Fruehauf’s Patio Furniture

In a pinch, I bought tables for work here in early September. When our landlord saw the receipt for the tables (which he had originally said he would reimburse us for), he laughed at how much they had cost, and said he would not be able to cover that. I brought the tables back within a day of buying them, and was told that in order for a refund to be issued, they would have to speak to a manager, who was traveling. Thankfully, the man at the desk at least gave me a gift certificate for the amount of money I’d spent. But this was not what I wanted; we had already gotten different tables from a much less costly supplier, and we have no use for a gift certificate to an absurdly overpriced garden store. Over the course of 6 weeks I called them 4 times and had my bank call them, and every time they told me that the manager was out, but they could take my number and have her return my call.
Finally, I got a hold of a manager today (I called them; of course they haven’t returned any of my messages), and was told that they never do any refunds. Never.
So now I’m out of pocket over 2K for merchandise that was never used and was returned to the store within 20 hours of purchase, and I have a gift certificate for a store that I never want to step inside again. I suppose it’s my fault for going there in the first place; don’t let it be yours.

We drove an hour from SE Aurora, only to find that the prices at Freuhaufs are only reasonable if you have recently won the lottery. We were very disappointed because their television ads make them sound so competitively priced. Why does Unilocal not offer a zero star rating?

This is a high-​end and somewhat pricey store that has all kinds of outdoor furniture. We bought a large cantilever Treasure Garden umbrella there and had excellent customer service from the salesman (Sean Beeson), who took us all around the store and explained the different options for this and some other things we were looking for. Our umbrella was delivered and installed within four hours and has been trouble-​free. The store has a kid’s play area, a definite plus for shopping parents.

Sorry, but it was hardly worth driving up to Boulder for this. Be warned the prices are not competitive, go to Christy Sports down the block instead. I found the exact same chair (same make/​model) for half as much. $ 750 vs $ 1400. I’m all for paying a premium price for a premium product. I refuse to pay that kind of markup for no reason. It makes me question the markup on all the furniture there. We ended up finding a mahogany L shape at Pottery Barn for a fraction of the cost of any sofa we saw at Fruehauf’s.

This place is great to look around. Lots of beautiful and crazy comfy, expensive outdoor furnishings. They are so strange and disorganized. There are sections of the store that look like an episode of hoarders. $ 3000 outdoor coffee tables stacked one on top of the other hap-​hazzardly. They have some stuff on clearance that is cracked broken chopped faded and has clearly been sitting outside, uncovered for years and years in snow, hail and summer sun. They want a lot for furniture that used to be top of the line but is now really dilapidated. Some things look like curb alert specials off craigslist. They have had a great section of stuff in the parking lot that they just want to get rid of for cheap. I snagged an awesome patio table and chairs for $ 150 that originally cost of 2k. There were only 3 of the four chairs, but I wanted it for my front porch and really only needed two, great find!

I would leave zero stars for this company if I could. We purchased what seemed to be a nice soft green Christmas tree on December 8, but only three days later it started dropping its needles and turning brown. Since the tree was decorated, we decided to wait until the morning after Christmas to return it. When we brought it back, the manager said that they don’t give refunds. This tree was literally skeletonic; 95% of its needles had fallen off! It was almost comical but for the fact that the manager refused to refund our money. What poor customer service. This company should be a case study at a business school for how not to treat customers.
UPDATE: I wrote a negative post on Fruehauf’s Facebook page, and within ten minutes they had deleted it. Perhaps this woeful company should try improving their customer service instead of deleting feedback they don’t like. How sad.

UPDATE
After a month or so, the rep from the manufacturer did come to my home to view the furniture that was delivered. He authorized a total replacement. So, I was eventually satisfied with my purchase. It was delivered by Fruehauf’s successfully so the dispute was settled.
I wish I would have read the reviews on Unilocal before purchasing my «high-​end» table and chairs from Fruehauf’s. Beware of this company that doesn’t care about customer satisfaction. I went at their end-​of-​season sale to buy 4 tables and chairs. They had one on the floor that I liked which was covered with display items and pushed to the side so I could only sit in one chair. The salesman assured me that they would check out the set and touch up any scratches before delivering. I didn’t buy on the spot, but later called back and purchased the set over the phone. The set was originally $ 5400 and I paid about $ 4000 for this «high-​end» set. They offered same-​day delivery, so I accepted. They arrived after dark so I couldn’t inspect the set, but I notice some of the chairs rocked and some didn’t, so there was an issue that the delivery person agreed with me, but couldn’t fix. They handed me my credit card receipt as they left. The next morning I looked at the table and it had a large patch area on the top. When I looked at the receipt for the phone number, I noticed at the bottom of the sales slip is «no returns, refunds, or exchanges on sale merchandise». No one mention this to me when I was in the store or when I called in to buy — so beware! I called the next day and they sent two men out to take a look at the table and chairs. They took pictures of the defective table, even a video of the wobbly chairs and agreed with me. Their response to me so far is that I must deal with the manufacturer for repair parts for the chair and patched table. After four days of trying to settle this with Fruehauf’s I have turned this over to my credit card company and don’t know how this will turn out. I’ve written Fruehauf’s two emails, but they don’t respond in emails. BEWARE they don’t care about a customer being satisfied!!!

If I could not give them a single star, I would not! They do not even deserve ONE STAR! I tried posting on their Facebook page, but they quickly deleted my dislike of their customer service, sales man lies, and lack of courtesy. I just reposted on their FB again, we’ll see how long it lasts. We purchased a beautiful Teak table by Kingsley & Bate, along with 8 faux wicker charcoal chairs by the same company. Upon delivery, only 6 chairs arrived. The set we sat at had all 8 chairs sitting there. Some how the sales man decided himself that we only needed or wanted 6 of the 8 chairs for a perfectly square LARGE table. Yet we added an addition side teak table and had an entire conversation about how nice it is going to be to have 6 chairs around the table, two chairs with the side table we purchased extra that they had to find in stock for us for this purpose and then pull them up as needed. An entire conversation. Maybe it was because he couldn’t stop talking long enough to HEAR the customer. But when two people say specifically WE WANT THIS SET AS IT SITS, and clarify that twice… the quote should darn well include 8 chairs sitting there in the set. Delivery comes, 6 chairs. Hey, where are the other two chairs? Delivery guys looked like we spoke a foreign language to them. We look at our receipt and indeed he had only rung up 6 chairs, not the ENTIRE SET as it sat that we wanted. My husband immediately calls then back. The sales guys is like, no that was just for 6 chairs. Ugh, why would you QUOTE us for 6 chairs, when we wanted THIS SET right here?! To add further insult to injury, they delivered the floor model table that had been set for who knows how long with placemats, coasters, place settings, etc. You could see a faded outline where every single item had sat on the table. Now mind you, we didn’t receive 50% or anything like this was the last table and it was a display for years on end. My husband called back the next day to speak with Mariah who is the Manager, and she decided to not handle a poor situation created by her obviously not well trained sales man. Key: Listen to what the customer wants! She basically said, oh it will be another $ 500 if you want the entire set you originally THOUGHT you had just purchased for over $ 2600. To which you added an extra side table for a sitting area. So we though, okay, we’ll just return the side table and be done with it. Oh, they will gladly take the side table back worth over $ 200 FOR STORE CREDIT. Now really, why would I want store credit, especially given Fruehauf’s sales persons MAJOR error?! They did come and pick up the sad looking table today to refinish the top. So we are adding insult to injury by being inconvenienced again by not having a patio table. Who knows when that will be returned and in what condition. We also have a call into the radio show who recommends them so they are aware of their lack of customer service and useless Manager. BUYER BEWARE!!! Take your money elsewhere to a store who backs their word and provides an excellent level of customer service. Fruehauf’s is NOT that store!!! VERY VERY dissatisfied customer who will continue to spread the word!

Recently purchased a complete patio set here for spending +$ 6400, including a $ 645 9 foot umbrella. I was assured by the sales rep the umbrella was manufactured to some industry standard, and was sturdy, but was warned to not keep it open on windy days. During a non-​windy day and barely open, the base of the umbrella snapped off about 6 inches up from the end. Hey, it happens here in CO. Taking it back to my sales rep at Fruehauf’s, they informed me that only the manufacturer could do a return, and he took pictures of the fractured item. He then contacted the manufacturer, stated that it was open on a windy day and my claim was promptly denied. After a subsequent conversation he called to inform me that I could send it myself to the factory so they could examine it to conclude whether it was a defect or not. But, if not a defect I would have to pick both ways of the shipping.
I understand all this but am quite surprised by Fruehauf’s lack of concern and complete «olé» here, especially given the high cost of all their furniture. Looking at the base of the umbrella, it is made very cheaply, almost the density of a thin plastic and should not have been the weight bearing portion of the umbrella. Don’t expect any service here, you’re on your own if something breaks and you pay thru the nose for cheaply made products.