Seasons Four — Local services in Lexington

Good at sales. Poor at service. This past spring, we had a nice shopping experience and bought furniture to fill our entire screened porch. We knew it would take a few months to get the furniture but that was OK with us. We were delighted when a few of the pieces arrived a month early! We've always wanted teak furniture and loved the idea the furniture should age well on our porch. When we got our new table, we couldn't wait to use it! HOWEVER, we noticed after a couple meals that the normal spills (drips of salad dressing, pizza sauce, etc.) wouldn't wipe up and remained on the table. We called Seasons Four. The person who answered didn't seem to care about the problem but told us we were supposed to not use it for four to six weeks, then we were supposed to seal it. Four to six weeks?!!! She offered no other help so my wife reached out to the sales person we worked with (who is also the owner, we believe). She told us that we didn't need to take four to six weeks (sounds like somebody needs some training) but said that she certainly told us we should treat the furniture before using. Nope, Laura, you didn't. We absolutely would have remembered that. She told us we could sand out the stains and they could sell us the material to seal the furniture. She offered the name of a guy who could do this for us (it turns out he doesn't come to our town). We reached out to the manufacturer directly. They said all their teak furniture comes with use instructions that should have been provided to us with the furniture. Why weren't these instructions given to us? Somebody at Seasons Four consciously decided to discard those instead of giving them to us. Even a $9 t-shirt comes with cleaning instructions! You'd think $10,000 worth of furniture made of a (as we now know) stainable wood would, too, right? The furniture is brand new and we already have to sand out stains. Had we known this we would have either not bought teak or would have taken care to use the teak seal first. Laura offered no real help and seemed more concerned about insisting she must have told us months earlier that we'd need to treat the furniture because she "always tells people". It's clear their's is not a culture of caring about customer satisfaction. It's about getting the sale. Not the type of business we like to support. And certainly...

We love going each year for Santa and the Christmas experience. However, the customer service side wasn't ideal. I came back to return a faulty Christmas decoration today, Jan 5, and I was immediately told by a sales person, pretty much as soon as I walked in with my Seasons 4 bag, that any Christmas item was a final sale. I said, " I saw the sign on the door that announced final sales on items purchased 12/18 and after,but this was purchased on 12/9." She then said it was likely final sale and to check my receipt because it probably said final sale. Nowhere did it say anything about a different return policy than usual (30 days according to website). Finally another person came over and was more understanding but wanted to check that indeed this decoration didn't work. After checking with batteries in the back, she said she would give me back my money. But rather than apologize, she said that next time I should ask staff to check that the item works with batteries before leaving the store. I will simply be more careful with what I purchase, because we love going each Santa season...

There is a really good selection of patio furniture and accessories, the type you just will not find in the box stores. A variety of materials is available, including beautiful teak and ipé. The prices are not inexpensive, although for the quality, I don't think they're at all unreasonable. Another thing that I like is the presence of displays, which are sorely lacking in box stores. It's certainly possible that you will have to place a special order, but you'll have a much better feel for your options. The staff is very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. They will make sure to let you know that they're present to help you, but they will not be in your face or hanging over your shoulder; they will give you time and space. They also have a garden center, although we did not explore that area, but it could make things very convenient if you need plants in addition to outdoor furniture. All in all, this is a really good place to go if you're ready to spend a bit extra for the service and products that cannot be found in...