Problems with Pali?

[armywife5]

My mom is buying a crib for us since it's the first grandchild in the family. She is 6000 miles away from us and keeps emailing me questions about cribs that she wants me to look up. Thank goodness she has already pre-ordered herself the newest edition of this book because it's starting to wear on me!
Anyways...she has been looking in great length at the Pali cribs and has been having some real trouble. Apparently, the places she has gone to have told her that they are carrying Pali less and less because they have become so difficult to deal with. I guess it's been really hard to get parts and their customer service is declining, not to mention they are now waiting over 12-16 weeks for delivery. I was wondering if anyone else has heard this or if it's primarily in the Northeast. (She has already said she can't wait to see if their ratings go down in the next book because of this. She's so funny!)
Thanks for any info you folks have!
Amanda

[DebbieJ]

I bought a Pali in the fall of 03. About 6 months or so after we had set it up, I noticed that one of the slats on the headboard had bowed significantly; enough that I considered it a safety risk.

After numerous phone messages that went unreturned, I FINALLY got ahold of Coletta (who seems to be their sole CS phone rep). She told me to email pics to her. I did it that same day. We spoke again a few days later regarding other details (date of manufacture, etc) and she told me she was waiting on a container from Italy. I was under the assumption that my headboard would be replaced. This was in November.

In the meantime, I made a cross country move and finally had some time and energy to put towards this again. After a few unanswered emails and phone calls, I finally got ahold of Coletta last week. She seemed to forget all about our previous conversations and told me that there was no way my headboard could be replaced because the design has been changed and she would never had told me that it could be for this reason. She then told me she'd look up my info again and call me back in 5 minutes. I'm still waiting for that return phone call. Now I have to call her AGAIN.

I'm not holding out hope....

Just my experience--I know many are happy with their Pali cribs.

~ deb
DS 12/03

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[bostonsmama]

I've also heard similar things about the Pali customer service (that there's only one lady to reach...LOL). I don't know why I find that so funny, but frankly it's soooo European. Their idea of customer service is telling you that you need to buy a new one if the item they sold you broke. (I guess it's easy to be so cynical after 3 years of living in Europe). Anyhow, I have a Pali crib that I was given for my first pregnancy. It's still assembled upstairs (unused, sadly), but it's in excellent condition considering it was made in 99 and used for 4 years. DH and I (we're military, too) sponsored a family who moved to the area and we offered them one of our guest rooms while they searched for an apartment. They used it for their 3-month old son and it was wonderful. Bottom line is that all of the crib makers are starting to botch up in customer service dept. I like Pali cribs because they're simply made better than most. You can get select Pali models through eBay from authorized dealers right away.

I'm sure there are some better cribs out there for the money (but even the Sorelle cribs seem to be on back order)...but ultimately you should work with the company that's going to give you the most for your money (quality of product, speed & ease of service, and commitment to customer service). Good luck and congratulations on your pregnancy!

Larissa