Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The picture looks nice, but do not buy this product! It is not worth the risk of getting a defective one. Even with amazon's AMAZING return policy, this was an absolute nightmare. As we unpacked the pieces to the bench, we noted that there were a few very visible scratches and marks to the surface of the finishing. We decided that it wasn't a big enough deal to complain about and continued... Then, it became apparent that the pre-drilled holes did not line up correctly to fit the end pieces on the body of the bench. I suggested that my husband stop trying to assemble it so that we could return it to amazon. However, he persisted with confidence because he is very handy. He managed to drill out the holes to make them bigger and was able to fit the ends together. Our next problem came when the large screws fell apart while trying to screw them in. The heads of the screws tore right off. We did not over tighten them... in fact, we did not even manage to screw two of them in half-way before they broke. This caused an additional problem... now that the screws have broken, we were no longer able to dis-assemble the bench in order to return it. So, we decided to trudge on. We finally managed to get the bench put together. Aside from the scratches, ill-fitting pieces, broken screws, and flimsy bottom, it did not look too shabby. If it could have been assembled without issue, it would have been worth what we paid for it. However, after a few hours, and opening and closing it several times... the hardware of the hinge broke completely. Now the bench is completely useless. Even if we bought a new hinge assembly, we would not be able to disassemble the bench (broken screws) to fix it. Garbage! We contacted Linon via email and got an automated response that we would hear from them in 2 business days. When we did not hear from them, we were able to resolve things through Amazons amazing customer service department. Without ever having replied to my email like they said they were going to, Linon mailed some replacement parts to us via fed-ex yesterday. Even with the parts, we would not have been able to make the bench functional I have no idea why they didn't email or call me first to get more details about what was wrong. We are now having to send three packages back to Linon via a very inconvenient return process. Can you believe that Linon also got my address incorrect? They mailed the packages to my elderly neighbor! I even went back and double checked that I gave them the correct address in my original email, (I did). This whole experience has been a crazy nightmare. We will never purchase anything manufactured by Linon again! Thank goodness for Amazon's amazing customer service.