Furniture Store Review: The Brick Furniture Stores

The Vitals:
The Brick - Retailer of furniture, mattresses, appliances, electronics and computers.
Locations all across Canada

www.thebrick.com


The Sorty:
I have known of The Brick since I was a little teenie boy...teenier than teenie...when I was teensie weensie. Yeah, that small.

"Nobody Beats The Brick" they say. For decades I was under the impression that this was one of the best furniture stores, one of the most professional, and one of the oldest in the business. The problem was that I never had a reason to buy anything from there, up until a few years ago.

Picture this: Sicily, 1962, I was fighting for my life, standing in a pile of pasta.....wait, that isn't how the story went...

It was Mississauga, Ontario....sometime in 2004. I needed a couch or two. Where else would I go other than the place that nobody can beat?

Off to The Brick I went.

As I walked in, the vast sea of wood, cloth and glass overwhelmed my senses. I felt as if a lifetime of furniture had passed me by. A bit melodramatic, sure. Where is Oscar?

So, I start sifting through the goods. Sitting on this, touching that, sniffing the other. The Brick seemed like a nice place...then came the salesperson...

Sigh, I had no idea that the Brick was a used car lot. How was I supposed to know that when they said " Nobody Beats...", they meant that nobody has higher pressure, more slimy, untrustworthy looking salespeople. I mean, I started looking fondly at used car salesmen after this experience.

Maybe I'm being unfair, but this is my honest impression. Every single salesperson, every member of staff, the reception, the accountants, the advertisements, the pamphlets...all oozed slimeball. The salespeople looked like they were viciously fighting for the sale, and were not just "competitive". On top of it all, everyone looked very unhappy and depressed. I'm not saying most of them, I'm saying all of them. It was a horrible feeling being there.

The Brick will never be the same in my eyes again.

I now shop at IKEA mostly. Yes, I like it there. No pressure, no slimebags, no commission, and it's freaking cheap. I only ever go to the Brick for one of two reasons: Either they have a crazy sale on items I need, or I need to go get a new "SuperAwesomeCouch". Yes, the Brick has ONE set of couches that are, absolutely and by far (...in my opinion), the MOST comfortable couches on the planet. Most of everything else they have is mediocre or just plain crap, but these couches...wow. That is another story anyways.

So, to sum things up, The Brick is slimy.

I don't like their salespeople, most of their managers (one was ok), their advertiement tactics, and their prices are average and sometimes expensive for low quality products. I feel like I am being steamrolled into every purchase I make there. And this is not even mentioning the fact that every single employee you talk to there will ask you "Would you like an extended warranty with that? No? Are you sure? It is...blah blah blah." Go away.

Their products are mostly garbage, their selection is obviously wide, but we all know that, and despite that I usually can't find what I want in that place. I have bought two kitchen dinettes from them, and both fell apart the day they were delivered. One was the cheapest table they had, so I had that coming, but the second one was an expensive one, but the screw holes didn't match, they were clearly put together by an amateur, were made of very cheap materials, and ...man, I can go on and on. How terribly disappointing.

Oh, and they don't have free shipping. It cost me $75 to have a kitchen table that costs $150 delivered (the first one). Great. A superb way to build customer loyalty.

Anyways, The Brick is slimy and trash. Go somewhere else.

Go to IKEA, or some other independent furniture store or whatever. Just save yourself the grease.

haha...get it? Get it? Grease... Grief... hah....hha..see the....play on wor....ahem. Nevermind.


The Score:
Selection: 6.5/10
Product Quality: 4/10
Customer Assistance: 4/10
Shipping/Delivery: 6/10
Shopping Enjoyment: 3/10

Overall Score: 47/100

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- Consumer #1337