The Perfect Piece — Local services in Cary

You know, I never write reviews, not even bad ones. Something, or someone, or some experience has to be remarkably noteworthy for me to get involved. I don’t even take the surveys at the end of customer service calls, so this lengthy review should tell you something.

Before I share my experience, I have read some of the less than stellar reviews and I can say that I did not experience any of those situations. It is true that all sales are final, with no refunds - I recommend measuring your spaces before you go - they have appropriately placed a fishbowl full of tape measures by the front counter for you to take with you while you shop...it's genius. I found the prices to be reasonable - the pieces I bought were new, not consignment, but honestly, had I purchased the larger pieces at a discount home furnishings store, I would have paid probably 30% more, and I can almost assure you one leg would have wobbled. Now, on to my experience.

I have lived in this area for almost 20 years, I have frequented downtown Cary and I have noticed The Perfect Piece, but I have never gone inside. I recently decided that I wanted to make some changes to our décor. I decided to take a day off work and spend the day working my way from Garner to Glenwood Ave, by way of Apex and Cary, from furniture store to furniture store as Google had mapped for me. The Perfect Piece was my 4th stop, out of 9…I never made it to the 5th stop.

I spent 4 hours wandering around this delightful, unassuming nook. I immediately stumbled across a 10-foot credenza, which fits perfectly on a large wall in our living room – and I also purchased 2 tall dark wood and metal bookcases that were nestled on either end of the credenza. They were literally the perfect pieces for my wall, and for each other.

I spoke with Betty and Rebecca for sort of forever, explaining the lay out of my space and what I had in mind – next thing, I realize Rebecca has been listening and sketched a practically perfect 3-D rendering of my living room as I described it. I asked her instantly if she would like to be friends with me.

Betty and I talked about how I could float some of my furniture and really update the flow of the room. They also have custom sofas and club chairs that are super comfortable, with great fabric options, and can be delivered in 3-4 weeks!! This is unheard of at the moment.

That day, I purchased, the 10 foot credenza, the 2 bookshelves, a media credenza for my bedroom, a large vase, some really beautiful stems, and a large metal angel fish. I took the smaller items with me and was told the large furniture pieces would be delivered the next day (!). When I returned home, I immediately began implementing Betty’s and Rebecca’s suggestions – moving furniture, assessing space – reimagining my living room…and well---I LOVE IT!!

Betty and Rebecca were SOOO helpful, and patient. They were willing to chat with me, really taking the time to understand my vision of the space, directing me to pieces that aligned to my goals, and offering to keep eyes out for other items that may present themselves. At no point were they ever pushy – which I always appreciate.

I immediately began following them on Facebook, and now, every day, I get to see their updated posts of new pieces they have gotten in.

Just this morning, over my coffee, I noticed 2 accent chairs – I called, and they were still available – so I dashed over to purchase them. I was also looking for a smaller side table. I wandered the store alone, then came back, told them what I had in mind, then Betty walked the store with me showing me some options, and I found a ‘perfect piece’.

I clearly cannot say enough great things about this little boutique shop that far exceeded my wildest expectations. If you are in Cary, stop by – you won’t be disappointed. If you live far away, drive there – it will be worth it. If nothing else, follow them on Facebook – I promise – if you need a perfect piece, or even inspiration – they will...

Today while running errands together, my mother suggested we stop at The Perfect Piece and look around. She had wanted to stop in for a while now, especially since she’s in the process of buying a house and wanted to get some ideas or even pick up a few pieces of furniture or decor. We went inside and immediately encountered two women behind the counter, both of whom looked at us, made eye contact, and said nothing. Slightly startled, I greeted them and said good morning….no response. Somewhat disconcerted, we nevertheless forged ahead with exploring the store. We found a lot of pieces that my mother liked and we chatted quietly about what would work with her style and what she wanted to do with her home’s interior. Several times employees in the store walked by, near and around us and every single time, we were blatantly ignored. Not once in over 20 minutes of browsing did anyone acknowledge us in any way. No one greeted us; no one asked if we had any questions, no inquires whether we needed help or what we were looking for. NOTHING. It was as if we were invisible, or beneath their notice and not worth the effort to even pretend they cared whether we felt welcome or not. Once an employee brusquely said ‘excuse me’ when she brushed past me, but that was the sole instance anyone ever said anything to us. Several people came in after us and were greeted warmly, asked if they needed help, had the store’s layout explained to them, lots of positive interaction. By that point my mother and I were both burning with anger and humiliation and decided It was well past time to leave a store we clearly weren’t welcome in. My mother had seen at least two pieces of furniture she liked well enough that she would have been willing to buy them on the spot, but was so put off by the appalling way we were treated that she said she wouldn’t spend a cent of her money there no matter how much she loved the pieces she’d picked out. Had we been treated with even the minimum of common courtesy and respect, they could have made several solid sales today with the possibility of a lot more repeat business. Now neither of us would dream of going back and certainly won’t be recommending it to anyone. The Perfect Piece was the most negative, demoralizing encounter either of us has had in a very long time. I’m extremely disappointed and hope in the future the employees are much more mindful that regardless of the ethnicity of potential customers, our money spends the exact same way and minorities should be treated with the exact same level of customer service as anyone else, or we’ll take our money and our business elsewhere, there are plenty of other stores in Cary and beyond that are happy to treat everyone that walks in with at least a modicum of respect...

I do not recommend purchasing large furniture pieces from here, unless you are EXTREMELY thorough in inspecting them before you buy. I bought a refinished dresser for my mom’s bedroom for $560 (over $600 after tax). I made the mistake of not opening and closing all of the drawers before buying. I stupidly assumed that a $600 dresser would not have major flaws and purchased it without inspecting it closely. Our assistant church minister helped us load the dresser into his minivan. We were careful to wrap it in a blanket to protect it and we did not take any of the drawers out. Once we got it home and placed it in my mom’s bedroom, we noticed that one of the drawers does not close properly. It pushes too far back so that there is a large gap that is very noticeable (pictured). I removed the drawer and realized that there is a big chunk of the wood missing that the dresser slides on to (pictured). I called the store associate that helped me and told her the issue and she claimed that she had checked all of the drawers beforehand and that it was fine, asked me to send photos, and I did. She wrote (or called) to the vendor who refinished the dresser to explain the situation (screenshot of her response attached). I had to message her a couple of times to receive a response. I understand that they are busy, but I was not impressed with the lack of communication. Basically, she told me they can’t do anything about it and that it’s our fault. We NEVER removed the drawers. How could this have possibly happened in transit? I’m pretty certain our minister wouldn’t lie about it, and we would have noticed a chunk of wood that had fallen off. I didn’t even ask for a refund or store credit. We were, at best, hoping for enough in compensation to cover the cost of fixing it. Yes, I should have been more careful when I checked the dresser out, but the core issue at hand is that we expected a $600 (USED) dresser to not need to be fixed. The paint job is also not very impressive. It’s already started chipping. I am very disappointed because I loved getting smaller pieces from here and I was hoping that their large pieces would be just as gratifying. But after this experience, we will no longer be shopping here. Poor customer service like this is why more and more people are choosing Amazon over mom...