Ethan Allen — Local services in West Windsor

If you expect high end customer service and design recommendations from qualified design consultants, do not shop at this Ethan Allen. You will be left very disappointed in the quality of the product and the way you are treated by the designers and the store manager.

We had a design consultant come to our home to help us pick a fabric for a new sofa, with the objective of matching an existing sofa and two ottomans. The consultant suggested a fabric for us, and pushed us to get it; we trusted her recommendation given her title as design consultant. When the new sofa arrived, the fabric completely clashed with our existing sofa and the ottomans and made our home look like we had thrown together a bunch of furniture that we had randomly purchased. We contacted the designer to discuss our concern and offered to either pay to have it reupholstered or to pay Ethan Allen a restocking fee to take it away, we were happy paying more to fix the terrible issue we faced. However, we were told that neither was an option and that we were stuck with the sofa because it was custom.

The only advice we were given was to buy additional Ethan Allen furniture to help the new sofa better blend into the room. We were told they have suggested this to customers in the past, which implies this is a common issue customers face after working with the design consultants in this store.

We contacted Ethan Allen HQ and were told most Ethan Allen stores are willing to take furniture back for a restocking fee, but it's up to each regional manager and because this manager said no, there was nothing they could do. It's no wonder people are turning to online retailers, they are tired of being treated so poorly in stores like this one and tired of dealing with companies with backwards, outdated policies.

Additionally, on the day of our delivery, we were given a 5 minute notification before the truck was to arrive. When we told the designer that that short of a heads up didn't work, she told us that Ethan Allen no longer has a policy to give customers more notice than that.

To this day, we are still waiting for a call back from the store manager who told us he would speak to headquarters one more time regarding our case and what they suggest we do to remedy the situation.

We expected more from the designer and from Ethan Allen, if they truly want to be a high end furniture store. Ethan Allen headquarters needs to better monitor the way customers are treated at this store because it is giving the brand a terrible reputation. We will never buy from Ethan Allen again.

UPDATE - We were contacted by Ethan Allen headquarters who suggested we move the sofa into a different room in our home and purchase a new one from the store. Their solution to remedy the situation is insulting and further evidence that they do not know how to...

Don’t shop at the Princeton NJ Location!!!! I went in the showroom to look at couches. I was actually there to go grocery shopping, next-door at the Trader Joe’s, which is why I had a bag filled with recyclable bags inside of it... (not that I need to explain why and what I’m carrying) I got sidetracked and figured I would look at couches first. I walked the store and took various pictures. I even sat down at the kiosk to look at other options and etc. I walked out of the store and headed towards the Trader Joe’s and the lady in the photo, comes out, after me asking me to see what’s in my bag....I couldn’t believe it!!! I thought to myself, what was I going to put in there, a couch??? A table??!!!! Better yet why is she accusing me???!!!!! It’s a show room!!!!! I went to my car and collected myself because I was extremely frustrated. I was going to just leave it alone but im tired of excusing behavior like this. I went back in that store and let her know how I felt. I don’t know what she was judging me on, whether it was the fact that I’m Hispanic? I had on sweatpants and a baseball cap? I didn’t look like her “customer”… I don’t know. I asked her what she was judging me on? And why she thought I had put something in my bag, also what was I going to put in my bag anyway? She tells me my bag was open when I came in and was closed when I walked out.. she said they have various pillows and comforters throughout the store and I could’ve taken one of those and that now, I could have already put it in my car. I’m disgusted by her behavior and this store. Another lady came to the front, I asked her for her name and she refused to give it to me. I have never shopped here and thanks to Susan, here in this picture, I NEVER WILL!!! Just plain IGNORANT AND YES.. IM GOING TO GO WITH RACIST!!!!!! Also check out the comment by ethan allen below, “we are reviewing your allegations” I didn’t even get an apology for the experience or how I felt… I bet they will just ask her what happened, she will deny it and life...

I can't say enough great things about working with Alka Penu and her design team at the Ethan Allen location in Princeton! She is extremely accommodating, responsive, thoughtful, and has a great eye for style & design! I currently live in Boston (where I don't have a car, so it's kind of a pain to get to the nearest EA store), but I grew up in the Princeton area. I first had the pleasure to work with Alka in 2021, when I came into the store while on a visit home to see sofas I had looked at online but wanted to see in person. That experience was so positive that I again reached out to Alka recently to purchase some dining room chairs to go with a table I had found second-hand.

Both times, even though we had to conduct business remotely, working with Alka was such a pleasure. I would text her photos of the rooms where the new pieces would go and she would send me back photos of potential materials and electronic renderings to give me a sense of how the final products would look. It didn't matter if it was later in the evening after 5pm -- she was always responsive via text, phone and email. She was also extremely mindful of my budget -- encouraging me to take advantage of sales and the Ethan Allen credit card which allows you to pay off items over 36 months.

Overall, I couldn't be happier with my experiences purchasing my first "real" pieces of furniture. For me, these were big purchases and so I really appreciated someone who took the time to walk through options and ideas, and was thoughtful of budget in addition to style. I will certainly come back again for any future...