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| - I recently moved from Chicago and bought a brand new home in the West Valley. Needing furniture for several rooms, my wife and I visited furniture stores in Phoenix, Avondale, Scottsdale, Chandler, and Mesa. Howie's was the 15th stop on our "furniture tour". We arrived around 4pm on a Saturday afternoon- and this was definitely going to be our last stop of the day. When we drove into the parking lot, there were only 2 cars and the building was more of a huge warehouse then a store. My wife commented "what kind of place are you bringing me into?" (She has Pottery Barn/Crate & Barrel tastes and in fact, we just drove from the Pottery Barn in Chandler and had a purchase all but wrapped up for a 4 piece sofa sectional for $3800- the designer was scheduled to come to our home in a few days to confirm/ measurements/accessorize )
Being from Chicago, l had no qualms about at least checking this place out. I've seen storefronts much worse than this that I was able to garner some pretty good deals. All I have to say is- my instincts were right on! We walked in and immediately began looking to the left side of the store and all the sofa sectionals had the same "nail-head" design that my wife hates. We were about ready to walk out after a few minutes, but I noticed a man behind the counter working on the pc, so I walked over, sat down, and said "Howie, how's biz?" (this had to be Howie- if you ever meet him you'll know what I'm talking about- streetwise written all over this guy) Howie tells me business is ""too good" and he wished it would slow down cause he's tired and has a lot of work to do. Too many phone calls, too many customers, and not enough help." I immediately liked this guy...lol. I asked him why he had all the same crappy style furniture in the store. He asked what I was looking for and we described my wife's "contemporary" style. He told me that all the furniture is categorized by style and I should get up off my a$$ and look around- pointing me to the other side of the store. (Now I really liked this guy..lol)
When we got over to the other side of the store, we found 3 EXACT Robert Michaels sectionals we were contemplating purchasing from other stores. Howie's price was $1500 less than the cheapest place we had found. I immediately thought these were "seconds", returns, etc. Nope. Howie said they were brand new and had the same warranty that any other store would offer. Now my wife's interest was piqued. She starts grilling Howie about other styles, pillow accessories, etc. Man- Howie was all over it. This guy has forgotten more about the furniture biz than all the other sales people we spoke with knew-combined! Turns out Howie's dad was in the biz in NY and that's where Howie learned the biz.
The "coup de grace" came when Howie brought us over his "contemporary section"-which was conveniently surrounded by all types of other kinds of furniture and tables- only one way into this area- small aisle in the eye-shot of Howie's counter. All the cushions were wrapped in plastic too. Howie said he does this purposely (location and plastic) to keep the casual buyer and their kids off the furniture. Well, lo and behold, there's the EXACT Pottery Barn sectional my wife was going to purchase from Pottery Barn. Not only was Howie's price $1000 less (same designer too), but we added another love seat to lengthen the layout and Howie threw in 3 down pillows ($99 retail). All of this included in the $1000 less price. ***Howie was THE ONLY guy in AZ that "Wheeled and Dealed" Being from Chicago, you expect furniture stores to move a little on the price or offer you a break on tax- something. Nope. Only Howie.
We bought 3 rooms of furniture that night and it was ALL IN STOCK! Delivery was available the next day. AND Howie "wheeled and dealed" on the entire order. (Sorry folks, you'll have to barter your own deal. I'm not going to disclose the additional savings Howie threw on because of our quantity purchase) We stayed until a half hour past closing just shooting the breeze with Howie. The dude should have his own reality TV show!..lol
If you pay retail for furniture, you are crazy! I implore anyone looking for furniture to make Howie's the LAST STOP after you spend your time researching other stores. I guarantee you will find what your looking for (or close to it) 30-50% cheaper.
**FYI: Howie isn't going to rush up to meet you at the door. In fact, he may not even ask you what you're looking for-(but he probably will if you're there long enough.) But if you ask Howie any question, you will get a respectable, honest, straight-shooter answer. If you want people fawning over you, go to a high-priced retail store that offers no discounts) Howie, thanks for redeeming my faith in the AZ shopping experience! The highest compliment I can give Howie is "You 'da man!"
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