2-Drawer Lateral File Cabinet with Lock - Secure Home & Office Organizer Storage, Locking Filing Cabinet in Black - Perfect for Document Storage & Workspace Organization

Product: Sturdy, attractive, well-designed.Customer Service: Very responsive in a timely manner. Extremely patient and calm, which was comforting when I was on the verge of exploding from frustration. Ultimately helpful, although it took several days to fix a drawer problem that could have been resolved more quickly with better communication, especially on the part of the factory technician who clearly knows the product well.Assembly Instructions: Ouch. Here’s the rub. Other reviewers have complained about the instructions and I agree entirely. I had a serious problem with the assembly, which was ultimately resolved. There are videos and written instructions to guide you. Unfortunately there are problems with both.The file cabinet has a number of different models, and it took several email exchanges before the representative was able to send me the video that applied to the model I had purchased. The videos are very slick and breeze by very quickly. They make it seem like a cinch to assemble the file cabinet. They mislead. If you’re familiar with the product and are handy with tools, perhaps you can assemble it in an hour or so. If you’re not, it may take you much, much longer. The videos do not contain enough detail to be helpful. They do show 2 people doing the assembly, and I think that’s what’s needed. I assembled the product by myself, which added to the difficulty. If you work alone, you also run the risk of damaging the product if you’re not careful.I followed the written instructions in the booklet that came with the product. Despite the poor, almost unintelligible English, I did find the instructions helpful as far as they go. I followed them extremely carefully and methodically. It took me over a day to complete the assembly, working slowly in short increments. Assembling some of the parts was difficult because of the awkward location of screw holes. There is a magnetized screwdriver that comes with the parts, and it was very helpful. The videos show someone using an electric screwdriver with a light that illuminates the dark interior of the cabinet. If you’ve got such a tool, use it. Eventually I got everything put together and everything seemed to fit quite nicely. Then I tried to insert the drawers into the cabinet.To my horror, the file drawers were riding 1/2 inch too high. As a result there was a 1/2 inch gap below the bottom drawer, and the top drawer wouldn’t close. I immediately contacted customer service through the Amazon website. The representative answered back almost immediately. She was very reassuring that she would resolve the issue and that she had my back. And indeed over the next several days, she continued to be completely supportive.The problem turned out to be quite simple to fix, but because of language miscommunications and the factory technician's insistence on resolving everything via non-helpful videos, it took longer to resolve than it should have. In one email exchange, the representative disclosed that there were 3 other customers having the same problem. That was reassuring, but at the time—because of how carefully I had followed the instructions and my conviction that I had done everything correctly— I was concerned that the 4 of us had been sent mismatched parts.For anyone who experiences file drawers that ride too high, the problem lies with the way the metal tracks attach to the drawers. After you’ve attached them to the sides of the drawers, you have to make sure that they are pulled as high as they will go. This requires a good deal of brute force. Only then will they snap into their proper position. There’s a tiny square opening (about 1/8”) on the side of the drawer. When the track is properly pulled as high as it will go, this little square is covered by a corresponding nub on the metal track. If these male and female parts don’t meet, then the drawer will ride high. It’s hard to believe how such a small adjustment can make such a big difference.Both the written documentation and the videos fail to make this point. So much angst could have been avoided if they had. Now that the issue has been resolved, I can highly recommend this product. However, buyer beware! If you plan to assemble it yourself, brace yourself for the possibility of an ordeal. But if you need customer service, ask for Ella. She’s great.Despite many reviews about horrific assembly frustrations I purchased this 2-drawer lateral filing cabinet. My husband unpacked the contents and carefully went through the parts listed in the instruction guide to insure we had every part needed to assemble the cabinet before we began. We watched the videos, but quickly realized they are actually less accurate than the step-by-step written instructions. My husband put the entire cabinet together himself following the step-by-step instructions, I assisted with getting the drawers on the guides. The first time you close the drawers on the guides it's a bit rough and wobbly, but once they've been closed once they glide without issue. My husband did stumble a bit with the instructions for putting the drawers together as the written instructions were vague and a bit confusing. He recommends taking panel L and setting it inside panel K BEFORE pulling the sides into position. Panel M then slides underneath the back of panel K. Once assembly was complete we couldn't get the drawers to close all the way, turned out the key lock mechanism had been turned to the "lock" position so as soon as we "unlocked" the lock the drawers went right in. The cabinet looks great and is actually far more sturdy than I expected, perfectly suitable for our home office needs. Very happy with the purchase. Would recommend that you check to be sure you have all the parts listed and then follow the written instructions carefully step-by-step (it helps to set the cabinet on a coffee table as it makes it easier for some steps rather than doing it on the floor). I'm not sure why so many reviewers struggled to the extent that they did, but the instructions were certainly clear enough to put the cabinet together, although you need to be prepared for an IKEA furniture-type experience as there are a lot of pieces to assemble. It took my husband about an hour to put the file cabinet together. I think the price is great for what you get, lateral files are generally quite expensive.This is not the same cabinet in the video- the locking mechanism is completely different, the draw slides are not alike, etc.. If you follow the written directions in order, you will turn yourself inside out trying to reach things.After spending all afternoon on this, I finally get to the end of this puzzle, only to find that the holes for the drawer slides inside the cabinet are misplaced and the drawers are about 1" to 1/2" up too high and the drawers do not fit correctly. AND there's some pretty sturdy grease from the slides all over my office. Fuuuuuudge........*Edit: after reading other another user's review stating that they needed to "use brute force" to snap the slides onto the drawer into the correct position-yep, spot on. I now have a working filing cabinet (many thanks). I used a rubber mallet and tapped until it the slides were firmly wedged. I purchased this after reading reviews and looking at the instructional video, really wish there was more uniformity re the item received. After all that, I think I have a pretty okey-dokey cabinet and have changed my review from 1 star to 3.