When you walk into a furniture shop and notice empty spots where merchandise once stood, that’s a good thing and here’s why: It means they get lots of business. Which is saying something about customer loyalty. And the place hasn’t even been open for more than two months.
Casa Bonita Furniture departs from the business-as-usual national chains in the fact that they sell anything on the floor, even the display items. Heck, they’ll even sell the decorations on the wall—and they already have on several occasions. They want to make sure you buy and leave happy.
“As I jokingly tell my customers, ‘We sell everything, except the salesman,’” said Edgar Gascon, one of the three sales people on the floor and son of the owners.
For the most part, they sell traditional and modern furniture. From bedroom sets, couches, kitchen sets, to coffee tables and dining tables. If ordered through their catalog, items will arrive within seven to 10 days, which can be faster than some big-brand stores, where it could take up to eight weeks for delivery.
Sales person Angel Cortez said customer service is paramount.
“Sometimes there are a lot of places—not just chains, but small mom-and-pop places—where service is almost non-existent,” he said.
Between all three sales people—Yuvis Ferrer, Angel Cortez, and Edgar Gascon—they hold more than 70 years of sales experience. They emphasize three core ideas into their everyday business: quality, customer service, and community. And the community ought to be familiar with the place. By and large, the shop on the corner of Main and Curryer streets has remained a furniture shop over the last 50 years, although it’s changed hands several times.
The owners have been aggressively spreading the word about the business since officially opening on Nov. 23, 2014. In addition to advertising, they gave away 50 Christmas trees through local radio promotions. This past Christmas, Casa Bonita also gave away three beds to needy children if they wrote letters to Santa Claus. One of the more heart-felt letters they received was a letter written by a child who lived with three other siblings in a home without beds.
Casa Bonita is definitely in the furniture sales business but can also do furniture repairs. Cortez said he has more than 20 years of experience repairing as well as building furniture.
Here are some other bonuses: no sales tax, and Casa Bonita carries manufacturers that offer 10-year warranties. Oh yeah, and they could very well be the only place in town that sells Armani brand furniture (through the catalog, that is).
Casa Bonita offers in-house financing with three months no interest. They are coming up with better financing but are limited with options since they are a brand new business. Gascon said that in order to get better financing through, for example, Wells Fargo, they must have been in business for two years or more. But that shouldn’t be a problem, at least according to Cortez.
“The way we’re structured,” Cortez said, “we’re going to be here for a while. We’re going against the grain.”
Staff Writer David Minsky wrote this week’s Biz Spotlight. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, email, or mail.
This article appears in Jan 8-15, 2015.