So Branden and I have had fun exploring furniture stores over the last couple of weeks. Furniture shopping seems to be a never ending process. A store has thousands of pieces of furniture and each one comes in a thousand colors and fabrics. It’s hard enough for me to make up my mind in such a scenario as this, when it actually became worse when we stepped into Star Furniture. Has anyone ever shopped there before? So we walk in the front door and there are about ten salespeople watching us eagerly. Then I’m guessing they draw straws to see who gets us, kinda like tow truck drivers, then one of them walks up with his fat portfolio in hand, introduces himself, and then proceeds to hover over us the entire time we’re in the store. He SAYS he’ll be “around” if we have any questions, but that really just means he’ll be following three feet behind us the entire time, to inject statements such as “Did you know that comes in leather too?” or “That is one of our most popular pieces”. There were also unaffiliated salespeople standing throughout the store that would watch us and if our guy wasn’t in sight yet, they would run up and ask if we were being helped yet. (Was it even possible that we weren’t?) I imagined our salesman shooing him off and yelling “I saw them first!!” He was actually helpful a couple of times, but for the most part Star did nothing for me. There is no way I can think clearly with someone staring at the back of my head for an hour.
We had more luck at Ashley Furniture. They turned out to be a lot better about not bothering us the entire time, although they were still big on making sure we knew their names. Yesterday we walked in the door and turn quickly to the right, into the sea of couches, to see if we could lose them. Nope. This one lady ran after us, and when she caught up she was actually panting as she introduced herself. But yeah all in all we were free to shop there on our own, and we did finally pick out some living room furniture! Yay!
Ohhh, and did I mention that we have a fridge now? (Hallelujah chorus!) I had ice in my drink last night. That makes me happy. 
Oh and thanks to everyone who prayed for my mom’s puppy, Rocky. He has made a full recovery from the ant poison and is back to his hyper self. And Mom is back to spoiling him like one of her own grandchildren.
The sales people you saw at Star Furniture were probably trained to work the way you saw them. I sold furniture for l0 years until 2006 and we were required to “tail” the customer like you were. When you walked into that store you were “assigned” to that sales person based on a list they were keeping out of your sight. These sales people were working on commission only and only get paid when the furniture is delivered. It is a very hard life when you dont know what your paycheck will be from week to week. I personally believe that if the sales person “hangs back” and is available but doesn’t bug you they will get farther with the customer. They were presenting “features/benefits” when they say it comes in other colors/leather etc. They are trained to ask questions that will get a response that is not a “no”. or “just looking”.
As a side bar, keep a close look at your Ashley furniture. Check the construction before your warranty is up. Ashley furniture has a lot in its’ look but construction can be questionable. I’ve sold it and seen the tops of tables peel off and split down the middle. I have an Ashley sofa in my home and the inside of the arms are wrapped in cardboard.
I’ve actually written an ebook about the furniture buying and selling process. It’s much more complicated than any customer would ever dream.
Good luck Rosemary
By: rosemary on July 30, 2008
at 1:43 pm
Wow that was a very informative comment! I was just going to say that we shopped at Ashley’s and really liked it. What couch did you get?
By: Lynn Cooper on July 30, 2008
at 4:07 pm
Our good friend Peggy purchased several pieces of Ashley furniture and has had them for awhile. They are beautiful and show no signs of cardboard. I think that so many of us struggle with furnishing our homes in a decent price range. As you know when you bought your gorgeous bedroom furniture at Ethan Allen, not many of us are free to purchase that at any time of our lives. You and Branden are wise and savvy to quality, and I’m sure you will enjoy your new furniture! The other point I’d like to make is this: I don’t think very many of us Christians plan to be here through eternity, so who cares if our furniture poops out in years to come?!!! Love and Kisses!!!
By: Mom on July 31, 2008
at 11:14 am
Haha, thanks, Mom, that’s very true!
And thank you Rosemary for your input. I’m sure selling furniture is stressful and lots of hard work.
Lynn, we got a sofa and loveseat called “Durapella” in a light color called Stone. We also got a coffee table and end tables called “Watson”, which is in a dark-stained wood. Branden likes the coffee table because he thinks it’s big and manly.
I can’t wait to get our house in order so we can invite yall over! 
By: Liz on July 31, 2008
at 1:15 pm
The Ashley sofa I have I purchased in 2001 so I don’t remember the name of it. I have Ethan Allen furniture that I bought 25 years ago and it is good as new. Furniture is not made like it used to be. The average life span of a sofa is 5-7 years if it is used on a daily basis. Durapella is microfiber which is a very durable fabric. You will see the same fabric at different price levels. They all look alike but less expensive is thinner fabric. It is very easy to clean. Water should bead up on it.
Furniture is not as durable because people were keeping their items for many years, like my Ethan Allen items. Big names like Havertys and Thomasville now use plywood on some parts but the customer would never know that. There is a color counsel that chooses new colors and patterns. They want the consumer to buy new items every five years at the most.
Well, I could go on for days. Very interesting reading. Rosemary
By: rosemary on July 31, 2008
at 8:28 pm