I ordered this on March 31, 2012. It arrived today, April 17, 2012. GREAT looking lamp. Very pleased with its appearance. I unpacked it and cleared off a spot on my daughter's desk. Found a three-way GE bulb. Plugged it in. Turned it on. Oh-oh. I have an on state and and off state, NO THREE-WAY ILLUMINATION, which is a major reason I bought this lamp.
The socket is labeled as three-way, 50-100-150. So I call the vendor, Lamps Plus. First the representative I spoke with tells me to make sure the little metal tab in the bottom of the socket is making contact with the light bulb base. Well, duh, it LIGHTS, therefore we know that a circuit is being completed, yes? The problem is that it's not functional three-ways. I swap another three-way bulb. Same problem.
So the problem appears to be that the lamp manufacturer, Haeger Potteries, either changed and mislabeled the lamp or just screwed up and didn't install a three-way socket.
I was offered A) a discount B) an opportunity to return the lamp -I don't have a vehicle and I can't see carrying a 2'x2'x2' box a mile and a half to the nearest FedEx office. By this time I'm getting a pretty good case of the tight jaws and explain through clenched teeth that I am a single father on a fixed income and this was not a frivolous purchase, AND it was intended for my daughter. I ask to speak to her manager. I wait. She comes back and offers to have the lamp picked up. I thank her and ask to speak to her manager again. I wait more. She comes back on the line and tells me that she can't locate a manager and they'll have to call me back.
I have steam coming out of my ears. It's a LAMP, it's a simple TABLE LAMP. It was described and it labeled as having a three-way socket, that was a major selling point. I am not amused. Simple competence is not too much to expect. Shall I walk to Home Depot and buy a three-way socket and rewire the lamp myself? That sounds simpler than returning it and waiting another two weeks and hoping that Haegar Potteries can pull a part from the correct bin this time around.
Let's recap: Beautiful lamp, made in the USA. Two weeks for a FedEx delivery seemed like a good long wait, plus the tracking number I was provided had no delivery date. Not impressive. And, the killer, the three-way socket is either defective or mislabeled, the bottom line being that I don't have the three-way desk lamp I wanted for my daughter's room.
I am not happy. Perhaps you ought to consider a different manufacturer and a different vendor if you're in the market for a nice desk lamp.
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A visit to Wikipedia tells me that this lamp does not have a three-way socket installed.
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Two hours later I called Lamps Plus back, since I hadn't received the promised call from a manager. The manager I spoke with told me that due to a recent California law, lamp manufacturers have to swap out three-way switches for regular switches in order for lamps to be used with the excretable "CFL" lamps -drop one of those and you have to call a HazMat team to clean up the mess. CFL lamps are a bad idea IMHO. ANYWAY. There would be no point in returning this lamp and hoping that the replacement would have a three-way switch. I have to buy one and install it myself. Lamps Plus is going to refund $25 of the price. That ought to cover the cost of a three-way switch.
Why wasn't this lamp described as NOT having a three-way switch on Amazon? Why is it labeled as having a three-way switch? What dumb California law resulted in this mess?
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