A customer has found a sofa she likes. She needs the corner on the left, in a fabric she has not seen, slightly firmer than standard, and she is wondering whether it comes in a shorter version because her room is awkward.
Every one of those questions is a reason to order, and together they are a reason to give up and buy something simpler from a shop that has one in stock.
What buyers ask
Buyers usually ask what can be changed, whether dimensions can be altered, which fabrics are available and what they cost, whether they can supply their own fabric, how firmness options differ, whether corner orientation can be changed later, what the lead time is, whether they can change their mind after ordering and whether it can be returned.
Explain what is genuinely possible
Retailers often describe products as bespoke when only fabric and configuration vary. Being precise about what can and cannot be changed, per product, prevents disappointment and sets up a realistic conversation.
Corner orientation is the classic error
Facing the sofa or sitting on it produces opposite answers, and customers order the wrong side regularly. Explaining how orientation is described, with a diagram, prevents the most expensive mistake in the category.
Firmness and comfort cannot be judged online
Seat depth, cushion fill and firmness matter more than colour for long-term satisfaction. Explaining the options, and encouraging a showroom visit to try them, prevents a customer living with something uncomfortable for a decade.
Buyer: Can I have this in a left hand corner with the firmer seat? Assistant: Yes, the product page shows both orientations with a diagram of how they are described, and lists the seat options with the firmer fill available at no extra cost. The lead time for made to order is shown on the same page. Could you confirm which way the corner should face when you are standing in the room looking at the sofa?
Returns must be stated before ordering
Made to order items are generally not returnable, and this needs saying clearly at the point of choosing rather than in terms at checkout. Customers accept it when told plainly and object strongly when they discover it afterwards.
Changing an order after it is placed
Customers frequently want to change a fabric or configuration a few days after ordering. Publishing the point at which an order enters production, and can no longer be altered, gives people a clear window to reconsider and protects the workshop from changes that arrive after the frame has been built.
Lead times and deadlines
Customers ordering for a house move, a new baby or Christmas need honest timescales, as covered in delivery time and stock questions furniture shoppers ask.
Samples before committing
Nobody should choose a fabric from a screen for a purchase this size, which is the point of fabric, finish and sample requests for furniture retailers.
Genuinely bespoke requests
Non-standard dimensions, unusual configurations and customer's own fabric need a different conversation with the workshop, as described in handling custom order requests without losing them.
Post-order questions
Once ordered, customers want progress updates and delivery arrangements, which follows the pattern in the ecommerce support questions AI should handle for you.
Getting started
Publish configuration options per product, orientation diagrams, lead times and return terms, then guide configuration at any hour. SpideyChat for retail businesses answers from your published pages. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about answers on the features page.