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You search for perfection when you shop for a new sofa, dining room table, or another piece of foundational furniture. Often, the only way to obtain the perfect piece requires having it custom-made.
Table of Contents
Custom Furnishings Defined
Custom furnishing, such as a couch, uses a base design, but lets you choose the color, material, size, finish, and other aspects. For instance, you might get a choice of three or four different feet for the sofa.
Since that seems pretty straightforward, why do so many customers of custom furnishing companies complain that their couches missed the mark? Typically, it’s a failure to communicate properly.
What Gets Communicated in a Furniture Order
Each custom furnishings company employs a customer service department, such as the Joybird customer service department. Customer service representatives (CSRs) don’t know how to craft furniture. They’re trained in high-quality service, so the callers receive a friendly person who takes their order. They also work from a set of questions, typically, to obtain the needed information.
- Desired base design,
- Color,
- Material,
- Size,
- Finish,
- Feet options.
What Doesn’t Get Communicated in a Furniture Order
A business might need furniture that represents its culture and values. What looks as if it suits the corporate image online, doesn’t once it arrives.
An individual or family shopping for their home might need a firm couch with stay-in-place cushions. What looks ideal in a photo with no one sitting on it becomes a soft, billowy cushion once a family member sits on it.
Because shopping for such items occurs so rarely, both sides need a bit of coaching in how to describe what they want or can offer.
How to Solve the Communication Problem
Businesses can add an open-ended text box to their online order forms or questions about firmness, current décor, intended décor, etc. Often, the intangible items of a furnishing make or break it.
Few pieces of furniture offer the ease of mattress shopping. Mattresses come graded up to extra firmness. Some allow two individuals to create a specific firmness setting for their side of the bed. That makes it easy to purchase what you want, even online.
Customers can voice their questions before beginning the ordering process. Read reviews, such as these Joybird reviews, to find out any questions or concerns of other customers. Start by talking with a CSR or sending an email to find out if the company allows a firmness choice on the cushions. Some designs can’t accommodate this, while others can.
Photos only give a furniture designer an idea of what you want a piece to look like. Your description of how you will use the furniture, your needs, and a description of your favorite pieces provides the designer with the necessary information to make your custom furniture ideal for you.
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