Ethan Allen

Worst customer service ever. I bought a room full of furniture including a custom headboard. The delivery people would not install it to my standard bed frame. The store told me to go to the hardware store and do it myself. I had to call corporate headquarters in Danbury CT and it is still leaning against the wall at this writing. I will never set foot in that store again! If there is anything wrong after the sale, their policy is tough luck!

Beware of Ethan Allen.
My wife and I used Ethan Allen to furnish a good portion of our home about a year ago. The resulting saga with their ‘design studio staff’ (sales people) and customer service organization have led me to write my first-​ever Unilocal review. I certainly made a number of mistakes in my purchase, and want to prevent others from doing the same. I was under the impression that Ethan Allen put out high quality furniture and service given their showroom looks– I was wrong.
1. The sales process– Ethan Allen sets up their sales process to keep customers away from the furniture they are looking at for most of the sales experience. They often seek an out of the way table, and adorn it with fabric samples, layouts, inspiration pieces. In retrospect, this seems in part to keep the customer distracted from observing product quality. Be wary of sitting down to talk before you have a keen idea of what you are looking for. Do not let their sales team help you design a space before you look at all pieces alone. They will work to rush you through the showroom and not let you browse/​investigate on your own. (my mistake should not be yours!)
2. The store layout– The sales people do not like customers wandering around alone (like most furniture stores. They use a combination of their sales staff and tightly organized furniture to distract from relatively poor product construction.
Product quality– Most wood pieces are MDF with veneers/​stained epoxy finishes, even a $ 650+ copper-​top side table has a particle board substrate, where the manufacturing screws can become dislodged (as happened to us– they allowed for a return on this one). The wood veneer surfaces are highly susceptible to scratches and delamination. We purchased a small chest of drawers, and out a child’s rubber ball on the surface, which somehow converted the stain/​veneer to a soft, sticky goo, and exposing the light wood underneath. Ethan Allen does have very skilled techs to repair furniture, but you may well need to pay for it (even under warranty). See below for custom service.
2. custom pieces– any piece of furniture that you put a cloth or leather on is custom. This includes basic sofas and leather chairs. Under no circumstances will Ethan Allen allow you to return a custom piece. This means that if it enters your house, and you sign anything the driver shows you– you will not be able to return the product, regardless of whether it is the same as you had been led to believe. I purchased a fabric sofa with clean lines, straight arms, and a boxy look. Thebsofa that arrived was overstuffed, with pursed wrinkles near the piping on the pillows, and arm piping that was not sewn to line up with the sofa arms. Despite numerous complaints to ethan Allen, at least three tech visits (including ripping apart then sofa in our home to attempt a repair), would they ever allow a return. We attempted to dispute through the credit card company, and due to the very fine print on Ethan Allen ‘s forms, were refused. Knowing we had to keep the sofa, we elected to not have any further tech repairs, in fear of an even worse outcome than we started.
3. Customer service/​warranty– these are all routed to regional service centers, not your local showroom. After the point of sale, you will not see your showroom team again. Ethan Allen claims a 5-​year warranty on their work. For the delaminated wood we experienced (as noted above), we were told this was due to «user error,» and not product defect. There is not wording/​caution on the products or literature about how items may impact the surface (a rubber ball in this instance). Once Ethan Allen has made a decision, you will find any changes extremely difficult.
I have been quite disappointed by the overall experience with the company. Their sales tactics Can be manipulative, their product quality is lower than initially visible (and lower than expected/​the price point suggests), and they are inflexible with repairs and returns. Your money is better spent elsewhere.