Go Sox! Jordan's customers win
By Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, November 5, 2007
Boston — The Boston Red Sox were winners Oct. 28 and so were some 30,000 Jordan's Furniture customers.
The Red Sox finished their sweep of the Colorado Rockies, winning baseball's World Series with the 4-to-3 victory. That means the nearly 30,000 customers who participated in Jordan's "Monster Deal" promotion in the spring will get their sofas, sectionals, dining tables, beds and mattresses for free.
"We're all excited here, thrilled for our customers," Eliot Tatelman, president and CEO of the Taunton, Mass.-based chain, said the day after the Series win.
The company, part of Berkshire Hathaway's furniture division, hasn't said how much business the event generated, although early on Tatelman said it was insured for $20 million and that the four-store retailer was expecting to top that in sales.
Does Tatelman think Jordan's Monster Deal had anything to do with the coveted win — the second for the Red Sox in three years but also only their second in 90 years?
"Of course!" he said. "No question about it."
Despite the euphoria in Boston, Tatelman wasn't expecting a rush on Jordan's stores. Customers who participated in the promotion back in March and April know they have to fill out a form to get their money back in six to eight weeks. Jordan's has put together a staff to work on this full time but knows it's going to be a long process, he said.
Still, there was confusion and some false claims the day after the win. The Boston Herald reported that Jordan's took some 1,500 calls by midday Monday "from customers offering up 'Well, Eliot said that ...' and 'Well, my salesman said ...' in attempts to sidestep the rules of the free furniture promotion."
As for whether Jordan's will repeat the promotion next year, Tatelman said he's not sure and it's too early to speculate. One obstacle may be finding an insurer to cover it again, betting that the Red Sox won't repeat.
"Would you insure it?" he asked.
No free furniture for Red Sox fans
10/21/2008Red Sox win means free furniture
10/29/2007Jordan’s winners won’t pay extra income tax
03/10/2008If Red Sox win, so do Jordan’s customers
10/23/2007
