Gerdt Furniture reviews and complaints

I paid $1440+ for my plush pillow top crescent restonic mattress. I loved it more than anything for the first year. I really looked forward to going to bed. After about 1.5 years it started to sag which caused back pain. After every rotation I would wake up for 1 to 2 weeks with no back pain. The third week I would have stiffness and the 4th week it would hurt like crazy.

Warranty process:

Restonic will not deal with customers directly. You must go through the store you purchased your mattress from. I called the store and they directed me to customer service. (this is Gerdt Furniture in Indianapolis) Customer Service said there was a $63.55 charge for shipping that was non-refundable and must be paid in full before they will send a tech out to inspect the mattress.

I paid the $63.55 and the tech came out to inspect my mattress. He said that it must sag over 2". The restonic website says 1.5". He measured the highest point of the sag (on top of a puff) and it wasn't at 2". I told him he needed to measure middle part and not the highest point. After much arguing he measured again and agreed that there was a problem with my mattress.

Then he pointed out a small water stain at the bottom of my mattress (2" in diameter) and said the mattress was soiled and the warranty was void. He left my house immediately.

I cleaned the stain and called them back. It took another 2.5 weeks for the tech to show up. He pointed at another stain that was so faint you couldn't hardly see and said it was still void. I couldn't believe it. He took a picture of it and actually said, "I doubt if you can see this from a picture". I laughed and said, well that's gotta be good for me eh? If you can't see it... I mean come on.

Again they rejected my claim. I had it professionally cleaned by Stanley Steemer for $75. The Stanely Steemer tech actually said the mattress looked fine and they couldn't get it any cleaner. I asked him to try anyway.

I called Gerdt CS and had the tech come out again. The inspector actually picked up one of my lamps and moved it to my bed to check for stains. I couldn't believe it. He finally said they could probably "sneak it through". This is a mattress that looked brand spanking new. But as frustrated as I was (it took 1.5 months from the original call to get them to accept it), I was happy I finally was going to get a new mattress. I have been sleeping in my guest bedroom ever since.

Another week passes and I never get a call from customer service. I called them up and they said they credited my account for a replacement. I just need to go to the store and pick out a new one.

I go to the store and they no longer make the mattress I purchased. I paid $1440+ for my set in 2004. There was a mattress that looked identical to mine (plush pt) at $1399. It had the same length of warranty, same feel, etc. The store manager wasn't in so the salesperson I bought my mattress from said I needed to come back in another day. I come back in three days later and spoke to the store manager. He asked which mattress I wanted. I said I just want a replacement for my original. I'm not looking to upgrade, downgrade, etc. The warranty actually says, "If identical materials are not available at time of repair, Restonic reserves the right to substitute materials of equal or better quality". The manager, Ken Johnson, said he knows which mattress I want and will go ahead and get it ordered.

I get a bill three days later stating I owe them $270 for the difference in price. I paid $1440 for the set. It was on special, buy mattress get box springs free as they usually are. The price on my invoice clearly states one price for both. Gerdt's receipt states the mattress was $866 and the box springs were $577. The store manager claims that box springs are 25% of the mattress price. Now the mattress is $1220 and the box springs are only $280. ($1399 for the set) Some how in three years box spring technology has changed from 66% of the mattress price to 25%!

This really burns me. He also charged me for 6% sales tax on a warranty replacement. I've returned things to Best Buy and many other stores and never been charged sales tax for an exchange. I go back in the store and he says he will speak to his boss and call me back on Monday.

Tuesday I get a call back and he says the pricing is right and that mattress is not comparable. I can come in and he will show me a comparable mattress.

I called Restonic to find out what mattress is comparable to mine since they no longer make it. The CS manager got on the phone and said I needed to work through the store I bought it. She said they didn't know the price I paid, if it was on sale, etc. I said I wasn't asking for a price, I just want to know what model is comparable. She said she would not give me that information. I asked for her supervisor's name and she wouldn't give it out.

I went into the store last night and he showed me a mattress that was totally different than mine. The total price on the mattress was $849. That would equate to a $680 mattress. He said that was comparable to my mattress.

I really feel that Gerdt furniture is trying to profit on a warranty exchange. I will update as this continues but so far this has taken 2.5 months, 3 visits from cs tech and 4 trips to the store. Mid Nov 2007 Filed in Small Claims court. Frank Schumacher from Gerdt called a couples days later and berated me. He said that my mattress wasn't under warranty because it was soiled and they were "doing me a favor". David from CS said it was under warranty and issued me a credit... I guess the judge can decide.

12/28 - Had my day in Perry Township Small Claims Court with David P. (cs rep), Frank Schumacher (gerdt president) and their attorney. The decision hasn't been rendered yet but it was very satisfying to be heard from a neutral party. I would encourage anyone that feels they have been taken advantage of to use our legal system. It was only $78 to file a claim and that is refunded if the judge decides in your favor.

I still don't understand why Gerdt would go this far for a difference in ~$280. The legal fees, lost time in work and damage to their reputation has to cost far more. I really thought they were a reputable store before this problem. Everyone that has heard my story says they will never shop there again. Good job Frank...

I purchased a Chair and Ottoman in August of 09 from Gerdt Furniture. The items were manufactured by Best Furniture. Immediately upon receiving the items, I called Gerdt because of a problem with the chair. It is a retro sort of stripe. The side seam on the cushion was running along the top of the cushion. The stripes are also running at an angle. It is obvious by those 2 problems and bunching inside of the cushion upholstery that the core is too large for the cover, but the core is the right size for the chair. Other problems are the stripe is running at an angle on the back of the chair, the fabric is not centered on the chair, the list goes on. I sent it back once for repairs. One problem was fixed (not mentioned above). When I received the chair back the first time, I called again with the other problems. I was told to ONLY bring the cushion in to the store, by customer service. They argued about the other problems. I hung up and took the ENTIRE chair to Gerdt. A salesman for Gerdt total pointed out problems before I mentioned them and some I hadn't noticed! The main one being the upholstery was bunched on the back near one arm. I mean there are so many problems with this chair I couldn't find them all. It totally appears the chair is leaning due to the upholstery being placed incorrectly.

Okay, so I took the chair the last time on 11/6 to Gerdt. I never heard a word from them (customer service dept ) and called them on December 9. They told me my chair was at the Castleton store for pickup. on 12/15 I went to get my chair and NOTHING, I mean NOTHING had been done. The repair order was taped to the chair stating all the problems...mind you the salesman pointed many of these out and listed them on the order. 3 associates including the manager ganged up and said ALL that was going to be done was done! Hello, you didn't do anything. I took pics of the chair before taking it back to them. I told them I wanted a refund, and the manager said NO, we aren't refunding. Then she asked if I wanted to go ahead and take the chair today. I told her I was never taking that chair and I was going home and would be back with camera in hand to take pics of the chair after the repairs. Yes, she claimed the repairs had been made. Funny thing is, the arm covers were still in the very same spot I put them folded in the very same manner in which I folded them. That chair NEVER left the Castleton store, no way no how. When I returned with the camera, I asked who could take me to the backroom. One SA yells out, who wants to take her? (it was snowy and icy and no customers, lucky them). One man volunteered and stood and watched me take the pictures.

I have printed the pictures showing all defects, I took the repair order OFF the chair and have it, and I am writing a letter to the CEO and giving him 7 days to give me a full refund, or I am taking them to small claims court.

My SA at Kittles looked at the pictures and the repair order, PREPARED by Gerdt in Castleton, and said it is a no brainier. Gerdt has the money, and the chair, and I have the acknowledged repairs prepared by them. How bad can service get? I call this as bad as it gets. Do they really think I am going to let them have my $1200?

Oh and the manager said to me that I needed to take the chair because they couldn't sell it and they didn't want it. Hello! I told her who would want it, and walked out. The salesman who wrote up the repair order was there today but totally kept his mouth shut and far from me. I guess he is worried about his job. I didn't mention what he pointed out and how he said the chair was unbelievable but it will come to that. I am not wanting to cause him problems, but I am not going to lose $1200 or accept this crazy looking chair.

I know for sure, the chair was not sent to Smith Brothers either time, and thought about contacting them. I am not doing that because they let this chair leave their factory. Why would I expect anything better next time?

And yes, I sooo badly wanted this chair. I purchased a large and quite expensive area rug from Capael rugs, totally based on this chair. My other furniture is a brown leather... now I have this area rug (positively beautiful with the chair) that I must find something else, from another retailer to match up with it!

My mother and I went to Gerdt in Avon just a few days ago. My mother is in a neck brace because of recent spinal surgery so we went there to try and find her a comfortable recliner to sit in. I opened the door for her for the first set of doors, and while we were approaching the second set of doors (which have windows) I could see two staff slouched in their chairs just looking at us. I opened the second set of doors for my mom and we walked inside. The staff still sat in their chairs staring at us, no "Hello" no, "Hi, can I help you" not a word, they just stared blank at us. My mother was offened, and made the comment " they obviously dont want any of my money" just then a sales man came up to help. When my mom told him what she was interested in, he walked very fast towards the product (keep in mind she just had surgery..so she tried to keep up) and when we got to the aisle, he POINTED towards what they had available. Eventually he helped her out a bit, but he seemed very disinterested. My mom decided not to buy anything from Gerdt for the very poor customer service. Why would she drop $1,000. or more at a store that treated her that way? They weren't even busy at all, so why wasnt customer service better?