Buying a Dining Room Table? Put it to the Plate Test First!

After owning the same, hand-me-down dining room table for my entire adult life, I recently had the opportunity to purchase a new one. My shopping excursion took me to several big-box furniture stores, where I noticed many tables on the showroom floor had scratches on their surfaces.

Finally, my husband and I settled on a table from Havertys called American Revival. We loved the beautiful inlay designs worked into the table’s cherry finish. At the store, I questioned the salesperson about the marks in the tabletop’s finish, but he assured me these were the result of decorative items being placed on the showroom table and moved around. He also noted the company’s policy to take any item back, for any reason, within three days of purchase.

After a couple weeks of waiting, the American Revival dining table arrived at our home. The first night we used it, we discovered that just setting our Fiesta plates down on the table caused marks to appear in the finish. We weren’t sliding or dragging the plates around, just setting them down. Plus, these plates have a smooth finish on the bottom.

The next night, despite the use of heavy potholders under hot pots and pans, heat-related marks also appeared in the finish. I quickly realized this was not the table for us. While I could have hidden the marks with a tablecloth, I found this idea unsatisfactory. I don’t see any point in buying a table with a beautiful finish if you have to hide it beneath tablecloths and placemats to prevent damage to the finish.

Havertys honored their “we’ll-take-it-back” pledge and picked up the table, issuing me a full refund. Then, I had to resume my search for a replacement. This time, I took advantage of a great suggestion from a salesperson at another store-I took one of my Fiesta plates with me to the stores and, with permission from each salesperson, set it down on the table and moved it around to see if it would leave any marks.

In the end, we selected a table from Bassett to replace the one from Havertys. It passed the plate test, and our hope is that the special “Indurance” finish Bassett uses on its dining table tops will hold up better than the finish used on the Haverty’s table. We’ve had our Bassett table for two weeks now, and the finish looks great so far. As a bonus, you customize any dining table you buy at Bassett, so you get to select the top, legs and color combination you prefer.

My experience leads to these table-shopping tips:

Take along a plate to test the durability of the table’s finish for yourself (with the store’s permission). Ask about the store’s return policy for items that don’t hold up to normal wear and tear. Have someone go shopping with you to identify potential flaws before you buy.
Consider purchasing a product protection plan that can cover damage to the table for up to five years after your purchase.

Get more tips on smart shopping, customer service and saving money by visiting my blog, Who Cares about Customers?


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