DōMA Home Furnishings — Local services in Saint Petersburg

My Disheartening Experience with Doma Furniture Store

I regretfully recount my unfortunate experience with Doma Furniture Store, where I encountered significant issues with a recliner I purchased for a staggering $2,500. The product I received was marred by observable stitching and stuffing defects, as well as careless assembly. Adding to the disappointment, the recliner had a defective button that caused the motor to run continuously and over heat. Even after receiving a replacement button, it became evident that the issue was likely a design flaw, making it potentially dangerous.

Upon notifying both Doma and the manufacturer of these flaws immediately after delivery, I had hoped for understanding and support from their customer service team. Unfortunately, I was met with resistance and a lack of willingness to address the production issues. Instead of acknowledging the problem, Doma sought to shift the blame onto me, claiming the defects were somehow my fault for placing the order. I found this particularly disheartening, especially considering that the showroom floor chair exhibited no such defects, making my case even more compelling.

Doma's attempt to excuse the manufacturer's poor workmanship by citing workforce shortages and supply chain issues was disappointing and out dated, to say the least. Their stance essentially conveyed that once the faulty chair was in my home, it became my problem to deal with. In fact, a Doma representative explicitly stated that "these defects are acceptable," leaving me feeling betrayed and disregarded as a customer.

Eventually, a courteous repair technician was sent to inspect the chair, replacing the button in the process. However, the technician had reservations about the button's long-term functionality and expressed doubt that repairing the shoddy stitching and stuffing was even possible. According to their assessment, the defects were so extensive that a repair would not be cost-effective, rendering the chair a total loss and destined for recycling.

It is disheartening to note that despite the technician's report, I have received no follow-up communication from either Doma or the manufacturer in the past two months. This lack of accountability only exacerbates my frustration with the entire situation.

Before making any significant purchases at Doma Furniture Store, I urge you to consider the type of service and support you may encounter. Regrettably, my experience suggests that they may not be the reliable and reputable furniture brokers you'd hope for when investing in quality pieces for your home. Instead, it felt like I was dealing with sellers of subpar, overpriced merchandise who prioritized passing the buck rather than standing up to the shoddy manufacturers.

It pains me to admit this, but I made the mistake of trusting Doma, and I hope others can learn from my experience. Spending more money does not necessarily guarantee a superior product, and it is crucial to demand exceptional customer service from companies like Doma. Choose wisely when it comes to your home furniture pieces and opt to work with vendors who truly prioritize their customers'...

I was asked to write this review. I hope this is a learning lesson for the staff and helpful to future buyers.

1. Four stars for the quality of products.
2. Two stars for rep knowledge and customer service.

Customer rep; Deborah at Tampa location. I travelled all the way from Gainesville to buy furniture at Doma, given their high end inventory and amazing reviews. I was told that there are several movers who travel my way and shipping would not be an issue, however Doma does not have its own shipping beyond a 30 mile radius. I ordered a Luonto sectional and Himolla recliner for about 6.5 grand end of May/2022. Around July second week my furniture arrived at Doma's warehouse- St. Pete. I was provided a number by Deborah to a company that I presumed was a "truck owner/ moving company" but it turned out to of a "brokerage" who arranges shipping through their contracted companies. I had been provided a price to ship which was subject to change "closer to time of delivery" and it turned out to be much higher then what was initially quoted. The broker also informed me that they do "curbside delivery only." The quote for delivery/ unpacking was twice as high. Doma was not clear about any of these details while they sold the items to me. With limited options, I had to hire an individual referred by Doma for 960 $ to ship and unpack the furniture. As soon as I had shipping scheduled Deborah reached out to me, attempting to sell more furniture! When the pieces finally arrived, I was amazed to find out- the Sectional required assembly! When I called Doma, another rep said "Most furniture just needs some screws to be put in." By no means, this assembly was less than a professional's job. To make things worse, Lunonto forgot to send enough # of screws to assemble. I had to hire a handyman for another $100 for assembly. To my amusement the sectional alined the wrong way, opposite to the configuration I had ordered. Doma accepted that Luonto shipped the wrong sectional to them!? By end of August, the correct sectional was white-gloved to me, however the delivery lads had no idea how to assemble it. Glad I had learnt how to with my previous mishap. The manager at Doma; Rosanna was very helpful to expedite the exchange, I must admit!

All of this could have been avoided if Doma was very clear about shipping with curbside delivery and knew if the furniture required assembly. I spent countless hours and a lot of money to have two pieces of furniture delivered to my home. I inquired to find that many good furniture companies would even deliver interstate for a far lower price I had to pay for a 130 mile move within FL. I will not complain about the 3 month wait, given this age of COVID.

I have not had enough time to assess the quality and durability of the pieces but I am not sure if I will take another chance with Doma or recommend it to folks outside of Tampa/...

I purchased a custom ordered glass top table about 7 weeks in advance in anticipation it would be ready when I needed it. Stephanie, the salesperson said that it would take some time, but would most likely be ready to meet my needs. HOWEVER, because it was on the paperwork that it could take longer, IT DIDN'T MATTER WHAT STEPHANIE TOLD ME! I also ordered some chairs to go with the table, that I had asked to be delivered, and they were ready, but Stephanie refused to deliver them to me before the actual table was ready. She wanted me to wait for the chairs to be delivered with the table so they'd only have to deliver once. Over $2K for the table and two chairs and she refused to deliver the chairs. SMH! Frustrated, I asked to speak to a manager. David, gets on the phone and immediately speaks to me in the most condescending tones I've ever heard. I understand you want to side your with employees, but I'm a customer who's paying an enormous amount of money for a table and chairs, and this is how you speak to a customer who's unhappy because your salesperson could not fulfill her promise to me??? I looked up some information, and David appears to be the owner. How unprofessional of David to quickly side with his employee and try to talk down to a customer??? Anyways, after 10 minutes of him sarcastically speaking to me and mocking me at times, I simply told him I would cancel the order. He then offered to deliver the chairs to me himself. That's all I wanted. I didn't need to be spoken down to. He never apologized for speaking to me in that way, and he tried to make amends by giving me a cheap glass table that looked like it had been through a lot (which was probably going to be thrown out anyway) so I'll give them an extra star for trying to make up for the crappy service. They are really nice when you are placing the order, but I would never buy anything from them again because of how badly I was treated after the purchase. And btw, I was planning on purchasing more items from them but I had gladly taken my business elsewhere (where it was appreciated) because I did not feel like a valued customer whatsoever. And I purchased another $6k of furniture elsewhere. I finally got the table and it looks great! Too bad they treat their customers like...