diff --git a/components/dashboard/ChatList.tsx b/components/dashboard/ChatList.tsx
index dc800b7..290d1be 100644
--- a/components/dashboard/ChatList.tsx
+++ b/components/dashboard/ChatList.tsx
@@ -9,6 +9,7 @@ import { Avatar, AvatarFallback } from "@/components/ui/avatar";
 import { formatDistanceToNow } from "date-fns";
 import axios from "axios";
 import { toast } from "sonner";
+import { getCookie } from "@/lib/client-utils";
 
 interface Chat {
   _id: string;
@@ -36,12 +37,12 @@ export default function ChatList() {
   useEffect(() => {
     const fetchVendorData = async () => {
       try {
-        // Get vendor info from session storage or context
-        const vendorId = sessionStorage.getItem("vendorId");
+        // Get vendor info from cookies
+        const vendorId = getCookie("vendorId");
         
         if (!vendorId) {
           toast.error("You need to be logged in to view chats");
-          router.push("/login");
+          router.push("/auth/login");
           return;
         }
         
@@ -68,7 +69,7 @@ export default function ChatList() {
       
       setLoading(true);
       try {
-        const vendorId = sessionStorage.getItem("vendorId");
+        const vendorId = getCookie("vendorId");
         
         // Fetch chats
         const chatsResponse = await axios.get(`/api/chats/vendor/${vendorId}`);
diff --git a/components/dashboard/ChatNotifications.tsx b/components/dashboard/ChatNotifications.tsx
index c725bd5..1e303d9 100644
--- a/components/dashboard/ChatNotifications.tsx
+++ b/components/dashboard/ChatNotifications.tsx
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import {
   DropdownMenuTrigger,
 } from "@/components/ui/dropdown-menu";
 import axios from "axios";
+import { getCookie } from "@/lib/client-utils";
 
 interface UnreadCounts {
   totalUnread: number;
@@ -28,7 +29,7 @@ export default function ChatNotifications() {
   useEffect(() => {
     const fetchUnreadCounts = async () => {
       try {
-        const vendorId = sessionStorage.getItem("vendorId");
+        const vendorId = getCookie("vendorId");
         
         if (!vendorId) return;
         
diff --git a/components/dashboard/NewChatForm.tsx b/components/dashboard/NewChatForm.tsx
index c29e0c1..0704a35 100644
--- a/components/dashboard/NewChatForm.tsx
+++ b/components/dashboard/NewChatForm.tsx
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import { Textarea } from "@/components/ui/textarea";
 import { ArrowLeft, Send, RefreshCw } from "lucide-react";
 import axios from "axios";
 import { toast } from "sonner";
+import { getCookie } from "@/lib/client-utils";
 
 export default function NewChatForm() {
   const router = useRouter();
@@ -23,7 +24,7 @@ export default function NewChatForm() {
   useEffect(() => {
     const fetchVendorStores = async () => {
       try {
-        const vendorId = sessionStorage.getItem("vendorId");
+        const vendorId = getCookie("vendorId");
         
         if (!vendorId) {
           toast.error("You need to be logged in");
diff --git a/lib/client-utils.ts b/lib/client-utils.ts
index e5a6313..bb39467 100644
--- a/lib/client-utils.ts
+++ b/lib/client-utils.ts
@@ -26,4 +26,14 @@ export async function clientFetch(url: string, options: RequestInit = {}): Promi
       console.error(`Client fetch error at ${url}:`, error);
       throw error;
   }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Get a cookie value by name
+ */
+export function getCookie(name: string): string | undefined {
+  return document.cookie
+    .split('; ')
+    .find(row => row.startsWith(`${name}=`))
+    ?.split('=')[1];
 }
\ No newline at end of file