Rich’s For the Home – Lynnwood

This unacceptable rating is for both Rich’s and Travis Industries, manufacturer of the DVS gas insert fireplace that is sold and serviced by Rich’s. the Travis Industries fireplace is unreliable and expensive to maintain. I ‘inherited’ a 6 year old unit when I bought a house. It didn’t work then, and after Rich’s service call, it worked for about 20 fireplace lightings. Now it doesn’t start again. Rich’s is probably happy with this unit because they get frequent $ 160 service calls. Buyer beware. The fireplace is junk, and I fault Rich’s for carrying it and for making money off the too-​frequent service calls. I complained to Rich’s and the agent was going to have a manager call me back. Of course he never did. I complained to Travis Industries and their pathetic response was ‘it’s a complicated device and parts fail.” My furnace is complicated, too, and it fails once every 10 years or so. This fireplace fails every other year!

Thank you Alyssa for your help with scheduling, and for your professional and polite manner. It makes all the difference in the world.

So it’s been about a year and a half since my last issue with my gas fireplace and trying to contact Rich’s. I see no improvement in their service department. Same ol’ thing. One phone number, call answered by the sales staff, I ask to speak to the service department. I sit on hold, several sales staff pick up to see if I have been helped yet and ask whether I want to continue to hold. After a few minutes, I realize no one in service dept. is going to help me, so I leave a message. That was yesterday. Today I repeat the procedure. Still have not heard back from anyone. it would be so nice if they had a service department with their own phone number and they actually took calls. Based on previous experience, I bet it will be about a week before I can actually connect with anyone and I will probably have to call everyday. If it was not for their terrible service department I would consider purchasing more from them.

We had the worst experience with Rich’s, getting a woodstove for our contractor to install. The sales process was good, but on delivery day they brought an incomplete set for the install kit, we had to return to the store twice to get the parts that we had already purchased that weren’t included… which was a big hassle because their warehouse guys couldn’t find some of it. They had also brought a damaged stove… with the top tiles cracked. Talking to three people at the store gave us three different sets of advice… we finally followed the advice of the guy that encouraged us to install it and let their technician fix it down the road. He reassured us that we could use it since it was mainly a cosmetic problem. So, proceeding with the install, and our contractor discovered another missing piece that was supposed to come with the stove (not the pipe install kit, which we had previously discovered had been missing stuff). Rich’s said they’d have to order that missing part from the east coast and it could take a week or more to get it… so, we didnt want to delay the install (and the rest of our remodel), and so our contractor called around and had to drive to Monroe to get one of the parts from a different woodstove place. So, with all the trials of getting it installed, our stove emits a horrible, melting paint smell… which, after much headache we’ve realized is the paint from the stove pipe supplied in their kit… which is aluminum, painted black. They reassured us after several burns it would go away. We’ve used it maybe 15 times in the past year and it gets worse each time. So, we’re finally realizing that the paint on the pipe isn’t rated to a high-​enough temperature, and we’ll need to get a new pipe, from another place that has better quality stuff… Oh and 9 months after the install, after many phone calls and emails back and forth, they finally sent someone out to replace the damaged tiles, and he aparrently brought the wrong ones. So, they need to order them again, and so our best guess is that it may be another 9 months before it gets fixed. Ultimately, they seem like nice people but the wood stove install was a huge hassle because of their inability to deliever on what they promised. Seems that they are just very disorganized and not vigilant about following through on their promises.

We bought a fireplace from Rich’s. They were nice until we needed assistance.
When calling, the salesperson responded to me by repeating my full name
in a snarky manner. I am thinking: why did I buy a $ 5,000 fireplace from these
guys. Big mistake, will not repeat.

I went to buy a ducky for my mother. The place is clean, but not friendly!
I even told the ladies that were working there I was trying to talk my hubby into a hot tub.
They didn’t offer me ideas on what to look for nothing. Didn’t even look up from what they were doing.
Very snobby. I asked my mother about it. She agreed they were to her also.
Advise to you ladies, just because you look like the average Joe doesn’t mean, you can’t afford your products or your time!
Word travels, back in the day it was better then the Internet.
I won’t be back nor will my mother.

On June 30, we visited your Lynnwood show room to consider the purchase of a fire table. Upon entry to the show room, we were greeted by sales associate Haley Hanna. Haley was extremely patient and friendly as we asked many questions and explored numerous options over approximately two hours; never did we feel rushed or pressured. Because we felt comfortable with the experience, the products, and Haley’s knowledge of the products, we did purchase a fire table and $ 2,000 in furniture. Haley was key to the sale.
We also appreciated that we were able to have next day delivery of the purchases we made. On the morning of July 1, I received a call from Rich’s to inform me that delivery would be made between 3 and 5 pm. The truck arrived promptly at 3pm. Mike and Teddy were exceptionally courteous, competent and professional, and we enjoyed their friendly demeanor. The products were assembled and Mike demonstrated operation in an easily understood approach.
Based upon this first time experience at Rich’s, we will definitely consider your business for future purchases, and we will definitely recommend Rich’s to friends and family. In fact, based upon the sharing of our satisfaction, you may expect a visit from our next door neighbor next week!

We’ve bought a number of things from Rich’s and gave them only 4 stars because the service has just got to become poor some time and I wanted some leeway to come back and tell everyone they «suck». So far they don’t. We’ve bought a fireplace insert, a fire pit and even some patio furniture over the past 10 years or so. We like these guys and wouldn’t keep returning if we didn’t. Sonja was very helpful in helping us pick out the fire pit too.
Oh, a special pat-​on-​the-​back for Dennis who came out and did a much needed service on our fireplace insert. A very skilled gentlemen. The Avalon insert works like new again.

Poor customer service. Bought a hot tub. Came with a damage. Bought a smart top never received it yet over a month. Had to call the manufacturers directly to get questions answered. Left messages took forever to call back. Sometimes they would lie and say they didn’t get the message. Once you pay them the customer service becomes nil. Will have to drive down there (over an hour) to talk to management directly. Will update if they ever take care of these problems. They have great excuses for why things happen but never the solutions. Buy your hot tub directly from the manufacturer until these people get their act together. Writing this review in hopes the manager will call me back.
Update Alyssa was great and she helped with all my problems. I now have the smart top that I like.

If I could give them NO stars I would, but that’s not an option. I recently called Rich’s to service my fireplace that I had bought from them. I had originally called to have the fan replaced. The tech came out and was pleasant enough. Got the fan replaced, then went to light the pilot. The pilot would not stay lit. He informed me I needed a new pilot assembly. I made the appointment to have that installed. Another tech came out and was admittedly ready for his day to end, but had one last call to attend to after mine. While he was replacing the pilot assembly he had the pilot on. I asked if it was normal to smell gas and if it was because the glass was not on the fireplace. He said yes. He finished the job in less than an hour and left. I was told this job too about an hour to an hour and half to get done. I left the house shortly thereafter to run errands. After about an hour I decided to go home instead of finishing my errands. Thank God I did because my entire house smelled like gas. He left my house with a gas leak! I called Rich’s right away and they told me to turn off the gas valve ASAP. They sent someone out the next morning to verify that there was indeed a gas leak from the fireplace. I was told that now the ball on the valve was damaged and that’s were the leak was coming from. They are refusing to pay for this repair, which I feel is due to their technician’s negligence. Also, they haven’t even apologized for their tech’s negligence in leaving my house with a gas leak! His negligence could have killed me and my cats. This is the worst costumer service I have ever dealt with. They are not even concerned by their technician’s work and the consequences of his actions. The tech who came out on Saturday to verify the leak agreed that he didn’t understand how the tech could leave my house with the smell of gas and asked me if he was in a rush. Makes me wonder if this has happened before. Needless to say, my fireplace still doesn’t work and it’s my main source of heat in the front of my house. The are supposed to come out tomorrow and fix it, but she can’t guarantee they’re going to pay for it. She needs to hear her tech’s side of the story first. Sorry, but in this instance, the customer side is the one that counts. Now to write my complaint with the Better Business Bureau.

I went to Rich’s to purchase a wood burning stove insert for an existing brick fireplace. I felt the sales associates were helpful, though a bit «salesy» in talking up their stoves — how there would be no pinging when warming up or cooling off, how it would definitely heat all rooms and floors of my home, and also how it would get rid of the draftiness of an open fire place.
I ended up purchasing the Lopi «Answer» insert and professional installation. The stove itself has been a great improvement over the previous open fire — though as expected, some pinging when warming up, and rooms away from the living area remaining cool.
Over this last winter when not using the fireplace and instead leveraging a central forced air furnace, there was always a noticeable draft around the insert. I’d even gone as far as getting a home energy audit where they bring in an infrared camera to look for cold areas, for which the fireplace stood out.
This weekend I decided to find root cause of what was going on, and pulled the insert out. What stood out the most in my findings was the enlarged opening in the floor of the firebox (covered by the installed stove), which was previously used as an ash dump. It was obvious that unconditioned air from this space was coming up into the living room any time the furnace ran. The bummer here too is there’s really no way to discovery or remedy this except to undo all the installation efforts previously paid for.
In short: the product itself is solid, the sales associates are so-​so, though the installation (as far as i know, subcontracted) definitely did not meet expectations, especially with the price point.

A few years ago we bought a fireplace from them and the experience went fine. Cost more than I wanted and the install people they contract with screwed up, but in the end, I had a working gas fireplace insert and was mostly happy. Would have rated them about a 4 at the time. Well… last week we placed an order with them for another fireplace gas insert (different fireplace), and in working with the installers to schedule, it was discovered several things were wrong with salesperson knowledge: 1) didn’t offer choice on stones but was supposed to, 2) didn’t mention a part we would need that costs an extra $ 380 (!), 3) quoted install at $ 475, when it is really $ 650 (!!). That’s a substantial price difference. We complained to the manager who took $ 100 off. Very disappointed. At the initial quote, we would have said no, but since we are so far in the process, we’re moving forward with it anyway.

Purchased a couple gas inserts from Rich’s in Bellevue. Sales experience was good. Highly recommend Michelle and Adam there.
During installation, one of the fireplaces worked fine, but the other would not light. This is when the nightmare started. They would only schedule service a couple weeks out. For a brand new, non-​working insert, this was pretty frustrating. Then, on the day of the service, I was called a couple hours before the service window indicating that the technician would not be coming after all. When I expressed frustration with this, I was told, quote, «The world does not revolve around you.» I have never encountered such rudeness from a customer service person. It was frankly unbelievable.
To cut a long story short, Rich’s sent technicians out to my place 5 times before this was fixed. At one point, they even blamed the gas intake and forced me to call Puget Sound Energy out to inspect our lines (nothing was amiss, as expected). In the end, they took out the unit and discovered that there was debris in the gas line they installed (probably got in there when the line was first installed). Once the debris was cleared, the insert worked perfectly.
This entire saga took over 2 months and 5 visits (6 if you count the PSE trip). A very frustrating experience.
1 star for service. 5 stars for sales. Averaged out to 3.

I want to rave about Dennis the service technician at the Lynnwood Rich’s. We have an Avalon Cypress gas stove that we purchased at another (non-Rich’s) store and had installed by our own contractor. Turns out it was installed incorrectly. Several mysterious things started to go wrong about 1 yr later. Without knowing the installation history, Dennis researched, talked with the manufacturer, came to our house a couple of times, and fixed all of the problems. He found a faulty part and was able to get it replaced free of charge, and he discovered that the contractor had not installed the flue correctly. He was patient, courteous and genuinely friendly and enjoyable to be around. Kudos to Dennis. I highly recommend him. And no, I’m not his mother.

I have to agree with some of the other reviews. Horrible customer service. The prices are high. The table I got was on sale and the salesman said it would not «fade».
but it did within one year we had to restain it. I do not recommend!

This place is incredible. It’s like walking into a slow motion movie. Don’t worry folks. no high pressure sales here, The employees are lethargic. You see better attitudes at the post office.
The parts and service window people sort of glare at you if you interrupt them. You walk up and the three people there all suddenly have to take a phone call. They stare at you or at each other, wondering who gets to help the stupid walk-​up customer. No hi or how can I help you. Nothing.
Years ago I bought a stove from them and it was a trainwreck experience. I wont go into it but it set me up for my next trip to Riches recently. A replacement filter unit for a hot tub overhaul (one I did not purchase from them by the way, they are a dealer for the manufacturer however) I was finishing up. I asked one of they parts guys to help me locate a proper cross reference number to my model. He said if the filter wasnt on the display wall, they dont have it and would have to order it. He said he really didn’t have any cross ref info like that (at a parts counter!!!) and to go to the main service counter or try Riches competitor, Aqua Quip down the street. Just get outta my face will ya. Went to the main counter and second verse, same as the first. Eventually someone got their butt up out of their chair and went to a back room area and found my filter and away I went.
Bottom line: If you choose to immerse yourself into Riches expansive, overpriced inventory, prepare yourself for lazy, apathetic and uninspired service before and after the sale. Nothing gels here. These pathetic excuses for employees could care less if you come back to shop again to spend money. Are there exceptions? Maybe, but I really didnt see any.
I don’t know if their really is a «Rich» around anymore as an owner, but he needs to clean house. Small business in Washington state has enough problems staying alive and employees such as most of those at Riches will clearly expedite its demise.

Horrible customer service. They don’t answer their phones. They don’t support their products. Hopefully your stove never needs to be repaired. They don’t have a service department they contract it out. We have bought three stoves from them in the past but never again. Their customer service has hit rock bottom. If you like dealing with rude people and buying overpriced goods you’ve found the right place. Me I’ll go to the ends of the earth to find another place to shop like Rich’s or go without. BE SURE TO READ THE REVIEWS STUCK IN THE « Unilocal FILTER», I have a hunch they are legit complaints. Don’t know what’s going on with that.
Thanks to the owner who tried to contact me, he may very well care. It’s too late to make it right for me. We got our stove serviced without using Rich’s. If you are reading this and you are the owner READ all the reviews, the phones aren’t being answered. It’s ridiculous to have a business that doesn’t answer their phone. You need to educate your employees on customer service.

I purchased a fireplace from Rich’s recently. There was some confusion with the initial order, and the unit arrived with the wrong trim package and remote. The installation team was great, and reasonably priced. They installed the main unit, and got it working (minus the remote), and after another visit to the store, the correct remote was ordered and they sent someone to install it at no additional charge.
We had a warranty issue with the unit a few months later. Rich’s honored the warranty with no problems, and ordered a new control module. It was on-​order for quite some time, so I contacted the store owner, who was very responsive. He had a new unit ordered for me overnight, and got an installation scheduled within a couple of days.

Thank God these guys are close! During our last cold snap we lost the seal on our woodstove. After a trip to Ace in Mukilteo (who was out of the right size) and Home Depot (who believe it or not doesn’t carry simple woodstove seals), someone mentioned Rich’s. They had exactly what we needed and even took the time to check and make sure it was definitely the right size. The only thing that threw me was that their debit/​credit machine debited my bank account twice while pending, so I wasn’t able to use some of my funds… weird. Otherwise a good experience :)

Great selection. Terrible customer service.
Ordered one of their main fireplace models, was told to the blower would need to be ordered, that it would take a few days. That was almost two weeks ago. Now, they’re telling me it may be tomorrow, after I’ve had to reschedule installation twice. Asked for a concrete delivery date, they replied, «That would require us calling the manufacturer.» Wow… really? REALLY?!
The tone of their service is very apathetic. They clearly don’t value creating a good experience.
Would have purchased somewhere else if there was somewhere else with a decent selection.