Missing Piece, Fine Interiors on Consignment — Local services in Dunedin

Until recently I would gladly have given this place at least 4 stars. My mom and I have been in many times over the years. The staff has always been friendly without being pushy. And for the most part, the inventory seems good quality. So why only 2 stars? I recentlypurchased a kitchen table and 4 chairs in what SEEMED near perfect condition. A scratch on the table and a discolored patch on one chair seat. I paid $550. A bit high for used, but I had been looking for a while and I was told the brand was known for good quality. Well after only a few weeks the upholstery on the chairs began to peel off in several places. It's only me and my daughter here, so it was barely used and already coming apart. The rips got worse quckly. So I took photos. Due to the holidays etc I didn't get there until a few days ago. I decided to bring one of the chairs along with me. I thought the store management would want to know about the problem because it isn't typical of the quality they usually carry. The upholstery is obviously defective, but I figured they didn't know before they sold it. The saleperson even joked that the guys who set out the floor displays had just put it out and now they would need to take it right back. If I had never been in there before and this happened I would think this was a place that sold junky furniture that they disguised as high-end. But I knew this wasn't up to their normal standards. I thought managment would be as surprised as I was and apologetic that they had unintentionally sold defective merchandise. Boy was I wrong. I had barely begun to explain why I was there and show a clerk the photos when another woman stepped up and without so much as a hello said all sales are final, this is a consignment store so there are no warranties, you take your chances when you buy etc etc. I was taken aback. I had never had anything but friendly service here. I found out later she is the owner, Barbara. I've owned and run a retail business myself. If this is how she talks to customers, I suggest Barbara leave the customer service to her excellent sales people. She was just so rude and condescending. I can't imagine what it's like to work for her. It's not as if I came storming into the store yelling and making a scene. If I had, I might understand her attitude. But even when dealing with difficult customers it does no good to escalate the situation that way. Especially in this economy. She was acting like I had personally insulted her. This is not personal, this is business. I tried to explain that I know their inventory is usually good quality. All the more reason to be made aware of this exception and try to avoid it in the future. I know nothing about the consigner who brought it in. Barbara said they are a regular supplier and never had a problem. Well if I were the supplier I'd want to know about this defect too! The discussion just got worse and then she accused ME of being argumentative from the start. Wow. And she kept contradicting herself. First "all sales are final no warranties" statement, then it was I should have come in sooner. So if I came in sooner, the sale wouldn't have been final??? I had photos I took only a few weeks after the purchase. Not to mention even after 3 months I would not expect leather or even vinyl to be shredded like this. She suggested I should be happy with a good table. Excuse me, I bought a 5 piece set and 4 of them are defective. At one point she offered me $50. I just felt more insulted. Clearly she just wanted me out of her store, which was empty by the way. She kept asking me, "what do you want?" but each time I tried to explain that I thought she would want to stand by her store's reputation for carrying quality items, she cut me off and denied that there was anything wrong.. She finally agreed to go out and look at the chair I brought. I don't know why she bothered other than so she could storm back into her store with her nose in the air. The last thing I said to her is that reputation is everything. I'll just bet she has...

I've been buying and selling furniture from the Missing Piece- Clearwater for several years now but today's experience was less than pleasant. The movers they contract to move furniture to their store arrived at my residence, didn't introduce themselves, curtly said "we're here for your furniture", complained about the furniture despite it being staged in the garage and easily accessible. They then had the gall to say "don't forget the gratuity" as I was writing the check (after confirming who the check was to be made out to).To make things worse, I received a call around 6:30pm from one of their representatives rudely demanding a credit card number because their employee gave me the wrong name to put on the check. I offered to write a new check however I was told " that isn't good enough" and that she was going to call the store to get her money from the consignment fee, and abruptly hung up on me. I cannot in good conscience give a better review to The Missing Piece due to their preferred moving contractors. The moving contractors name is Favored Movers. Edit: Movers were scheduled/ arranged by The...

BE CAREFUL if you decide to purchase anything from here, keep your invoice. They delivered 11 items to me. A month later, the manager calls and tells me I didn't pay for one of the pieces of furniture they delivered and I that I would have to PROVE I paid for it or they would take legal action. She didn't say hey, we made a mistake could you please help us, no she immediately started threatening me like I'd made the mistake and threatening me. Then two days later I get legal papers saying they DEMAND I return the piece in the same shape they delivered it or they would take me to collections. It is a huge piece, I paid them money to deliver it. I have no way to deliver it to them. When I suggested they pick it up they said I'd have to pay for them to pick it up. I've never been treated like this before by someone, especially a store I just spent 7,000 dollars at. ...