Two men, a sofa and a narrow staircase
The crew arrives at a first-floor flat with a three-seater sofa. The front door is fine. The staircase turns sharply halfway up, and the sofa will not go round. They try standing it on end, then tipping it, then giving up. The sofa goes back in the van. The customer is upset, the crew has lost an hour, and the office now has to deal with a returned made-to-order sofa, a customer who still needs something to sit on and a conversation about who should have checked.
The customer did measure the space where the sofa would sit. Nobody asked about the stairs.
Why access is missed
- Customers measure the room, not the route into it.
- Product pages show the assembled size, not the size of the piece in its packaging or on its diagonal.
- Sales staff are not trained to ask about access, or forget to.
- Access questions are asked at delivery booking, after the piece is made.
- Crews find out on the doorstep, with no information in advance.
Made-to-order furniture makes this worse. Once the piece is made, the options are limited, and a return often means a loss.
What access failures cost
| Failure | Cost |
|---|---|
| Failed delivery | A wasted crew run and a rebooking |
| Returned made-to-order piece | Resold as ex-display at a loss, or not at all |
| Damage from forcing it in | Scuffed walls, damaged frames and claims |
| Unhappy customer | Reviews and complaints about something avoidable |
How we check access before the order
- Each product gets its key access dimensions: height, depth, width and the diagonal depth, plus whether arms, legs or backs come off, and its packaged size.
- At checkout online, and on the tablet in the showroom, the customer answers a few quick questions: front door width, any stairs, whether they turn, the narrowest door on the route, lift size if it is a flat.
- The answers are compared with the product's dimensions. Clear cases pass. Tight or doubtful ones are flagged with a simple explanation, for example 'the stair turn may be too tight for this sofa'.
- Flagged orders go to a person to call the customer, suggest a modular or smaller option, or book a home survey if you offer one.
- The answers are saved with the order and shown to the crew on the run sheet, so they know about the tight stairs before they arrive.
- Failed deliveries are logged with the reason, and the data shows which products and property types cause most trouble.
The check is guidance, not a guarantee. Measurements taken by customers can be wrong. The goal is to catch the obvious mismatches and prompt a proper check on the risky ones.
An order with a flag
A customer orders a large corner sofa online. The access check shows a narrow hallway and a tight turn into the living room. The order is flagged. The next morning, a member of staff calls, explains the risk and suggests the modular version of the same sofa, which comes in smaller pieces. The customer switches. The crew sees 'narrow hall, tight turn, modular' on the run sheet and brings the right equipment. The sofa goes in without a problem.
Helping customers measure
Many customers are not sure what to measure. A short guide with pictures, showing where to measure the door, the stairs and the turn, helps a great deal. Some retailers add a printable template or a video. Where the risk is still unclear, a paid or free access survey can be offered before the order is placed, following your own terms. What happens if a piece still does not fit after the customer has confirmed access is set by your terms of sale and your advisers.
Showroom staff benefit most. With the access questions on the tablet as part of every order, they no longer have to remember to ask, and a new member of the sales team asks the same questions as someone who has been selling sofas for years.
Signs you need access checks
- Crews bring sofas back because they would not fit.
- Access questions are asked at delivery booking, not at sale.
- Product pages show only assembled dimensions.
- Crews arrive with no information about stairs or lifts.
- Returned made-to-order pieces are piling up as ex-display.