We have lots of customers regularly contacting myself, and other staff members enquiring about our leather sofas, and other furniture products we sell. There are several ways we receive questions from the public, either by telephone, email, or by them physically coming into the store.

As I have mentioned in previous posts I much prefer when a customer comes into the store, as it provides me with a chance to meet customers face to face, and show them the furniture in the ‘flesh’. This would be an uninterrupted experience if it were possible to show all models from the website in the showroom, and vice versa. As many people are aware, currently internet sales are on the increase, and many high streets’ in the UK are suffering as a result of this, and local sofa sales are no exception. At Furniture Lifestyle the team are working around the clock to provide a service that compliments both sides of the business.

There has been many discussions on the best way to approach this matter, and the final decision was to continue offering great prices online, and displaying high end sofas, and other furniture in store. The reason for this is simple, when we sell a sofa or any other expensive item, it is vital that the store, and the customer have a harmonic understanding of the goods being sold. A good example of this is from last weeks post where I explained about aniline leather, and how we would prefer our customers to come into the store and see the leather samples for themselves.

This system has its flaws as our showroom is based in London, and some of our customers are unable to travel long distances, but when you are spending sums of money that would equal the same amount as taking your family on an expensive holiday, it makes sense to make the journey.

The internet has offered our business a great opportunity to advertise nationally, and show our furniture to the whole country, something that in the past only large companies with multiple stores were able to do. It has helped reduce prices, and pass great savings onto our customers, and provide fast delivery on selected furniture. Delivery times were a problem in the past, with the average waiting time being between six to eight weeks. By holding stock models and increasing sales, many of the items have had delivery times reduced ten fold.

With all the above driving the business forward, it creates new problems, and stock management for the website is top of the list. This is the reason why we always ask you to call ahead, and check we have the sofas you are interested in on the shop floor, so that you do not make a wasted journey, although there will always be something that catches your eye, I am sure.