Renologic

Funny? Funny what? Nobody is here to tickle your bones! Since you said that you had no problem with Living Story and is none of your business, you should shut your mouth and stop accusing other forummer with good intention here! Or maybe you are Living Story's competitor in disguise?? If you have any axe to grind with Living Story in private, I suggest that you take it up with them directly, not attacking here under disguise! RENOLOGIC

Hi All, Been waiting in vain for SENSETALK to share his/her alleged unpleasant mattress-buying experience with Living Story. Saw Robinson's advertising $1,500 for Queen Simmons mattress, so went down last thursday. The advert said for first 15 customers only but apparently still available when I was there. Thought I was lucky but unfortunately did not like it because it was a bit too firm for me. The mattress was around 7 inch thick without pillow top. As my wife liked the piece **** Story, so we went down on saturday to look for the salesman Gary but was told that he was off on that day. Another salesman Alloysius attended to us. We tried the advertised $899 piece. Not too bad but a little too soft for my liking. So we settled for the model (Beautyrest Classic Series - American Queen with plush pillow top) we had been thinking plus a bedframe plus accessories at below $2k and placed a minimum deposit of 30%. We made him write on the invoice "guaranteed delivery date or else full deposit refund", which he obliged. Will get you guys posted after the delivery in two weeks' time. RENOLOGIC

Hi Henry, I must indeed admit that I am an "old bird", but in service industry in general, not just in furniture trade. As a front line staff for several years and now over-seeing my company's entire operations, I have encountered numerous compaints, feedbacks, etc. So diffusing customers' anger and finding the best amicable solution is what I do best Maybe Living Story, Red Apple, La Cafa, etc should engage me as a consultant Just kidding I am happily in employment at the moment, unless got kickout for chatting RENOTALK too often And I do not just preach, I practise what I preach. I have just made two trips to a lighting shop for a faulty dining lights for a recurring problem. Talked nicely to them without blowing my head off. I think that chap must cowtow to my "coolness". What he didn't know is that he will not have a third chance though Wah lao today again like working for RENOTALK leh. maybe RENOTALK should employ me if I got fired?? RENOLOGIC

Hi Kevians, Great that you did not make full payment initially and still have balance. If this is the case, Living Story should be more interested than you to get the deal done (ie. to collect the balance). The fact that they are not coming back to you could be some internal miscommunication or poor communication (example like staff who answered phone complain did not follow up properly,etc). Therefore, as I have suggested, please consider the possible options (what I have stated in my previous sharing) first and then make a trip to the shop to negotiate with them amicably for the best possible solution. The LOGIC is that what you wanted is a good piece of sofa you have bought from them, not going through the legal entanglement, which could cost you more time and some money in the form of a fee to CASE. Forget about who is right or wrong at this instance, just insist those guys get it done for you or if you could accept slight, minor imperfection(only you can decide), some form of compensation. I have learned that this sort of arbitrary way of settling dispute between supplier and customers is the best solution when I worked with a foreign company in the past. Just my two cents worth, hopefully would help. Please keep us posted of the outcome. RENOLOGIC

Hi Henry & ilmare612, So Henry you actually meant "showroom piece" when you said "showroom mattress"? Haha, I misinterpreted that you meant buying mattress from mattress showroom vs warehouse mattress sales! On the point suggested by ilmare612, I must agree that mattress/bed is the most important investment among all furnitures because we actually spend approximately one third of our life-time on our beds. A good, comfortable uninterrupted sleep would make us waking up energised for the new day's challenges. Therefore, it make sense to invest a little more on a good mattress/bed, which is why I am seriously considering buying the Simmons mattress offered by Living Story (below $2k , or anyone knows any cheaper elsewhere?) to replace my 8 year-old King Coil which is giving me all the aches all these years (didn't change because of thriftiness), but not until reading SENSETALK share his/her experience first. And personally, I would not buy showroom piece. The thought of so many strangers had already laid on it makes me feel uneasy. But having said that, to the uninitiated, you could still be sold a showroom piece by any unscrupulous retailer out there without your knowledge. So scrutinise your mattress when its being delivered to you RENOLOGIC

Hi Kevians, It is common sense that customer be sold goods in good condition. But I don't think any retailer would put in a clause( as suggested by one forummer here) in anyway to state explicitly that customers would be guaranteed receiving goods in perfect, flawless condition because human error (QC oversight, damages during delivery,etc) is possible and unpredictable. At best, they may include a clause that says goods found faulty, etc must be communicated within "x" numbers of days upon delivery or else any claim would not be entertained. For your case, Living Story has the obligation to get it replaced or repaired or alternatively offer you compensation in the form of discount or maybe a free gift, which is not uncommon in furniture trade. Sometime retailer may not have stock in their inventory, so exchanging another set immediately is not always possible. Particularly, if yours is a fabric version which is custom-made(fabric chosen by one customer may not appeal to another) so retailer would be reluctant to replace a new set, preferring to get it repaired. Therefore, depending on how severe the "torn" is, you may want to consider the options with an open mind before going down to negotiate. A crucial factor is do you still have balance payment? Resorting to CASE should only be the last resort because it is time consuming and you would have to pay some fee. I am sure no retailer would want to waste time going to CASE over a trivial matter they can handle, either. So, please cool down and ponder over my humble advice and see if you can get it solved amicably. RENOLOGIC

Hi Sensetalk, What actually happened? Looking forward to your sharing... RENOLOGIC

my boss just stepped out.... RENOLOGIC

Hi Henry, It depends on how particular you are about the kind of mattress you want to sleep on. Warehouse sales or showroom sales are essentially the same. They are just retailers buying in bulk from wholesalers (or maybe even parallel import as in Living Story's case) or overstock inventory or old model clearance, selling at a big discount. The difference is that in warehouse sales, you may not get to try leisurely on your dream bed before you purchase, which I think is risky. You might end up buying a mattress you find not comfortable sleeping on later; and I doubt any retailer would agree to refund or even exchange/trade-in for such big discount sales. When I was working in the trade, I had come across customers telling me they bought the wrong bed, either too hard or too soft, etc. Therefore, my advice is to do your pre-shopping homework: (1)confirm if you want a soft/medium or firm mattress. (2) American or local king/queen/super-single/single - space,bedframe & bedsheet considerations (3)what is your budget (4) Read up on the manufacturer/brand (5)understand what are stuff like: Memory Foam, Natural Latex, Talalay Latex, Pocketed Spring,etc (6) Insist on warranty/guarantee card Finally, if you can afford the time, I think it is always prudent to check out the retail prices at big department stores before heading down to smaller retailers to get a better bargain and freebies. Generally, smaller retailers' pricing are cheaper (some famous brands may have control retail pricing but retailers should be able to get around them) though you might not be able to find exactly the same models sometimes as they are so called "house model", only sold exclusively there. But you should be able to find similar quality with a different model name generally. As for my case, I am starting to blame it on those greedy Americans. If not for these people screwing up the financial market, I would be sleeping comfortably on my Heavenly Simmons Beautyrest Classic Mattress very soon. Keke! Shall I cheers? Better not, my boss is around!! RENOLOGIC

Hi, You are right but I heard the salesman Gary telling another customer standing next to us that if he dosen't mind to place an order without seeing any sample, the shipment will arrive some few weeks' time. The size is indeed American King or Queen, which means the mattresses will be about 4 inches longer in length. In fact I thought that that is good for my height. Normally, for any brand, you would need to pay extra of at least 20~30% more to indent for an American size. Normal non-fitted bedsheet should be ok for these American size mattresses. Fitted ones for American size should be available at major department stores like Robinson, etc. As for bedframe, too bad, need to buy new one to match. You should be able to bargain for a good package price if you are buying mattress and bedframe together. The salesman offered me Simmons American-queen size mattress+bedframe+2 pillows+mattress protector at below $2k, quite a good deal. I tried all their Simmons models, rather comfortable with the plush pillowtop. Still thinking whether should replace my old piece or not... Cheers! RENOLOGIC

Went down to "Living Story" again yesterday afternoon after sunday brunch. As we enter the showroom, we were being greeted cheerfully by a few happy-go-lucky salesmen sitting there. One of them offered to show us around. We went straight up to the second level where I saw the sofa that I like. However, the length was a little too long for our tiny living area. The salesman offered to customise to our specified length but I rejected the idea because I am not prepared to wait for 6 weeks' delivery. I scrutinised the quality of some of the furnitures on display. Sofa seems generally ok but a couple of coffee table and TV consoles may need improvement on the finishing. When I pointed out to him, the salesman replied that they were aware and in fact had received complaints from past customers and added that their China factory is in working on improving the finishing. I told him that there are many customer complaints in RENOTALK, he replied that they are aware and is in the process of revamping their logistic side to improve efficiency. I asked is there a salesman called "David" and he laughed saying that "David" who is now made "famous" by someone on the internet, is serving another customer at the moment. I asked him if the claim by one forummer that their Simmons mattress is a China-made fake is true, he said that their company would not be that bold as to blatantly advertising in newspaper if theirs is a fake. He explained that they parallel import from USA and then showed me the label on the mattress stating it is "Made in USA". He challenged me to buy one piece for scrutiny by offering me at a very special price (below 2K!) with bedframe and freebies thrown in but I rejected him telling him I will consider and come back. Seeing that I am not going to make any immediate purchase, he excused himself to serve other unattended customers in the showroom. Overall, the experience was quite a pleasant one with no hardsell even though this salesman "Gary" was a fast talker. The showroom was rather impressive and the best thing is that they can be quite flexible in prices. So bargain hunters can try them if you dare! Wanted to proceed to Courts subsequently to look at a $399 L-shaped sofa but alamak raining cat and dog outside, sianz! abandoned the idea and went straight home Honestly, on a serious note, the Simmons mattress offer actually attracted us but as it had never crossed our mind that we should replace our current 8-year old King Coil piece yet, we turned it down. If we finally decided to buy, we shall get you guys posted. In the mean time, need to think hard because "Hang Zheng" (economic outlook) not so good leh! RENOLOGIC

I went down to Living Story this afternoon. The exterior looks impressive enough with a hugh full colour banner hanging from the top of the 5-storey building. Some loose displays outside the entrance looks attractive too. But there was not a soul as I enter the front door! Strange... Then the lift opened, and a group of 4~5 people came out talking loudly and laughing. One of the men with a namecard strapped around the neck greeted me and apologised saying that all the sales staff were busy engaged with customers at the moment and that he will attend to me in a while. I took a quick tour of the ground level displays and took the lift to upper floors. I then realised that they were indeed overwhelmed with customers. It was unfortunate that I received a call at that instance from my wife and had to leave immediately to attend to a urgent matter. My first impression of the furnitures on display was not too bad. The staff were rather friendly. Displayed prices were average though. One or two pieces of sofa caught my eyes but I didn't have time to talk to the salesman. I will probably go down again tomorrow for a better look. Cheers, RENOLOGIC

Hi, Time permitting, I will of course shop around for good deals. If there are no ideal set (size /design/price), I might not buy any and make do with my current 3+2 sofa bought from Lorenzo few years ago, because it is still in good condition but a bit over-size for my new living area. Where is Red Apple by the way? I know there is one La Cafa at the Furniture Mall on Beach Road. But I must pre-qualify that I will not make negative comment on any retailer if I end up not buying anything from anyone of them or did not suffer any undesirable consequence. Any forummer should really think twice before shooting their mouth off in this forum because like what Henrywoo has said, you could be liable for lawsuit. The circumstance would be better if you are indeed being sold inferior product or suffered poor service of which evidence still need to be substantiated in court should there be a lawsuit. "Until proven, one is not guilty" I am no legal expert, but I supposed this is logic and common sense. So lets be wise and not be carried away. Wah lao, today I am as though working for RENOTALK leh, spending so much precious time here. I also must be careful not to be caught and fired by my boss for spending working time on non-work-related internet chat man! keke ! No laughing matter actually! Really have to stop talking laeo Cheers RENOLOGIC

Hi Henry, Like I have said, you are still the gentleman. I am glad that at least one folk like you could see my sincerity and what I have been trying advocating here - logical, sensible, contructive conversation. Cheers to you Henry and have a good day! RENOLOGIC

Hi Smartfool, No lah, I didn't say that your english is no good, but just need to read carefully and do not put words into my mouth, my dear friend. Thanks for your graciousness in apologising (not necessary actually) anyway . Just like yourself, I think arguing with people here is sheer waste of time. However, when people put words into my mouth, I will have to respond to clarify or to put right any misinterpretation and misconception or even to shutup any malicious, cynical and sarcastic remarks to protect my good-intention and integrity. Honestly, I am getting a bit itchy hand these past few days logging up regularly on this forum As I have said in my debut post, I might go down to "Living Story" to check them out, out of sheer curiosity ,since I am also looking for a new set of sofa that can fit into my new apartment which has a smaller living area. Of course, I am not saying that I will definitely buy from them. But as I have quite an in depth knowledge about the bolts and nuts of furniture manufacturing, it should not be difficult to sniff out inferior quality and overpricing. As pertaining to delivery, insisting on a written black and white delivery guarantee or else full refund should be a good enough deterrent. If they refuse to specify that in purchase order, just forget about the purchase. There are hundreds of furniture retailers out there hungry for our business, particularly in such a gloomy economic situation now. None of my wordings in my previous posts suggested that I could alleviate their alleged pains and damages caused by "Living Story". I am just intrigued by how such a new company which chalked up so many brickbrats with in barely half a year, could still carry on business as usual. Consumers are free to lodge complaints through Small Claims Tribunal or even CASE. At the end of my so called mission, I might end up unconvinced and not buying anything from them, and as you have suggested,unable to prove anything. That, I owe no apology to anyone here, as I have all along stressed. Care to comment (to increase your post count, maybe? )? Good reason to cheers today! RENOLOGIC

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Hi, I came across this forum accidentally while looking for some info on renovation and furnishing some couple of weeks ago. At that instance, this thread and another titled "Living Story" were at the top of the list, so I just randomly clicked on it out of curiosity. What I read amused me extremely and being a ex-salesman in a furniture showroom (as stated in the thread "Living Story" which has since been deleted by the administrator) compelled me to submit my debut post with the aim of sharing a more balanced view and putting some logic/sense into this forum. I did not and do not have luxury of so much free time to scan all the topics posted in this forum like yourself, my dear friend. According to the data , there are about 1150 topics here. What happen to Red Apple and La Cafa, I am not aware. And I would not be interested to know either. I took the trouble to contribute (otherwise, I am always a passive forum reader) because I had my fair share of complaints from some unreasonable customers when I was in the trade. So, while not trying to defend any particular furniture retailer here(certainly not "Living Story"), what I written was trying to shed some light on the dilemma/challenges furniture retailers face and plea for some forgiving towards furniture retailers as a whole (maybe including Red Apple & La Cafa had I read about them earlier). It is unfortunate that the thread was being deleted almost immediately after I posted for whatever reason I am yet to know; otherwise you would be able to appreciate what I was trying to say. I hope that I do not need to explain this again and again. I do not owe any Tom Dick or Harry any explanation anyway! You can choose not to believe what I said or you can also go ahead and suspect that I am a friend of "Living Story". I don't really give a ****! Before I sign off, may I remind all those folks out there: if you are a "half-empty glass" or suspicious kind of mentality, don't even bother or waste your time reading the posts here. For all you know, as what our dear friend here said," this is a virtual world", every words could be fake, recommendations or complaints! So do your R&D and search ACRA for company profile, any ISO certification, Casetrust or better still, written full refund guarantee from retailer before you shop! Maybe it's time our education system incorporate teaching logic to some people who are born with lesser grey matter Nothing to cheer about tonite! Renologic

Hi Henry, I am very glad to hear that our mission here resonate with each other's. I could empathise with your plight over your bad experience (was it a coffee table that collapsed ??) and am really consider you a real gentleman whom despite the frustration, could still speak with a controlled tone. No, I think none of my words I posted suggest that I am doubtful or unconvinced that this "Living Story" has been doing a bad job. What I am saying is that there may be some exaggerations, hot-headedly out pouring of emotion ( the fact that we Singaporeans are a complaining lot is no news), probable competitors' flaming, etc. What I really wish or intend (time-permitting because I travel very frequently) to do is to have a first hand experience maybe quizzing their salesman and if possible (if I find their sale pitch credible enough), buy a product from them and see how it turn out. Of course I will pay the minimum deposit to protect my hard earned money first. I hope I have corrected your wrong perception about me. By the way, as the other thread "Living Story" had been deleted soon after I sent in my debut posting, and subsequently my account was suspended, did anyone of you see any response from Rabit? He chose to remain quiet even though I can see he is reading the thread as late as today (you can see their forum activity by clicking on their name ). If he is not responding, then maybe what I guessed is correct - that he might be a competitor trying to stir things up. Well, all is said and I think I am spending too much time being a Kaypo here ( on leave today lah ). Talk to you guys again after my visit to "Living Story" (hope they dont find out who I am when i am there.. must be a good actor...haha!), as promised. RENOLOGIC

Hi All, For unknown reason, I was being suspended till early this morning. Tried asking the administrator but email bounced back I read some of the members' unfair comments on my previous post in "Living Story" thread. Please allow me to rebut one by one asfo: (1) To Henrywoo >> If you care to read carefully what I have written, I wasn't saying that all the complaints against that furniture shop were baseless (neither am I saying that all were true without getting evidence first hand). What I have said is that I sympathise with some of the alleged victims. I also tried explaining what furniture retailers' challenges are, in hope that we can be more forgiving towards retailer ( particularly newer ones)and do not resort to mud-slinging before resolving amicably with the retailer concerned first. Undeniably, I did mention that there may be some flaming going on from competitors. This is not unconceivable, considering the fact that the furniture trade is extremely competitive and are not as straight-forward as some other commodities trading. You have read about our members here being conned into buying "full leather" sofa by sales people from a "Sea...." that cracked within two years. This is only the tip of the iceberg. There all more tricks out there. In conclusion, I did not say that all are flamings, some could be genuine and credible. However, I strongly believe that a couple of these people here are from the furniture trade trying to add salt and pepper to put their competitor down. (2) To Smartfool >> Again, please care to read carefully what I have written. I did not say I am going to test them out. What I said was I may go and CHECK THEM OUT. With my experience and knowledge as an ex-salesman in furniture sale, I am able to smell out any monkey business. Furthermore, I did not say that I will definitely buy from them. So, I hope that you could be a smarter fool anyway. No offence intended here, just a pun on your self-declared name here (3) To polarville >> As what you have questioned and answered yourself in the same breath (what's the need really?), for any self-defending retailer to snap a photo of the furniture in the showroom or even take the trouble of actually delivering a piece to any HDB flat for this purpose just to make it look authentic is just so easy! Therefore, what you guys kept harping about NPNT is utterly nonsence, just cannot hold water! As to your take on this "Living Story" company parallel importing Simmons mattresses - what is the big deal about that?? Singapore law allows parallel import. Aren't you aware that those car dealers out there have been doing brisk businesses doing the same? I got my previous car, a Toyota Camry 2.4G from one such car dealer @$8,000 cheaper than what Borneo Motor was selling. I have had no problem at all driving it for five good years! Maybe nay-sayers here would want to tell me that my camry is a copy made in China??? It is utter rubbish!!! I am not trying to protect "Living Story" here, but I just wish to educate some of the folks here to be a little bit logical and use some of their cow sense when commenting. A company that dare to advertise boldly in newspaper stating "100% USA Direct import" (I saw their latest advert in ST written this way), should be credible to a large extent. Unless they are out-of-their-mind, they would have to face Simmons SEA's (the regional authorised distributor for all Simmons mattresses) lawsuit, which would be grave and hefty. LOGIC LOGIC LOGIC !!! folks I have yet to go down to "Living Story" due to a last minute business trip last weekend. So folks, I will certainly keep you guys posted of any interesting discovery as soon as I have accomplished my mission. In the meantime, I just keep my finger crossed that I don't get suspended again for no valid reasons or for reasons unknown to me. Cheers! RENOLOGIC

Hi All, I have a different take on this. Any one of a sound mind would not be so stupid as to so blatantly post such a blunt and straight-forward sales-pitching post. It is a no brainer to conclude that such a post would be an insider job trying to defend this "Life Story" company or putting in goodwords, as what some members have said. Therefore, I suspect that there may be a third party here trying to flame or add oil over fire to stir things up. Lets wait and see if Rabit88 respond. If he dosen't, my analysis would not be too far away from the truth. Could be a competitor's job! Cheers! Renologic