Why Wickes Furniture went bankrupt

Waaay back after I first moved to the grand Twin Cities and received my payout of unused vacation time from my previous employer, my girlfriend convinced me that at 24 years old I should have some appropriate adult furniture.

This will be known as mistake number one in my acclimation to being a transplant to the Twin Cities. The mistake was perusing but a few stores and deciding "Hell, yes, a furniture store in a strip mall in Burnsville will do just fine."

This is what brought us to the now-defunct Wickes Furniture.

Last week, after having the furniture just over five years, I was bitching about the couch sagging. This led me to be overly industrious on Sunday evening. I flipped the couch over, grabbed some tools and removed each of the 100-plus staples holding the black fabric under-covering to the frame.

This is when I noticed that the supports were made of plywood. Plywood which had cracked, splintered and split, leaving the less-than-qualified nails jutting from the outer frame of the low-quality couch.

Now covered in sweat, I devised a plan to craft a new arch-shaped support cross-member. I rummaged around and found a 2x4 in my scrap pile and hacked a rather crude arc using only my circular saw and my patience.

Two hours, a scraped knuckle and three long screws later I had my oddly-timed project completed.

I didn't staple the fabric back in place for two reasons. I know I'll have to do more work on this piece of crap and I couldn't find my staple gun.

My wife informed me that she hates my oddly-timed projects and the way I "just do things". What things about your spouse irritate you?

I promise to you that there are no furniture photos at MinnPics where the best photos from Minnesota's best photographers are showcased.

How not to treat customers

I've wondered somedays as I drive down 169 through Shakopee just how that city can support a whole host of rather large furniture stores (Ashley, Furniture Outlets USA and now Slumberland) essentially across the street from each other. The reason I ponder this is that the city consisting on big-box retailers and townhomes just became home to a Slumberland Furniture store. I have to assume that the quality of the furniture has to be better than that of the now-defunct Wickes Furniture where we bought the bulk of our furniture almost five years ago. Most of that furniture would be better suited for a dumpster but that is another story for another day.

I've scoped out other furniture retailers, hoping to find a better level of quality and customer service for that next big furniture purchase. After reading this recap of a customer service nightmare at the new Shakopee Slumberland I can definitely say that Slumberland is off my list of possibilities. The only dealings I had with them were many years ago in purchasing a coffee table/end table set that thankfully didn't have to be delivered and is holding up wonderfully (unlike that crap from Wickes).

I wish the best for the poor guy who's being taken for a ride through hell by Slumberland but it reminded me with my hellish experience with Home Depot a couple years back. Is it a thing of the past that the customer is always right?