I dropped in to Arq after a less-than-satisfactory experience at another expensive boutique furniture retailer and was pleasantly surprised at the friendly and accommodating reception I received. The people I have dealt with at Arq actually want me to be happy and satisfied with what I purchase, something of a novel concept if some of my most recent retail experiences are anything to go by – and they're willing to work with me to make that happen. So far I am very impressed. If you're seeking quality as well as style, you get plenty of band for your buck!

So far I have only bought a couple of items from this Aladdin's Cave of a store, but I wanted to compliment the owners on their friendly, approachable attitude and willingness to go out of their way to assist. I'm trying to furnish a brand-new, modern apartment at the moment and had no idea how stressful the process would be, despite significant expenditure, mostly because of mistakes and delays, poor to non-existent customer service and lack of quality in some of the (very expensive) products I've purchased, and the difficulties I've had in addressing these things. I have not found this to be the case with Orno Interiors and, despite my short acquaintance with the business, walking in there is like a breath of fresh air.

I first visited Karen several years ago, having read an article about her in the Sunday Times magazine. In the past I approached this type of business with trepidation, because one has to 'reveal' one's physical flaws in order to have them attended to, and it made me very self-conscious to do so. Someone who's suffered from acne and scarring or any other skin problem can probably relate to that. Well, my first visit convinced me that I didn't need to worry: Karen and her staff are empathic, kind and dedicated to helping in any way they can. Great customer service is a rare commodity these days, so since that first visit I have been back at least a couple of times a year for a skin pick-me-up and have tried several different treatments. They aren't cheap, but quality never is. If you want real understanding of your skin-care needs, go to Karen. You won't regret it.

I drive many kilometres every few weeks to have Sheryle attend to my fingers and toes (mani and pedi). She knows what she's doing and does it well, whether you want your nails attended to the old-fashioned way or with plenty of dazzle and bling. Sheryle's kept her premises simple but stylish and I always relax when I'm in there, even if I've arrived hot, tired and frazzled. It's all about attitude, and Sheryle is fun to be around. I cannot recommend her services highly enough.

Let me say, first, that the salesperson I dealt with at Contempo was very helpful and did his best on my behalf. That said, I would not shop there again. I went there because I had received an SMS to say the store was having a sale. I needed to furnish an apartment and didn't want to drive from shop to shop, so I thought I would see if I could buy most of what I needed there. Although I took a plan with me, I was not confident of being able to scale everything to size and told the owner of the store that I was worried that what the salesman and I had selected might not fit. He assured me that the salesperson I was dealing with was good at that sort of thing. On that first day, I put a deposit on about $25,000 worth of floor stock, which could not be delivered until the carpet had been installed. In the meantime, I began to worry about the size of some of the items purchased. Finally, I rang Contempo and said I thought someone should come and check before the delivery date. The salesperson I dealt with did come out, and we discovered that the sofa certainly would not fit but the very large wall unit would be fine. The store owner was upset, saying that the sofa had been sitting on the floor with a sold sticker for more than a week. I saw his point and assured him, via the salesperson, that I would make more purchases at Contempo to counter this inconvenience (even though it was not my fault). In fact I spent considerably more. When all the furniture was finally delivered, there was simply too much to fit properly in the apartment, so I sent the coffee table back and spent even more money on other items to once again make up for any inconvenience this may have caused. In the meantime, it seemed the huge wall unit had a problem. The very large, heavy glass door did not hang straight on it, so one of the drawers could not be opened, and the door made a horrible, screeching, metal-on-metal sound when opened and closed. The installer couldn't fix it that day and I was told someone would come out the next week to 'adjust' it. At that next appointment, neither of the men who attended knew how to correct the problem. The following day I received a phone call to say the regular installer was on holiday and would not be able to come and attend to the problem with the unit for about three weeks. This was far too long as we were preparing the unit for letting, which is why I was in a hurry to furnish it in the first place. In the interests of expediency, I offered to have my very skilled and good-at-problem-solving cabinet-maker look at it if Contempo would pay for his services. The owner declined my offer and instead sent his own cabinet-maker, who advised that the problem was caused by the floor being considerably out of level (despite him attending with neither a level nor a straight edge to confirm this – I subsequently had my own man check the floor level and he found only a 3mm discrepancy, not enough to lead to the problems with the wall unit and also easily fixed if someone had tried). By now I had noticed that the assembly of the unit was also poor, with daylight showing at the edges of some of the panels. As a result, I was completely fed up and asked that the unit be removed and a refund given. This was subsequently done, some three weeks after the issue first presented. Meanwhile, I had other problems. Because the wall unit was so large and imposing, I had designed the rest of the living room furniture and accessories around it. Without that wall unit, my decorating scheme was in complete disarray and I was left with items that were no longer suitable. The worst thing about the whole experience, though, was that throughout it all I felt that the owner of the store was interested more in my money than providing me with good customer service and a satisfactory shopping experience. Another word of caution to potential shoppers: some if not all the furniture sold at Contempo is made in China, as the installer explained to me on the day my items were delivered. They had, for instance, had problems with the door of the wall units before. I spent a lot of money at Contempo but have been left with a bad taste over what transpired. Incidentally, the delivery and installation teams were terrific: they arrived on time and were very careful.

Approximate cost: $28,000-$30,000

Great prices, very helpful customer service and a lovely, careful delivery driver who went to great pains not to damage anything and took away all the rubbish. He even helped me remove the transit bolts from a washing machine purchased elsewhere. I would definitely shop here again.

Approximate cost: $2954

Bought a washer and dryer (expensive) here and was told that my shopping experience would be the same as if I had bought conventionally and not from a 'seconds' store. That was simply not true. The items were delivered dirty and unwrapped, in the pouring rain, by a driver who didn't give a damn and just dumped them, filthy and dripping, on the clean laundry floor. He didn't remove the transit bolts as had been requested at the store (in fact, a delivery driver from another store did it for me) and dirt and water from his trolley dripped all over the new carpets in the passageway of our just-completed building. Neither appliance was accompanied by instruction books, and there were no hose clamps or covers for the holes the transit bolts fit into on the washing machine, as there should have been. I have rung several times over the past three weeks to try and get these items sent out, so far to no avail. I will NEVER shop there again and, if you prefer good customer service, I advise you not to either!

Approximate cost: $2,650