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

Colorado Delivery? No Problem for Gallery Furniture.

Gallery Furniture proudly delivers all across the great United States - and the world.  From the shores of Hawaii to penthouses overlooking New York's Central Park.  From USO centers in Baghdad to the farthest north tips of Michigan, Gallery Furniture always delivers.

So when some local Houstonians with vacation homes in Colorado asked Gallery Furniture to deliver their new Drexel Heritage, Mayo, and solid mango wood furniture to the rocky mountain state of Colorado, Gallery Furniture responded "no problem!"

Selecting two of Gallery Furniture's most experienced drivers - Roy Ortega and Ricky Tello (with a combined 23 years of Gallery Furniture delivery experience), they headed out this past Monday on three deliveries in Colorado.

"We left on Monday, and the best part is we got to the first stop a bit early - we drove in shifts, did not encounter any major traffic or anything, and we made it to the first Gallery Furniture customer outside of Divide, Colorado around 4 a.m."

They took a short four-hour power nap and made it to the first stop promptly at 8 a.m.  The challenge that Roy and Ricky came to face turned out to have nothing to do with the weight of the furniture.  "You know, you come up here knowing the elevation is gonna affect you in some way, little do you know how much until you get involved in a simple living room set delivery."

They felt it as soon as they had to move the old furniture out "We had to move out the old pieces, and nothing weighed that much, but even I was coughing on just moving the old sofa, it was something else."  What's more, when they had to do some minor disassembling of legs to get some new pieces in: "Ricky and I were getting tired just turning bolts, which says something - and I couldn't help but think that wow, this is just the first stop."  They made it, though, and they powered through in Gallery Furniture fashion, making sure the first customer had everything just the way they wanted.

The second stop was something Roy was ready for.  "We headed over to a beautiful condo outside of Crested Butte, and we had a solid Mango Wood table and chair set by HTD to deliver - anyone who knows these pieces knows they are heavy.  Thing is, we had a couple of things that made it easier.  First, we had gained some valuable experience on breathing and working in this elevation.  Second, we had an elevator."

Gallery Furniture definitely believes in hard work, and also believes in working smarter, as Roy and Ricky used the large elevator to make it up the condo and get the delivery in place. "At this point, I looked at Ricky and we both kind of knew that we just needed to head out to the last stop, even if we would make it by night.  We were ahead of schedule, and we just wanted to knock it out."

The funny thing about the last Gallery Furniture stop in Colorado?  There was no furniture on board the truck!  Explains Roy Ortega: "the last customer outside of Longmont, Colorado ordered nothing but Drexel Heritage from Gallery Furniture.  So much, that Mack had to send a 53' truck out to Drexel Heritage to meet us in Colorado."

The roads apparently presented some dangers - Roy and Ricky quickly found the lack of guardrails in the mountain ranges disturbing, if not downright scary.  "You get used to driving in Texas with lots of safety guidelines on our state highways.  Colorado was a whole other picture - Ricky and I exercised extreme caution making our way on winding elevated roads with no guardrails and small curbs.  When we finally got to the last stop, we saw the truck waiting.  All 53 feet of it."

Roy and Ricky looked at the clock, it was 8 p.m. local time and they decided "let's do this."  They  spoke with the customers and the driver, and while the Gallery Furniture customers and eighteen wheeler driver went to grab dinner, Roy and Ricky stayed behind.  "I didn't see the sense in eating and grabbing sleep - let's just do this the Gallery Furniture way and get it done."

Working by themselves, Roy and Ricky verified items as they unpacked all 53 feet of the eighteen wheeler.  "We had to check everything, the manifest, the receipt, the delivery ticket, everything was triple checked."  They worked tirelessly into the night and until the morning.  And while the truck driver slept, Roy and Ricky toiled away getting hundreds of Drexel  Heritage pieces into a valued Gallery Furniture customer's home.  

"The neat part?  The customers stayed up even though they didn't have to, pointing out where things were going and what they wanted done.  It was nice of them to do that - they got us water and kept us motivated."  They wrapped the delivery up at 4 a.m., after one last piece presented a challenge unlike any other.  

"It was what we called the kidney bean desk.  A beautiful desk made by Drexel Heritage, and that sucker was heavy.  Easily 400 pounds of solid desk in the odd shape of a kidney bean.  One solid massive, piece.  Add to that we were just a bit tired and were wearing protective booties to keep the home looking clean and nice, and you talk about a challenge hauling that kidney bean desk up the stairs."

Finishing up at 4:00 a.m. on Wednesday did not mean that the Gallery Furniture Team was done, it just meant that they could rest til morning and come back for final clean up.  "We could've worked through, but honestly, we needed a shower at that point - and some sleep, so we grabbed both at a local motel and were back at 9:00 a.m. to finish the job.

"We took all that trash and compacted it into our truck - just image that.  A 53-foot truckload of paper, cardboard, and plastic all into a Gallery Furniture truck.  We then went back in, talked to the customers, and we did some final re-arranging.  They had some new  thoughts on where to put some pieces, and we were more than happy to make them happy."

When did they get back in?  Thursday.  Roy Ortega said "it was just one more Gallery Furniture delivery - only a longer drive."  Way to go, Roy and Ricky!  Gallery Furniture delivers your furniture wherever you want it - from Hawaii to New York or Michigan to Colorado.  Wherever that vacation home, summer home, or winter home is, let Gallery Furniture's experienced team get your furniture there when you want it, how you want it.

 

Above, the "kidney bean" Drexel Heritage desk.  Below, driver Roy Ortega back from his three stops in Colorado.  He had to get back to work - and Ricky (not shown) was busy again today making Gallery Furniture customers happy with same day delivery.

From Tragedy to Triumph

There is a banner up at 6006 I-45 North Between Tidwell & Parker that says, simply, that Gallery Furniture will rebuild.  While the banner has been up, folks in the local community, Gallery Furniture employees, and others, have contributed to the banner with messages of love, well being, and kindness.  Any of the pictures, posted below, can be clicked on to show a larger image (will open in a separate window).

 

Robert Horry Stops by Gallery Furniture Post Oak

Legendary basketball player Robert Horry - a man with seven NBA championship rings and knows the power of working hard, practicing harder, and having that desire to win - stopped by Gallery Furniture Post Oak to say hi, check out the new store, and of course, to lend his support to the Gallery Furniture family.  His presence was a fun surprise for the staff, and of course, the Gallery Furniture family took pictures with Robert Horry, who was a true gentleman as the staff asked for his pictures.  

Robert Horry is a very down to earth man, and he is always welcome at Gallery Furniture as  a member of our own family!  Thanks, Robert, for your show of support.  The Gallery Furniture family always appreciates it when star athletes with the caliber of class like Robert Horry take time to say hi to the Gallery Furniture team.

Pictured above is Gallery Furniture Sales Professional Jimmy "Srirracha" Tran strikes a celebrity pose with Robert Horry.

Below, some more photos from his visit:

Robert Horry takes time to take some pics with our Gallery Furniture Post Oak customers!

Robert Horry with (from left to right) Gallery Furniture personnel Giovanni, Carlos Pastrana, and Salesman John!

Robert Horry with Gallery Greeter Andrea (left) and Saleswoman Irene.

Robert Horry with Gallery Furniture staff phorographer David Rankin!

Drop by Gallery Furniture Post Oak at 2411 Post Oak Boulevard TODAY - you never know who you'll gte to meet!

Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau Sends a Letter of Support

For those who come to visit or move to the fine Bayou City, the first stop for many is www.VisitHoustonTexas.com.  The Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau is often the face forward of Houston for those not familiar with the greatness of Space City.  Today, we received a very warm and friendly letter in which Greg D. Ortale, the President & CEO of the Greater Houston Convention & Visitors Bureau, expressed his best wishes for the Gallery Furniture family.

A big thanks to the folks ar rge GHCVB for  their support.  

Houston Companies Show Support for Gallery Furniture.

Companies large, medium, and small are all showing their support for Gallery Furniture.  The folks over at New York Bagels, Inc. on Hillcroft avenue have been kind enough to send over some food and a letter (shown below) with their support for our hardworking Gallery Furniture crew.

As the folks at New York Bagels, Inc. wished us luck and sent over some "nosh" (that's Yiddish for food to eat).  

USO and Harris County EMS Cooking Out for Gallery Furniture

The kind folks of the Harris County EMS Team joined forces with the USO in Sugarland, TX today to cook out for the Gallery Furniture warehouse crew who are working hard at making sure the inbound inventory of furniture like collections from HTD's solid wood mango line, Largo, Opus, and that Sumter Solid Wood furniture all are not just accounted for, but also placed in the racks and then delivered to the customers.

While the Gallery Furniture team is busy working on the inside of the new warehouse, the USO and Harris County EMS cooks are outside getting everything ready for a Texas styled lunch.

 

Whether it's burgers, chicken, hotdogs, or corn on the cob, the USO and Harris County EMS are working hard to make sure the Gallery Furniture warehouse team is well fed this Memorial Day weekend.

 

 

Chicken on the grill for Gallery Furniture warehouse employees.

Prayer before Chow - Led by Jeremy Hunt

Houston's own KIAH Channel 39 brought some pizza over for the warehouse crew at Gallery Furniture's new warehouse in Sugarland.  Before the crew could chow, though, Gallery Furniture's own Jeremy Hunt led the crew in a solemn prayer giving thanks for the food, and of course for the fact that there was no loss of life at the 6006 location on last Thrusday's fire. 

In just a short bit, the Harris county EMS team is bringing over a BBQ pit and having a cookout for the Gallery Furniture warehouse crew at the new Gallery Furniture warehouse in Sugarland.

Below is a video from the prayer.

The Women of Gallery Furniture Bringing it All Together

Rhonda and Tiffany are better known to our Gallery Furniture customers as cashiers.  They have written up many orders and finalized them for customers as well as getting the orders processed to delivery.  Well, like all things at Gallery Furniture, you end up working more than one job, and after the Thursday fire Rhonda and Tiffany came into the new Gallery Furniture warehouse in Sugarland, TX and now are working on inventory for our Gallery Furniture customers.

Cashier Rhonda summarized the job: "It's checking the numbers, making sure the count is right.  Tiffany and I are getting the ordering team's back, and someone will catch our backs, to make sure the count is right."

When asked her assesment of the new digs for Gallery Furniture's warehouse, Tiffany responded by what every Texan who ever worked a warehouse along the Gulf Coast knows: "It's HOT.  But you know, we'll make it through and things will be fine."

Yes it will.  Gallery Furniture never stops serving our customers - from sales floor to warehouse to delivery to pick-up, Gallery Furniture is here for you TODAY.

Gallery Furniture Saves Paper TODAY

Gallery Furniture believes in being Green! Throughout the office and underneath every cashier's deck you will find a basket that is “Paper Only.” to encourage all employees to receycle. The environment is very important to Gallery Furniture. Recycling prevents wasting potential useful materials, reduces consumption of fresh raw materials, reduces energy usage, reduces air pollution and water pollution. This is a key component of the modern waste management and is the third component of the “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” waste hierarchy.

Aggie Intern, Janelle, helps out as she gathers all of the office baskets to put all of the paper together.

GALLERY FURNITURE saves you MONEY TODAY and SAVES PAPER TODAY.

Brilliant Sales Staff

Inventory is a special strategy used by Gallery Furniture. The helpful inventory team gives their valuable time and spends countless hours analyzing inventory. Many members from the inventory team have said it’s a great experience to become more knowledgeable on inventory to help customers when shopping. This makes a great shopping experience for customers because the sales staff knows what is offered and can better delight the customers.

Come into Gallery Furniture and SAVE MONEY TODAY!!!