Anonymous on June 10, 2008 at 4:11 AM

It looks pretty, but I was very disappointed by the quality. I bought a set of shelfs and they do not feel sturdy at all. My last set of shelfs came from Ikea and I am sorry to say, the quality was much better (though they did not look as good).

Anonymous on December 31, 2008 at 12:15 AM

I ordered my sofa end of July. I was promised that the sofa would arrive in 6-8 weeks. It arrived mid October.
Then, after several calls and emails to the company, the contact person claimed she was on vacation and she was surprised that nobody contacted us. She also claimed that the sofa was waiting at the warehouse in Winnipeg for a good week. I was told the sofa would arrive on a Wednesday from 5 to 10pm. The sofa was not delivered as it was supposed to. We waited for 5 hours and had to call the next day to find out that the delivery was never arranged.
So disappointing..
At the end, we got a $40GC about 2 months later and thanked for our patience.

Pissed! on January 29, 2009 at 4:25 PM

I purchased scarpa dinning room table, its on back order for 6 months and the Milo tv unit, its on back order for 7 months. I called for the status on my Mortin sofa I also ordered, thinking that it would be ready for delivery tomorrow and have, SURPRISE, now been told that my fabric, Nolan cast iron, is on back order and will not be ready for at last 6 weeks! Come on Jim Hunt, vice president of EQ3, get your shit togther , you are loosing buisness and word of mouth travels fast....

Mark on March 8, 2009 at 9:03 PM

We have a couch and a love seat form EQ3, a coffee table, and two lamps. We are extremely pleased with all of them.

Some of these comments seem out of line. The quality corresponds with the price point which is reasonable all around. You get designer style with not much more thn an IKEA budget--and far better quality.

And the staff were always quite helpful. I'm not saying that EQ3 is totally amazing, just good value. We would definitely buy from them again.

Ira on March 24, 2009 at 2:46 PM , replying to a comment from Anonymous

Have to agree with some of the other comments. We've, so far, had a terrible time with EQ3 in Montreal.

Ordered a custom fabric sectional the first week of January, and was told that it would take 4-6 weeks delivery time. It sounded a little long, but we went ahead with the purchase. Two months later, we hadn't been contacted for delivery, so I called the store.

Was told that the material was on back-order, and that someone should have called to tell us..... They hadn't, so I called head-office, and they said that the material had actually been on backorder when we purchased the couch... They said they had some "computer issues", and appologized, and said the material would be in the following week (second week of March).

Called the following week, and surprise, was told by another rep that the material should arrive the 3rd week of March at the latest (and that this is what the computer has said since last month!).

Called this week, and you know what's coming... The material will arrive next week!

I mentioned what an inconvenience this whole process has been, and we were offered a $25 dollar discount. It was like a slap in the face. I have no idea if we'll ever get our $3000 couch (PAID IN FULL on order), have received terrible service and misleading info by at least 3 people, and they are offering us a discount which represents less than 1/3 of the shipping costs?? Ridiculous.

How are they still in business?

Avoid. Avoid. Avoid.

- Ira

joni on April 15, 2009 at 10:04 PM

The upholstery is made in winnipeg or Mexico but there is no telling where your sofa will be made. Anything that does not have Fabric on it could be made anywhere in the world.

I used to love EQ3, in fact I even sold the furniture myself. I have spent almost $10, 000 on the garbage. It falls apart very quickly and the company doesn't stand by there warranty. They say they use a high density foam, but they don't. I found this out from personal experience. I just can't believe I told so many people untrue facts about the quality for a year as a sales person.

The odd product does seem to hold its quality better then most of the stuff, but it really is buyer beware because you never know what product it's going to be.

There customer service department is horrible. The poor reps have not been trained to deal and defuse angry customers who have paid good money for poor quality. The customer service manager of gets away with whatever she wants because she's married to the VP of the company. She makes up new rules as she goes along.

I say these things not because I'm an an angry ex employee, that is not the case at all. In fact I didn't start to have problems with my furniture until after I left the company under good terms. I say them because I think most young couples and families work hard for there money, and furnishing a home is costly. Nobody deserves to have a $2000.00 sofa fall apart after less then 2 years and have the manufacturer not do a thing about it even though it is clearly a warranty issue. I was told as a sales person to tell people the average life of a sofa is 7 years not less then 2. Now 5 years early I need a new sofa. I won't even go into the other problems i have with my other Eq3 pieces.

It is really sad because the furniture really does look great, and it's hard to find modern furniture at a reasonable price.

Sam on April 22, 2009 at 11:54 PM

Ordered a couch at EQ3 months ago. I keep getting the run-around at their useless Customer Service.
At this point, I just want to cancel my order - EQ3 does not know when the production of my couch will start.
EQ3 refuses to issue a refund.

So i called my credit card co VISA. I will be able to get my refund through them!
All they asked was if 30 days had passed since the date of delivery stated on the contract (mine said 8-10 weeks - it's been 16 weeks). I said yes. They asked if I tried to contact EQ3 to obtain the items I paid for or to cancel my order, I said yes.

And that was that. VISA can reverse the charges and I'm getting my money back.

If I had more money, I'd take up a page in the Globe&Mail to denounce these bastards.

Claudia on May 7, 2009 at 10:03 PM

I commented earlier about my ALL the items I ordered being very, very, late. So just to update you all, the Milo plasma unit I ordered that was on back order for 7 months and scheduled to arrive this week, no surprise here is on back order for another 2 months at least. This now takes us to 9 months!

HOW ARE YOU STILL IN BUISNESS? And yes as one blogger said that may hunt is head of cust. Service and is married to Jim hunt VP of eq3.....conflict of interest much?

I think we should all make complaints to the better business bureau

Word to the wise: Don’t just walk away from EQ3, RUN! Structube is comparable and much more reliable

Jim Hunt on May 11, 2009 at 11:53 AM

Hello,

First, let me thank everyone for their comments. We take your feedback very seriously.

At EQ3, we believe in providing affordable home furnishings for everyone who appreciates modern design. Your experience as a customer, from entering the store and encountering the visual presentation, to interacting with our professional and knowledgeable sales team, to then receiving the goods in your home, should consistently meet and exceed your expectations. Any misstep along the way is not acceptable to our organization.

EQ3 works very hard to ensure the products sold have been thoroughly checked at our factories and once again at our central warehouse. We are very proud that consistently, less than 2% of our sales have reported quality issues. Should you experience a problem, we have a well-trained team of customer service representatives ready to accept your call six days a week, up to twelve hours a day (1-888-988-2014). We have created fair and consumer friendly policies, which are shown on our website and found in the packaging of each of our products. I am confident that when EQ3 is presented with reasonable issues related to quality and service, we will respond to the best of our ability and work hard to exceed your expectations.

Unfortunately, EQ3 is not immune to today’s economic climate. The world economy has created new challenges in our supply chain, resulting in some of the unexpected delays mentioned here. Some of our manufacturers have been forced out of business. Globally, the flow of raw materials has slowed considerably, reducing production runs and resulting in less inventory on hand from our remaining manufacturers. We are actively taking steps to rectify the recent delays and we believe our actions will improve the inventory availability to once again meet the expectations of our customers.

I welcome any of your comments. I would like to earn your trust and help to ensure a positive experience with EQ3.

Please email me directly at jhunt@eq3.ca. Thank you again for your interest in EQ3.

Jim Hunt
Vice President, EQ3
Retail Operations

Confused on May 11, 2009 at 12:16 PM , replying to a comment from Jim Hunt

Not sure which planet you people are on! I've bought tons of stuff from EQ3, both in Toronto and in Burlington, and have had one small issue that got resolved in about 45 minutes with Jeff (Geoff?) who is in Customer Service there.

By contrast, I spent way more at UpCountry and Casalife, had way worse service and lots more run-around, and when I finally got the stuff it had to be replaced because the quality was no good. Don't kid yourselves - more expensive isn't necessarily any better.

And by the way Claudia, here's a newsflash - THIS ISN'T A CONFLICT OF INTEREST when two married people work at the same company. And Structube??? Are you kidding me? Stupid, unhelpful staff selling crap more suited to JYSK - which location do you work at...?

I don't doubt there have been problems for some people but keep in mind that only the people with problems complain - maybe I'm part of the silent majority that LOVE EQ3 and are very happy with their purchases. So forgive me if I sound a bit biased but since everyone else here is slagging it, RUN, DON'T WALK, TO EQ3 AND GET SOME GREAT STUFF!!!

anon on May 11, 2009 at 3:25 PM

I have it on good authority that JONI in fact did not leave on good terms and is now out to spread misinformation because she got canned! The point here, people, is not to always believe what you read here. Lots of people have ulterior motives.

ANON on May 11, 2009 at 3:53 PM

ENOUGH slander about Joni. I am a customer who was never employed by EQ3. I do find their furniture is very poor quality for the price!!!

Katy on May 12, 2009 at 1:54 PM

EQ3 Las Vegas is probably the worst company I have ever dealt with. The customer service is absolutely awful! The merchandise is cheap and horribly constructed. The return/exchange policy is ridiculous, probably because everyone ends up very disappointed with the product and wants to return it. The salespeople are dishonest when it comes to delivery dates.

I can assure you that this company will not survive in Las Vegas. It's a small town and negative word of mouth will put them out of business.

What a nightmare of an experience dealing with such incompetence and lack of consideration.

Abdar on May 12, 2009 at 3:07 PM

Who exactly is the "Canadian GOOD manufacturing world"? And where exactly do the parts for this "GOOD" furniture come from? Do you think there are elves in the Canadian woods making sofas? I have shopped at EQ3 and for the price their stuff is pretty good. I didn't buy since my wife wanted something more traditional which we bought at the Bay - it was made in Canada and fell apart after six months. So much for that.

Abdar on May 13, 2009 at 4:49 PM

OK Anonymous - since you chose to go on a rant here is the response point by point.

1. EQ3 is a CANADIAN company based in Winnipeg. Check your facts before you slag.

2. Thank you for your primer on leather - clearly you have no knowledge of the industry. Fortunately I do and a) there is no "Mexican" leather industry to speak of - and b) leather is an international commodity and it's source and ultimate point of use are usually not the same. "European" leather, like leather from many other places, is made in a huge range of qualities and costs and the term is absolutely no guarantee of anything

3. Canada HAD a huge fabric industry but it, like the American industry, is virtually gone. Almost all fabric used in furniture is imported from elsewhere - that includes your cherished "little guys".

4. "GOOD" upholstery frames are made with a whole range of components - the idea that "solid hardwood" is the only way to go is both wrong and outdated. Get into at least the 80s...

5. I'm not "sticking up" for EQ3 - I also could care less. Having been the victim of a few online whiners myself in my business, I simply chose to respond that not everyone has had the issues you MUST have had in order for you to spend the time and effort you did to, in my opinion, inaccurately portray a place that I thought was ok. I'm glad you know the difference between good and bad quality because it appears that that's about all you know.

Abdar on May 14, 2009 at 7:05 AM , replying to a comment from Abdar

To ABDAR: EQ3's head office and loading docks etc are in Winnipeg and perhaps some assembly..

Don't be fooled by the oldest trick in the book....EQ3 is in the US and I can assure you they didnt migrate south from Canada.

As for your portrayal of "on line whiners" ...any good company (including yours!) who was concerned would not refer to customers like that but would do what the vice president of EQ3 did ....RESPOND!!!

There are some very reputable companies still making furniture in Canada....obviously you are not aware of it or you wouldnt be shopping at The Bay.

ANONYMOUS on May 14, 2009 at 7:23 AM , replying to a comment from Abdar

TO ABDAR:

Stop portraying yourself as a "VICTIM" and do what any good business would do...deal with the so-called "whiners!!

Victim...give me a break!

Abdar on May 14, 2009 at 11:48 AM

Hey Anon - PULL YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOUR ASS. In about 4 seconds of googling, you will find that EQ3 is a division of Palliser Furniture in Winnipeg. At least that's how long it took me.

Second, what the hell do you know about my business and what a whiney jerk did to me??? The "something" in this for me has nothing to do with this company - it's morons like you that get my back up and I respond. Now take your utter ignorance of furniture, leather, and your pea-sized brain and crawl back under your rock.

Maybe I'll go shopping at EQ3 now.

cereibel on May 14, 2009 at 3:57 PM

Just a short note to relate a positive resolution to an unpleasant experience with EQ3.
My husband and I bought several items from EQ3 in January 2009. We were told the items would arrive March 21, 2009. Unfortunately, March became August and we wanted to cancel. The salesperson was unreasonable and unhelpful. I contacted Jim Hunt, the VP of Retail Operations and Ken Brown, the Regional Manager. These two gentlemen intervened and resolved our issues quickly, effectively, and efficiently.

Mr. Hunt and Mr. Brown are professionals who understand customer service and they have restored our loyalty and confidence in EQ3.

M. Hart on May 20, 2009 at 3:05 PM

Dear Gail (aka EQ3 employee),

I have receipts, phone logs and letters to prove all I have stated above. This fantastic blog exists so that ordinary people can inform each other on the pros and cons of everything in TO and that includes design stores.

anonymous on May 27, 2009 at 7:33 AM

To Gail:

How would you know these claims are unsubstantiated???

You don't. I am sure if EQ3 felt someone was trying to bring them down with false claims they would have used the courts by now.

The fact is NONE of these claims have been tried in court-yet.

The funny thing is many of these claims have a familiar ring to them.

Guru on June 8, 2009 at 3:53 PM

Some thoughts, facts, and observations:
- Quality is defined by a standardized well developed process, period. This means materials, manufacturing and delivery. This applies to anything, weather furniture or cars. Location has nothing to do with it.
- The vast majority of furniture is made in Asia, whether it’s EQ3 or Natuzzi. Some is made in Mexico and more and more in Brazil. Yes some areas of North America still make furniture, well defined by its price.
- EQ3 is an independent division of Palliser Furniture. This means as a business they live and die on their own. All raw materials are imported from the US, and assembly is done in Mexico and Canada for upholstery, and wood products are made in Asia, and not China.
- Generally, you get what you pay for. Anyone paying $1000.00 for a couch and expect it to last a life time is probably not realistic. Check the warranty.
- The reality of the furniture business today is that it’s a consumable. You buy it cheap use it for 5 years or so and sell it at a garage sale or give it to the college kids, or put it at the cottage, and buy another, not withstanding that it may last a life time.
- The age of disposable furniture is upon us ushered in by none other than IKEA. Besides who wants to sleep in the same bed for the rest of his life or sit on the same couch????? Furniture for life has a whole different price range, and I can guarantee after awhile maybe a long while you won’t be happy with it.

anonymous on June 9, 2009 at 11:17 AM , replying to a comment from cereibel

Hello Cereibel,
Could kindly forward the contact information for both of those gentlemen as I have an issue with a couch I had ordered and has yet to arrive.

Thank you.

lisa on June 15, 2009 at 2:20 PM , replying to a comment from Guru

Guru, I agree entirely with what you are saying.

Sadly though, many people cannot afford to buy furniture that was made to last a lifetime. I am purchasing some furniture from Eq3, with hopes that the items last us a good 10-15 years at LEAST. I think that if you take good care of your purchases, and are resourceful, you can make things last a hella lot longer than they are supposed to. That being said, I agree fully that we must get out of this "disposable" head space.

Thank you for raising awareness on this issue.

Peter on July 6, 2009 at 9:47 PM , replying to a comment from Krista

Krista is dead on. Don't believe them. The sales people know that the product is on backorder and they give the lead time the company tells them. The unfortunate thing is the sales people are lied too. They are wondering if EQ3 will ever get the furniture they keep saying will be in, in 3 months. I know cuz my friend works for an EQ3.

Anonymous on July 26, 2009 at 2:41 PM

Thanks everybody for warning me about EQ3! I was thinking about ordering from there because the stuff looks beautiful but will now NOT. Can somebody from Winnipeg recommend where i should go for contemporary leather furniture without spending an arm and a leg that is decent quality? Let me know. J

shaun on July 30, 2009 at 5:24 PM

I like some of thier things, but i can honestly say i had the worst service with them. I bought a queen size bed and paid it full in cash and got the guys to come drop it off. So they told me they'll ship it out to me the next day, i ended up waiting a week. So then they say it'll be in next week for sure! so i wait it out and it finally shows up. And when the guys try to set it up, the ordered the wrong slate for me and i have to wait another week just for the slate, meanwhile i have the frame and matress, i still couldnt sleep on the thing because it needed the slate for the mattress to sit on. I tell you, they only gave me 100.00 back and the shipping fees were waved.... worst service of my life! you think you'd be treated like a respected customer after dropping 3000.00 cash for a new bed, but all i got was bad service and i no longer shop there. Thank you EQ3 for wasting my time.

sophie on August 6, 2009 at 3:47 PM

I was going to buy an EQ3 sofa but am having second thoughts based on above comments. It would be nice if people could provide alternative options for mid-range, nice-looking furniture in either ottawa or montreal. i realize this is a TO blog but i can't find anything comparable for montreal or ottawa stores. thanks!

Bossanono on August 10, 2009 at 11:37 PM

My wife and I bought our Bossa table, with 8 chairs and custom fabric in Feb. '09. Table #1 and 8 chairs arrived a few days prior to Easter weekend with crooked sleeves, chipped chair, 2 chairs were discoloured, and several other major flaws. Spoke to staff, asked Manager to come see for himself (I live 5 minutes away down the road) and see it in person but was asked to take pictures and email it instead by another staff member.

Took pictures as requested and sent in; waited till July for table #2 and replacement chairs to come; custom seat cushions finally arrived shortly before that.
Wife and I assemble table #2 and noticed it has a butted-in corner (obvious shipping damage; we noticed the dented in cardboard right away); request via email replacement table #3, told that "there's one in the warehouse, come take a look and see if it's to your liking" (wouldn't it make more sense to go down for yourself and inspect it before sending a *replacement* product to a disgruntled customer?). Told rep to go ahead and ship it, week later, get email response saying "our mistake" it's been shipped to another customer and now replacement #3 is on "back order", with no ETA.

I have a running bet with my wife that we won't have it in time for xmas dinnner.

What erks me the most is the complete lack of empathy from the staff -- no manager/store owner called me to apologize, no offer of a gift card or a further discount was extended, no one even offered to come by and assemble/disassemble table #1 or table #2 for us. Even the email replies take a week, and only when you email again and say "what's going on?" will someone reply.

I'm not naive; I know a sales rep can do as much about shoddy quality control in a factory in Thailand as they can about shipping damage in transit, but the flippant attitude and apparent culture of mediocrity at EQ3 is shocking to say the least.

Bossanono on August 11, 2009 at 1:01 PM

Gura: no, table #1 was sent back and we still have and are using table #2 with the butted-in corner. We should've open/inspected #2 ourselves before accepting it but seeing how little inventory they seemingly carry, I don't think it would've made a difference.

s on August 18, 2009 at 1:13 PM

I was surprised to hear all the negative comments. I bought a Solo sofa from EQ3 about 3 years ago. The staff were friendly and helpful, the sofa arrived on time, no problems with delivery. I use this couch heavily every day (even sleep on it sometimes) and after 3 years it's held up really well. The frame is sturdy, the cushions have kept their shape, and the fabric (Monarch) has been resilient to day to day wear and tear. I know usually only people who have had negative experiences comment, so I thought I'd represent the group of buyers that had no problems and so did not think to look up and comment on this type of blog (myself, I only found this blog through researching another purchase I'm planning to make at EQ3). Sorry to hear so many people have had bad experiences, but as for myself, I certainly can't complain.

Bossa Table on September 10, 2009 at 5:34 PM , replying to a comment from Bossanono

I have an almost exact same story with the Bossa expandable table. Table and chairs and a sofa table was ordered in March 09 with a 30% payment required by EQ3 retail. Not only did it not show up for 4 months, the table was damaged and custom ordered cushions were not even on the chairs. I should also mention we live 100 km from the store and furniture was delivered with no pre-inspection to ensure a quality product was being sent out. A new table was assured to me by store manager... 6 months has passed and I am still waiting for this new table not to mention the milo sofa table still isn't in and the guy has no idea when it will.

I totally get why you are pissed off about service from retail managers. There has been absolutely no communication from the manager of this EQ3 retail. I have called about 10 times inquiring on my order because this guy has no service skills. He was reluctant to give me any discount......so all I asked for is to communicate with me on the progress of my order......NOTHING!! Same old same old. I work in a service oriented industry and I know for a fact that if I treated my clients like this I would be out of a job!! And I thought I was the only person who had a bad experience with this company........

disappointed on September 16, 2009 at 4:56 PM , replying to a comment from Anonymous

EQ3 is the worst store you could possibly buy from.. BUYERS BEWARE.. I pretty much ordered a bed like 6 months ago.. First time around, one of the bed rails had a huge hole in it..fast-forward 3 months later (coz that's how long it takes for their crappy customer service team to get back to you) they delivered another bed rail- but obviously they cannot even know their left from their right. Another two months (and a lot of grief) later, they FINALLY reschedule a delivery only to bring the WRONG bedframe again. Meanwhile, we are stuck with an unmounted bed in our tiny condo bedroom with three bed rails that are defective. A staff that doesnt know left from right and gived you attitude...Need I say more?

Ashley on November 12, 2009 at 3:33 PM

My boyfriend and I purchased the Reply Sofa and an ottoman from EQ3 a few years back. The Ottoman was damaged (the corner was scuffed- it was white leather). I called them and had my call returned the very next day, if not the same day. They asked me to take a picture of the ottoman damage and email it to their customer service department. I did so and someone came in to assess it in person about a week later. He saw the damage and said it should be replaced as it was on a corner and it would be difficult fix without it being visible (being right on the corner). THEN a couple days later I noticed the couch material ( dark brown microfiber)bled onto my clothes (very minimal but it was still annoying). I called and spoke to Customer service again and they said they would replace the couch for us and the ottoman as well. I was pretty upset by the fact that their microfiber bled onto my clothes but they were very understanding at both the store and the Customer Service. Initially they didn't want to issue a refund as it was a special oder but I kindly explained to them that I didn't not want to take a chance at replacing the couch and then just have to get it replaced again with another fabric. We got a refund and found something elsewhere... but we always wished that we had stayed with that couch! It was so comfortable and the price was great too, especially for the size of it. We just went back a week ago to purchase more furniture from them but took the 24 month financing option (we don't pay until we receive the furniture. Hopefully the wait time isn't too long; the first time around it was only about 3-4 weeks.
Just wanted to give a story that could kind of reflect both sides of opinion...