Vintage Mill Werks — Attraction in Corona

I have never had such a poor experience with a furniture supplier.

I'm an interior designer and regularly work with all sorts of furniture manufacturers and custom furniture makers.

I ordered a table for 1,844.00 on November 30, 2020, at which point my payment was received in full. The product page, as seen in the below screenshot, noted that all items were made to order in 8-10 weeks. No indication was made that lead times would be longer than usual before or after I ordered.

I followed up in 4 weeks to get a ship date estimate, and was given a vague answer that production was still "a ways off". I followed up again at the end of January, and they gave me a March 1 completion date. I followed up March 17, and the order eventually shipped on March 22.

The crate arrived our receiving warehouse on April 5th, and the table was in pieces with several legs broken off. See images. We refused the delivery, as directed by the company in the event of damage.

I reached explaining what happened and asked for a refund, since we no longer had time to wait for a replacement and wanted to source locally. It was also clear the table was not carefully packaged, and damage was likely to happen again.

Karen, my contact there, said that they would not offer a refund, but would rebuild the table in 2-3 weeks and would ship out again with a different carrier (meaning another 5 weeks minimum before we received the table), after already waiting 18 weeks.

Initially, she indicated they wouldn't refund because each order is "custom", and I responded that this wouldn't make sense since they'd need to completely rebuild the table anyhow. Next she told me it was their "website policy", disregarding that their website also states orders ship in 8-10 weeks on the product pages, and that there was no indication of increased lead times prior to purchasing. She then told me she "submitted my request to upper management" and that it was not approved. I asked to speak to upper management, to which she responded "It is our policy to rebuild a damaged shipment."

Their website terms and conditions also state, "VMW may accept returns if agreed upon by seller and buyer at seller's discretion", so, they CAN offer a refund, they just refuse to do so.

In the furniture industry, it is common practice to offer a choice to refund or replace a damaged item. It is also common practice that an item can be refunded up to the point at which it is being made.

I cannot in any way, shape, or form recommend ordering furniture from this vendor. VERY disappointed in their communication, customer service, and care, and still without a table (and $1,800).

Additional feedback on how Vintage MillWerks can provide better service:

-Communicate prior to order if there will be an additional delay so a client can decide whether to move forward (VERY important in the design world, since we work with deadlines) -Offer order cancelation up until the point at which the table is being built. -Do not run payment until the item has shipped, or offer 50/50 terms -Offer the choice of a refund or replacement in the event of a...

STILL LYING RATHER THAN FIXING CUSTOMER SERVICE: Can this company show evidence I’m “stalking?” If by stalking, they mean insisting the truth be told…. Otherwise, please provide examples.

I have written evidence of their excessively poor service and lies. See Facebook reviews to confirm that I’m not the only one. It should strike potential customers as a very loud warning that they spend their time attacking customers for publishing 100% accurate reviews. Note that many people had the same horrendous experience with them that I did, and like me, did not purchase through Etsy so posted reviews on Facebook. If there is one more lie or false accusation from this company, I will file formal complaints with Etsy, Facebook, and The Better Business Bureau. Before attacking and lying again, this company would be well advised to remember that I have full written documentation to prove every word I’ve said.

UPDATE: rather than take a serious look at my review, and the many other similar reviews that can be seen on Facebook, the company’s response is to blatantly lie, in a misguided attempt to deflect from the fact that customer service is poor. I did not threaten them, in fact every email was very polite except the final one, and all I said even then was that I couldn’t imagine any table would be worth that long of a wait. I never requested, and the company never offered any sort of refund. I have kept the entire email string and would be more than happy to publish in order to prove every single statement I have made. The company blamed the delays on the extended unemployment benefits making it impossible to hire people. If the company is paying less than the amount of unemployment benefits, they are very clearly underpaying their employees. The company needs to cease lying and apologize, or I will in addition file formal complaints with Etsy, Facebook, and Instagram. //end of update

Doing business with this company is an unfunny joke. No product, whatever the quality, would be worth the misinformation, multiple broken delivery promises, website lies, or poor choice in shipping companies. The quality is ok, certainly not exceptional, just not worth the hassle. See review on the company’s Facebook page for details. Also note, my horrendous experience is apparently commonplace. Also note, they underpay...

We had issue with our table, which they fully acknowledged. They said they’d fix it, but asked if it could wait until after the holidays since they were “busy”, which ironically put us past the 100 day time line restriction to file a claim with Etsy. They said they would replace the table top, then recanted on that offer. They then updated their warranty info after our issue on their website and used that as an out. Disgraceful move on their part. They stopped answering any and all communication. Do not order from this place, unless you want to risk getting ripped off by them. If I could give them a negative rating I would’ve.

Reply to Vintage Mill Werks response:

It’s interesting how this company would not respond to emails nor answer the phone, but they can now respond to a google review. Hmm.

We sent pictures as soon as we received the table, even before they asked. After we contacted them, which was the day we received the table, they noted it seemed to be a natural checking in the wood and it was THEIR decision and suggestion to replace the table top. We agreed to hold off on replacement u til after the holidays (Thanksgiving) then they asked to wait until after Christmas. However, after “busy season” and after suspiciously updating their warranty information in their shop site, they recanted on their offer to make good on the situation with a replacement top.

I have all documentation of emails (answered and unanswered with dates) as well as Etsy messages (answered and unanswered). So feel free to ask more questions, I’d happily explain further.

Positives: The table is itself nice and Etsy made good on the situation, thankfully.

Negatives: Shady business and awful customer service to...