Structube Murray St. Ottawa

The manager, Becky, of this location demonstrated the worst customer service I have ever experienced. She was so rigid and rude and had no capacity to troubleshoot and think outside the box to try to help my situation. She seemed to lack knowledge, maturity and experience. Structube needs to ensure that managers have better customer service skills and try to help customers as much as possible. Very poor and bad for business.

A nice alternative to Ikea! You'll still be assembling your furniture, but the design is different and slightly more modern.
We purchased bar stools (hydraulic) and a nice glass television stand from them. All in all, the prices are a little high, given the quality, but certain items are worth it. I've never known them to have any real sales though they'll often clear out products that are discontinued, etc...
Picking up the items was a bit of a pain given that it's the market and hard to stop, but otherwise it was pretty painless experience. Now they have more locations so it's more convenient!

We recently purchased a sofa and 2 bar stools from the Structube on Murray St in the Market. The first sofa we ordered was too large, so we had to return it. This is when we ran into problems.

The sales staff were very friendly and tried to be helpful. However, they did not have sufficient knowledge/authority to answer questions or to process our order efficiently. For example, they needed to confer with an offsite supervisor on virtually every issue - at least 5 phone calls on one visit.

Specifically, Structube:
-Neglected to tell us we needed to bring the package slip to make a return
-Failed to add on the delivery charge - we reminded them
Would not pick up the old couch separately even though we were paying for the return
-Forgot to order the 2nd couch, delaying delivery by 5 days, and still refusing to pick up old couch. They offered no compensation or even possibility of compensation ("They're not going to do that") for this error. -The manager was defensive and would not concede blame for this mistake. Eventually, he promised to let us know about possible compensation, but failed to call back.

There appear to be flaws in the company's structure and hierarchy. The staff seems to have limited decision-making ability and there is overzealous oversight from a central head office (that avoids customer contact). This results in a very poor customer service experience.

How much would it have cost to keep us as customers happy? If they had waived the cost of delivery. Maybe $80 (after sales of close to $1500). Instead, they now have 2 customers who won't be buying from them again, and will be telling people not to buy from them!

Structube is clearly not a well-run company. I would avoid it, and buy your furniture somewhere where customers are treated better.

The sofa's are only two months old and with normal regular usage the fabric have already began to wear in the middle of the sofa and the foam at the ends don't seem to spring back. This makes the sofa look over 5 years old. I paid over $2500 for these two sofas and I am so disappointed with the quality of Structube.

I have approached the Structube store here in Ottawa and I am hoping for either a replacement or refund.

Following my complaint in Aug 2011, I received a conditional refund on purchase of a new couch and love seat from Structube. Hence I selected the "Retro" style 3seater couch and love seat. Again within a few months I see the fabric fraying and pilling. When I approached the store on Murray street besides being dismissive I was rudely told by the store manager that there is a reason why people buy leather furniture and that I should have bought leather instead. She promised to get back to me but to date has only misinterpreted what the warranty states.

Besides being disappointed at the poor quality of furniture Structube is selling, I am also sadenned by the quality of people they have hired to show case their establishment.

Their warranty indicates that they will replace furniture within a year of purchase and in both cases both sets of furniture purchased in May and Aug 2011 were of poor and inferior quality.

I am still waiting for the issue to be resolved for the second time.

I found a painting at the Structube at the Ottawa Train Yards. When I told the salesman I wanted to buy it, he told me that since it was the last one in stock, he couldn't sell it to me. Only his supervisor could sell it. Of course she was on vacation and would be back in a few days. So I made a second trip in a few days and was told the manager had extended her vacation. So next time, I called before going to the store and was told the manager was there that day. So for the third time, I went in and was told that the manager had stepped out and would be back in 10 minutes. Half an hour later I asked if the manager had a cell phone and could they call her? Well, no not unless its an emergency I was told. Apparently making a customer wait over half an hour does not constitute an emergency in the Structube world.

Anyway after almost an hour, the manager finally comes in, and proceeds to help another customer before dealing with me.

While the painting looks great in my house, I will never shop at Structube again after this experience. Apparently customer service is not a high priority with this store.

I like the modern furniture that this store has to offer. The desk that I purchased there is very unique, stylish and functional. I also enjoyed the service - the sales people are professional and polite.