Official Blog of Gallery Furniture's Mattress Mack of Houston, TX

Job Fair at Gallery Furniture

Even though there's a recession out there, some companies are hiring.  That includes Gallery Furniture!

Gallery Furniture isn't ignoring the recession, but just isn't participating.  Business continues to be good and there's a need for new employees.

That's why several hundred people came to the North Freeway store Thursday for the first Job Fair of 2009 at Gallery Furniture.

Applications were being taken for Sales Associates, Warehouse staff, Internet Sales and Marketing staff, and sales trainers.

Job seekers were given details about the jobs available when they first arrived and then filled out applications.

Then it was time for the first set of interviews with the folks who will be supervising the new hires.

No hiring decisions were made today.  After the applications are reviewed, the second stage of the process will begin with a number of job seekers called back for a second interview.

After that, Gallery Furniture will have several dozen new employees and will be able to delight even more customers with great furniture, great prices, great service, and do it all TODAY!

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson at Gallery Furniture Post Oak

Gallery Furniture was honored to have Senator Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas at the Gallery Furniture Post Oak location for a press conference on the issue of taxation - specifically, the over taxation by the federal government on the hard working men and women (as well as small to medium sized businesses) that is present in America today.  Add to that, her support to remove all marriage penalty taxes and also to show support for government that does not spend, tax & borrow, and her speech was a rousing success today.  Senator Hutchinson is the first and only woman Senator ever elected by the citizens of Texas, and her passion of service for the great state of Texas is matched by her knowledge of the issues and her service in Washington on some of the Senate's most prominent committees.

Gallery Furniture was also proud to have folks like the Greater Houston Women's Chamber of Commerce, The Galleria Area Chamber of Commerce, The Asian Chamber of Commerce, the South Asian Chamber of Commerce, distinguished representatives from the local area and media today to hear Senator Hutchinson speak on issues such as the fact that many in Washington make it hard for people wanting to live the American Dream (especially the young people).

Senator Hutchinson made note that today is a special day in this great country, one that she noted that Republicans dread - that old day of April 15th (tax day).  Sen. Hutchinson made it very clear, and Gallery Furniture agrees, that everything beyond what government must do (such as commerce, defense) should be left in the pocketbooks of those who earned it.  Not earmarked for special interests or used to borrow one's way out of a jam.  Turns out that Sen. Hutchinson opposed the current federal budget with its 1.4 trillion dollars in tax increase, and she felt that the government of the United States would borrow too much, spend too much, and tax entirely too much in an attempt to go against the wiser ideals of letting the private sector do its job and keep money in the hands of its earners. 

Senator Hutchinson made note that as a society we should go against taxation and that we need more tax cuts in a recession, which was what presidents such as Kennedy, Reagan, and Bush did in their terms in office.  To this end, Sen. Hutchinson is a big supporter of the Tea Parties being held around the country today in protestation of taxation, and that this grass roots movement is a great thing.  Gallery Furniture's own Matress Mack will be speaking at one such Tea Party in The Woodlands today.

Gallery Furniture also shares the view of Senator Hutchinson that one of the great advantages of the State of Texas is our lack of a personal income tax - something that gives our great state an advantage over the 42 states that do currently have a state personal income tax. 

28 Years. 2 Locations. 1 Belief: If you buy it TODAY, you get it TODAY!

Daniel C. of Houston stopped in at Gallery Furniture today and while working with Gallery Furniture salesperson Jimmy Tran, had some choice words about another furniture store - namely Rooms-To-Go.  Turns out, his promised next day delivery was a bit longer than "next day."  According to Daniel and his life partner, it was a nightmarish experience that stretched upwards of three weeks.  And Rooms-To-Go never got the order right with three weeks to work on it.

"I went to Rooms-To-Go to grab a bedroom set.  Very simple bedroom group, a nice sleigh bed that we saw, and we paid by credit card and left, and figured everything would just fall into place.  We paid about $110 for delivery and nothing went right - at all."

Turns out that the first let-down by Rooms-To-Go was the delivery.  "They told us it would take about two weeks," Daniel continued "well, two weeks went by, and when the delivery driver showed up at my door there was a sleigh footboard, all right, but a panel headboard.  Same manufacturer, I think, but this was not the bed I ordered."

Daniel then did as the Rooms-To-Go delivery driver told him: "Call customer service!" So, naturally, Daniel wanted some resolution to the whole thing after waiting two weeks.  "I couldn't believe this was happening, so I called the Rooms-To-Go Customer Service and customer service I never got.  When I told the lady on the phone what happened, she told me to use the panel headboard that I had, it would work fine.  When I explained to the woman that the rails don't match up and won't hook to the panel anyway and now I will be sleeping on the floor she pointedly said 'Well, that's not MY problem.' And then she hung up on me."

Shocked and angered by the rude Rooms-To-Go customer service line, Daniel and his partner drove up last Saturday to the Rooms-To-Go store and spoke with their salesperson and then the sales manager.  "Honestly, I was not angry at the saleslady or the manager, I was just so upset by the whole lack of caring.  So, I told the manager what was happening and he asked me if I called Rooms-To-Go Customer Service line and I said to him 'I called what you said was customer service, but that is not at all what I got!'"

Daniel then did what anyone would do and what all Houstonians deserve, he wanted immediate delivery of his furniture.  The manager told Daniel the best that Rooms-To-Go could do was have the new headboard by Wednesday.  At this point, Daniel brought up the commercial that was playing on local Houston television stations that said "Rooms-To-Go has next day delivery!" - the response the store manager gave Daniel left him floored.

"The manager at the Rooms-To-Go told me that their next day delivery has 'Provisions'!  Provisions?  Why?  It says 'next day delivery' and they should stick with it.  But no, the provisions are stuff like 'you must order by 2 p.m.' and 'it must be in stock' and 'there cannot be any inventory changes' and all these things I can't control anyway.  So what's the point of Rooms-To-Go even telling me they can have it the next day when they can't?  Honestly?"

Deciding to resolve the issue without more hassle, Daniel made Rooms-To-Go a very simple and direct offer: "I told them, if they don't have that headboard by Wednesday they can come and get their crap outta my house.  Well, I didn't say crap, but you know.  So, when Wednesday came, they said they would be there by about 10:00 a.m. - well, it took Rooms-To-Go delivery til 4:15 to get there, and the sleigh headboard was cracked and split right down the middle."

This was the last straw for Daniel.  "Unacceptable.  So I decided to do some research.  Did you know that in the short time Rooms-To-Go has been in business they have already accumulated over 240 formal complaints with the State of Texas and the Better Business Bureau?  You know the driver said something that really blew my mind when they delivered  the broken headboard, the Rooms-To-Go driver said that his truck had 47 stops to make that day.  Of the 47 Rooms-To-Go stops, only ONE of them had a complete delivery.  ONE of them.  He told me that the other 46 stops were things like no parts, incomplete sets, wrong pull by the Rooms-To-Go warehouse, wrong colors sent out, you name it.  I felt bad for the driver because he was just a contractor and could only get paid on completed stops, so all his work that and he only got paid for one stop because of Rooms-To-Go."

In the end Daniel had his credit card company reverse the charge.  "I told Rooms-To-Go to come pick their junk up.  It's still in my house.  It's all still in boxes - Rooms-To-Go does not offer to assemble furniture.  When they tried to make a schedule to come pick it up I told them absolutely not - that this time, they would work on my schedule.  I decided to come to Gallery Furniture."

So what did Daniel pick out at Gallery Furniture?  "A sleigh bed.  What I wanted from the start."  (Daniel pointed at one of the solid wood Sumter bedroom groups).  And with same-day delivery, drivers employed and working for Gallery Furniture, and in-stock merchandise Daniel will get that sleigh bed today.  With Gallery Furniture's great customer service, you don't have to sleep on a backorder slip because backorders don't live here at Gallery Furniture.  So, Daniel will get what he wants on time, in his house, and fully assembled. 

Look For The Bears!

There's an invasion underway at Gallery Furniture.  Four large black bears have staked their claim to the area around the big tree in the children's area.  The bears are friendly, just big teddy bears really.  Giant teddy bears that are ready to greet all visitors with a smile.

They're not the first bears in that part of Gallery Furniture.  A number of teddy bears hvae been on display in the children's section, but these are the biggest by far.  (They are almost as large as the bear that greets customers at the front of the store.)

Since the bears arrived, they've been a hit with young and old, and the bears are always ready to pose for a picture.

Of course, the bears aren't the only attraction in the Gallery Furniture children's area.  You'll find beds and bedroom furniture of all types, from bunk beds, to space saving lofts and bunks, to full sized beds, chest, dressers, and desks. 

Gallery Furniture has everything you need to outfit your child's room in style they'll love.  You don't have to tell them it's practical.  You can tell them that their new furniture can be delivered TODAY!

So come on by and say hello to the bears, take a picture, and check out a great selection of furniture for youngsters.  It's all in one place, Gallery Furniture at 6006 I-45 North, between Tidwell and Parker!

Back Order Horror Story

You've heard me say it for years -- there are no back order slips at Gallery Furniture.  You don't have to wait days or weeks for your new furniture.  There's a great illustration in the story Holly K. tells us.

Monday, she got a circular in the mail from Landmark Furniture advertising a bunk bed set.  She needed bunk beds and the price looked good, so she went to the store to look at them.  The salesman told her that the beds were in stock and she could get them in a hurry.  But that story changed when he started writing up the order.  Holly was told there were missing items but she would have everything this week, "definitely by Friday."

Tuesday and Wednesday went by with no sign of the beds.  So on Thursday she called the store to ask if they bunk beds would be delivered Friday.  Then she was told the she could not get them before sometime next week.  No one knew exactly when next week.

Holly says she wanted the bunk beds "now, not next week."  So she asked for her money back.  The store refused to give her the money, but offered to deliver the bunk beds on the floor and not charge her for the delivery.  Holly told them she didn't want the floor models and was told that she'd get the bunk beds when the store had them.

There were several more conversations until Holly told them that "after this horrible experience, I don't want your furniture."  She said she'd dispute the credit card transaction.

She did just that, and  the credit card company is waiting for a response from Landmark.  She expects to get  her money back.  Her husband isn't happy about the situation either, and has been online telling the story on several web sites.

Friday, Holly came to Gallery Furniture, where she found the bunk beds she wanted.  "I'm not going to disappoint my kids, they'll have the new bunk beds today."

"It took me ten minutes in Gallery Furniture this morning and this afternoon I'll have what I paid for."

Holly's story is the kind of story Gallery Furniture hears every day. People tell me they've been waiting for days, weeks, even months, for the furniture they bought at another store.

Folks, you don't have to wait.  If you're sitting on a back order slip from another furniture store, get your money back and come to Gallery Furniture.  When you find what  you want, one of Gallery Furniture's professional delivery teams will be ready to deliver your new furniture today!