wedding, my boy friend and I found this bedroom set. We bought this bedroom set, had this bedroom set delivered and then the fun started! On Aug 16thwe got the first delivery, not the entire bedroom set made it to the warehouse, so we were going to have to wait. What was delivered was not in first class condition; the tall dresser was missing two casters off the bottom and wobbled. The low dresser had a broken drawer and a dent in the front. On Aug 19th Gardner White sent out new furniture to replace the broken and to complete what wasn’t delivered the first time. On the second try, the new nightstands both had damage to them, the bed rails on the new bed had scratches and one of the drawers was broken in pieces, the low dresser looked like it had been dropped because the bottom of the one side was smashed in. Only the tall dressed was undamaged. A week later we had round three, two new nightstands but they weren't...they were the same ones they sent out a week ago. My boyfriend by now had had enough. He called and told them to come and get ALL of it but they showed up a day later trying to deliver more! They wanted to charge us a re-stocking fee! For WHAT? It's broken furniture! You mean some other poor guy is going to get it? They finally agreed not to charge us the restocking fee and came to get the furniture just after Labor day. Then I am told by someone at the Warren store that it may take 90 (ninety) days for it to come OFF my credit card! Good luck trying to get a hold of corporate. I missed corporate calling me back twice. Called them back within a minute and got a voicemail.
Sep 11, 2014 I posted my complaint on Gardner White's Facebook page and was directed to get a hold of the district manager, Jeff.
So I sent an email on 12 Sep and he responded...
Dear Ms. B,
I apologize for the issues you have had. None of our credits take 90 days to post. Please provide me you account information such as the name and phone number on the account and your customer number if you have and I will look into on Monday when I return back to the office. I again apologize in advance for the inconvenience.
On Monday, Sep 15th I replied...
Good morning Jeff, The card I am refering to is a Gardner White Credit card under the name XXXXX BXXXXX with the phone number XXX-XXX-XXXX. Please call me if you need any more information. You can also reach me on my landline at XXX-XXX-XXXX until 4:30.
On Tuesday, after I had not received a response, I called the credit card company and put in a grievance.
On Wednesday Jeff finally replied,
Ms. B,
I am not able to locate your account by your name or phone numbers. Can you please give me the name and phone number that the account would be under. Or if you have your order number or customer code so I can check into your refund.
I responded once again giving him the address where the furniture was delivered, my boyfriends name and number, and stated that the credit card company didn't seem to have an issue pulling up the account.
I guess one of those helped him because he found my credit...BUT it was almost $400 shy of what it should have been so I asked Jeff about it and he responded on 18 Sep with the most audacious request...
"I apologize this is the amount that was credited on the pick up. If there is a problem you will need to contact Paul at our 14 mile rd store as he is the one who authorized this pick up." HE WANTED ME TO DO HIS JOB! He should have called Paul and found out why my credit was short. My boyfriend did call and we THINK this is the end...
GOD I HOPE SO!

Purchased a I-Comfort mattress $2400 worth, first one lasted 2 months and failed mfg specs. Next one lasted 8 months, srnt another employee to check our complaint of sags, failed again. We both weigh a total of 300 lbs. Sales mgr Paul S. basically lied time after time stating they would take care of this, still battling 3 months later.. Be aware when making this amount of purchase, they won't back what they sell.

The owners of Gardner White does not care about their employees. I was bullied and harrased on a daily basis. I had fake gmails, fake complaints, and horrible employess trying to get me fired. I had rumors about me spread around and my job threatened for no reason. I sold 70, 000 dollars of merchandise for the month of April and the next month I am "terminated"? The funny part is, they didn't give me a reason. So when all the bullying and fake complaints came to surface, do you think the owners asked to talk to me about it? NO! Instead they told the manager to get rid of me to avoid any problems. All Gardner White cares about is their top salesman. The top salesman runs Gardner White, not the owners. They let an innocent 24 year old woman drowned in that place full of selfish pigs, and one year later, I am still furious. All they do is say "Michigan is an at will state" and that is the only excuse they will ever have.

We bought a love seat and 2 recliners from the Canton store last March. Within a month of having the furniture, the stuffing was packing down and shifting in the arms, the cushion of the one chair was lumpy and the handle on one chair was chipping paint. We called them in January of 2012. Since then 3 people have been out. The first time all the guy did was take pictures and submit some of the complaint, but not all of it, and said someone would call us. They never did, so we went down there to talk to a manager. We got Shannon. She assured us someone would come out and take care of it. Someone else came out and he did replace the one cushion and added another core to the recliner, but then told us that he was not going to be adding stuffing to the arms, because that was another person that had to take care of that and it was about a four hour job. I talked to Shannon again and asked her to set up the appointment with the other person that could add the stuffing. She again made me believe that the correct person was going to be coming out to add stuffing to the arms, and we did set up that appointment. When the man came out all he did was change the handle on the chair. He was there maybe 5 minutes, and again said that was an all day appointment and that he couldn't do it. Three times now I've sat around here waiting for their service people to come fix the problem, and 3 times have been disappointed by the result. I'm tired of Shannon's false promises, and again that man told me someone would call and they again have not. I feel that the people at Gardner White are deliberately trying to avoid this problem until the warranty runs out, which is at the end of April. No furniture should look like ours in such a short time. I've had furniture for 13 years that the stuffing never moved around like this. It's completely unacceptable. I sent a letter explaining the problems we've had to the corporate office, and I did hear back from Kim, the same day. She said it was not a defect, and that the furniture required us to "fluff up" the arms after use and that they would not re-stuff the arms. The furniture was only a couple months old when this all started. I will never shop there again, and I urge everyone else to find their furniture elsewhere as well.

I purchased furniture on 3/2i5/11. My bed broke on 3/13/12. I contacted the store, and service tech came out. Of course, he couldn't fix it. His manager contacted me, stating it was broken because of a weight issue, basically explaining we weighed too much and broke it. (My husband and I combine maybe weight 400lbs) we spoke to Rick, who did nothing and wouldn't replace te headboard, which split from the frame bc it is cheap ### wood. He wanted u to pay $120 to fix it. Spoke to Mrs Preston who was a flat out rude ### who claims she has no boss or anyone over her and said "well I can't help what bed you purchased" are you kidding me!? Stand behind your product! It didn't even last a year! I paid over a grand for it, your damn right ir better last more then a year! She argued with me and my husband, and told ud we could not contact anyone above her, that she was it. LIES. All we want is for your company to stand behind its product. It broke in less then a year and has never been moved. No help and ### furniture. Do not go there. It is cheap furniture and they will not help you!

Bought a set Of Leather couches and got them delivered to Canada for an extra 90 bucks! Got it home and it was damaged. Gardner white said no problem and made a second delivery...again there was damage to that set too! Damages were rips and scuffs and a couple of Manufacturer defects with stiching. So they made another delivery and again it wasnt perfect! Couchs had rips, a cut, and and the rips showed that its not all leather! The sales guy Salim And David told me at the time of purchase that it was ALL Leather front and back... they said that these couches are their CADILLAC Model! LIARS LIARS LIARS... BEware!
And Now after the 3rd delivery they are telling me that thats it they cant do anything else! I paid over 3000 for these Cadillac Couches and Im stuck with them with rips, cuts scuffs and vinyl! I demanded full refund or even a discount if they prefer.
NEVER NEVER NEVER again I shop there... i don't mind paying the money but these guys have to be honest with me. And I should get a perfect product! Grey Slate Sofas

I bought a set of side tables and center table from Gardner white. They gave me a cleaner to use. After 6 months, the wood started peeling off. When I complained, they said they are going to send a rep. to check. When the rep. came, even before he inspected the table, he started to blame that it is our fault. This is the stupidest reason I have ever heard. They mentioned the wood is peeling of because of over cleaning as if we do not have anything else to do. When I called up again, they mentioned that I should not have used the cleaner they gave when I bought the tables and asked me to complain to the cleaner company.

No matter, what deal they have in their store, I will never step into their store in my life. All they do is provide false promises and cheat customers giving them high hopes of quality products.

I purchased a $3000.00 Simmons Beautyrest mattress less than two years ago. It was the best one they had, according to the salesman. Now, like I said, less than two years later, one of the sides has completely collapsed! I'm talking like 3+ inches! the side is bowed out, and the matress is collapsing now. I called to have it replaced under warrantee (20 year manufacturers warrantee), and Gardner White refuses to do anything at all because there was a water mark on the mattress from my Son's bottle leaking water. Apparently once they have "proof" photos from their technician that there was ever a mark on the mattress (even though I wiped it off, and it's now completely gone), the warrantee is null and void! we have furnished our entire home from this place, and they can't help us get a replacement under warrantee...? I am done with them... canceled my credit account, and am telling anyone and everyone who will listen to ever go there. It's hard times out there, and most companies can't afford to lose loyal clients, but apparently Gardner White doesn't think they need to provide any customer service at all. Good luck to them... I certainly won't be coming back in a few months when I have a new home to furnish!

I was promised NO interest on my purchase ( of what turned to junk within 2 months) When I got my bill there it was INTEREST charges. When I called the Taylor store to speak with the saleswoman who sold me the furniture, she played dumb and acted as if she didn't remember me! I am insulted and angry. I will get to the bottom of this. Do not shop the Taylor store. Buyer Beware of Amanda Rayba, she will tell you exactly what you want to hear to get her little commission.

We purchased a sofa and chair on a Sunday afternoon, both pieces were in stock. According to Gardner White's delivery schedule, they were only able to deliver to us on the following Friday. The salesperson made a point of explaining that if other people purchased the same pieces in the meantime, and they were ahead of us on the delivery schedule, that they would get the furniture, and we would be out of stock. It makes no sense to me, from a customer service standpoint, that you would stiff the customer who had already paid and had been waiting longer - it's not like we have any control over the delivery route. Apparently this happens to people who purchase items that are in the sales flyer that are in greater demand. Luckily our pieces weren't so popular, and arrived on schedule.
I am just putting this information out there so that other buyers can be aware of the risk. Although our experience wasn't bad; this policy could be a problem for others. Buyer Beware.

I bought a leather sectional sofa in 2008 and the sales guy recommended to purchase a leasther protection plan for 5 years. I purchased the plan. In 2009 I sent a request to Gaurdian who are supposed to send technician to fix a very small tear came took pictures and sent a letter back saying it is not covered as it is near a seam. In 2010 the first tear increased in size and a second one developed nearby so I sent another request in December 2010. A tech sent by Gaurdian leather protection plan came took pictures and said the company would call nad notify with in couple days. They called me and sid that the said sofa I believe is a leather grain sofa and it is not covered in their plan.
I would like both Gardiner white and Gaurdian Leather protection company for deceiving me and not providing me service.

I need a immediate reply on this.

Purchased $5000.00 couch it broke within the first month and they will not fix it says it is NOT a manufactures warranty item. The problem is the mechanism for the recliner is bent, they say this happened because we sat on the couch, the arm rest fell into the couch they said that was cause we put our arms on the rest to hard or someone sat on it. The padding is falling off the recliner. they said the "dog or cat did that" They refuse to accept any responsiblity and say its my problem. They will not honor the warranty.

Last Dec. (2009) we purchased a living room set from Gardner White, and since then, they have been out to our house 3 times to try to fix the furniture. The recliners on the sofa and loveseat are broken and the company who makes the furniture went out of business so we can't get a new couch from them, so Gardner White told us to reselect a couch, and we were fine with that. So, we went into the store to reselect and asked the store manager what price range we got to reselect from, and he said $1999 or cheaper, anything over, you're responsible for paying, so that's what we did, we found a sectional for $1999 after being in the store for about 2 hrs. or more. We thought everything was set to go until they want us to pay $200 more for the wedge piece that comes with the sectional. We were upset because the wedge was included in the pink sticker price of $1999 with the sofa and loveseat and now you want to tack on $200 more. I don't understand how they can do that. We were told one thing and stayed within that price range and now you want to charge us more. We talked to the store manager of Gardner White and he said that's the best deal they could give us. I still don't understand how that happens when the price of the sofa, loveseat, wedge was $1999 and we got to pick a couch that was $1999 or below. So, I took it upon myself to call corporate office and their area manager was rude to me and when I said they could come pick up their furniture then, she said we don't give out refunds, you can only reselect. When I told her what was said to us, she still didn't want to help us out and continued to be rude. After hanging up the phone with her, I called corporate back and asked to speak to the CEO or President of the company and the secretary tells me that no such person exists and that the Area Manager is the highest person in the company. I highly doubt that because someone has to own the company, and they refused to let me speak to someone even further. Mind you, we've not even had this couch for a year, and it's still under warranty and they don't want to give us the couch, loveseat, and wedge for the price listed and want us to pay $200 more. We even asked them to show us couches that we could choose from and they did that. If that couch wasn't available to us in the $1999 price range, even though the price tag said it was, why did you show it to us? We've been long time customers of Gardner White for years and everything in our house is gardner white, and the first time something in our house falls apart, you want to be rude to us and charge us more for something that's still under warranty. I will never shop at Gardner White furniture again, and advise others not to shop their either. We've never had this problem with them being rude to us before and this was really shocking for us to be treated this way.

I wanted to make it known that Gardner White does not come clean about warranty information. I had several goods delivered to a house before I moved them in a week to a new location. The warranty only covers the furniture under the house that it was originally delivered to. I told the salesperson these exact moving plans and he did not mention a thing to me, even though it was exceptionally important. Had I known, I would of done something completely different. The ineptitude my salesperson, along with Gardner White simply not caring, is unacceptable. They were just stone cold on the phone, stating that nothing can be done and that is that. Customer service is not important to Gardner White and they are not accommodating to anything reasonable, it seems they just don't want to spend money if the law is on their side.

February 1, 2010 – We went to Gardner White Furniture Store in Canton, MI to shop for a mattress set. We were greeted by Jim Baumstark, sales associate. We advised him that we were looking for something very specific - an ultra plush/soft mattress set. Our current mattress set was about 10 years old, sagged in the middle, and lumpy. After meticulously browsing their showroom selection and "testing" various mattresses, we selected the Simmons Rozelle. We selected this model specifically because it was an ultra plush/soft mattress.

February 13, 2010 – The mattress set was delivered in the evening. We immediately noticed that our mattress was much firmer than the mattress set displayed in the Gardner White showroom.

February 14, 2010 – We went back to the store and went to the customer service desk to advise them that the mattress that we received was too firm. The customer service sales associate told us that new mattress sets typically take a few weeks to “settle” into their desired firmness/softness levels and temperature, and to "walk" the mattress out. This seemed reasonable to us, so we decided to try their suggestion.

We spent the next five weeks attempting to “walk” the mattress out, and give it time to “settle” into the softness that it was ultimately supposed to be. During those six weeks, and despite our best efforts - the mattress has not gotten any softer at all. It is still extremely firm. And surprisingly, we noticed there is now a sag or depression in the middle of the mattress (which ironically does not affect the softness level at all). We would expect some sagging after several years of use, but certainly not after only six weeks. This is clearly defect and a quality issue.

February 22, 2010 – We called Gardner White once again and complained about the quality of the mattress set, despite having tried their suggestions. They arranged for a technician to come out to our home and inspect the mattress.

February 25, 2010 – The technician performed the mattress inspection and would not address the “softness/firmness” issue. He did mention that thedepression in the middle of the mattress was only 1 inch, and therefore within manufacturer’s parameters.

February 25, 2010 – Having strongly disagreed with technician’s findings, we called and spoke with store manager, Dwane, regarding our mattress issues. He advised that the technician had not yet officially filed his report, and that there wasn’t anything they could do until the technician did so. He expected the technician to file his report on the following Saturday.

February 27, 2010 – We received a voicemail from the Gardner White technician that the report had been filed, and that there wasn’t anything they could do to help us. We called Gardner White and spoke again with the store manager, Dwane, who reiterated the technician’s findings. We were given these options:

1) Wait until the official 60 days after purchase date (2/12/10), and exchange the mattress set for another. We would be subject to a $59.99 exchange fee, plus 10% restocking fee. *We refuse to pay these outrageous fees to replace a mattress that is defective.*

2) Have another “third party” company come out to inspect our depression issue. If the “third party” comes out and determines there is more than 1 ½ inches in depression, then at that time the mattress would be deemed defective, and they would replace it for us. However, they will NOT address our “softness/firmness” issue – as this is “subjective” – and therefore they are not able to help.

*Although both of these issues are important and warranted, the most important issue to us is the “softness/firmness” issue. If the “third party” cannot repair the “softness/firmness” issue, then we do not see the point in bothering with this option.*

A few other relevant FACTS:

• We purchased the Guardsman Mattress Protection Plan with our set

• The Gardner-White website mission statements says:

Buy with confidence.

At Gardner-White we guarantee that our prices are the lowest in town. If you find the same furniture with the same terms for less we will refund the difference. We also guarantee our products against manufacturer’s defects for at least one year.

These are just a few examples of our commitment to our customers. Because at Gardner-White, providing you with great furniture and great service is what we do.

http://www.gardner-white.com/about_us/mission.php

In summary, we purchased a mattress set from Gardner White Furniture Store in Canton, MI. When it was delivered, we found the set to be defective. Upon seeking help from the store to rectify the situation, we realized we may have fallen victim to the store scam of “bait and switch”. Either the store intentionally misrepresented their merchandise on the showroom floor; or we received a defective set – for which the store will not take responsibility for. In either case, unscrupulous business practices are being used here, and we intend to stand up for ourselves in order to make this situation “right”. Ultimately, we are not looking for our money back, we are not looking for a different model mattress. The outcome we would like to see is to have Gardner White replace our defectivemattress set with the same make & model without the defects.