I am pasting a copy of an email I've just sent to Mr. Kim Yost, the President and CEO of the Bricks Furniture. It describes the nature of the complaint.

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Dear Mr. Kim Yost:
[email protected]

My name is Abubakar Kasim. I am a freelance writer. I am writing about a very disturbing issue that has happened to one of your customers, my brother.

I really hope you would look into this issue and do all that you can to resolve it in a timely and urgent fashion.

As I also hope that there would not be a need for me as a writer to use this story in my future projects as it would certainly not serve in the best interest of your company.

Firstly, I must say that I have a deep and profound respect to your corporation, The Bricks.

I have recommended a lot of people in my community and my family to do business at your stores.

You certainly have products of high quality that attract the attention of consumers.

After the ordeal that my brother has gone through, I will have difficulty to continue my loyalty unless this issue is soon resolved.

My brother had purchased 3 piece sofa at your store located at 2625 B Weston Road (Hwy. 401 & Weston Rd) on Boxing day of last year, 2007.

He was assured about the outstanding and high quality of the product. He was told that the color of the sofas will not change and also the surface will not shrink as it is made from strong materials.

Some times when you buy a product, the seller will exaggerate to make you seal the deal.

This is what seems to be the case in this transaction.

To be on a safe side and as an extra precaution, my brother was convinced to buy a five-year additional insurance coverage. He was told that with this plan, he and his family would have peace of mind.

Even if a child writes on the sofas, someone will be dispatched to take care of the stain.

My brother and his wife started to have problems with the product.

The color has started to change, contrary to what they were told when they were buying the product.

Also, all the pieces started to shrink.

They have been going back and forth to the store that they had bought the products from.

The manager has been an awful person to deal with, extremely unreasonable, unfriendly and rude.

My brother called the store several times and he was assured that someone will be dispatched to have a look at the sofas but no one showed up at their doorstep.

They had also visited the store several times and were promised to have someone come to their house but no one ever did.

Ever since purchasing the product, they have been put on a roller coaster and sent back and forth without anyone helping them out.

After a lot of calls and visits to the store, they got two separate visits from the company.

Photographs of the products were taken.

They were assured on both visits that the color change will be resolved. One love sofa will be replaced and the shrinking problem will be taken care of.

Still, nothing has happened. Both visits did not result to any significant outcome except empty words and unfulfilled promises.

My brother went to the store and spoke to the manager. I could not believe what the manager said to him. Instead of trying to resolve the issue, she blamed the customer instead.

“It is the cloth you are wearing that is affecting the color of the sofas, ” she said.

“There is nothing we can do about it, ”

She arroganly indicated that she is the manager who has the final say and he is more than welcome to complaint but nothing will ever be done about it.

I was surprised to hear that from a manager of a renown and respected corporation. What an insult and inflammatory thing to say to a customer by blaming the cloth they are wearing.

It was demeaning and unprofessional for her to say such a foolish thing.

As you can see, Mr. Yost, this issue is extremely troubling. As a customer who had paid for the product and also added extra insurance coverage, you would not expect to be treated in this disrespectful manner.

This case is about a breach of trust. The customer did not get the least of what he had expected from the company.

The customer was expecting some kind of decency, fair deal, honesty and respect from the company that he had chosen - over many other companies out there - to do business with.

It is my ultimate hope that you as the CEO of the company would do your utmost to resolve this outstanding issue as soon as you can.

I really hope that there would not be a need for my brother to seek other means to rectify this troubling issue. The public will be disturbed to read this story in the media or to watch it on the news.

I really thank you for your time, Mr. Yost. I will be looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours truly,

Abubakar Kasim