TMC Restoration

Saw TMC at a home show in April 2010, they called and called incessantly until I finally agreed to have a rep come out. On July 22 2010 a Doug C from TMC showed up at my house to appraise a chest of drawers.(after reading other reviews I now find it odd that the reps have no last names) He seemed to be very knowledgeable about old furniture. He kept on going back to how lovely and well made my old sofa bed was. I kept on telling him I could only afford to do the chest as I was in the middle of major home renos and that in the spring of 2011 maybe then. He asked that if they would defer the payments until then would it work for me? I asked what the interest would be after the deferment time, just in case I could not have it all paid for by then? He made a couple of phone calls and told me it would be 14%. I agreed to have the sofa bed done under these arrangements. A couple of hours later the furniture was picked up. a couple of weeks later I get a call saying that the sofa bed needed extra supports and the chest needed to be all reglued. This came with a much extra price tag added. Then there was the call about the fabric care application. Yes and the extra cost as well. I came across club chair that matched the sofa so I had them pick up and add to the order on August 10. Furniture finally arrives in November. The chest had a flaw on the top of it, it had to go back. The sofa bed came back with the same old mattress and the arms were not equal in size and the very expensive bolster cushions were lumpy, also sent back. Then I got the bill from the finance co for immediate payments at 29.9% financing. Did I mention I was budgeting very carefully and this was a total surprise after the agreement I had made with Doug "C". NO amount of phone calls to Wayne (supposedly a big cheese with company) would get them to honor what was agreed on. I told him I would have laughed Doug "C" down my driveway had he of mentioned 29.9% never mind payments starting right away. I also told Wayne that I have a house full of decent old furniture from the late 1800s and early 1900s that they would be losing any and all future business. They didn't care. December furniture comes back again sofa bed okay and chest of drawers are wobbly. It goes back again. March 29 2011 chest finally comes back. I have been put into the position of frantically trying to pay off the balance with the ridiculous financing as nothing was ever done to correct it. But now that my furniture is finally home and out of their hands I can say that I WOULD NEVER EVER DEAL WITH THIS COMPANY AGAIN

Our advice to those reading this is: DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH TMC RESTORATION! Our experience with TMC began just after Christmas 2010, when we saw a display at the Woodbine Centre in Etobicoke. We put our name on a sheet to get an estimate regarding our dining room table because of a small mark on it. A day or two later, we got a call for a representative to come to our place.

On January 5, 2011, a salesman named Ed H. arrived at our place. He actually appeared to be quite knowledgeable. We had a discussion and agreed that the damage to the table was so minor that it didn't justify refinishing. Before leaving, however, he looked at our Rockwood Maple kitchen table and chairs which we have used for over 35 years. He gave us a price and started filling out forms. For some reason, we didn't follow our usual practice of comparison shopping. We signed the invoice and gave him a substantial deposit in the form of a cheque. Within a couple of hours a truck came by and a man took some photos of the furniture and carted it off. I guess it's hard to change your mind once the furniture is taken away.

Among the things that Ed, the salesman, told us was:
- refinishing work was to be done by highly-skilled people who took great care in what they did,
- the company did not use the faster, but inferior, "dip and strip" method, but did everything by hand,
- the end result, we were assured, would be "as good as when it was new",
- about 4 weeks after delivery, someone would come to our home to make sure we were totally satisfied.

A couple of weeks later, a woman named Sharon called to have us come in and make sure the colour of the stain was O.K. We live fairly close to their Brampton location, so we went over and said the colour was O.K. but the finish was rough, but we were assured that it would be much smoother when finished - it was just the colour we were there for.

Then, a few days later (Jan. 19, 2011) a man named Wayne called to say that the minor re-gluing of the chairs that Ed had noted on the invoice was really insufficient and that MAJOR re-gluing was needed to improve the structure of the chairs so that the full warranty could apply to the structure, as well as the finish. This involved an additional cost, which is not insignificant to seniors like us! Wayne gave the impression of being in some position of authority but he may have been just some "call-centre type guy", based on the "AUTHORIZED ADDITIONAL WORK CONFIRMATION" copy attached to the invoice on delivery. This form included instructions to ask us very specific questions over the phone to confirm our agreement to pay more money. It even noted the recording on their Tape #4B.

Then, again, in early February, a man named John K. called to try to get us to agree to have an additional "brand new" spray applied to harden the surface - for additional longevity, he kept saying. He said Ed, the salesman, wouldn't have been aware of this new finish. He was quite insistent and somewhat pushy but we refused to pay anything more. We were fed up and had enough by this time. This seems to be something this company likes to do - once they have your stuff, they keep finding ways of getting more money out of you.

On February 8, 2011, a woman named Kelly called to arrange delivery. When the furniture arrived on February 10th, we had a few concerns. The delivery man suggested we call the office. Our dissatisfaction came from the fact that the furniture was not as smooth as we expected and, in fact, was quite rough in a few places. It was NOT "as good as when it was new". In fact, we suspect that they DID use the "inferior dip & strip" method, because the grain on the underside of all the furniture was very rough. We wanted someone knowledgeable to come to our home (not far away) for a follow-up which was something we expected anyway. This still hasn't happened.

On Monday, February 14th, 2011, we spoke to Linda, who told us no one would be available for 3 weeks (!?) On March 7, 2011 (3 weeks later) we called Linda again. She said she would speak to her supervisor and get back to us. She called back to say a service guy would call us. We ended up having to call him. A man named Roy was supposed to come by on the afternoon of Sunday, March 13th. He did not show up or call! We spoke to Linda again the next day. Apparently Roy could only come late afternoon or early evening on Fridays only! Friday, March 18th didn't work for us so Linda left us a message saying Roy would be at our place at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, March 25th. We were here . . . Roy did not show up again! Not even a phone call!

TMC is very quick to respond to get your money. Once they have your money, forget about it! You won't see them again. As we said at the beginning, DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH TMC RESTORATION.

The quality of the work was amazing excellent job.. it was a pattern ..everything matched up perfectly, it was restuffed and re sprung it is like new. A little pricy but maybe you get what you pay for

I bargained for this antique radio at a garage sale and my wife would only let me bring it in the house if it was cleaned up. So reluctantly I searched for a refinisher that would not ruin my radio and I finally found TMC. Pleased with their knowledge and service I handed over my antique radio to be restored. 8 weeks later, just as promised I had my radio delivered back to me in pristine condition. Not only am I happy but most importantly, so is my wife!

We had TMC’s JOE come to our home to talk to us about refinishing and upholstering in August 2010. Initially we had some issues related to quality, but TMC heard our opinion, addressed our concerns and worked with us to deliver a quality final product.

I bumped into TMC at the mall and fell in love with fabric they had on a wing back chair. I inherited a pair of wing back chairs a couple years ago and they have been sitting in storage as I contemplated whether to throw them out or not. They are old, ratty and dirty, the mall rep assured me that when they were done with my wing back chairs they would be good as new..... And she was right! I would recommend TMC to all my family and friends, they did a wonderful job. They are a touch expensive, however. Minus one for that.

I have read all the reviews and all those waiting have got nothing on us. On January (24 or 29) 2010 Peter come out and to see our furniture. Handed down to me by my late grandma. She bought in in the late 70's. We were promised that the old finished would be removed and a new espresso finish would be applied. The chairs would be re-upholstered and fixed. This would take 6 to 8 weeks. In on July 16 I finally got tired of waiting so I sent a email to Peter. He replied that my table is not "real wood" so they are having a problem. 6+ months and only now do they tell us they are having a problem. He them admits "someone has dropped the ball". Well for the next 1.5 months I am texting, calling and what not about getting my furniture back. Finally on the 13 of September we get everything back. I had guests arriving from Africa the next morning, and I thought for sure they were going to be eating on the floor. I wanted to see it first but there was no time. I need my table back. So they delivered it, at 11pm. At this time they want me to look it over in the truck and then pay them in full before bring it in. So we did in cash to they driver. Only to find out that they had already taken the money out of our credit card. They say that they canceled it, credit card said" THEY ARE NOT TELLING THE TRUTH". Had to get a letter from TMC stating that they already had the money so that the credit card could cancel it on their end, as it was still pending almost a week later. When they unpacked the furniture the truth was revealed. A two year old with markers could do better. the finish was bubbling up everywhere. The detail on the "wood" was gone. Everything had 2 colors. The old and the new. The old finish was never removed they just slapped on a new one right over the old. The bubbling was happening because they did not even clean the old dirt and grease on it. You could not even close the table properly. I told them leave it and come back Monday to get it. Did could not come back for a month. To busy with new customers. Came back to get it in October. Just received it back today. Almost a year later. Already done much better there are still areas that the finish has bubble up, the delivery guys toke over 1 hour to insert the 2 leafs in it, as the table would not close. A peg is still missing. And it still has two colors. To get it "done right" TMC sent our stuff to a third party. Where were told that this was as good as it can get. From the unreal wood problem and the first time screw up, they can never get it back to what we want.

Never use these people, they will tell you anything to get the job. Charge you way more then it is worth and not do the work that they promise you that they will do. And if you have a problem they have no idea on how to fix it.

I had come across an article about restoring your furniture and how it’s the new trend in interior design and also beneficial for the environment. Shortly after I saw TMC at the Health show and they where promoting the same benefits, needless to say I went ahead and invited them into my home. They reupholstered my living room furniture and gave it new life. The transformation was amazing! I’ m very pleased with the work done by TMC and I must say they carefully calculate every part of their interaction with me. The girl that booked my in-home estimate was very pleasant over the phone and knew what questions to ask about my furniture.  The estimator was very knowledgeable on the restoration process and made some helpful suggestions.

I'm absolutely thrilled with the work done on my side table, it looks brand new! The stain and the fabric go well together, everyone who sees my table remarks on how well the piece has been restored. Thank you once again.