Room & BoardReviews of roomandboard.com

Great furniture, but this customer-service policy made me reconsider buying from Room & Board. I recently visited the Room & Board outlet and found several pieces I wanted. Because I live downtown Chicago and couldn't immediately make another trip to the outlet, I called to ask whether the items were still there. I wasn't asking them to hold anything. I wasn't asking for a reservation or a guarantee. I simply wanted to know if the merchandise was still physically in the store so I could decide whether it was worth making the trip again. They refused to provide that information because inventory changes quickly and, according to the employee, allowing those inquiries could create a “domino effect.” I even went to another Room & Board location near me and asked if they could call the outlet to check. Again, no, repeatedly. I completely understand not holding outlet merchandise. I don't understand refusing to provide basic information about whether something is still available. Room & Board promotes itself around exceptional service and a worry-free shopping experience. That was not my experience. Ironically, I was already prepared to buy. Instead, I started looking online and found comparable furniture elsewhere, including options with easier purchasing and more flexible return policies for the specific pieces I found. Maybe this policy makes sense from Room & Board's operational perspective. But from a customer's perspective, it creates unnecessary friction and makes it very easy to take your money somewhere else.

I’ve been a Room and Board customer for 20 plus years and I’ve recommended them to friends. I am therefore dismayed to learn that they are hesitating to assist me with a chronic manufacturing issue (split seams on one set of Otis chairs which I had to pay to replace with a second set of Otis chairs only to have the same thing happen to the replacement set). Granted that due to family health issues, I did not immediately report the split seams in the second set of chairs (was not my top life priority) but they still need to stand behind their products and support a long-term customer. Also, buyer beware, it appears that customers cannot review products after time has passed. So what you see on their website are customers’ immediate reactions to their brand new purchases. I suspect a lot of customers have also experienced manufacturing defects such as split seams with Otis but you won’t see it disclosed in the reviews.

I purchased a full living room set (7 items) and four of them came damaged which took mulitple deliveries to get the pieces. One was a custom chair which they did remake however it has been six months and the backing is loose and looks terrible. When speaking with customer service, they stated that these are "comfort wrinkles" and they will not do anything about it after spending $1,800 for this chair! Can't wait to see what it will look like after a few years. Disappointing that they care so little of customers' satisfaction.

We have two Rowan 60w 24d 30h Desks in Walnut. Upon delivery, they were unpacked and put in place. The desks do not look like that displayed on the website nor do they adhere to the description, "We hand select boards for color consistency when creating each piece of furniture but the color, grain patterns and other natural markings may vary." The front panel on one of the desks looks like something that wasn't completely stained. Anyone looking at it would ask what's wrong with that finish? The othe desk has a sideboard that doesn't match at all. Delivery guys insisted that all was alright even after our persistence. The customer service was terrible. One should not try to convince a customer that they are wrong.I was quite amazed that they admitted that they don't do a pre-inspection before delivery. Hopefully the replacements will match what is advertised on the website. I have purchased before from room and board without any issues.