Do Dania furniture stores all suck now? (Seattle, Spokane: sales, 2014)

[LS35a]

Or is it just Spokane?

I lived in Seattle for 20 years and loved Dania. They had great looking, sort of modern furniture that was reasonably priced. You could walk through that store and almost anything you'd see would be worth putting in your house.

After 9 years away from Seattle I moved near Spokane and checked out the Dania here.

It's awful. Ugly furniture I'd expect to see at 'MOR Furniture' or some place like that. Really hideous stuff, and quite over priced.

So are the Dania in Seattle still nice or has this place really fallen down in the past nine years?

[Seacove]

Never liked Dania. Their style makes me think of a dentist's office.

[tobester]

I think IKEA had a big effect on Dania.

[Blondebaerde]

One might guess, from Dania's current inventory and advertising, that competitors have had a significant impact on their market position while OP has been away.

I agree, actually: in the late 1990s, their furniture definitely had what I'd call their core-differentiator in place: Scandanavian designed, or Scan Design influened, at moderate prices. There were (are) places downtown Seattle that are truly fine products from northern Europe, in design and manufacture. At wallet-busting prices.

Today, there is a quite a bit of lower-priced, lower quality product in evidence at Dania (Kirkland store, at least). Will agree with you there. I assume it is there because it moves. And/or, it hooks people who came for the better, original-quality stuff (mid-priced). People are apt to add-on lower priced items on a whim if they "think" it's right in there with the mid-priced items in terms of aesthetics and quality. Whether it is or not.

There are still diamonds in the rough at Dania. For awhile, they carried Greenington Bamboo (and still might), right on the edge of "spendy," but good quality. I bought four pieces that come to mind: two end tables, a hall table, and coffee table. Two years later I remain impressed with those products. Bamboo is harder than the hubs of hell and seems to resist dings and stains.

I also have two couches from Dania that they closed out (knocked $500 off the set: floor models). Mid-quality leather, not the cheap stuff you can find in the rental outlets and etc. One can feel the difference, up close and personal, and also after examining the stitching. Not to be confused, however, with the top-quality, Top-Grain leather that is buttery-soft one finds on $3K and up couches and love seats. Two years later on that, also: so far, so good.

Point being they are still my go-to, first stop when I need mid-tier furniture or less-than-tacky (but not good as original works) objects d'art. The cheap stuff stands out, and I avoid it. The quality items are a bit subtler. I think they still have a place in the furniture market, though it is shifted from way back when.

[Kayela]

They don't suck so bad that I don't go there when I'm looking for something, but yeah - definitely not what they used to be.

[seattlenextyear]

They're one of the few places that sells stuff made in America. I have a couch + 2 chairs, all made in Oregon.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by LS35a

Or is it just Spokane?

I lived in Seattle for 20 years and loved Dania. They had great looking, sort of modern furniture that was reasonably priced. You could walk through that store and almost anything you'd see would be worth putting in your house.

After 9 years away from Seattle I moved near Spokane and checked out the Dania here.

It's awful. Ugly furniture I'd expect to see at 'MOR Furniture' or some place like that. Really hideous stuff, and quite over priced.

So are the Dania in Seattle still nice or has this place really fallen down in the past nine years?

Dania has always sucked. The furniture looked great, but it didn't last. Underneath the nice teak veneers was really cheap materials that would wear out. Or the kitchen tables had to be assembled, so the legs tended to wobble. Dania was mostly for show, not for long-term use.

[leftwing]

I recently purchased a mid-tier adjustable standing desk at the Dania in Roosevelt Square (Seattle), and I've been happy with the product, the in-store experience, and the delivery & construction of my desk. Good stuff all around.

[CommonSenseGuy]

NICE FURNITURE - BUT THEIR SALES REPS AND EVEN THE MANAGER ARE TERRIBLE AT SERVICING A CUSTOMER.

We bought over $2000 worth of furniture in November 2014 from Keith. At the time of the sale, we arranged for a specific delivery date. When we got home and checked our calendar, we called to change the delivery date. I had called THREE TIMES TO CONFIRM the change, even speaking to my salesperson (Keith) who assured me all three times it was taken care of.

The day before the expected delivery, I called to say the delivery company hasn’t called yet. Keith assured me they would call, but not until after 4pm. (Even though they close at 3:30).

The next morning I called Keith at Dania to verify someone was still coming.

I WAS TOLD NO, THAT EVEN AFTER “CONFIRMING” IT THREE TIMES; THE DELIVERY DATE WAS NEVER CHANGED.

THREE TIMES HE "CONFIRMED" IT! My salesperson, Keith, only had to pick up the phone any of the three times I called to confirm to check with the delivery company – he didn’t. Ever. Odd because all he has is time on his hands, as he walks around the store all day waiting for customers.

I had to take another day off WITHOUT PAY and wait again. The furniture came, but the delivery guys wanted to take the backs off our power motion couch to make it lighter. It was cold outside, and they were having a hard time, so they took a 10” screwdriver and HAMMERED THE HECK OUT OF THE CLIPS to get the backs off. The couch, one of only two left in their inventory, is now messed up with a large gap between two backs, and one of the other backs is leaning backwards about 2 inches farther than the other two backs.

I AM NOW WAITING ANOTHER 6 WEEKS FOR THEIR REPAIR COMPANY TO COME OUT AND “TRY TO FIX IT”.

But that’s not all. One of the barrel chairs needed to be replaced because the base was not put on the bottom correctly so it was not "centered"

After the BS I’ve already gone through with their incompetence, I made sure the exchange would be handled by a manager of the Lombard, IL store – a man named Albert.

He ASSURED me that after what we’ve been put through that the replacement chair would be delivered on December 3rd. So I took ANOTHER DAY OFF WITHOUT PAY.

I don’t know why I’m NOT surprised – but guess what? – NO DELIVERY – AGAIN!!!

The manager told me somehow, the delivery was canceled. He can't tell me by who, why or when, but someone.. canceled my delivery without anyone's knowledge - was it a F-You by the salesperson? Who knows.

This company IS the absolute WORST COMPANY I’VE EVER DEALT WITH – and I’m in my late 50’s, so I’ve dealt with a lot of companies.

[flyingsaucermom]

Should I be nervous???

We're expecting our sofas any day. There had been two models we considered (actually it was just my husband making the considerations....I was "sold" on the model we ended up getting....). One was cheaper (style, comfort and manufacturing), made in China, but immediately available for delivery. I opted for one American made and customized. Something that will hopefully last as long as we're in this home.

We are near the end of the delivery window given to me and I know that the furniture left the factory about two weeks ago. I've called a couple of times and I'm a little put out that they still can't give an expected delivery date despite product tracking being pretty standard these days (last week I followed mom's LL Bean bathrobe across four states in two days). The sales reps seem to perform on the same tier as IKEA.... I sense their lack of apathy in learning the in's and out's of the company... they do what they are told and not expected to individualize service...

Despite the $4k worth of business I don't expect a hand-written card from them like I receive after my $100 maintenance check from the heating and air company or the one I give to a client after watching their pet for a couple days.

I don't think it's just Dania though. I think it's the result of scaling a business.