San Francisco Design

09/25/2007 Posted by thedonna

I recently had the opportunity to visit San Francisco Design on Highland Drive. It was one of the best furniture experiences I have ever had ( if one measures this sort of thing). I haven't purchase furniture for at least 30 years, and yes my house looks it. When I walked in I was overwhelmed with all that I have been missing in the furniture end of things. But maybe it was a bit too overwhelming for me. I almost turned right around and left, but a wonderful salesperson saw the suprise on my face, and reassured me that I could take this furniture thing at my own pace. I knew I could do this, but to hear it from someone who at other stores would be trying to sell me the works, it was very comforting. I was looking for a entertainment center for a tv (that I hadn't yet purchased). It was so nice to have the salesperson ask all about the tv I was thinking about buying. (they don't sell tvs at San Francisco Design) She knew quite a bit about tvs for not selling them. She wanted me to get the right item the first time, she said. I liked her caring attitude. She showed me several types of entertainment centers and some plasma cabinets, in a variety of styles to complement what she referred to as my "classic contemporary" existing home furnishings. I ended up getting the cabinet first, and then going and buying a tv to go on my cabinet. It was a very enlightening experience, and I'll definitely go back to "freshen" the look at my home.

Pros: great experience, great atmosphere to shop

07/31/2007 Posted by gingerginger

I have had my own real estate investing company for about 7 years, so I purchase a lot of furniture to furnish homes when they are on the market and for resort rentals, so I'm speaking from some experience. A friend purchased a gift certificate for SF Designs as an early wedding gift for my fiance and I. After finding nothing in their Salt Lake store, I used the gift certificate to purchase an item in their Park City store and it took about 30 minutes and several phone calls just to process the gift certificate. Everyone there was friendly, very helpful and apologized for the wait. I left happy with my purchase if a little frustrated with the wait. My fiance and I split up about a month ago (2 months prior to the wedding), so I am faced with the sad task of returning gifts. The gift certificate from SF Designs was one where the purchaser by special arrangement puts down 50% and SF Designs matches it. So, for example, if the purchaser pays $250, the gift certificate will be for $500. I called SF Designs in Salt Lake (where the gift certificate originated) to ask them how best to purchase another gift certificate to give to the original purchaser given that I don't have the same 'matching' arrangement with the store as the original purchaser had. The woman who answered the phone was snotty, unsympathetic and completely unhelpful. She told me I had to work it out with the gift giver and that was all she could do. So basically, SF Designs gets to keep their money and I will have to do something crass, like write a check to the gift giver. I'm not even going to try to return the item to the store for a refund - I don't have the necessary 3 hours a transaction as complex as that would take for them to process. For the exorbitant prices they charge and their competition from better stores like Sticks & Stones and even RC Willey (both of which have lower prices, excellent customer service), you would think they'd train their staff better.

Pros: Park City store has some nice items

Cons: Overpriced, inefficient, poorly trained and snotty staff