Broyhill repairs.

[kodydog]

Our favorite furniture store informed us Broyhill has gone out of business. This is a hardship for them because they cannot order parts for repairs. Foam is their main concern and they asked us if we could handle replacement when needed. This makes a bit of a dilemma for Rose and I. Our experience has been most foam failures are caused by folks with big backsides sitting on foam with low density. The old feels great in the showroom but 6 months later syndrome. If we replace the foam with the same density and the same firmness does this now put the burden forever on us. We could replace it with a better foam, higher density and more firm but then Miss booty butt will complain its no longer comphy. We could say no guarantees but that usually goes in one ear and out the other. We are inclined to turn these jobs down.

Did y'all know Broyhill was out of business? 

[MinUph]

On August 1, 2014, Broyhill Furniture Industries, Inc. went out of business as per its Chapter 11 liquidation filing under bankruptcy. ... Broyhill Furniture Industries sells its products through retail stores in the United States and internationally. The company was founded in 1926 and is based in Lenoir, North Carolina.Aug 1, 2014

I wouldn't take that on myself. Like you said you will be responsible for both comfort and replacements.

[baileyuph]

The furniture store wants it put in?  Then it is assumed they will paying you - or?

Point is, if it applies; If the customer is the stores client, then you can just install whatever they order?

There is another side to marketing, the customer usually is loyal to price, and on used furniture, some
(what percent?) will probably select foam at a cheaper price?

The biggest point here, install whatever the store/customer order. 

Advise that "labor" is your side of the issue.  Not that I wouldn't suggest higher quality if asked, but let the store handle that responsibility.

Doyle

[Mojo]

Ed:

Obviously I am not a furniture guy so all I can do is make my comments based on how I run our business. To bring you up to speed we have the awning RV company and just launched a new division for commercial and residential awnings under that company. There was some risk involved in that venture. Our RV parts manufacturing company launched a new division that was supposed to be for direct sales  to rv owners. That division has blown up and we are now offering limited service to coaches as well. There is a BIG risk in that venture.

This brings me around to my advice. We periodically will get a coach in that needs work done to a particular component or system. If it is a system that is known for failures I always advise our customer that despite me fixing it that it will be prone to failure in the future due to its overall design. I make this statement right up front before doing the work and if the customer agrees then we complete the work. I make sure our invoice states No Warranty. We also supply supporting documentation that states no warranty and not responsible for failures. It is called CYA.

So why do we bother with the work ? Because it is always good money and is part of our revenue and growth schemes. While I am not one to take risks simply to make more money, I will take calculated risks, ones in which I backload the risks in our favor all in an effort to grow our business. I have no idea where you and Rose are at in regards to workload. If you have capacity for more business and want more revenue then I would surely take on this cushion work. All you have to do is take on the work while practicing good sound principles in CYA ( covering your ass ).

Some guys here would take on the work. Others like Rick ( Ricat ) who is booked out solidly for a couple months wouldn't screw with it.
I myself will not screw with risk taking if the payback is minimal. But if there is a good financial payback and I can find a way to minimize the risks involved then get the hell out of my way because I am going to run with it.

In business there is a risk in almost everything we do. The successful business owners are ones who look for opportunity and then go to work to minimize their risks. A fool will run headfirst into a venture without doing a cost/risk analysis. The smart ones will look at all angles and then stack the deck in their favor.

Just my humble opinion. If you want help in writing a warranty exclusion clause, let me know. I have years of experience in legal contracts and corporate law having written contracts and releases during my prior corporate life.

Mojo 

[kodydog]

Thanks Chris, Paul and Doyle. All good points.

Like you say Chris we weighed the risk and our backlog allows us to opt-out of this job. The thing is we have been doing repairs for this furniture store for over 20 years. They have always treated us right. Most of these repairs have been good money makers that have helped us get through some slim times. In the past when there was a problem with cushion foam the store ordered new foam from the manufacture. Because this stores main product was Broyhill I can see a whole bunch of cushion repairs down the road. And even though we feel loyal to this store and we would still like to get the other types of repairs these cushion jobs are not ones we really want. We just finished replacing a ripped outside back on a sofa. They brought it to us and picked it up. It took 45 minutes and we charged them $65. We want those jobs. I guess we could simply tell the store owners we do not want the cushion jobs but we feel sorry for them because in Lake City they have nowhere else to go. They're screwed because they are left fulfilling Broyhills warranty.

Our biggest problem is we are at a point with our business where we can pick and choose the jobs we want. Our business plan starting next year is to cull out the bad jobs and prepare ourselves for retirement. In order to do that we need to sock away as much money as possible for the next 9 years by focusing on the good paying jobs. Even if we take a CYA attitude these cushion jobs seem like they will be a big hassle.

[SteveA]

Kody - I don't see why you are concerned but I understand what you're saying.  I would not defer from the work - rather I would draw up a document outlining concerns and options and explain what is and what isn't covered.  When you deliver back take a photo of Ms. Bertha Butt sitting in the chair smiling; while holding her 120 lb rottweiler.
You never know when a slow period is just around the corner so why make limitations you may have second thoughts about
SA

[Mojo]

Ed:

I can understand. We have one customer who we still will do a restitch for. They are the only ones but they also send us business
and was there providing us work when we were just getting started. I feel an obligation to them as I am a loyal person.

Mojo

[kodydog]

You never know when a slow period is just around the corner so why make limitations you may have second thoughts about
SA

After running our business through the great recession the thought of a slow period is forever looming in the back of my mind. it was a dark period in our lives and we had to hustle to keep our heads above water. A lot of upholsterers around here closed their doors forever. During and after that time we made changes to our lives and our business to help buffer another economic crisis. It would be nice if we could just sail through the next 9 years until retirement. Only the good lord knows what the future will bring.

[baileyuph]

The fear/reluctance to work on furniture cushions of less quality doesn't go away because furniture built
over the last several years presents the same problem, the same risk exists because
the rest of furniture isn't as strongly built.  The big people (or ordinary) will break not only the cushions because of lower quality- the rest of the furniture (frames/springs/any part) presents the same liability.

Performing work for a retailer offers some buffer for the repair shop.

Doyle

 

[kodydog]

I like your reasoning Doyle. Any repairs we do for furniture stores can be securitized and certainly can fail again. When repairing frames, springs and other parts I often upgrade the repair to help stop it from happening again. For instance, the outside back repair I mentioned above. The original had no padding or burlap to help protect and strengthen the fabric. The rip occurred in house while employee's were moving furniture around. I'm certain the rip would not have occurred had the manufacturer added burlap and padding to the outside back. I did when I made the repair.

Last week a customer showed us an Ethan Allan 4 cushion sofa she wanted to give away. The fabric is like new. The springs are screwed up. The moment I saw it I could tell they used plastic clips. I've seen this happen before. The clips were breaking. She said yes and a tech came out and replaced them with the same plastic clips. And they failed again. Even for free we turned the sofa down. Too much work to replace all those clips with metal clips.

My point is we can make most repairs and be reasonably sure it will not fail again. With foam replacement on a new sofa there are too many variables. How do you upgrade foam when the customer likes that soft squishy feel.

[baileyuph]

My retailers are doing what they know best - selling and understanding the market.

This can be a technical (some degree anyway) thing. 

One just has to decide where and "if" they fit in.  I have the cushion filling equipment and can take care
of a lot of work in less than an hour per week.  Picking up and delivering, that cost/responsibility is
not in the equation.  Not for me.

Doyle