Any kitchen redesign will involve new countertops. We had our eyes on quartz from the beginning, but had some challenges finding a product we liked within our budget.
Belle (also goes by the name Raspar) extended the contractor's price to use and quickly provided us with a quote on a Caesarstone product that came below the bigger countertop companies.
She came by the house a couple of times: first to bring samples, and the second time, to confirm measurements. She was a pleasure to talk to.
Later, we received an email from her indicating that the countertop would actually cost about $1K more than what was quoted, and *after* our cheque covering the deposit was cashed. (There was a mistake made in estimating the number of slabs needed for our job.)
Rather than return the deposit and requote the cost, we had to negotiate who would be paying what. As a customer, it felt a little unfair to absorb the entire cost due to a mistake made by someone else, especially since we had provided all the information upfront, and had two site visits.
Belle was open to dividing the additional cost and we agreed on a figure for each party. From that conversation onward, things started to go a bit sideways. I had to confirm final figures, and chase down installation dates. There was a lot of emailing.
The installation crew, although super friendly and really precise with the install, was a bit messy. (They left bits of glue spatter all over our lower cabinets and kitchen floor, and quartz dust in the driveway that we had to clean up afterward.)
Belle was prompt in picking up our final payment, but unfortunately, did not do any additional follow-up. There was no "thank-you" nor any request for feedback. Not sure what happened since all of the interactions were very pleasant at the start.
The experience overall was mixed. To focus on the positive: we are enjoying a very nice looking product, and in the end, we are happy this company was able to save us a bit of money.
If they can work the kinks out of their quotation/estimation processes *and* remain professional from start to finish, they have a great thing going.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $5,800.00
