Mr. Hogan reports that he and his two assistants were present when the box containing the dining room chandelier was opened. The outer box was tall and rectangular. (Both my husband and I remember this box. It stood out because when we picked up our fixtures at the store, I wondered what long, skinny fixture we'd ordered. It wasn't until I talked with the electrician after the problem occurred that I realized that long box must have been the one containing the dining room chandelier.)

When Mr. Hogan and his assistants opened the outer box, they found crushed paper surrounded an even smaller sealed box. When they opened the inner box, they found an entirely disassembled chandelier, with each individual piece wrapped in thin tissue paper. Mr. Hogan, his two assistants and our builder (Shep Spear of Londonderry Homecrafters) all saw the chandelier come out of the box in this condition.

As neither the electrician nor the builder had a picture, instructions or knew what the finished chandelier was supposed to look like, they had no idea how to put it together. They called me, and I agreed to come take a look. I also made a note to myself to ask Light N Leisure for instructions or a picture.

But that night when I arrived at the house to look at the chandelier, I could see immediately that it wasn't even the right one. It had a silver-plated finish and we'd ordered brass. And it was certainly in pieces - not one part of it was attached to any other part. I couldn't believe Light N Leisure had shipped a chandelier in that condition. The electrician had left for the day, so my husband and I repacked the chandelier parts in a box and immediately took it back to the store. (As we realized later, we'd used the wrong box.)

At the Danvers store, we spoke with a store manager named Patty. She was as surprised by the condition of the chandelier as we had been. She said she thought it would have come assembled, and that she'd check with the factory. I asked her to please investigate, and to order the correct brass chandelier for us in the meantime.

Two days later, on November 23, I stopped by the store again, to be sure the correct brass chandelier had been ordered. Patty said she had not ordered the replacement, and showed me a FAX from the factory that said the chandelier comes assembled.

I said, "They may normally send it assembled, but obviously they didn't this time. What motive would an electrician possibly have to take apart a fully-assembled chandelier?"

"I don't know, " Patty replied, "but you'll need to take it up with him."

Baffled, I said, "So, what you're saying is that I need to take the incorrect chandelier with me, and figure out how to assemble it before I can return it?"

"No," Patty said. "I'm telling you it's not returnable."

I was stunned. I asked if she didn't think it was far more likely that the factory had sent us someone else's return, than that an electrician would have taken apart a completely-assembled chandelier for absolutely no reason.

Patty agreed the first scenario was more likely, and that clearly Light N Lesire had ordered the wrong chandelier in the first place, and that as a customer I was not at fault … but she still said there was no way her store would "eat the cost" of the chandelier. Evidently, as the customer, I would have to "eat the cost."

I left the store with the box of chandelier parts, completely stunned. Later my father-in-law decided to try to put the chandelier together, and discovered that a number of pieces are missing. So besides being the wrong chandelier in the first place, and being completely disassembled, it's also missing pieces.

I realize that Patty was only doing her job, and that the confines of her job probably don't allow her to think of creative solutions to customer problems. Patty's chief concern was that her store not have to "eat the cost" of the replacement, so she was unwilling to order the correct replacement, or even explore the situation more with the factory. She seemed to think I should take up the case with the factory (Elk Lighting). Since I purchased my light fixtures from Light N Leisure and not "the factory," I felt I should be able to resolve the matter with the store where I purchased the items. I decided to contact Bill Greenberg, the president of Light N Leisure, for help.

I spoke by phone with Mr. Greenberg on Nov. 26, 2002. He was already familiar with the situation and was sympathetic, but clearly skeptical that the chandelier had come disassembled. He agreed to check with the factory again, and to place an order for the replacement chandelier while the situation was sorted out, but that was all.

A few days later I received a follow-up e-mail from Mr. Greenberg. He seemed unwilling to offer us any credit or discount on the replacement chandelier, even though the one they sent was incorrect, because it was not returned in the original box and because of the condition in which it was returned. Of course, that's the condition the item arrived to us in, but Mr. Greenberg was unwilling to admit the factory might have made an error.

After speaking to the electrician to find out exactly what he saw and did, I replied to Mr. Greenberg in an e-mail. I have not heard from him since.

Light N Leisure maintains that it is "totally committed to the 100% satisfaction of our customers" but I don't believe that statement is true. The store freely admits that it ordered the wrong chandelier, that it can't determine how the chandelier arrived disassembled, that it's not my fault as the customer, and yet remains determined not to "eat the cost" of the chandelier. Mr. Greenberg profited from this sale, while as a customer I'm left with an $800 box of silver-plated chandelier parts and a bare light bulb in my dining room ceiling.

I believe that not having the correct box, which I am responsible for, is a small matter compared to the condition of the chandelier, which I am not responsible for. Even with the correct box it wouldn't be returnable in the condition it arrived in - and Light N Leisure knows this. I believe they have "written me off" as a future customer and are determined not only to avoid resolving the situation, but to hold onto their profit on the original sale at all costs (plus charge me again for the correct chandelier). This seems extremely unfair.

I haven't given up on Light N Leisure - surely there is a solution to this, and a way for me to receive the chandelier that I ordered, in a condition in which I can use it. I look forward to a satisfactory resolution to this situation.