Babi Italia/BabiesR Us Hell

[gonzoflake]

Just wanted to pass this along to warn people and to see if any of you had similar problems and, if so, how you dealt with it.

We ordered a Babi Italia crib (Picket Fences) from BabiesRUs back on March 8, 2003. They said the maximum time for delivery would be 16 weeks. That date has passed. I've been calling to check on the delivery date (5 times so far) and have gotten very little information. I called today and was told that they "just" got an e-mail back from the manufacturer, that the crib is "supposed" to ship from the distributor (in Italy) tomorrow and that it "may" be delivered in another 2 weeks. I'm due in 5 weeks and not particularly happy.

I spoke with the manager at BabiesRUs who said this has been happening recently and that some Babi Italia stuff was taking as long as 22-26 weeks or more! They didn't seem to have any alternatives for me other than letting me cancel my order or giving me a $25 gift certificate for BabiesRUs. Are they kidding?? I let him know as politely as I could that, while I understood that they were having trouble with thier supplier, at the end of the day, the buck stops at their store. He's contacting the district manager tomorrow and we'll see where that leads.

Again, I would be very interested to know if you out there have had similar complaints and if you were able to find better solutions.

[Momof3Labs]

I had an almost identical problem with a different store and different crib manufacturer this time last year. Apparently those places shut down for a while over the summer for holiday, so production stops (and gets backed up) for a while. I have mixed feelings on this - it's not like BRU can make your crib materialize when it is still sitting over in Italy, and they can't push your order to the front of the line because they just don't have that much control over the manufacturer. But perhaps they need to give stronger warnings when you place your order so people have reasonable expectations about delivery times.

Edited to add: a better solution is to order something that is in stock. I wish that I did, in a way, but when pg, we all want the perfect crib for the perfect nursery, and often that means a special order. Sorry that this doesn't help you now.

[votre_ami03]

We ordered our crib probably in late March, early April? It was also the Picket Fences by Babi Italia from BRU. It took a few weeks b/f my store would let us order, put money down on it b/c they were not sure when it would be avail. Once we ordered it, we received it earlier than anticipated & all of this was while the war was going on in the middle east. The BRU sales person said that may cause some delay in shipping to the US.

BTW, It really is a pretty crib IRL. I just love the color, we went with pecan. :D

I hope the crib arrives b/f the baby! If not, maybe you could use the $25 gift card for a bassinet, or talk them into throwing in a bassinet if it is not there? Best wishes & I hope it works out.

Christy
EDD - 7/26
Boy! Nolan

[Rubisca]

I got very worried when I saw this post because we had looked at, and were seriously considering, a Babi Italia crib from Babies R Us, last weekend but were told by a staffer that it would only take 7-10 days to get a crib! (He was not a furniture department employee and didn't ask which particular crib we wanted.) When I saw your post I called and asked for more information on this particular crib and was told that if we wanted a color that they show on the floor, it would only take 7-14 days, but if we wanted a different color (which we do) it would take 10-12 weeks. We did the math (I'm due on October 17) and decided we'd need to place the special order right away if we wanted this crib by the time our baby is born. (I am heading out of town tomorrow and wouldn't be able to deal with this again for a week.)

So we made a special trip up to Babies R Us after work and by 9:00 p.m. had nearly completed the special order, but were told a salesperson would have to call me this morning to confirm that the crib we want (the "Tuscan" model) could be ordered in white, because it wasn't showing up in their system. But the furniture salesperson who helped us assured us that officially the time frame is 10-12 weeks, and in fact it's usually more like 8-10 weeks. We went to bed feeling pretty confident.

Now I've just gotten a call from the head of the furniture department. The good news is that the crib can be special ordered in white. The bad news is that the Babi Italia factory in Italy is closed for the entire month of August! So she said we'd have to add four weeks to the 10-12 week window we had been quoted! This means the crib could arrive as late as one week past my due date. So now we need to decide whether to take a chance and order it anyway, or just buy it in the color (pecan) that they have on the floor, in which case we'd receive it in 1-2 weeks. We liked that color a lot but I know we'll never find other pieces to match the color (unless we spend a fortune, which is not part of the plan). We don't have space for a bassinette, so the baby will be in its crib from the beginning. If the crib hasn't arrived yet, we can borrow a Pack n Play with bassinette from a friend, but that's clearly not an ideal situation!

Sorry this was so long-- but the warning buried in this message is that Babi Italia is closed during August and special orders placed now will take FOUR WEEKS LONGER than the (already long) wait that is normal for these cribs. Is it worth it? I'm starting to wonder...

Robin
EDD 10/17/03

[votre_ami03]

Robin, I have that color & it is beautiful! We though went with a white change table & white dresser. I think it all works for us, b/c our son's room has white beadboard (to chair rail height) & the top 1/2 of the wall is a warm blue. If you are patient, you can find dressers & other pieces on sale there, rather often for great prices. Or, buy an unfinished piece & stain it to match the crib. If you choose not to order the white.

Christy
EDD - 7/26
Boy! Nolan

[Laila]

We picked up our dresser/changer from BRU and found out it was damaged when we got it home.

When we called to complain, we live far away and had trouble enough getting it home, they said they would order another, and deliver it to us. I hope they stick to it. I wrote a follow up letter to the manager I spoke with, documenting our phone call, just in case.

This was in the San Jose, Ca store.

Be sure to check the contents of your package before delivery people leave, or you leave the store. Bad fork lift drivers.