Terrible communication and follow up during order process at Coricraft

I'd like to share a review of Coricraft based on two experiences with them. I am sharing this as an interior designer based on orders I have made for client projects.

Experience 1 (2017): In 2017, I ordered a mattress from Coricraft. The delivery date was forwarded it to me. Just over a week before the date, I followed up and was told all was in order and the ETA remained the same. A few days before, I followed up again and told the same thing - the truck was on the way. ON THE DAY - the truck was discovered not to have left Cape Town warehouse where it was coming from. The follow up to this was that the truck had left but the mattress was not on it. In the interim, Coricraft gave us a loan bed. Note that the ETA was the first installation for client and as such, he had a loan bed from the store until such a time as Coricraft got their act together. It was also the end of the year and shut down. The sales agent was afforded the blame and commission taken away from him. It was said he should have followed up consistently with the order.

Experience 2 (2019): I decided to give them another chance and order a couch. The ETA was missed by close to two months (expected delivery September, finalization November). And no one could account for WHY. A loan couch was provided in the interim. Upon arriving, the couch arrived with the wrong arm due to a miscommunication and misunderstanding. The couch was then rectified. The project closed out. I'd also like to state that when the couches were delivered, the fabric was creased and not straightened, as if they'd been in a tight storage for long.

Within weeks, the couch was bulging and the cushioning was not holding out. A new order was placed - for free because of the quality issues. Within a few weeks of order, it was confirmed that the original fabric had been discontinued. A reselection was then done by the client in February 2020 and a difference for the fabric, charged. This order was done by the client at Mall of Africa. Then lockdown went into full effect.

On arrival later in the year, the wrong arm arrived again - they had not updated the initial order and connected the orders even though this was all one transaction. An exchange was placed for the correct arm. There was minimal communication with the client and myself, as designer. In fact, communication was minimal and there was a need to follow up. One lady was put on the case, and she did try her best and I commend her - Gladys. But after a while everyone at the warehouse and store became confused as to what was happening with this order - they all had different feedback. Some said it was under production; others said it was complete... We waited and waited. It was a mess! Client was irritated and frustrated, rightfully so, but it seems there are no direct lines of communication at Coricraft. If something goes wrong with your order, you don't know who to contact or how to fight.

In the end, the client requested her money back. It took Finance over a month to process, when their policy is 7-10 days. They were reviewing the account and hand't reconciled any of the transactions since 2019. Because of their in-house communication, not one person had the full history. There seem to be no communication and follow up as well as recording of issues. A lot of the issues one has with this group is because of their in house issues and it's really unfair to be put in the middle as a designer. It reflects terribly on my business even though I am a middle-man. So it's basically been a back and forth of almost two years for one couch. In the end, a lady named Imaculate also stepped in in order to deal with this issue. Before her, there were next to no answers.

Highly disappointed in the terrible service and communication as well as their own unfollowed processes and policies. I would not recommend using this store if you are trying your best to please a client. They have let me down in two occurrences.