5 Things You Should Know, but They Don’t Tell You.

By: Furniture Tech

1)   Keep Your Tags! When you buy new furniture, be sure to keep all the receipts and tags of your furniture, for as long as you own the furniture.   Keep all ID tags that are attached under the cushions or under the furniture,   on the furniture, do not remove them.   If they fall off, be sure to keep them in a place you can find them. To order any replacement parts for your furniture from the manufacturer you will need some ID numbers, SKU numbers, Style numbers, Color & Fabric Numbers, Serial numbers and the like.  These numbers are usually found on your receipt or on tags sewn, stamped or stapled to the furniture. Do not take for granted that the place that sold you the product has kept record of the products numbers, or that these numbers were put on your receipt.  Not everyone does.  We have seen some really nice customers go through anguish over part orders because they didn’t have any product ID tags or receipts.   NOTE:  Read the tag!  Sometimes it voids the warranty when the tag is removed, so do not remove your tags from the bottom of your furniture!   If they come off, Keep Them in a safe place!

Here is a little secret:   If you lost your tags, and can’t find any ID numbers, most of the time you can take clear, detailed pictures of the product and send them to the manufacturer, and the manufacturer will be able to determine at least the style and fabric colors, so you can order parts for your furniture.  (Sometimes the ID number and style can be found stamped to the inside main frame of the product.  You will probably need a professional to retrieve them for you.)   Be prepared to pay for the parts and the shipping.

2)   Patience Pays Off! When you work in the industry as long as we have, you know that when dealing with furniture damage claims and part orders, that they may take a long time. (Average 3-8 weeks for most claims & part orders for retailers and manufacturers)  Most manufacturers are taking part orders from around the world, and then most parts have to be manufactured from scratch. The average part order can take from three days to three months depending how ready and available the fabrics, woods and hardware are.

When dealing with new furniture claims, if you just know and plan that it could take some time, you’ll save yourself a lot of stress & frustration, and you’ll also help the people who are trying to help you, like the poor repair technician caught in the middle.  We have not worked with a manufacturer or warranty service that does not want to take care of their customers. They all want to address the customer’s concerns, but processing and then finding a service agent in your area, requesting their services, and part orders can sometimes take a long time. Plus most furniture parts departments are closed for two weeks or more during Christmas, and sometimes summer, among other things to count inventory.  Of course it never hurts to make sure that the request is not just sitting on someone’s desk.

3)   Broken Furniture Blues? This may sound funny, but it occurs very often!   Never, ever, (EVER!), use your furniture as a trampoline and bounce, stand, plop or jump on it!  (This is a form of ABUSE).   This could severely damage the springs, fabric, cores, and frames (or more), of your furniture.  Even small children can break these important parts of your furniture by jumping on them, or worse, hurt themselves, (that’s not just padding and fabric on that sofa, it also has wood, screws, springs, staples, tack strips, and other sharp objects underneath the padding, even the floor can hurt when gravity takes control of a good seat springer launch).   Most retailers and manufacturers will automatically VOID your warranty if they suspect the piece has been abused at all.

Most repair companies that are certified to do repairs for a specific retailer or manufacturer (Certified Repair Centers), are required by those retailers or manufacturers,  to report not just the condition of the product (dirty, clean, soiled, and cause of damage), but also the condition the product is kept in, such as;    Is your house clean, dirty, how many adults and kids in the house hold (heavy human traffic),  is the product kept in the sun or heat, or available for pets or kids to play on, the customers attitude, and the cause of the damage.   They do this to determine if the customer is trying to fraud the retailer or manufacturer, or if the customer is trying to get out of paying for something that the customer was actually responsible for.    The retailer and manufacturer are only responsible for manufacturer defects, and most of the time shipping damage.  Retailers and manufacturer are not responsible for damage caused by Junior playing moon walk on the sofa seats.  That’s not what the furniture was made for.

Most people underestimate the skills & tools a professional furniture technician has to determine the cause of damaged furniture.   They are in many ways similar to a Crime Scene Investigator, and they are able to tell how the damage has occurred; (by the size, area, size – shape & direction of the break, and among other things, what kind of force was necessary to cause the break).   If a retailer or manufacturer is paying for a Repair Company’s Technician Inspection Report, then those repair companies are required to report all abused furniture.  So keep this in mind when the hubby and the kids start jumping around on your new sofa!  Or your teen just plops down on the furniture,   It could break your furniture, void your warranty, and leave you with the broken furniture blues!  (Not to mention a possible hospital bill or repair bill).

The Furniture Golden Rule: Never put your feet on the furniture.  (Mom wasn’t just saying it to annoy you!)   This will also keep dirt, germs and bacteria found on the bottom of the shoes or socks from getting on your furniture!  (Yuck!)

4)   Arms Are Not Made for Seat Extractions? According to a number of manufacturers, the arms of your recliner, sofa, or love-seat are only made to rest your arms on while sitting, they are not made to be used as a lever to pull yourself up out of the seat. Using them to pull yourself up out of the seat or sitting on them will cause your furniture’s arms to cave in, and could result in ripping the fabric, frame damage, or further damages to your new furniture.  (This can also be a form of ABUSE or misuse of the furniture and void your warranty).

If you are in need of stronger arms, please check the arms before you buy. The best way to check, is to press with your fingers, palm or fist on the top center of the top arm. (Be Careful, don’t want to damage it!!), Press a few times gently, but firmly, trying to feel down under the fabric and stuffing to the arm frame underneath. If the center frame of the arm is firm and solid wood, then there is a good chance the arm can be used to get out of the seat.   If the arm feels flexible like cardboard, or starts to give way, don’t use these arm to get up, they will cause damage to your furniture, they are only built to rest your arms on while sitting. Consult your manufacturer for information on your product.  Never sit or stand on the arms of your furniture.   For damaged arms, call Furniture Tech!

5)   Read Your Furniture Manufacturer’s Warranty Manual!  Know it, even the small print!   Most retail & manufacturer Furniture Life Time Warranty only include the cost of parts, and do not include the cost of the repair technician’s labor.   Most retail & manufacturer warranty’s for labor, are only good for 1 year from the date of purchase.  In other words the manufacturers warranty will cover both parts and labor for just one year, after that, the life time warranty is for parts only, and you will be responsible for paying the labor fees if the piece is over a year old.  Manufacturer Limited Warranty on Fabric and padding are usually only good for 5 years (parts only), and 1 year of labor.  Manufacturer Life Time Warranty on Mechanisms and Frames are usually good for life (parts only), and 1 year of labor.   So be sure you understand the warranty from your retailer or manufacturer, because you could be responsible for the labor repair bill on pieces older then a year, even with a lifetime warranty.

Repairing or altering your new or under warranty furniture yourself, or having a non certified shop do it, will void all retailer and manufacturer warranties.   If your furniture is new, or still under warranty, please contact the manufacturer or retailer and have them send out their certified repair center to repair your furniture.  Some retailer and manufacturers have their own repair crew, most others contract out repair services.