apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

What a salesman! At this rate, he should lose his entire clientele list within five years to old age homes. But on a brighter note, he is prob. a huge hit on Bingo Night.

Wow, everyone does need to vent, but I'm not sure that Bo Concepts would appreciate this. I can totally understand your frustration, but I think this might have been more beneficial all around if you wrote it in a more educational, less "ventific" way.

While not exactly young anymore, I'm not THAT old (mid-30s) and I wasn't stunned to find that a sofa I ordered would take 4 months for delivery.

I walked into a BoConcept store about 18 months ago, was shocked by the rudeness of the sales staff, shocked by their policy of charging you an extra 8% to actually assemble the overpriced furniture they sell you, and I've never been back.

From the sounds of things, this guy should win jerk-of-the-year award but believe it or not this guy is less rude than the sales staff actually in the store.

This guy is welcome to serve as many older and more knowledgeable shoppers as he can lay his hands on. My bet is that by the time word gets out, more knowledgeable shoppers will be shopping elsewhere.

"YOU are not the ones ready for Bo Concept."

Is this a parody? I'm suddenly reminded, conceptually, of Zoolander.

I'm 25 years old and bought a sofa from BoConcept in Paramus NJ and the staff were incredibly patient and helpful. I'd highly recommend that branch but this guy seems like a total asshole.

Unforunate. I don't think you are a good spokesperson for Bo Concept. You really do a disservice to a company with a great product. Educating your clients always works better then dissing on them. I hope you don't carry this much negativity with you to work each day.

Wow, I was just about to drop $8000 (like there was no tomorrow) in Bo for my new place. But maybe I will take my under-aged, in-experienced shopping a$$ someplace else. This guy must work at the Bo in NY. What NY'ers should know is that Bo's are indepentantly owned and operated, they are not company stores. If you order from the DC store (in Georgetown) you pay the same flat rate shipping to NYC but save on tax...oh, and the sales staff in DC is great. No one cared I was under 35.

If you patiently explained the reasons for the 12-14 week shipping, perhaps you'd not only educate the consumer but also increase your commission. Instead your condescending attitude is just putting off would be customers.

As a 32 year old (what is your cut off for older I wonder?) experienced shopper, the merchandise at Bo Concept is not to my taste, but well within my price range. You seem to suggest younger people can't afford to shop at Bo Concept. I've always disliked this kind of snobby attitude of sales staff but usually I see it at designer clothing stores. I've always wanted to ask whether they can afford the stuff they sell. Can you?

Reef

If you want good, comfortable, quality furniture from Bo Concept, you're going to have to wait a lot longer than 12 weeks. ALthough they've got great flashy catalogs, etc., their sofas suck. None are comfortable. All of the leather samples I've seen are chintzy, the frabrics rather mundane and of mediocre quality. And although they start at a fairly low pricepoint ($1k or so), they rapidly shoot into the stratosphere. So, maxwell, you little Bo creep? Go blow it out your ass.

Hey pmp,

I am confused. Why does Maxwell have to blow anything out of his ass? Was something lost in how this would have sounded if you had verbalized it? Or did you just want to use your clever 'little Bo creep' line on something?...

Sorry to hear about the expensive sofas, personally I cannot even afford the cheapest items at Bo Concept. Just happy to have my beat up Mitchell Gold hand-me-down loveseat.

This guy just sounds lazy. He wants someone who will come in and plunk down $7500 in five minutes, quick commission-miniumum work. Would it kill him to work on creating FUTURE 'mature, experienced shoppers?' by having patience and explaining a little? Those young'uns are the big spenders of the future

Well put, Rachael. We all start somewhere.

I can't believe that Bo Concept would not be appalled by this posting. The guy is basically telling a large poulation of consumers to stay away from the store.

Is this a joke? or is it real?

Please tell me someone forwarded this on to Bo Concept.

Well I for one hate the older, more experienced shoppers, too. Explain things? That can't be part of the job. I'm a SALESman, not an explainababaman. Hello!

Quick: the "to maxwell" blow-off was because from the above letter, it looks like it is signed by someone named maxwell. The reader may have not known that nearly all entries here are from our -maxwell.

Slower: WOW. What an ass. "Because no matter what you throw at them, they've been through it all before" perhaps just means that those experienced (older or younger) shoppers have grown complacent about the poor service rendered. I don't think anyone assumes the floor salesman has control over the length of the production process. But he has all the control over explaining that process and situation to the consumer, perhaps having to reiterate for newer custumers the virtue, and industry standards, for the added time and any complications.

This guy seems to be a very disappointing member of Bo's sales team. From their style and marketing, I'd think these new, eager-to-be educated consumers are just who they want making purchases. Those old, rich, experienced shoppers are probably looking above Bo's price range; think custom-made, not modular.

"Who do you think IKEA is for? They're for you."

I was at the Bo Concept in Georgetown recently. Quite frankly, I think Bo Concept is nothing more than overpriced IKEA.

Not impressed at all by the quality.

BO CONCEPT = BO CRAP

First off, I would not shop at Bo Concept. When I first saw their catalog, before any store had opened here, I thought it looked good enough to anticipate a brick and mortar store. But as soon as I walked into their store I was put off by how cheap everything was. IMO, it's crap furniture. I think it's about on par with IKEA when it comes to quality. I mean, turn a dining chair upside down and look at the shoddy work!

Suggesting that if one wants a sofa quickly they should go to PB or C&B is an incredibly naive statement. Obviously, this person thinks that BC is THE place for great, european furniture and that's why the 12-14 week wait. That is the normal lead time at any store. Of course, you can buy a floor sample when they're ready to sell and get it right away. But other than that I think we all know that we'll have to wait for the piece we want.

This person's attitude is beyond obnoxious.

Wow, how condescending can you get. And to think, I was going to buy a $1400 sideboard there.

By way of comparison, my girlfriend and I went to Mode Moderne in Philadelphia. They have killer new and vintage modern stuff. They were super nice and very friendly. So a few weeks later when it came time to order the fiberglass eames armchairs (the modernica version), I went there paid in cash, and they were super cool. It was a little more with shipping, but worth it for the good service. They've made a repeat customer out of me.

I may still try Bo, but I'm definitely wary.

This salesperson's rant cracked me up--mostly because I've long suspected that I've been secretly judged by salespeople in general once I've left their stores. I'd love to see him go head-to-head, toe-to-toe with Debbie Travis. I'd put my money on Deb. She'd eat him alive.

But the guy does make a good point. Many consumers aren't aware that most smaller retailers have longer lead times than the larger, big-box retailers. And if you factor in shipping from Europe, it adds to that. It's just the reality for a smaller operation that needs to keep low overhead...

Wow. I can't believe how negative and biased this Bo Concept employee is. I hope he realized what he's done. He basically drove a lot of customers away from Bo Concept. What I've always learned from working in a housewares/furniture store is that it takes only one bad experience/comment/attitute to drive away a lot of customers from a company.

And for the statement about instant gratification with furniture from Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn: I'm sorry, but C&B and PB actually have custom-made furniture that can take as long as 2-3 months to make as well.

Maxwell -- why was this rant republished? (Is "republished" the right word to use on a blog??? I am old enough to buy furniture from this guy, so I am clearly out of it when it comes to hipster PC terminology! LOL!!!)

But seriously, where is the value in this post? Are we even sure he is really a Bo salesperson? I think AT has amazing potential to educate all of its readers -- of any age -- but this piece is just plain nasty. As a 48 year, I have to be honest and say I occasionally have generation gap moments and thoughts, but to paint such a broad, bleak picture as this guy has done is ageist and disgusting.

I forwarded his post to Bo Concept. Quite frankly, I'd suggest the quality of the furniture at Crate & Barrel and Potterybarn is far superior to that at Bo Concept, although it's not as modern looking.

Reef

Let's see we can all think over this job, if you make 80K a year and there are 2000 or so working hours a year. (quick pop-up calculator) You make about $40 an hour. So if you sell 7500 worth of sofa and you get 5% commission that's about $375. OK this salesman should be willing to spend a couple of hours on a knowledgeable client and maybe a full day on those that need and demand some answers and some service. He should still make a very good living.
If every customer gave me $375 for 5 mins of work...well I want a job at that place where do we all apply? I worked as a salesman many years ago and I made pretty good money. I treated everyone with respect and remained friendly, hopeful, and optimistic about the customers that took a lot of time and still wanted to think things over. I was shocked but many of those customers did reappear weeks later and buy. I was very successful with customers that I spent two or more sessions working with before purchase.
Unless money is just handed to you on a silver platter, you have some respect for it and when you shop you need to get value for your hard earned dollars.
This letter could have been written so wonderfully. 5 things to remember when you are ordering custom dream furniture...could have even turned into referrals for the guy...shame.
It is time for him to leave sales.
don

Gosh, he sounds like I did in my last days of retail. A repeated occurance is like water drip torture on the forehead. I was ready to choke the next person who waved a dessert plate at me chirping,"Isn't this fun?!"

Well I, for one, welcome our new Bo Concept overlords. In this age of drive-your-own cars and clip-on kitchens, it's refreshing to meet someone who's willing to get paid, but refuses to really work for it. Huzzah, sir! Huzzah! I give you my word, on bended knee, you would not say it was not e'er to be.

Perhaps this guy should find a job in a showroom that sells to the trade only...

I have never really liked BC and I would strongly suggest my cleint not purchase from them after this letter and the comments that have been made.

Not a very smart salesperson, to have published this letter.
I would be shocked if he still had his job by tomorrow. Of corse if anyone can find out who this angry person is?

Interest in good desigh = youth. The new picture of Dorian Grey.




(Don't hate me because I'm beautiful...)

We are at BoConcept very fortunate to operate stores, in many of the most dynamic cities worldwide. Characteristics for all these trade areas is the always evolving retail environment, as well as the need from the consumer, to engage in a shopping experience tailored to the individual need.

The fact is that all BoConcept employees do recognize, and appreciate that every customer is different, and must be serviced accordingly.

I would like to use this opportunity to apologize for the incorrect viewpoints made, who’s existence Bo Concept has no knowledge of.

At the same time I will like to emphasize that the comments made by no means represent the attitude of our sales force.

Finally, I kindly ask you not to judge the rest of our sales staff based on these incorrect viewpoints.

Carsten Pedersen
President of BoConcept by Club 8 Company USA

I have had good experiences with Bo's sales people--although I never actually bought anything, but also I have to agree with the posts that note that the furniture is cheap and is just a little off. Not THAT much better than Ikea. I think C&B is better quality. Many of their pieces are packed flat and you have to install them yourself, just like Idea. For the same prices, I think Room & Board is much better quality.

I KNOW that not all the furniture is European. You can get many of the same pieces at The Door Store for less (I mean the EXACT same pieces). Those are made in High Point, North Carolina. I think the line is called, Solid & Basic.

Anyway,

Thanks Carsten!!

Now why don't you apologize for all the designs you've knocked-off and sell in your stores.

I would never shop at your store. Ever.

I dont think this guy's rant, as it were, even deserves a comment but his pretention about Bo Concept's Euro chic and some guy dropping $7500 is really annoying. Is he really comparing Bo Concept to the big boys like Roche-Bobois, Cassina, Ligne Roset, etc? I mean, Bo is what it is...it's of course not the worst but it's certainly not the best either.

Hey now... I for one was impressed that the President of BoConcept-USA addressed the issues brought up on this thread and even apologized for the anonymous (and obviously disgruntled) salesperson. Maybe a little recognition of that is in order, instead of starting on yet another BoConcept tear? After all, it was one salesperson's rant--not an entire retail chain--that worked everyone into a tizzy.

Wow, #1 fan sounds like the original poster - bitter. A bit crude for my liking.

My husband and I brought Solid and Basic line from Bo. We checked the prices at Doorstore before the purchase, it was priced the same, not less or more. The salesgirl told us, the manufacturer,club88, is the one that created BoConcept. During delivery and set up, I saw the boxes that say "Made in Denmark" on it. I did a little research, Club88 always have their furniture shows at North Carolina once a year, just like Natuzzi(Great sofas by the way, made in Italy, long wait but definitely worth waiting!They have a store in Soho.Price point is affordable,like Bo), that doesn't mean Natuzzi or other Italian lines are made in North Carolina! Club88 also sells to some online stores like euway.com(Customer service are not that great just because it takes forever to deliver a missing part and you have to put it together yourself)I brought my furniture from many different stores in the city, I am not saying that Bo is perfect but they are really not bad. It was quite pleasant during the transaction at the Chelsea store, the warehouse called to set up delivery, the truck came a little late than it should be(about an hour late but the delivery guys kept apologized to us.I was very unhappy at the time.) Anyway, I got my bedroom set the way I want it. Again, not the best I had experienced but surely not the worst, I had some really bad experiences from some furniture stores but I prefer not to trash them!!

Yeah, #1 fan, take that stuff over to aintitcoolnews, we don't need it here.

maxwell, what was the point of the original posting? the only response i can think of is; the only way young or any age customers become educated customers is having a thoughtful and patient salesperson explain the product and company point of view in a friendly manner believing that they are laying the groundwork for future sales and not sizing people up as a possible comission check.

I would like to use this opportunity to apologize for the incorrect viewpoints made, who’s existence Bo Concept has no knowledge of.

I'm a little more worried that the President of this company has a shaky grip on grammar than some peon ranting his geriatric-worshipping heart away...but that's me. On my futon.

Wow, that's fascinating stuff, up above. Better than online poker and porn spam, though.

Matt - Sorry if I wasn't clear enough up above. Max obviously wants to rant about something. Perhaps he's had a bad day, or week, or his job sucks, or something. But he's suggesting that most of the customers he deals with are simply not discerning enough, somehow not qualified to shop at Bo Concept. That they are too impatient or immature to appreciate the fine, fine furniture he sells. And while it may be true that furniture buyers today are less patient than in the past, and expect things faster (and this may even be a "bad" thing), this is the kind of complaint that one might expect from an actual purveyor of high-quality furniture, rather than (as others have said), a high-priced version of Ikea. And even if someone from (I don't know, let's say) Ligne Roset or Thos. Moser were to voice a similar complaint about immature, impatient customers not appreciating that good furniture takes time to make, it would *still* come off as obnoxious. But when someone like max cops an attitude like this, it's like the "chef" at TGIFriday's complaining about a customer who's waited 45 minutes for his potato skins that he "just doesn't understand that fine cuisine takes time."

There's nothing all that wrong with Bo. It's fine stuff -- perhaps better than Ikea in some respects, with more real wood and less composite, but still with middling materials. But Bo items certainly aren't design objects -- they should be far more comfortable than they actually are. And its furniture is not "fine" in the sense of being on par with seriously high-quality makers. So the long waits for Bo's furniture aren't justified by the level of quality. The long lead times seem to stem from a combination of offering many different configurations, and little US presence. Since much of Bo's furniture is essentially modular, they could offer things a lot quicker if they had a bigger US warehouse and assembly operation. But that's Bo's choice, not a problem with the younger customers max sees.

And no, the "little Bo creep" line just came out at the end.

Does Bo Concepts really sell a $7500 sofa?? Their furniture is so poorly made I just don't see how that could be true.

I've had a nightmare of a time dealing with my BoConcept furniture purchase. I agree they really are just a high end Ikea but for the money, it's pretty good especially if you are a "young" and most likely, busy customer who doesn't have too much time to shop for furniture. I bought my furniture - which included a dining room table and a TV stand - from the Boston store and it took 3 months to get the dining room table that was hardly custom. It wasn't the wait that was the most infuriating, it was the customer service from the store and company. I called multiple times trying to figure out when my furniture was going to arrive and nobody ever got back to me and I was even told to call the NJ distribution center. It turns out there was a defect in the dining room table legs and every shipment from Denmark came to the States rusted. There was only something done about getting me a table with "loaner" legs - I had to suggest this idea - after wasting hours of my time at work trying to get in touch with a manager that would talk to me. When the temporary table arrived, it was missing hardware and directions and I had to spend another 2 weeks trying to get it. I am still waiting for the August purchased correct dining room legs to arrive. I was told I would be compensated, but the manager now fails to return my calls. Bottomline - pretty cool stuff, fairly reasonably priced, HORRIBLE/HORRENDOUS/ ABOMINABLE customer service and not worth it at all. It doesn't surprise me that one of their sales people posted the message above - they just don't get what customer service should be. I tell everyone I know not to buy their stuff.

p.s. our frinds who ordered furniture about the same time while in Vietnam - which was hand made - received their furniture before we did.

Since the Furniture for Less spammer helpfully gave a phone number, I suggest that every reader call them on Monday morning and explain, slowly and clearly, why the posting was inappropriate. Around the 150th call, they ought to get the point.

It'd be more fun if the number was toll-free, of course.

People, Please stop talking about shwety balls or anything not related to BO! This is not the place for it. This forum is for consumer to vent about retailers. It is not fair to the rest of us who appreciate and take this blog seriously. Many comments may be overblown but I believe there must be a grain of truth in each of them.

Now, I'm not saying Maxwell’s balls are not shwety, salty, smelly, hairy, or big. I'm just saying they are a little bit of everything...like an everything bagel. 'nuff said!

So, does anybody have any comments about Maxwell's prostate??

I enjoy this site, but it needs some on the spot moderators to delete this garbage as soon as it appears. :( Strangely enough, I stumbled on the Bo Concept store in Georgetown for the first time today. The salesperson was friendly and informative and as for the furniture--I thought some of it was pretty nice. It's definitely a cut above Ikea and I know Ikea pretty well. Like any store, you have to look for the value pieces. Believe me, a few doors down at ligne roset, they've got some mediocre pieces at stratospheric prices. One thing that did irritate me was the mandatory assembly charges for some pieces. I mean if the charge is mandatory, it should be part of the price on the tag, no?

people, maxwell is NOT the BoCo employee. he runs this site and was obviously reposting sometihing found somewhere or an email he received.

he did not write the letter.

louis w - thanks for pointing that out. it looked like the email had been signed "maxwell" (the sig was in italics, too) but I see that perhaps the author was unnamed and it was just fwded by maxwell (the regular maxwell, the fellow who runs the site). My apologies to that maxwell - my comments were directed not at him as messenger but at the original message and it author (the BoCo guy).

So crazy....Anyhoo

I'm in advertising, and the Bo Concept ads really portray the store as a sort of high end Ikea, somewhere you can go and pick out a whole bunch of modern stuff and throw it together quickly to fit into your apartment. There are young people in the ads, they are defiantely trying to appeal to a young urban person I think.

I could never spend $7500 on a couch but I'm not sure why anybody would be surprised on the kinds of customers coming in are young and want their stuff right away.

I thought of this poster on Saturday, in the housewares department of Bloomingdale's. There was a heavy older lady, with half-grown-out dyed hair and a cat sweatshirt, who dropped $900 on an espresso machine. You can't always tell what a customer is like by appearance.

i love bo's design & prices.

Listen,

THIS IS ALL MADE UP. TO GET BACK AT THE MANHATTAN STORE, MY BOYFRIEND AND I THOUGHT IT WOULD BE FUNNY TO MAKE UP A RIDICULOUS REPONSE FROM AN "EMPLOYEE" OF BO CONCEPT. WE HAD NO IDEA THAT WE WOULD GET OUR OWN WEB PAGE BECAUSE OF THIS. WE WERE PISSED WITH THE DELAYED SHIPPING OF OUR $6000.00 SOFA, THAT'S ALL. WE'RE SORRY TO BUST ANYONE'S BUBBLE, BUT C'MON PEOPLE. HOE STUPID COULD YOU BE TO WRITE SUCH A RESPONSE IF YOU REALLY WORKED FOR THE COMPANY. YOU'RE ALL FOOLS FOR BELIEVING THIS IN THE FIRST PLACE.
NOW GET A LIFE.

HOW COULD THIS BE TRUE.
YOU'RE AS FOOLISH AS YOU THINK.
DO YOU HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO DO.
I'M SORRY MANHATTAN BO CONCEPT, I HAD NO IDEA THIS MANY PEOPLE HAD LONELY, BORING LIVES.
IT'S ALL A FARSE.
IT'S ALL A FART AS WELL!

YES! Bo Concept does have sofas that cost $7,500
I should know, my leather sectional Mezzo costed me $9,500
From what I read, it seems that most of these responses ARE from customers who may not be experienced with buying modern funiture.
I'm in the retail furniture business myself, and it's amazing how so many naive people fall for the glitz and glam of the name of the store they're shopping in.
Modern furniture is classified by the materials used and how it's made, not the finished assembled look. Lignet Roset, Roche Bubois, Bo Concept, Kartell, B&B Italia, their furniture are made using the exact materials as each other. It's the marketing that seperates them from each other. If you REALLY compare a Bo Concept wall system say to a lignet roset wall system, it's VERY OBVIOUS they are ALL made of the same materials.
A part of buying modern furniture is being able to afford modern furniture, the attitude from the sales staff, is the attitude they recieve from the clients who can truly afford to buy whatever they like.
Whether the comments were true or a farse, there is a lot a truth to was written, many people want the good things in life, but they haven't quite gotten there yet. Don't bight more than you can chew.
Koo Dos to you Bo Concept Employee!!!

to donald bo concept sales people do not make 8o k a yr yeah right!!!

and to the people who invented a fake employee letter get a life. you should just wrote what your experience was like everyone else.

boconcept is a franchise/owner based. i feel sorry for the boconcept employees everywhere. boconcept needs to get it together.

To the person who wrote the fake comments, before you get all upset because you spend all that money for a sofa you should have spend it on school so you can learn how to spell!!! HOE it's how. You say people should get a life for reading this well you should get a life for starting a false rumor. You are pathetic!!! Realize, people read this to learn about different companies whether it's good or bad not your sad stupid made up story

I too am an employee of BoConcept (Washington, DC) and am very displeased in this original posted "story". I would hope that whichever store this guy is working for has decided to let him go, as I find it hard to believe that he is generating any sales with an attitude like this. Please do not base your decision on whether to purchase or not off this one bad seed. We are all here to provide a service and I hope that service offered is a positive one!

you fakers have issues- ITS TRUE, 80K IS NOT A UNACHIEVABLE AMOUNT. DO NOT FORGET THAT WE WORK ON COMISSION, MAYBE YOU SHOULD TRY IT FOR YOURSELF. YOU TOO COULD MAKE 80K!

DONT DISCREDIT RETAIL.

Hello,

Very interesting comments.
Quite funny to be honest.
I work in NYC for a retail company that specializes in selling Lignet Roset products.
And just to back Anon up, last year in commissions I made 65k, plus my regular salary of 30k.
As a sale associate, it is up to us to determine our salary. The harder we work, the easier it is to make such a comfortable living.
There's good money to be made in high end retail.
Ask yourself this, could I sell a $10,000 sofa to just anyone who walks in? If you say yes, then we need you, please apply within.

I work at a US BoConcept store in a metropolitan area. Just for the record, my W-2 states $82,937 for last year. All you have to do to make this much money is prove everyone who doubts your customer service wrong.

Wow,

I just moved to Boston and bought a loft in the Back Bay. The down payment was probably more than this sales person will make in his entire life if this is the way he communicates with his customers. I am 34 and I am pretty sure I know a little something about the way things work. I was going to go the the store in Cambridge on Mass ave but now I am having second thoughts. Does any one know if the Mass ave store has a good track record? Info appreciated. To the sales person, problems come up in every business and the way the company responds to them is what makes a company elite or puts them out of business.

If the original post was written by a Bo Concept employee, I wouldn't want to shop there. And, I'm in their "key" age group too....over 45!

I've been checking out their online catalog and was planning to go to visit the store since I thought I'd found just the sofa I wanted. But, I have a delightful sales person at Pottery Barn on Chestnut. She doesn't even make commission and she's been bending over backwards to help me, including scheduling a full hour of her time just for moi. I feel comfortable knowing that she'd be there for me if I were to have a problem with shipping or a product issue. I may just have to stick with my PB Squared sofa. Perhaps it's a little boring but I'll get it more quickly and I know what I'm getting. I won't be paying a fortune for white glove delivery either.

I do love the look of that 2 1/2 seat sofa with rester/chaise but you guys have thrown the fear of Satan into me! I don't want to end up in a sofa nightmare! I've worked in account management and customer service and hate shopping someplace that doesn't look after the customer.