dean's Profile

Umm, are the editors reading any of the reader comments? And I'm not trying to be bitchy here. Come on, guys. Smith and Noble is hardly a "good resource for custom windowware". Sheesh. I don't think I see any vendor customers despise more than Smith and Noble (and yes, I'm one of those said customers).

I have bought over 20 sofas from Rico for clients over the years. I have to say that on the rare occasion that there has been a defect, their employees have addressed it immediately.

Edverse, however, seems to need some clarity. No matter my wildest fantasies, Rico is not responsible for a manufacturer's production time or quality and they do a great job of making sure they choose consistent and reliable manufacturers. Rico can only give times based on factory reports and then intepret the data giving their best judgement. But if the factory is having drama, c'est la vie, even if said vie is understandably irritating.

Of course he told you another 6-8 weeks if the factory has to fix it. You seriously think that he can fix it himself if it is as horrible as you made it sound or that the factory is going to change its production schedule? Come on. They were being truthful and you slammed them for it.

Trust me on this -- whining, blame and using typos in emails ala Edverse is not the way to win friends and influence people. Ick.

Why does Edverse end up sounding like a client who whines about making a decision they approved and then is looking for an excuse to back out of a transaction. And dear reader, you would be surprised at how many New Yorkers are like that. Or, maybe, you wouldn't be.

Enough of my own bitching,

Fed up with it Designer aka Dean

Have used the Caroma extensively (a friend has it at his house where i have stayed many times) and also have the Aquia. Bowl streaking is NOT a problem to date.

The great thing about the Caroma is that not only does it use less water but there is less splash when you flush. That is a very huge plus if you ask me.

Patrick (the other one)-

Your sister's case is great and I'm sure Smith and Noble occasionally makes good on their warranty. My experience, and that of many others, however, is that their product quality and application of standing behind their warranty and overall product is inconsistent at best. And I don't like gambling when I'm spending thousands of dollars.

Like I wrote elsewhere, sure you might get lucky and get what you ordered or get something of good quality. They stand behind their warranty when the remedy is something easy for them to do. I ordered tons from them before and was generally happy. But, if you don't get what you ordered or they've made a really bad mistake -- watch out. Eeeck saw the comments. They're really very negative.

How people behave when good things happen don't really count for much. What matters is how people behave when bad things happen. That really shows you their true character, no? Do they stand behind you? Are they supportive? Do they help you find solutions? Do they care? This is true for me for all relationships: romantic, social and work.

And when something bad happens with Smith and Noble and they can't figure out at all how to solve the problem they caused, you'll feel like you are dealing with a public utility. Lots of talk, general stonewalling, bureaucratic blaming and guess what: you're still out of your money and now you've wasted hours and hours in frustrating time. Not good.

If you read the comments, you will see that the most of the problems don't have to do with client caused problems. I'm a professional interior designer who was part of their professional program ( jessitt gold ) so for what it's worth, amateurs and professionals encounter their bad behavior for a variety of reasons that have NOTHING to do with what they've done.

I know I probably come across as bitter. And I guess I am after being out thousands. But I like this site, I like the people who write here who seem to really care about recommending the very best, and I don't want to see anyone go through what so many others have.

Best,

Dean