North Stone Granite

I found NorthStone Granite online through their reviews and decided to work with Chris and Russell and confirmed the deal on Jan 22nd 2019 Below is the series of events and a detailed breakdown of my experience Please note that Chris and Russell will come back and dispute or clarify some or all of the below but regardless…this is exactly how things progressed Jan 28th : based on discussions around design/sink/pricing I decided to go ahead to work with this company and firm up a time for my Kitchen counter top install – initially I had them price out my kitchen and laundry room counter (one counter approx. 7 feet wide and 4 feet deep) but decided to go with the kitchen only and decide on the laundry later as I was not sure if I would be changing the cabinets in the laundry room Feb 4th : went to see his supplier and pick a stone Feb 13th : the material we decided was more than the budget we had in mind Between Feb 13th and March 26th exchanged multiple emails and went back to his supplier and finalized on a stone that they had in stock at their store March 28th : paid then a deposit on the finalized stone and sink , installation date set for April 4th at 11 am March 29th : sent them an email confirming i've made arrangements to not go to work so they can come install on the April 4th – no response April 2nd : send another email confirming the install date for April 4th April 3rd: recd email from NorthSTone Granite ( Chris ) that they can not make the April 4th date for the install as they came into finish the stone for my job and their " saw broke down on them " so now they had to reschedule for next week and I had to give them new dates April 3rd : reminded Chris that I had a house warming party planned at my place on Saturday April 6th and its too late to change plans with the attendees , and not having a counter top on my island and cabinets is somewhat embarrassing, not to mention dealing with an angry wife and rescheduling things at work and the plumber and electrician (electrician was to come and finish the outlets after the counter was installed ) – nothing was done and I understood that a mechanical breakdown was out of their control …. But only one saw o run a business ? I was frustrated but patient and Chris apologized for the inconvenience – life happens so lets move on April 3rd: we set a date for them to come and install on April 9th – I was still frustrated but did not complain or say anything that would show it …. Chris apologized again and said he would do the laundry counter top (7x4 feet) for me at no charge , this was his way of making up for the inconvenience even though I did not ask for it or mention anything when the installation was cancelled – i'm generally a very patient guy and try to see things from someone else's perspective but appreciated his gesture April 6th : house warming party with no counter top on my massive island, since I had already been made a clown of it was an entertaining party for everyone else April 8th : sent a confirmation email to Chris for April 9th …and they confirmed it’s a go for 10:30 – 11 am April 9th : THEY ARE HERE TO INSTALL MY COUNTERS !!! EXCITED – about an hour or so later Chris told me that there is a crack in the counter and he didn’t feel comfortable installing in , so he had to take the piece back and get a new piece – I am not complaining here, I appreciated his honesty and felt bad that he might take a loss on the racked piece and asked him to see if he can use it to do a back splash so it doesn't go to waste – so the counter was not done that day but he took measurements to see if he can use the for now useless broken piece as a back splash and said he was do the numbers and let me know the cost when he comes to do the counter April 14th : Chris was back and installed my counter top – finally my kitchen counters were done – and I paid him the remainder to make him whole on our agreed amount he also sent me pics of counters through email that he would do in the laundry room – He also quoted me for the back splash later that day through email April 23rd : I found the cost of the back splash a bit high so I decided not to go ahead with it and informed him accordingly – I also followed up with him on the laundry counter … I wasn’t being picky at this point and just considered the options he provided and when he could come and install it *please note that the laundry counter and back splash had nothing to do with each other * April 23rd through May 7th : I did not hear back from Chris or Russell – I know Russell checks emails too but never responded May 7th : I send another follow up email for the laundry counter top – no response from any one – I also called Chris several times in May but he never answered and dropped my calls and never returned my voice mails , I wonder why June 1st : I send another email saying it is safe to assume that they are not going to deliver on the laundry counter top and I wish I hadn't paid them in full till all the work was done and mentioned I would post an honest review if this was not taken care of as promised June 3rd : WOW – I get a response from Russell !!! says he apologizes for the delay and appreciates my patience as Chris is off dealing with a personal issue - also reminded me that the laundry was something Chris promised as a token of inconvenience for the delays and that they were under no obligation to do so He also mentioned that they took away the cracked counter top that other companies would have installed anyways and finally he said "I will see what we can do to have your piece fabricated and installed in the near future " August 3rd : I send a follow up email as to when they are coming by September 15, 2019 : I post my review What did I get out of all this ? 1. Nothing special really – their price was competitive , I was quoted similar with other contractors who were rated just as good – they were my bad luck of the draw 2. There were multiple delays with the job which caused me some embarrassment with my guests coming over for the first time to my new place and renovated cabinets with no or partial counters 3. Maybe their saw broke , maybe not – maybe they had someone who wanted the work done asap and they decided to give my pieces to someone else as they had a risk of loosing the deal …. I don’t know , I had already made my deposit so they knew I wasn’t going anywhere 4. It was nice of them to not install a cracked counter top in my kitchen that they say "other contractors would have " again , after the overall experience with Chris and Russell , I'm not sure what the intention was 5. I should not have paid them till the laundry counter was done as promised … breaking my trust didn’t really get them anything , my laundry counter would cost $2-300 tops and id have paid for it if they didn’t offer it to me 6. The fact that they disappeared when I said I didn’t want to go ahead with the back splash speaks volumes about their business ethics – its good business practice to keep a promise when you make one, even if it costs you a little – please keep in mind I did not ask for it… they offered 7. Their work seems good but I know that if I have nay issues there is no warranty on my product, as they don’t answer the phone or respond to my emails , as they think I'm calling about the laundry counter that they don’t want to deliver on as promised 8. They way I see it is I had more negatives than positives , if there were any positives they were overwritten by their irresponsible behavior to honor their promise after they got paid 9. I rated them a 0 because they didn’t live up to what they said they would do, this was a job half done… the laundry counter became a part of the deal as they committed to it to make up for the inconvenience , and the payment was their goodwill which they destroyed – a commitment is a commitment …. And they dishonored it 10. I wouldn’t deal with them again , you all have enough information to make your own decision Chris and Russell at North Stone Granite – you can dispute away all you want but you know you both are in the wrong