Home @ Northeast

[retchlow 7]

Hi All

I have a $700 store credit from Grafunkt but not planning to get anything from them anymore. If anyone is keen, I am willing to transfer this store credit to you at $550.

Please PM me if you are keen!

[retchlow 7]

yet another very unpleasant experience with another furniture store - Grafunkt.

i ordered a stash dask from them last year & it was delivered to my new place some time this year March. after the delivery guys left, i realised the table was very unstable (it was extremely wobbly). i found it unacceptable contacted the store people.

they said they will arrange for people to pick up the desk for me & offered me the following options:

1) one to one exchange - but the next shipment is only in May

2) store credit

i opted for 1) initially. a day or 2 later, i changed my mind & enquired with the store about the possibility of a refund but they said no. then i decided not to take up any options & left it to them to decide what form of compensation they'd like to offer. at the same time, i reminded them to quickly arrange for the desk to be collected back, as i know they would have fault me for any damages caused to the table should there be delays in collecting back the desk.

and they took 2 long weeks to arrange for pick up of the desk from my house.

and up till today (which is 2 months from the day they took back the desk), i did not hear from them on what course of action they'll be taking for my case so i emailed to check if i'm still valid for store credit. they replied to say yes but they need to deduct 20% because there were scratches on the table top.

RIDICULOUS.

in the first place, they were the ones who took their own sweet time to arrange for pick up of the desk from my house. and now they are faulting me for causing surface damage to the desk & is penalising me for it. and i wasn't even told of any scratches till 2 months AFTER they took back the desk.

sadly, customers aren't really protected (CASE definitely cannot help) in cases like these, as such we are pretty much on our own. and because these merchants KNOW that we are at a disadvantaged position, they turn to bullying & exercise such unethical behaviours.

anyway for those who wish to buy over my store credit (i will never buy anything from them ever again), please PM me. I'm left with a store credit of $550. willing to let go for it at $450.

Please PM me if you are keen.

[macuser77 1]

yet another very unpleasant experience with another furniture store - Grafunkt.

i ordered a stash dask from them last year & it was delivered to my new place some time this year March. after the delivery guys left, i realised the table was very unstable (it was extremely wobbly). i found it unacceptable contacted the store people.

they said they will arrange for people to pick up the desk for me & offered me the following options:

1) one to one exchange - but the next shipment is only in May

2) store credit

i opted for 1) initially. a day or 2 later, i changed my mind & enquired with the store about the possibility of a refund but they said no. then i decided not to take up any options & left it to them to decide what form of compensation they'd like to offer. at the same time, i reminded them to quickly arrange for the desk to be collected back, as i know they would have fault me for any damages caused to the table should there be delays in collecting back the desk.

and they took 2 long weeks to arrange for pick up of the desk from my house.

and up till today (which is 2 months from the day they took back the desk), i did not hear from them on what course of action they'll be taking for my case so i emailed to check if i'm still valid for store credit. they replied to say yes but they need to deduct 20% because there were scratches on the table top.

RIDICULOUS.

in the first place, they were the ones who took their own sweet time to arrange for pick up of the desk from my house. and now they are faulting me for causing surface damage to the desk & is penalising me for it. and i wasn't even told of any scratches till 2 months AFTER they took back the desk.

sadly, customers aren't really protected (CASE definitely cannot help) in cases like these, as such we are pretty much on our own. and because these merchants KNOW that we are at a disadvantaged position, they turn to bullying & exercise such unethical behaviours.

anyway for those who wish to buy over my store credit (i will never buy anything from them ever again), please PM me. I'm left with a store credit of $550. willing to let go for it at $450.

Please PM me if you are keen.

It's really bad right? All these big players behaving like that. Grafunkt is supposed to be a premier brand and as such you would expect better from them. I didn't have a good experience with boconcept too. It is such incidents which make you feel that sometimes, the small shops are the best.

Anyway, did you try speaking to the boss Jeffrey? Think he is always at the playfair outlet on weekends. if i were you I would go down to the store personally and request for full refund - no store credits and the full 100%.

[summersann 6]

Hi retch, I know which ikea glass cabinets you are talking about. They have it in green, grey and 1 other color (can't remember) and all sooo nice!

The other color is cream! Super nice

[summersann 6]

It's really bad right? All these big players behaving like that. Grafunkt is supposed to be a premier brand and as such you would expect better from them. I didn't have a good experience with boconcept too. It is such incidents which make you feel that sometimes, the small shops are the best.

Anyway, did you try speaking to the boss Jeffrey? Think he is always at the playfair outlet on weekends. if i were you I would go down to the store personally and request for full refund - no store credits and the full 100%.

Totally agree. We only have two pieces of furniture (coffee tables) from Grafunkt, and we only bought them because they were heavily discounted and were quite pretty. Otherwise, I find them very overpriced. The smaller boutique shops are much much better, in terms of service and value.

[retchlow 7]

well no, because i bought it from penang mall store & liaised with this lady called Angela.

i was reading topics created under home furnishings. it seems that many people face the same set of problems with furniture merchants nowadays: lack of follow ups, late deliveries & very bad customer service.

jaykr actually shared with me about the lemon law - i'm not sure how effective it is. one thing i'm sure is that, there is still a major loophole in our system & that's why these merchants play dirty as they know they can somehow get away with it.

[retchlow 7]

third unlucky (but not unpleasant yet) experience with another furniture merchant: mountain teak

1) delivery was late too, by about 2 - 3 weeks. but at least, they did call me to let me know, unlike Lush Lush who didn't even bother.

2) when table was delivered, it was not leveled hence a bumper has to be placed under one of the legs to stabilise it

3) a lady (didn't get her name) came to my house to take measurements of the legs. It was found out that one of the legs was sawed off slightly shorter than the other 3. unfortunately, no follow ups after that. and i left it at that because i have deemed myself to be really unlucky

4) yesterday, i accidentally smeared some butter onto the tabletop & after i attempted to wipe it off, it left a permanent mark on the surface. i remembered very clearly that the store people have told me that they will be coating the surface with a special chemical to make it oil & water resistant. so why is there a stain now? the butter was smeared on to the table top for no more than 10seconds & now it seemed to have "seeped" into it.

SIGH.

i've emailed to them & am waiting for them to reply. i hope they do not disappoint me.

4th unlucky experience : Commune

- the sofa i ordered from them is not of fantastic quality. the buttons started falling within 1 month. this is the 3rd month & so far 4 buttons have fallen off. Well, fortunately, i managed to salvage it by glueing them back.

I am indeed so very unlucky!

Edited June 8, 2013 by retchlow

[June 13]

hi there, sorry to hear about your experience with the furniture shops. But I'm really surprised about that mountain teak table. Thought their products are of a certain standard bcos of the price. Makes me think twice about buying from these places. Hope they will help resolve your issue soon. Good luck!

[retchlow 7]

Hi June

it is always human to err. so machines make mistakes too. during the manufacturing process, there is no guarantee that every single item is 100% defect free. i find reasons such as manufacturing defect totally acceptable. but the most important issue here is the after sales service. if a customer has already feedback to them about the defects, they should have some decency to follow up & act on it immediately.

price doesn't equate to quality nowadays. But negative experience aside, I do have some positive ones to share:

1) Ariston Washing Machine from Mayer

2) Fisher & Paykel Freezer from Goh Ah Bee

3) Smeg Fridge from Unilite

4) Table from Scanteak

5) Chair from Picket & Rail

6) Stools from Egg3

7) Armchair from Room Of Woods

8) Bed Frame & Mattress from OM

I have had good experience buying & shopping for the above items from the various shops.

[Makanology 29]

Hi retch, you have a freezer and a fridge?

[retchlow 7]

Yup! Freezer to store my pets' foods aka raw meats. They are on a raw meat diet.

[juxstapose 2]

Wah very lucky pets to have such a good owner!

[retchlow 7]

i try to be one but there's always room for improvement

[sarah833 3]

Hi Retch,

I so agree with you the importance of aftersales service. I had my share of good and bad experiences, am particularly impressed with Scanteak and Samsung's aftersales service. It was a disaster when Scanteak delivered the goods I ordered. The bench from the Prologue series and a bedside table came in perfect condition but there were issues with the rest. The four-door wardrobe was delivered without the doors, a chair has an unsightly black mark (which I was prepared to accept) and the footboard of the Vinkel bedframe has a big patch of discoloration on it. The delivery guy didnt inform me until I spotted it by chance, and he admitted he noticed it before he assembled. Told him I do not accept it and asked him to take back the chair as well. The customer service contacted me the following day explaining that the doors were out of stock and if I would consider changing to other doors, or wait two months for the new stock to arrive. I didnt like the design of other doors and was a little annoyed that I have to live without the doors during chinese new year with two big housewarming parties planned, to my surprise Scanteak agreed to put up temporary doors and replace them with the ones I ordered two months later (not a small task for the assembly guys!) .

Samsung's aftersales service for the washing machine I bought has been good so far. Get them to level the washing machine at my old place a week after delivery (was vibrating too much, a friend advised me to get it levelled to protect the washing machine). Get them to level again after I moved to my current flat 1+ years later (under extended warranty). The uncle even helped to change the leaking hose without charge, said it was probably damaged during move.

Edited June 9, 2013 by sarah833

[retchlow 7]

collected my smile coffee table from egg3

wanted to place this in the living room initially but realised it took up quite abit of space, causing it look crammed so i shifted it to a corner in my MBR.

and on impulse, purchased another side table from them. as it's too heavy, will collect it again next week. hope i don't end up buying yet another item. forgot to take a picture of the side table but found one from their FB page:

see that dark brown one on the right side? i bought the white version. egg3 is having summer sale now!

Edited June 9, 2013 by retchlow