Courtyard Creations
Customer Services SOLD THROUGH Target, Walmart Etc. Terrible craftmanship apparently, the glass shattered into a million pieces for NO REASON!

Here is a letter I sent to Target Corporation about a patio set that I bought from their store that the table top shattered for no reason at all:

June 17, 2008

Mr. Gregg...
President, CEO
Target Corporation
1000 Nicolett Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55403

Re: Item #009002120, 6-Piece Target Home Collection Patio Set, Powder Coated Steel Frame

Mr...:

I bought a 6-piece patio set from your Villa Park, Illinois Target Greatland store on Saturday, May 31st, 2008. The Target Home Edition patio set was advertised in your flyer for $99.00 and included 4 folding chairs, a glass top table and an umbrella. This past Saturday marked 2 weeks of having the patio set and already the glass table top has broken. My husband and I were getting ready to put our 6 month old in a blow-up pool on our deck that was next to the patio set and just as we were getting things together to go outside we heard a loud noise coming from the backyard. I looked out on the deck and to my surprise the glass table top had shattered not only all over our deck but pieces of the glass went into my sons pool. I have enclosed pictures of what it looked like. Once you view the pictures you will see what a large problem this caused for us. Not only do we not have a patio table now, by no fault of our own, we also had a large cleanup. The glass got in the cracks of our deck and fell down underneath. This was very time consuming to clean up. Since it was a safety issue, we felt it was necessary.

I contacted the store which we had bought the patio set from and was told that because we paid cash and no longer had the receipt there was nothing they could do for us. All I was asking was that the table top be replaced. I didnt want to return anything or get our money back, I simply wanted to just get a new top to the table which we only had for 2 weeks. I was given a phone number to call for warranty and recalls which I called today. I was told that the Target Home Edition 6-piece patio set that I bought just 2 weeks ago was already discontinued and that there was nothing anyone could do for me. I have 2 problems with this. #1: what if my 6 month old son would have been out in that pool when the glass broke and he would have been hurt? Then you would be receiving a different kind of letter. #2: No one is even trying to help find me a replacement for the defective merchandise that was bought from your store. The woman that I talked to said that I could file a report for safety but that was all she could do. I know there are merchandise and cashier reports that can be run that would almost certainly identify the patio set being sold to a cash customer. If you need to know some of the other items bought that day that would also appear on the receipt, please let us know. Although this patio set was on the inexpensive side, we do not work hard to buy nice things so that they can break in 2 weeks for no reason. I was researching this same table and chairs online and saw on
cpsc.gov that it was recalled just this past October due to the chairs collapsing when weight is applied to the front end of the arm rests, posing a fall hazard to consumers. Ive attached a copy of that report for your reference. So now I say, who not to say that this table and chairs should have been actually recalled again this year because of the glass breaking instead of Target saying that it was discontinued because Target changes out their product so many times during the year... thats what I was told by the woman that I talked to today. If thats the case then I should be able to find it online as a clearance item, when in fact I cant find any trace of it except on cpsc.gov as a recall item.

Basically all Im asking is that someone help me out and find a replacement for the defective table that was bought from your store on May 31st, 2008. I dont think that Im asking for too much. Im not asking for a full refund or to return the whole patio set for store credit. I just want a replacement that is
similar to what we had for 2 weeks. I also think that this item should be recalled in case this does happen to someone else and someone is less fortunate than us and is hurt in the process. I hope that you will be able to help us out.

I hope that as a loyal patron to Target stores, you will take my request seriously. I am not trying to take advantage of Target, or to get something that isnt mine. I realize that I do not have a receipt and administratively that presents a problem for you. I am concerned that the new tabletop will also be
defective, but feel that it is a chance we have to take, as we have already invested our money in this patio set. I hope that Target will take responsibility in helping me to resolve this issue by either replacing the tabletop or working on some other type of resolution. I realize that Target is a large, foreign owned corporation, but that shouldnt change the attitude that every customer matters.

They then responded with this letter just yesterday:

Dear Kristen:

Thanks for lettins us know about your recent experience with 6-Piece Home Patio Collection you bought at the Villa Park Target store. I'm sorry for your trouble you've had.

reat products, great value - that's what shopping at Target is all about. We do work hard to make sure we have only the best products on our shelves. Iv'e created an incident report for your experience with the patio set and sent it to a representative at our Guest Reporting Center. They'll be in touch with you as soon as they can.

As you know, return of defective products at Target are easy when you have a receipt dated within 90 days. If you can't find your receipt - and paid by credit card, debit card, GiftCard or chec, we can probably find it for you! Just bring in the item along with your card or checkbook; we'll check our records to see if we can help.

Without a receipt, the manufacturer, Courtyard Creations, maybe able to offer warranty or repair options. They can be reached at (877) 539-7436, 8:30 am-5p. ET, Monday-Friday.

Thanks for taking the time to tell us about your situation. Your comments are a big help to us, and I'll make sure to share them with our buying team. We'll keep working to make sure you can always count on the quality you've come to expect from Target.

Sincerely,

Target Executive Office

I'm sorry, but I don't think this is enough. This is a generic letter that someone in their corporate office sent me to "try" to make things better. Guess what it didn't make anything better. I then emailed the manufacturer and I'm still waiting to hear back from them... and from the sounds of other people's stories, I won't be hearing back from anyone there. I hope that others read these reviews and do not buy any products from Courtyard Creations. I saw online somewhere today that they actually make a baby swing... sorry but I wouldn't even think of putting my 6 month old in any of their products!

Company: Courtyard Creations
Country: Canada
Province: Ontario
City: Woodbridge
Address: 150 Marydroft Avenue
Phone: 8775397436

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