Sofa Workshop by Timothy Oulton - Exeter

Wonderful customer service from Jane who was friendly, positive and listened to our requirements. Brilliant interaction which made the whole experience a pleasure. Three samples of upholstery fabric was organised for us to match up with our colour scheme and follow up phone calls with Jane were excellent. The order of our sofa bed made in UK was easy and delivered at a time suitable to us. Fanatstic service.

Odd visit to Sofa Workshop, Exeter; so much so, I thought I’d write a review. We have previously bought two ‘Caruso’ sofas from the Paris Street Store, but since it is now closed, we visited its replacement on the Rydon Lane Retail Park. This is a very different concern to the old Sofa Workshop, and though the furniture remains expensive, please don’t expect the same level of quality, or indeed service. We found the sample sofas to be dirty, and were unwilling to sit on many of them; one being literally covered in hair, presumably from that of a dog or cat? We also felt the selection of Sofas a-little lacklustre and staid, a bit boring really. The ‘sofa bed’ looked like someone had been sleeping in it! The shop itself seemed generally unkempt, and there was a lack of cleanliness throughout; a random bottle of Champagne with two glasses shrouded in dust, a bizarre child's floral plastic Coffee service equally covered in grime and what appeared to be an ‘art installation’ of J20 Bottles placed decoratively on the centre counter. Quite laughable, and far from the aesthetic of the previous Store, and that of the environment one would expect when spending such money? As to the service, we were ‘helped’ (I use the term loosely) by Jane, who might as well have walked-in off the street with us; as she knew little to nothing about the fabrics we enquired about, or indeed the sofas she was working with? She even offered my wife one of the warm, dusty orange drinks, so decoratively placed maybe five feet from what appeared to be a fridge? It was all very disappointing, especially as we’d driven three hours from North Devon. All-in-all, a rather awful experience and not one to be repeated.

(NB - this review referred to the old Paris Street store) We went in here with some trepidation - it being a furniture shop - but were pleased to discover that the staff are friendly and helpful; no intrusive, high-pressure sales pitch here (and no permanent "sale"). They provided free tea and coffee, and didn't mind our 4yo running around and clambering (with shoes off) over the sofas while we looked around. Would definitely recommend the shop and very pleased with the sofa we purchased.

Wish I had known about this place before... called here after visiting the new IKEA and purchased a sofa... quality sofas and staff not pushy.... will be recommending to family and friends without a doubt.....

I could not recommend this company highly enough - the staff are friendly and helpful without being pushy and the range of sofas are lovely. Our Dillon sofa was delivered ahead of schedule today and is absolutely stunning and so comfortable! The delivery arrangement was well organised and the delivery men that came today did a fantastic job.