Bathroom Vanity Marble Coutertop
WITHOUT PREJUDICE
February 22, 2010
We ordered the marble piece on January 20th, 2010 which we selected from a number of available pieces and paid them a 50% deposit. We decided to have them measure and install it given they are the "experts". One of the owner’s sons (Marc) came to measure and they confirmed the installation date a few days later for February 17th, 2010 in the afternoon. On the day of the installation, we received a call advising us they would be late because of problems with the installation prior to ours. The new time was indicated as approximately 4pm and we would receive a call prior to the installer’s departure from the shop. They never called and at 5:30 pm two installers arrive with one of them departing shortly thereafter leaving a single installer to do the whole job. Suspecting the piece was not the one we picked, we questioned the installer on several occasions if the piece delivered was the one we had chosen and were assured it was. The installer confirmed he personally removed the piece of tape from the marble piece with our name on it. This is when the DECEPTION started. It turns out the initial piece we selected was broken by them and replaced with another without telling us and hoping they would get away with it.
It goes without saying that TRUST is a fundamental component of any business transaction and they knowingly chose to deceive us on that day. We confirmed our suspicion the following day because the piece they delivered was not measured properly. As a result, Marc returned the following day to re-measure and told us the truth. We can accept that mistakes happen but what the installer did by trying to knowingly deceive us was wrong. Someone could have called and explained the situation but Toronto Granite chose otherwise. Shame on you!
Once again, we went to their location in Mississauga last week and picked another piece which was delivered this morning. We inspected the piece and found a large crack which was extremely disappointing. After several trips to their location and one month later, we still did not have the countertop. I pointed out the crack to the installer and telephoned Marc to which both of their replies was “you picked it”. To suggest that we would knowingly select a defective product and accept as is because we picked it is insulting. We can accept natural stone having veins but being able to stick your finger nail in it makes it a crack. Big difference! It is my understanding from speaking with the Marc that the crack was discovered shortly after they finished cutting it. They could have once again called and informed us we picked a defectice piece rather than showing up at our door ready to install under the incorrect assumption that we would accept it as is.
As a result of their mistakes, we wasted an entire month and portions of our cabinet tops were cut with no compensation to restore them to their original form. We can appreciate you telling us you are “losing money” but you only have yourself to blame for your predicament. Suffice to say, we asked for a full refund which Marc processed the same day and will NEVER recommend this company to anyone. The rudeness and deception we experienced from this company should not be tolerated by anyone.
There is more, but anyone reading this review should have sufficient information to ask appropriate questions before making their own decision.
Without Prejudice
Once again, the pattern repeats itself in your response below. I will take all means necessary at my disposal to defend myself against your grossly inaccurate malicious defamatory statements against me and my family.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $1,150.00
- Company Response
There are two sides to every story… Without Prejudice
Mr. [Last name removed -- Ed]was given a 100% refund because of his total disrespect and rudeness to all of our employees and his constant threats to sabotage our reputation on Homestars. Behaviour like this is not acceptable and a lawsuit is pending regarding our experience with this customer.
The original piece they selected cracked while the installers were loading it on the truck the day of the installation. Occurrences like this happen in our business because we are dealing with natural stone that is sometimes extremely fragile to handle. The colour is a Crema Marfil marble. This is a soft material that is quite veiny and fragile in nature. Every piece we have in our inventory is nearly identical because it came from the same block and same batch. Also, to strengthen the countertop there are two steel rods inserted inside the material. Instead of postponing the installation to another date we cut and fabricated a new piece within a couple of hours. It was installed with no issues the same day and Mr. [last name removed -- Ed]signed our packing list expressing his satisfaction and acceptance of a completed job. The night of the installation at around 9pm I received a phone call from the customer stating his concern with the sink centres being slightly off. I assured him that we will figure out what the problem is and if in fact it is our mistake, a new piece will be fabricated and his counter will be replaced.
The following morning Mr. [last name removed -- Ed] called our office and my brother Mark cursing and yelling over why a mistake was made. Mark went to the residence immediately the same morning and acknowledged that a mistake was made during fabricaton and the counter will be replaced. After completion of the measurements Mark was asked about the reason of the couple of hours delay of the install. He explained what happened with the original piece and Mr. [last name removed -- Ed]immediately started with the insults, cursing, and threats to ruin our reputation. If there was any deception involved the TRUTH would not be told.The same day the customer along with his wife showed up to our showroom screaming and cussing at our staff and arrogantly demanded to select a new piece. They selected a new piece, inspected if thoroughly and signed their name on the back of the material. A new counter was cut and fabricated from this material. It was brought to the home the following day and they claimed it had a crack. The crack was in fact a vein in the material and since this is a piece that was personally selected and signed off on by the customer there shouldn’t have been in any surprises in the appearance. However there is no winning with Mr. [last name removed --Ed]. After several threats and insults again by Mr. [last name removed --Ed]with language that can only be heard in a high school playground, we made a decision and asked our installers to bring the counters back and advised the customer that his deposit will be refunded. 100% of the deposit was refunded the same day. During every phone conversation after the initial installation Mr. [last name removed --Ed]insisted that he will sabotage our reputation on HomeStars. During the entire process we were nothing but respectful, accommodating, and courteous. A lawsuit is pending regarding this transaction.
Bob Petrov
TorontoGranite.com
Tel. 905-602-7077