I've purchased two living room sets, a dining room set, and a bedroom set over the years (all Ashley/Ashley Signature) and I've never had an issue with A1 per se.
Customer Service was good to me as well. The bedframe base was damaged because it obviously fell off a stacked pallet at the factory, and A1 was quick to step in and offer a gift certificate. A part was also missing and they called Ashley Furniture and got the part pronto. I also purchased a piece of artwork (painting) that I thought would go with a freshly painted wall, but when I got it home I realized that what looked nice under the store lighting didn't work at all with the walls and our lighting. I took it back that evening and they were really cool about simply exchanging it for a different piece that worked better with the color swatches. They could have been d*cks about it and point to the "All Sales Final - No Returns" on the clearance tags, but not only did they simply exchange it for the other painting, they didn't even bring that policy up; they simply said "sure, no problem". Thanks Alex (sales dude). So kudos on the customer service. I realize others may have had their experiences, but I'm just relating *mine*. Your mileage may vary.
One last thing: you could buy your stuff directly from Ashley's superstores, but you'll pay a little more and have the exact same wait/delivery timeframe. The same Ashley furniture at A1 is often a couple hundred cheaper at A1.