Johnson City, Tenn. -- News Channel 11 received several calls and e-mails from concerned customers of Ashley Furniture Homestore this week. Their orders were not being filled, they said.
Today the company's largest shareholder, Marc Kloner of Compass Furniture Group, responded to inquiries made by News Channel 11's George Jackson.
1. Ashley Furniture will not close it's showroom in Johnson City, Kloner said. No one in Johnson City is accused of any wrongdoing. Kloner commended them.
2. Paul Rizzuto, the former CEO of Ashley's former parent company Baker Group International, was fired last week for "unethical behavior," Kloner said. His behavior affected the company's bottom line and, as a result, furniture orders were delayed.
3. The new owner, Pam Kubler of California, will fly to the Tri-Cities region on Sunday. She will also make an appearance at the Ashley Furniture Homestore in Johnson City on Monday.
4. Compass Furniture Group wants to know if Rizzuto committed any crime to cause these financial delays.
5. Kloner set up a hotline in Johnson City to answer customer questions (423-794-1460 ext. 1460). One employee will be solely devoted to this phone line, he said.
6. Ashley Furniture will begin pro-active telephone calls to eager customers on January 2nd. Customer service representatives will provide them with an exact delivery date for their furniture, Kloner said. All customers will have their furniture and a gift certificate for their trouble within the next three weeks, he said. Kloner added, 40-percent of the outstanding orders are already on their way.
7. Some of the "catch-up" shipments will go through Asheville, their largest store in the country. Ashley will allow delivery drivers to earn overtime, in order to expedite the catch-up process, Kloner said.
For a video report, click the play icon above.
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