Pacific Upholstery - San Luis Obispo, California

Landon Friend

Pick a different upholsterer. Rick's work is pretty good, but his timeliness, cleanliness, attention to detail, customer service, and project management is appalling.
If you'd like to read my full experience see below. I mostly wrote this because it was therapeutic to get it out on digital paper...

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My wife and I needed cushions made for out vintage trailer project. The folks at Quality Fabrics suggested a few upholsterers and we went with Rick because Quality Fabrics said "he isn't the best, he isn't the worst and he is affordable." So, we bought our own foam and fabric sample and took it to Rick. Rick then told us how much fabric we needed to purchase.

We dropped off the material at the end of November, just after Thanksgiving, and agreed on $350 for the bottom cushions and back cushions (5 total pieces). Rick said they would be done in 3 weeks. It took 4 weeks, but only because he LOST the paper I gave him with the design and measurements.

I picked up the cushions and extra foam/fabric just after Christmas. I paid him the $350 we agreed to. After arriving home my wife told me I forgot to pick up the 2 back cushions. I felt like an idiot so I called him and asked if I could swing by on our way out of town for a New Year's trip. He said he FORGOT TO MAKE THE BACK CUSHIONS. I was pissed, especially because he seemed so unapologetic and I paid him the full amount for the entire set!

I took our material back over after we got back from our trip, Jan 9th. He told me it would take another 4-5 weeks to make the 2 back cushions because he was too busy. Here, let me add that the three times I visited Rick (1. to drop off the fabric he told us to order, 2. to pick up the UN-finished order, and 3. to return with that material for the 2 back cushions) he was watching f....g tv shows on his computer. Wow.

Anyway, I gave him the left over fabric and foam and he said he'd have it done in 4-5 weeks. Again, this was Jan 9th. Then, AND THIS IS WHEN IT GETS GOOD, he called me sometime around March 15-16, and said he didn't have enough fabric to finish the job! HAHAHA. I said "are you kidding me, you are the one who told us how much to order, and why the heck didn't you tell us when we dropped it off the second time in January!"

He DID NOT apologize, got defensive, and said "well its laid out on the table right now, bring me more fabric and I'll get it done."

"Rick," I said. "I have to order that fabric online, I don't even know if I can still find it. This is BS. I'll call you later this week."

Well, my wife is a rockstar, she found the fabric and I took it to Rick last week on March 20.

HAHA, sorry I am literally laughing out loud to myself thinking about this whole ordeal. I take it in, Rick to his credit is working on something this time. He takes the fabric from me, walks over to his bench and doesn't make eye contact with me the rest of our time together.

I say, "Rick, I really need a finish date. This is crazy!"

Without looking at me he responds with a quite shoot, "well I can't give you one! I'm really busy. Go somewhere else if you want." He sounds like a 60 year old Napoleon Dynamite.

I begin re-capping the story to get him to see our side of the deal. He literally begins to laugh as I'm telling him how he's kind of screwed us. No apology or acknowledgement what so ever.

We go back and forth on the timeline. Rick is unwilling to give me a date. Finally I tell him, "look I'll leave the stuff with you and call you on Monday to see if you have any openings."

He begins laughing and responds, "Sure, do whatever you want." HAHA, this is so crazy re-telling all this.

Anyway, I say, "you know what, give me my stuff I'm going somewhere else."

I collect my foam, fabric and design and am walking out the door when rick says to me, "Thank you." Again, think Napoleon Dynamite.

I say, "You're not welcome!" HAHA, such a weak response and such a weak ordeal.

Moral of the story is, don't go to Pacific Upholstery.