Our Table: The Waiting Game - Baltimore, MD. May 2012

I really didn't want to have to write this post.  I kept hoping I'd get a call Monday, and even waited till mid day Tuesday before I picked up the phone.  But the major point of this Test it. Blog it. Win it. contest is to document the process start to finish, good, bad, and everything in between.  Over the last month I've been documenting what we ordered, how we came to choose the peaces we chose, and our overall experience, but in reality, we ordered our furniture on Saturday, March 10th, with a quote of 8 - 10 weeks for delivery.  This Saturday May 19th marked 10 weeks of, gleeful, excited, agonizing, but expected waiting.

Now, at this point I must take a brief side step to say, although I've never purchased furniture from anywhere that I didn't have to assemble myself, I've witnessed several friends go through some disaster furniture orders (NOT from Su Casa).  My friend Anna ordered a couch with a 12 week lead time that turned into 6 months.  Our friends Katie and Kyle had the wrong buffet cabinet delivered 3 times!  So I was warned that no matter how much you like the store or what they promise, "Expect the worst" and "Never believe them when it comes to delivery date and time". That way if it turns out the way they said you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Yesterday, I called Su Casa Kenilworth and a woman named Pat answered the phone.  I explained the situation and asked if she was able to find out the status of my order.  I did not tell her I was part of the Test it. Blog it. Win it. Contest.  She said she had to call the Fells Point location and she'd get back to me.  Less than 5 minutes later she called me back and said that my furniture wasn't due in until the end of the month and she wasn't able to tell me why.  Just before hanging up I asked her one more thing, "If I hadn't called today would anyone have contacted me to communicate the delay?"  She was very quick to let me know that "the 8 - 10 weeks time line was just a quote, not a guarantee".  They were "at the mercy of their vendors" and they "generally do not contact customers unless the customer requests it".

I really hoped for the best, and above all, even if it wasn't going to be on time, I was sure that someone would call to communicate a delay or change in the timeline. I was wrong.  You may be thinking 'Lili, aren't you jumping the gun a little? I mean it's only been three days, cut them some slack.' Try being 3 days late on a project at work and not communicating with your boss that there have been delays.  Try being 3 days late for Christmas, see how that goes for your kids.  Try being 3 days late for your anniversary without so much as a peck on the cheek and you let me know what your spouse says.  If you're 3 days late with your rent they make you pay with a money order and you have a 15% late charge.

The retail cost of this furniture is in the top 6 most expensive purchases we've made, the other 5 being our cars, our computers, and my engagement ring.  All of this to say, where we spend our money and what we spend it on is important and it isn't spent lightly or without serious thought.  Even if it's become common place for furniture delivery to be unpredictable, being late without communicating isn't cool.

I must stress that I don't care that the furniture is late. Don't get me wrong I can't wait to have to remove Cheerio's from the table top with Goo Gone.  I'm waiting with baited breath to tell the Monkey a million times that she's too tall to stand up underneath the new table.  And there's also the much anticipated finding of our "spots" because this table will have 6 chairs to choose from, not just four!  Woo Hoo!  FANCY!

I have no doubt we're going to LOVE what we've ordered, I just want to keep it real as we walk through the experience.

Till Next time,
Bon Voyage!