WARNING: Read Before Buying From Other Web Sites
Be Aware of Gringo Furniture Imitators
Shopping for furniture in Mexico can be a daunting and risky task. That is why we built Gringo Furniture 3.5 years ago on a solid and honest foundation.
Since our conception we have grown and improved. It has not always been an easy road for us but we have always stood behind everything we have sold.
During the past 3.5 years we have had some really wonderful suppliers and we have had some problems with others.
Recently, one of the suppliers who we dropped in December created a web site and are now advertising they will furnish homes in Mexico. They advertise a HUGE savings for you to purchase from them. They have taken photos off of our web site and used them on their web site. Many of the pieces they say they can make they have never actually made.
We at Gringo Furniture know that they will not survive for very long and therefore are not threatened by their presence. However, we are concerned for people who think going to them will save them money. The fact is, people risk losing any money they send if they use them.
To protect our customers we frequently visit our factories. In December 2008 Gringo Furniture dropped this factory as a supplier during one of our surprise inspections. We found termites in all the wood they had stored. The absolute filth and disorganization of the factory was unacceptable. Their credibility with us was compromised when we caught them in several lies about the quality of products used. They were not the kind of factory we wanted working for our customers. We are only as good as our suppliers are.
We understand we are not the only game in town and we fully realize we can not fill everyone's needs and wants. However, we feel it is our duty to warn potential neighbours and friends from purchasing from this unscrupulous company.
If you are considering going to another provider please email us first and we will send you the link to this site to make sure they are not the ones you are buying from. We take no offense to anyone's choice in provider, we just want everyone to enjoy their new homes in Mexico and not experience the problems we experienced with this supplier.
We do not want anyone to fall victim to this seller and seek to prevent this. Please email mailto:info@gringofurniture.com if you have concerns.
April 29, 2009
March 3, 2009
Hot Off The Press
Financial Post Magazine
See the newest article on us in the Financial Post Magazine. We feel that this is the best article written about us. It conveys in an honest fashion the challenges we have in doing business in Mexico, but highlights our mission to always follow-up and make our customers happy.
http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/story.html?id=1298672
Next month we will be featured in HABITANTE, a Mexican Magazine focusing on design.
Financial Post Magazine
See the newest article on us in the Financial Post Magazine. We feel that this is the best article written about us. It conveys in an honest fashion the challenges we have in doing business in Mexico, but highlights our mission to always follow-up and make our customers happy.
http://www.nationalpost.com/related/topics/story.html?id=1298672
Next month we will be featured in HABITANTE, a Mexican Magazine focusing on design.
February 27, 2009
Loving Carnival in Merida
This week I returned from 3 weeks in Merida. The weather was spectacular, architecture was beautiful, food was awesome and the carnival celebrations were fun. If you have never been to carnival in Merida, you must put it on your list of things to do in Mexico. To say it is crazy is an understatement, it is absolutely nuts. Hundreds of thousands of people (300,000 +) descending on the center of town for 7 days and nights to see parades, eat food, watch fireworks and celebrate til the wee wee hours of the night.
We decided that the Sunday day parade was a good bet to see....at least I would be awake. From what I understand this is that best attended parade thru carnival...which is maybe not the best idea for someone who hates crowds. Undeterred, we went 3 hours early to get a shaded seat as we were with my 72 year old Mom and her friend who's steadiness is compromised due to a stroke.
You would think waiting 3 hours to see a parade 
would not be any fun and in fact something you would not try to do on purpose. Surprisingly, this was the best part of the day. The people watching was incredible, I was mesmerized by the activity, colours and things for sale.
As we sat it was like a moving buffet in front of us. Every food possible was brought before us. I am not one to shy away from something different so I tried pretty much everything offered. My favorite was the deep fried pork rinds with chili sauce. I know it sounds horrible, but I am now back in Canada craving it....it was delicious!
Waking up each morning in Merida was made thrilling by an unexpected surprise (get your minds out of the gutter). Each morning I would lay in bed and hear the squawking of parrots...they always announce their arrival. They would perch themselves on the trees around my house and stay for up to 1/2 an hour. They never missed a s single morning. It really is the simple things in life that bring the most joy.
Being new to Merida I wanted too see some of the attraction in and around the Yucatan. Just 1.5 hours south of Merida is UXMAL ruins. If you can believe this, I have owned in Mexico for 7 years now and have never seen any ruins other than TULUM. Seeing UXMAL made me realize how much I had missed these past 7 years. To walk around these ruins and see these massive structures and know they are thousands of years old is mind boggling. You could spend an entire day there and still not see everything.
1.5 hours west of Merida is the small fishing village of Chelestun. Every year thousands and thousand of flamingos arrive here in the winter to feast on the abundant shrimp of the area. You can hire a small fishing boat to take you out into the lagoon to the flamingos. As you approach these flamingos the horizon of the lagoon is literally a pink hue. Once you get close to the flamingos you realize how absolutely noisy they are....squawking and squawking....this is what really surprised me was the sounds they make.
Back in December when we took on our Slip-Cover sofas I ordered one for my house in Merida....OMG...is it so flippin comfortable! The material is soft and durable and you literally fall into this sofa. It is better than anything I even have here in Canada. Having owned in Mexico for 7 years I thought hard uncomfortable sofas were just a way of life....NO MORE, we have a real winner with this line of sofas. They are expensive, but they are worth every dime. My husband, who is never interested in furniture went on and on and on about our new sofa to anyone who would listen....if that isn't a testimonial I don't know what is! We even washed it already and it held up magnificently. Finally, I can have that white sofa in my rental!
and getting my new slip cover sofa!
This week I returned from 3 weeks in Merida. The weather was spectacular, architecture was beautiful, food was awesome and the carnival celebrations were fun. If you have never been to carnival in Merida, you must put it on your list of things to do in Mexico. To say it is crazy is an understatement, it is absolutely nuts. Hundreds of thousands of people (300,000 +) descending on the center of town for 7 days and nights to see parades, eat food, watch fireworks and celebrate til the wee wee hours of the night. I wish I could say I actually made it to a night parade, but with my early to bed routine (total lose or what for 41?) it was difficult to make it up past 10:00 at night. Instead my husband and I laid in bed and listened to the bands play and the crowds celebrate.
We decided that the Sunday day parade was a good bet to see....at least I would be awake. From what I understand this is that best attended parade thru carnival...which is maybe not the best idea for someone who hates crowds. Undeterred, we went 3 hours early to get a shaded seat as we were with my 72 year old Mom and her friend who's steadiness is compromised due to a stroke.
You would think waiting 3 hours to see a parade 
would not be any fun and in fact something you would not try to do on purpose. Surprisingly, this was the best part of the day. The people watching was incredible, I was mesmerized by the activity, colours and things for sale.
As we sat it was like a moving buffet in front of us. Every food possible was brought before us. I am not one to shy away from something different so I tried pretty much everything offered. My favorite was the deep fried pork rinds with chili sauce. I know it sounds horrible, but I am now back in Canada craving it....it was delicious! Once the parade started the streets filled up with large floats, music and girls in bikinis (man the girls looked good....my husband seemed to clap more for the bikini girls....but that may just be my imagination....NOT). 
There was one float that was certainly eye candy for the ladies for which I know I clapped louder, I may have even stood on my chair and yelped...but I will never admit to that). The dancing was wonderful, the children were adorable, the costumes were fantastic and I can't wait to go again next year.
There was one float that was certainly eye candy for the ladies for which I know I clapped louder, I may have even stood on my chair and yelped...but I will never admit to that). The dancing was wonderful, the children were adorable, the costumes were fantastic and I can't wait to go again next year.
Waking up each morning in Merida was made thrilling by an unexpected surprise (get your minds out of the gutter). Each morning I would lay in bed and hear the squawking of parrots...they always announce their arrival. They would perch themselves on the trees around my house and stay for up to 1/2 an hour. They never missed a s single morning. It really is the simple things in life that bring the most joy.
Being new to Merida I wanted too see some of the attraction in and around the Yucatan. Just 1.5 hours south of Merida is UXMAL ruins. If you can believe this, I have owned in Mexico for 7 years now and have never seen any ruins other than TULUM. Seeing UXMAL made me realize how much I had missed these past 7 years. To walk around these ruins and see these massive structures and know they are thousands of years old is mind boggling. You could spend an entire day there and still not see everything.
1.5 hours west of Merida is the small fishing village of Chelestun. Every year thousands and thousand of flamingos arrive here in the winter to feast on the abundant shrimp of the area. You can hire a small fishing boat to take you out into the lagoon to the flamingos. As you approach these flamingos the horizon of the lagoon is literally a pink hue. Once you get close to the flamingos you realize how absolutely noisy they are....squawking and squawking....this is what really surprised me was the sounds they make.My time in Merida was not all fun and games...I did work a little. We are still searching for a manufacture in Merida to decrease the cost of shipping to the the Yucatan and Mayan Riviera...but still we have not found exactly what we need. We will continue our search.
Back in December when we took on our Slip-Cover sofas I ordered one for my house in Merida....OMG...is it so flippin comfortable! The material is soft and durable and you literally fall into this sofa. It is better than anything I even have here in Canada. Having owned in Mexico for 7 years I thought hard uncomfortable sofas were just a way of life....NO MORE, we have a real winner with this line of sofas. They are expensive, but they are worth every dime. My husband, who is never interested in furniture went on and on and on about our new sofa to anyone who would listen....if that isn't a testimonial I don't know what is! We even washed it already and it held up magnificently. Finally, I can have that white sofa in my rental!Today we are awaiting a new line via FEDEX from a factory we visited last month (I think Mr. Fedex thinks I am nuts as I am always way too excited when he arrives here...I LOVE NEW LINES!). I will be working hard next week uploading all the styles. They promise to be very a very exciting new addition to our line.
Have a great weekend everyone!
January 27, 2009
NEW VIDEOS
We have quite a few new videos of some existing models and of upcoming models. To see ALL our videos go to YOUTUBE and search "Gringo Furniture" or CLICK HERE
We will be introducing 3 new lines next month that you will see some of our new videos on. Here is a brief description of our upcoming new additions:
Cottage Series
This unique series combines rustic charm with simples lines and a painted distressed finish. The final product is reminiscent of an antique piece that has time etched into it's character.
Available in any colour you like. We highlight BLUE, RED, YELLOW, WHITE, BROWN and BLACK.
We can apply this finish to any of our pieces. We also have several new designs with this finish already applied.
New Marble Series
We will be introducing a NEW Rustic Marble Series that is just beautiful. We fell in love with the warm colour and textures of the marble inlays in these piece. They are conveniently shipped and required a small amount of assembly....but this will save you shipping costs.
Our 3rd NEW line....stay TUNED!
January 22, 2009
LOVING PUEBLA
Ahhhhhh......what a fantastic job I have that takes me to such fantastic destinations all in the name of work!
Last week Alex, Cathy and I paid a visit to our suppliers down in Puebla. If you have never been to Puebla I suggest you put it on your list of things to do.
Combine the scenery with the architecture, throw in the 385 church's, add great cuisine and inexpensive prices all amongst the backdrop of an active volcano and you have a wonderful city to explore and enjoy.
Ahhhhhh......what a fantastic job I have that takes me to such fantastic destinations all in the name of work!Last week Alex, Cathy and I paid a visit to our suppliers down in Puebla. If you have never been to Puebla I suggest you put it on your list of things to do.
Combine the scenery with the architecture, throw in the 385 church's, add great cuisine and inexpensive prices all amongst the backdrop of an active volcano and you have a wonderful city to explore and enjoy.
It was not all fun and games, we did work...actually, we worked a lot, but when you do something you love it is really hard to call work WORK.
I am so excited to upload all our new models into the store. We have sourced some awesome new styles and have found some real cost saving methods for our customers. 2009 will be a year of change for us, changes that will make a different for our customers in their pocketbook, choice and availability of services.
Stay tuned to this page and our web site to see our changes starting in early February. We have videos of our new models and lots of new styles to accommodate peoples varied styles and tastes.
December 23, 2008
December 4, 2008
Developer Furniture Packs
Each day we get numerous calls and emails from customers who have recently bought into a new development and are looking for alternatives to the furniture packs that their developer is offering. I am probably going to get some back lash for writing this BLOG....but in the end, it won't be from the people that matter the most to us....so here is goes
There are 2 reasons why people do not want to use the developer furniture packs; cost and choice.
Choice allows us to show our personality and creativity.
Many of the furniture packs offered look more like hotel room furniture. The only personalization you can make is in the fabrics. Most furniture packs have little personality and possess none of the Mexican charm we all pictured when we first decided to buy into Mexico. People do not want to have the same style as the Smith's down the street, nor do they want their dream home to reflect another persons’ tastes. You want people to walk into your Mexican dream home and see your personality, not the developer’s....heck, isn't this YOUR home. Would you ever consider a furniture pack for your residences in Canada or the States?
Cost has never been more important....we are all looking to save.
While the furniture packs are often beautiful and of good quality, the costs can sometimes seem...well....outrageous. I remember the first time I saw what a furniture pack cost...my jaw dropped. I have seen 2 bedroom furniture packs cost as much as $45,000. That is a steep price for a convenience.
Now for the stomach turning part....Most of These Homes Are Bought To Be Rentals! My gosh, spending that kind of cash on something that is just an investment? Pick up any real estate guru's latest, greatest book on real estate investing and the overwhelming message is "Don't Over Spend". Have you ever seen "Flip That House" and watched someone put too much money into a house and loose all kinds of cash because they got all caught up in unnecessary finishes? Why on earth do you need to spend that kind of cash to furnish a rental unit????? Think about it, it is nuts!
Developers will tell you that you MUST purchase their furniture packs to gain access to the rental programs. I understand this thinking because standards need to be met for rental purposes, however, I also know these developers are making money from these sales under the guise of these rental program standards. I hear everyday how the developer is "REALLY PUSHING" the furniture packs......stop and think for a second....why would anyone push something they were not being compensated for?
Furniture Packs also give developers and their chosen property management company the ability to control the rentals in the complex, thus, earning more income.....to the tune of 50% for each booking! Frankly, I think renting on your own or going to an outside rental company is far better....but that is another BLOG for another time.
The sad thing to me is that fear will often cause people to buy into the furniture packs and people will spend far beyond what is necessary. They believe that if they do not comply they will not be accepted into the rental programs. I guarantee, if the management company has more bookings than units they will not care if you bought the furniture pack or not, they just want to fill rooms and make their 50% commissions. In all my years I have never heard of a property management company turning down a customer because they did not have a standard furniture pack. As long as you have good mattresses, quality furniture and the right amount of furniture your place is 100% rentable. I rent both my houses www.casamerlot.com and www.casachablis.com and nobody told me what to buy or how to decorate. Each of my places boast a 75% occupancy rate (2008)...and I do it on my own....but again, that is another BLOG for another time.
I am not sure how our society got to this point.... of causing people to buy on fear. Marketers have done a wonderful job creating fear, especially in Mexico where people feel vulnerable.
Did you know that there is a standard that developers go by for pricing furniture packs? They price the furniture packs on the cost of the unit. So, for instance, if you paid $400,000 for a 2-bedroom unit you will likely see a furniture pack for that unit price at $40,000. This is typically calculated at 10% of the cost of the unit. Gringo Furniture can do 2 bedroom units for as low as $5,000 to a maximum of $18,000....quite a gap eh!?
Gringo Furniture would love to work with developers but we have had a hard time....mostly because we can't afford it. We can't afford the commissions requested to sell our furniture into developments without raising our prices. And, if we raise our prices we become less accessible to the people that matter most to us....people like us who ultimately are people like you. We hope one day a developer see us for the value we bring to their customers instead of the value we bring to them.
Furniture packs have their purpose. They save time, they make the decisions for you and you get a showroom furnished home. It is up to you however if you want to pay for these conveniences or if you want to save upwards of $20,000 - $30,000....imagine what you could do with the $20,000 you saved.
So, how are we different...here comes the pitch....
Choice
Gringo Furniture has all the Mexican charm you could want and you can customize till your hearts content. We have typical rustic designs that can be transformed into hacienda quality with a special finishes. Our wicker furniture is warm and romantic and our new slip-cover sofas as so comfortable you will have a hard time picking yourself out of them to go to the beach. We allow you to create your personal styles and we love this part of our job!
Cost
Does Gringo Furniture sell furniture for free...NO! Do we make money from selling furniture...YES! But, our prices are a fraction of what the Furniture Packs sell for! We offer less services as far as set-up goes but you save literally $10's of thousands not paying for these services.
Why are we less expensive? We price our furniture in line to what it should be selling for. We do not bundle everything up and hide our prices. You see what each piece costs and you see each charge itemized.
Heart
We are motivated by a passion for what we do, a desire to do the right thing and to promote jobs in Mexico and Canada. I can honestly say, making money has never and will never be our number one priority, it is important, but it does supersede what is fair to our customers. We make mistakes, we are not perfect, but we try to rectify each mistake so that our customers walk away happy. Maybe that is the wrong business strategy, but it is a strategy that gets us (and I honestly mean "us" as all of us here love what we do) out of bed everyday excited to get to work.....and that my friends is priceless.
Each day we get numerous calls and emails from customers who have recently bought into a new development and are looking for alternatives to the furniture packs that their developer is offering. I am probably going to get some back lash for writing this BLOG....but in the end, it won't be from the people that matter the most to us....so here is goes
There are 2 reasons why people do not want to use the developer furniture packs; cost and choice.
Choice allows us to show our personality and creativity.
Many of the furniture packs offered look more like hotel room furniture. The only personalization you can make is in the fabrics. Most furniture packs have little personality and possess none of the Mexican charm we all pictured when we first decided to buy into Mexico. People do not want to have the same style as the Smith's down the street, nor do they want their dream home to reflect another persons’ tastes. You want people to walk into your Mexican dream home and see your personality, not the developer’s....heck, isn't this YOUR home. Would you ever consider a furniture pack for your residences in Canada or the States?
Cost has never been more important....we are all looking to save.
While the furniture packs are often beautiful and of good quality, the costs can sometimes seem...well....outrageous. I remember the first time I saw what a furniture pack cost...my jaw dropped. I have seen 2 bedroom furniture packs cost as much as $45,000. That is a steep price for a convenience.
Now for the stomach turning part....Most of These Homes Are Bought To Be Rentals! My gosh, spending that kind of cash on something that is just an investment? Pick up any real estate guru's latest, greatest book on real estate investing and the overwhelming message is "Don't Over Spend". Have you ever seen "Flip That House" and watched someone put too much money into a house and loose all kinds of cash because they got all caught up in unnecessary finishes? Why on earth do you need to spend that kind of cash to furnish a rental unit????? Think about it, it is nuts!
Developers will tell you that you MUST purchase their furniture packs to gain access to the rental programs. I understand this thinking because standards need to be met for rental purposes, however, I also know these developers are making money from these sales under the guise of these rental program standards. I hear everyday how the developer is "REALLY PUSHING" the furniture packs......stop and think for a second....why would anyone push something they were not being compensated for?
Furniture Packs also give developers and their chosen property management company the ability to control the rentals in the complex, thus, earning more income.....to the tune of 50% for each booking! Frankly, I think renting on your own or going to an outside rental company is far better....but that is another BLOG for another time.
The sad thing to me is that fear will often cause people to buy into the furniture packs and people will spend far beyond what is necessary. They believe that if they do not comply they will not be accepted into the rental programs. I guarantee, if the management company has more bookings than units they will not care if you bought the furniture pack or not, they just want to fill rooms and make their 50% commissions. In all my years I have never heard of a property management company turning down a customer because they did not have a standard furniture pack. As long as you have good mattresses, quality furniture and the right amount of furniture your place is 100% rentable. I rent both my houses www.casamerlot.com and www.casachablis.com and nobody told me what to buy or how to decorate. Each of my places boast a 75% occupancy rate (2008)...and I do it on my own....but again, that is another BLOG for another time.
I am not sure how our society got to this point.... of causing people to buy on fear. Marketers have done a wonderful job creating fear, especially in Mexico where people feel vulnerable.
Did you know that there is a standard that developers go by for pricing furniture packs? They price the furniture packs on the cost of the unit. So, for instance, if you paid $400,000 for a 2-bedroom unit you will likely see a furniture pack for that unit price at $40,000. This is typically calculated at 10% of the cost of the unit. Gringo Furniture can do 2 bedroom units for as low as $5,000 to a maximum of $18,000....quite a gap eh!?
Gringo Furniture would love to work with developers but we have had a hard time....mostly because we can't afford it. We can't afford the commissions requested to sell our furniture into developments without raising our prices. And, if we raise our prices we become less accessible to the people that matter most to us....people like us who ultimately are people like you. We hope one day a developer see us for the value we bring to their customers instead of the value we bring to them.
Furniture packs have their purpose. They save time, they make the decisions for you and you get a showroom furnished home. It is up to you however if you want to pay for these conveniences or if you want to save upwards of $20,000 - $30,000....imagine what you could do with the $20,000 you saved.
So, how are we different...here comes the pitch....
Choice
Gringo Furniture has all the Mexican charm you could want and you can customize till your hearts content. We have typical rustic designs that can be transformed into hacienda quality with a special finishes. Our wicker furniture is warm and romantic and our new slip-cover sofas as so comfortable you will have a hard time picking yourself out of them to go to the beach. We allow you to create your personal styles and we love this part of our job!
Cost
Does Gringo Furniture sell furniture for free...NO! Do we make money from selling furniture...YES! But, our prices are a fraction of what the Furniture Packs sell for! We offer less services as far as set-up goes but you save literally $10's of thousands not paying for these services.
Why are we less expensive? We price our furniture in line to what it should be selling for. We do not bundle everything up and hide our prices. You see what each piece costs and you see each charge itemized.
Heart
We are motivated by a passion for what we do, a desire to do the right thing and to promote jobs in Mexico and Canada. I can honestly say, making money has never and will never be our number one priority, it is important, but it does supersede what is fair to our customers. We make mistakes, we are not perfect, but we try to rectify each mistake so that our customers walk away happy. Maybe that is the wrong business strategy, but it is a strategy that gets us (and I honestly mean "us" as all of us here love what we do) out of bed everyday excited to get to work.....and that my friends is priceless.
December 3, 2008
Interesting Article
I have not had a moment to even clean my house in the past 3 weeks, business is booming....which defies what the news is reporting everyday! We are thankful everyday to continue keeping all our suppliers and employees busy.
I promise to continue my story from Merida, but in the mean time I came across this very interesting article about investment in Mexico. Strangely it is reported from the Middle East. It is worth a read if you already own in Mexico or are thinking of buying.
http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=28335&t=1&c=35&cg=4&mset=1011
I have not had a moment to even clean my house in the past 3 weeks, business is booming....which defies what the news is reporting everyday! We are thankful everyday to continue keeping all our suppliers and employees busy.
I promise to continue my story from Merida, but in the mean time I came across this very interesting article about investment in Mexico. Strangely it is reported from the Middle East. It is worth a read if you already own in Mexico or are thinking of buying.
http://www.bi-me.com/main.php?id=28335&t=1&c=35&cg=4&mset=1011
November 27, 2008
November 18, 2008
Forgetting The Pain
I have never had a baby, but I am told that you forget the pain of child birth once the baby is put it your arms. I think setting up a home in Mexico could be compared to this. You forget all the pain of setting it up once you are sitting with a cold cervesa, the sun is shining and everything looks beautiful....OK, maybe not eactly like child birth.....but along the same lines.
I honestly thought I was smarter this time I actually got a little cocky (who is kidding who....I AM Gringo Furniture) bragging to my husband and mother that we'd be finished in just 2 days and then we'd have the rest of the time to explore Merida......yyyyyeah, that came right around and bit me in the you know what!
The first problem happened 3 days before we left. As I had indicated in one of my previous BLOGs I was going to use myself as a Guinea Pig for an accessories line. I had taken over 4 months to plan this, talking frequently with the supplier and going over any possible problems.
3 days before we left I called the supplier to make sure all was fine and I found out it had not even left the USA. In fact, the supplier had somehow screwed up the date to deliver and seemed really unfazed by his mistake. He actually had the nerve to say that he'd been working on a 3 million dollar piece of business and had given mine to someone else. I was so put off by his lack of interest in servicing me that I told him to cancel the order. I too have made mistakes (more than I can count) but I have never minimized what I did and I always tried to make up my mistakes to the customer. Weather you spend $1500 dollars with us or $100,000 with us, we will always treat you the same. Everyone is important no matter what the dollar amount it.
So, the long and short of it is....we are back to the drawing board for accessories. But not to fret, we already have ideas that we think will be even better for our customers. We will unveil this idea over the next month.
With that behind us we boarded the plane to Merida. We arrived late on the Sunday night and went straight to the hotel and got some rest as the following day was going to be busy. We woke up the next morning, went out for breakfast and then shot over to Walmart to buy bedding for our beds. We figured if we had bedding we could get through till the following day and focus on receiving the furniture after we signed all the papers at the lawyers.
We arrive at the lawyers at 10:00 and signed all the necessary paper work. Our lawyer was amazing and so was the real estate company we purchased thru, Mexico International (I will write another BLOG about this next week). By 10:30 we owned the house and had the keys in hand -- Whoo Hooo!
I called Alex back in Canada to make sure the truck was on time.....surprisingly, it was....this never happens. The plan was to have the furniture arrive at 12:00 noon and we were on-time......I was looking like a STAR at this point.
We drove to the house, opened the door and fell madly in love with the house. If you remember, we had never seen it other than on the Internet....so seeing it for the first time was incredible. It was perfect....I was speechless (which many will say is impossible)..... I will never forget that feeling of joy, it was indescribable to know this house was ours. It is truly a work of art.
By 11:00am our plant manager from Puebla arrived at the house with the carpenter. I lined up 6 workers to assist with the unloading of the furniture....how much better could it be going I kept saying to myself....I started to feel a like a SUPER Star!
Yeah, right....try a falling star. Unbenounced to me, you can not bring a tractor trailer into the center of Merida during the day....WHO KNEW? Apparently, I should have done a little more homework on the delivery into Centro. I soon learned through our trusty and wonderful Real Estate agent Henry Ponce (who also was the architect of the house) that we could not even consider unloading the truck until at least 10:00pm or risk getting a fine.
TEN PM! Are you kidding me!?! I had calculated that by 10pm I was to be finished unpacking and sitting on the roof with a margarita... this new reality was putting a spanner into my plans....my star status burned out at this point with my 71 year old mother who was already looking wilted and my husband who's patience is lacking at the best of times.....and it was barely noon.
It is always best to have a plan B, so, plan B went into effect. We left my Mom at the house with a cold beer (beer always unwilts her), sent the plant manager and Carpenter off to have lunch, sent all the workers away with orders to return at 10pm and jumped in the car and did a Costco run with my grumpy husband.
We went into Costco and attacked the task like a couple of dogs on T-bones, we must have looked like 2 crazed animals. Within 30 minutes we had 2 carts overflowing with bedding, coffee makers, towels, pillows, mops, glasses...you name it, we had it. When we could not fit another thing we went to the check-out. I still shiver when I think of the total we spent....but at that moment, who cared, it was one more thing that was done.
We drove back to the house, unloaded everything from the car and began to put the kitchen together. By about 5:00pm we were idle again with nothing to do. I decided to risk fate and ordered the truck to arrive at 7:00pm and called the workers to arrive then too. It was my hope that the police would not drive by and put a stop to us.
My star started to burn a little brighter as we never had any problems with the police and we were able to start unloading at 7:00pm. It took 3 hours and 12 people to get the furniture off the truck and into the house. It took an additional 4 hours and 5 people to take every scrap of wrapping off all the furniture.
By 2:00am we were all exhausted, red eyed and our fingers were raw from unwrapping the furniture. I went into my mothers room at one point to say good night and there was blood all over the floor from someone cutting their finger with a knife while unwrapping. We all fell into bed and had a very restless sleep as we were all still on an adrenaline high.
.....to be continued
I have never had a baby, but I am told that you forget the pain of child birth once the baby is put it your arms. I think setting up a home in Mexico could be compared to this. You forget all the pain of setting it up once you are sitting with a cold cervesa, the sun is shining and everything looks beautiful....OK, maybe not eactly like child birth.....but along the same lines.
I honestly thought I was smarter this time I actually got a little cocky (who is kidding who....I AM Gringo Furniture) bragging to my husband and mother that we'd be finished in just 2 days and then we'd have the rest of the time to explore Merida......yyyyyeah, that came right around and bit me in the you know what!
The first problem happened 3 days before we left. As I had indicated in one of my previous BLOGs I was going to use myself as a Guinea Pig for an accessories line. I had taken over 4 months to plan this, talking frequently with the supplier and going over any possible problems.
3 days before we left I called the supplier to make sure all was fine and I found out it had not even left the USA. In fact, the supplier had somehow screwed up the date to deliver and seemed really unfazed by his mistake. He actually had the nerve to say that he'd been working on a 3 million dollar piece of business and had given mine to someone else. I was so put off by his lack of interest in servicing me that I told him to cancel the order. I too have made mistakes (more than I can count) but I have never minimized what I did and I always tried to make up my mistakes to the customer. Weather you spend $1500 dollars with us or $100,000 with us, we will always treat you the same. Everyone is important no matter what the dollar amount it.
So, the long and short of it is....we are back to the drawing board for accessories. But not to fret, we already have ideas that we think will be even better for our customers. We will unveil this idea over the next month.
With that behind us we boarded the plane to Merida. We arrived late on the Sunday night and went straight to the hotel and got some rest as the following day was going to be busy. We woke up the next morning, went out for breakfast and then shot over to Walmart to buy bedding for our beds. We figured if we had bedding we could get through till the following day and focus on receiving the furniture after we signed all the papers at the lawyers.
We arrive at the lawyers at 10:00 and signed all the necessary paper work. Our lawyer was amazing and so was the real estate company we purchased thru, Mexico International (I will write another BLOG about this next week). By 10:30 we owned the house and had the keys in hand -- Whoo Hooo!
I called Alex back in Canada to make sure the truck was on time.....surprisingly, it was....this never happens. The plan was to have the furniture arrive at 12:00 noon and we were on-time......I was looking like a STAR at this point.
We drove to the house, opened the door and fell madly in love with the house. If you remember, we had never seen it other than on the Internet....so seeing it for the first time was incredible. It was perfect....I was speechless (which many will say is impossible)..... I will never forget that feeling of joy, it was indescribable to know this house was ours. It is truly a work of art.
By 11:00am our plant manager from Puebla arrived at the house with the carpenter. I lined up 6 workers to assist with the unloading of the furniture....how much better could it be going I kept saying to myself....I started to feel a like a SUPER Star!
Yeah, right....try a falling star. Unbenounced to me, you can not bring a tractor trailer into the center of Merida during the day....WHO KNEW? Apparently, I should have done a little more homework on the delivery into Centro. I soon learned through our trusty and wonderful Real Estate agent Henry Ponce (who also was the architect of the house) that we could not even consider unloading the truck until at least 10:00pm or risk getting a fine.
TEN PM! Are you kidding me!?! I had calculated that by 10pm I was to be finished unpacking and sitting on the roof with a margarita... this new reality was putting a spanner into my plans....my star status burned out at this point with my 71 year old mother who was already looking wilted and my husband who's patience is lacking at the best of times.....and it was barely noon.
It is always best to have a plan B, so, plan B went into effect. We left my Mom at the house with a cold beer (beer always unwilts her), sent the plant manager and Carpenter off to have lunch, sent all the workers away with orders to return at 10pm and jumped in the car and did a Costco run with my grumpy husband.
We went into Costco and attacked the task like a couple of dogs on T-bones, we must have looked like 2 crazed animals. Within 30 minutes we had 2 carts overflowing with bedding, coffee makers, towels, pillows, mops, glasses...you name it, we had it. When we could not fit another thing we went to the check-out. I still shiver when I think of the total we spent....but at that moment, who cared, it was one more thing that was done.
We drove back to the house, unloaded everything from the car and began to put the kitchen together. By about 5:00pm we were idle again with nothing to do. I decided to risk fate and ordered the truck to arrive at 7:00pm and called the workers to arrive then too. It was my hope that the police would not drive by and put a stop to us.
My star started to burn a little brighter as we never had any problems with the police and we were able to start unloading at 7:00pm. It took 3 hours and 12 people to get the furniture off the truck and into the house. It took an additional 4 hours and 5 people to take every scrap of wrapping off all the furniture.
By 2:00am we were all exhausted, red eyed and our fingers were raw from unwrapping the furniture. I went into my mothers room at one point to say good night and there was blood all over the floor from someone cutting their finger with a knife while unwrapping. We all fell into bed and had a very restless sleep as we were all still on an adrenaline high.
.....to be continued
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
