I recently had a very disappointing and frustrating experience with the Aaron’s store in Fargo and felt it was important to share for anyone considering shopping here.
I originally placed an order online for a specific furniture set, and I was told it would be available for delivery in a few weeks. The next day, I received a call from the Fargo location stating they had the exact same set in-store and could deliver it sooner. They advised me to come in, verify the furniture, and show my ID since I had already paid the online down payment.
When I arrived, the furniture at the store looked nothing like the set I ordered online. However, because they had another living room set available and I wanted something before the holidays, I agreed to proceed with that set instead.
At this point, I was told I needed to sit down with the manager "Desiree," to “create a new agreement,” even though I was assured it would be the same terms as my online order. I was only shown a very short description on an iPad to sign, not the full paperwork, and I had no visibility into what was actually being typed into the system. Still, I trusted the process and scheduled delivery.
On delivery day, they called to confirm my identity. But when they arrived, they refused to deliver the furniture because my son—who was home to receive it—did not have an ID. I work full-time, and I had been told only that someone needed to be home, not that identification was required from the person accepting delivery. At this point I asked them to cancel the order and refund my money.
A few days later, after Thanksgiving, the store called again to apologize and attempted to reschedule delivery. However, on the day of the new delivery, they called two hours early and said they would not deliver unless I paid two weeks of additional payments in advance. This was supposedly because the furniture had been “sitting in the store. They also said that I had to sign an agreement with my manager saying that they could enter my apartment.” I refused, as they were the ones who declined to deliver it the first time despite my down payment already being made. Also, why would I need to sign an agreement with my manager saying that they get enter into my apartment building? If somebody needed to be home during delivery, why did they need permission to enter my apartment?)
"Desiree," who claimed to be the manager got on the phone and I again requested a cancellation.
After this, I contacted corporate, who informed me that, "Desiree " at the Fargo store had actually canceled my original online order behind corporate’s back and created an entirely new in-store order instead—apparently so they could sell me a different furniture set and get commission. Corporate told me they were sorry for the experience but that the local store had control over the situation.
It has now been over a week, and I never received the promised follow-up call from corporate. Worse, I am now being charged for a furniture set I never received—despite telling the store three separate times to cancel the order.
This experience has shown a serious breakdown in communication, accountability, and customer service between the local store and corporate. Whether this issue is with the local management, the store itself, or the lack of oversight from corporate, customers should not be falling through the cracks like this.
I hope Aaron’s will review this situation, address these practices, and ensure other customers do not go through the same thing.
