Setting things Straight....and all the rest of the stories

I have been off for the last - I'd say almost 3 months with health reasons.....in that 3 months when my store was closed - Chaos seemed to hit the fan....there is another expression and I think you all know what it is...I dont think I need to elaborate,
so now that I decided to close my store and focus on interior design with a smaller retail space as well - I would like to take this opportunity to set things straight ( no pun intended)

Sofa's.......ahhh the life and death of a supplier....we were lulled into a wonderful adventure....carrying a new line of upholstered goods and seeing how a local toronto supplier could help us grow our business ....who knew that when we started with them and they wooed us into believing delivery times could be less then 3 weeks that we would have the downfall and the rumours it all created....the first couple months of our "dating" the manufacturer , and I use that term because it is pretty much what it is....was smooth - we would place an order....and magically in 2 weeks we would get a couch or a couple of chairs....our dating turned into a romance - where we expanded to more and more product - again - they came through and we were entranced in the speed of delivery....then one day a gentleman came into my store....he looked at the couch and chairs in my store and loved them....but just didnt know what he wanted....he came back - week after week - month after month - until he decided to place an order....who was I to know that my romance would soon end....The gentleman called and emailed a couple days after the order was placed...moving into a new house was great but with no furniture to show anyone , it created the suspense....the supplier in the meantime was supposedly working away and creating the masterpiece that would be the gentlemans focal point...the piece de resistance for his housewarming.......but alas...the supplier and the romance died.....3 weeks went by and no calls.....no fabric arriving for the custom chairs....the sofa was taking more time then it should and the poor gentleman was lost - he had no furniture and no party to show it all off....I offered my assistance and thought...hmmm...I am at a home show - my store is closed...why not just use the pieces in my store....but no...it wasnt good enough....he decided to blog about it....blog and write and email and see how nasty things could get.....so nasty that the little gentleman became the evil menance for not only my store but also the thorn in my side....how could a sofa create so much anger? How can one little piece of furniture be the straw that broke the camels back.....isnt it really just a sofa......its not like a life or death matter - or am I really missing something?

So the romance of the supplier had faded....but then again came through as he was trying to woo us back.....a little couch here and a little chair there...here a couch there a couch everywhere a couch couch......

But alas...his true colours shon through.....deliveries almost halted......and why......cuz my store isnt big enough....my little old retail level is nothing compared to the big box stores....I am not the one giving him 40 orders in once ....I only order 1 or 2 a week and I thought it was good...

But you know ...the truth about retail is ......it sucks!!!!!!!.....I am the front man for all the bad...I am the one who takes the deposit...gives it to the wholesaler to manufacture a piece.....and then I get screwed....and what does the manufacturer say?......he says I should give him more money.......money for what? Money so he can screw me over and then I need to be accountable for all the wrong doings of one person....

We had a really good business prior to sofa world....yes we had the issue a couple times of a carpenter taking orders and not completing them....and then actually taken items to work on and leaving the province....and yes we have had some artists......wow....the stories of the artists....some are great and then there are those who think they are great..........the ones that think they are the be all to end alls of the art world and have a pluther ( sorry had to use that word as I saw it used in another blog and everyone loved it so much) of problems....
And then comes the real truth.....yes I have a personal life and yes I can pretty much do what I want as it is my own business.....yes it is the truth that some woman was so desperate to come into my store when my son was sick in the hospital and her husband was also ill and she had the oddacity to yell at me saying that I was not open for her to shop......

Doesnt it all come down to the fact that it is all about furniture or things....there is nothing that desperate that cannot be worked out or resolved....
I know there is a couple of outstanding people who are awaiting there refunds....they know who they are and they will get it...but you know the whole internet world has created a system where people are able to say how they feel and be angry and vulgar and slanderous...so how does the retailer handle it.....
The way I just did.......

the culprit......a pretty robins egg blue sofa....