We were so disappointed with the work that this company did, especially after the great reviews on Homestars. The measurement was wrong, the seam was poorly done, and there was a flaw in the island countertop. Despite promises to redo, they kept putting us off until it became clear that it wasn't going to happen. The owners of the company are nice people and we trusted them to do a good job. We are quite sad because we've always made good choices of contractors and have been happy with other renovations.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $3,000.00
- Company Response
First of all, we at Avalon would highly recommend this client to any contractors in the market. They are ethical, respectful, and most importantly very nice people. Unfortunately this particular project occurred various misunderstandings which we at Avalon take very seriously, and make every effort to ameliorate the situation. As per our policy to continue maintaining all of our clients fully satisfied, as can be proven by our general reviews, we would like to therefore respond to the 3 specific claims that this client made against Avalon.
1) As far as our records show, the measurements were never wrong. We use either lazer templating technology or other precise measurement tools to make sure that all of final measurements are 100% accurate. During installation, the client pointed out a small variance on one of the edge overhangs after it was already installed. Avalon made sure to comply with the client's request and stayed overtime to try and resolve this situation. To this day, we are still not sure whether it was a cabinet problem, wall imperfection problem, or any other imperfection, as we measured and re-measured the stone specs. It corresponded exactly.
2) Whether the seam was poorly done or not is a back and forth argument. After many years in the stone industry, the staff at Avalon have seen the best and worst of seams. When there is a real problem with the seam, we are always ready to invest the extra time to perfect it. In this case, the actual problem was miscommunication. The client did not want a seam at all on her countertop project. When the clients first visited our showroom, we explained to them that a majority of our projects MUST be completed with at least 1 seam due to various reasons. Moreover, this was explained to them at other opportunities as well. Basically, once the project was fully completed (acceptable in our opinion), the client refused to accept the fact that there was a seam.
3) The "flaw" on the island was something that was barely visible with the human eyes, occuring a result of the Caesarstone Quartz production process. Moreover, as Caesarstone is an engeneered stone product, we advised the client that if this was a real issue, we would send official Caesarstone technical representatives to fix this "issue".
Although any reliable company strives to make every client happy, there are situations when there will be a greater loss and resentment on both sides (the buyer and the seller). We at Avalon made sure to consult with the client several times after the installation to find any solutions possible. The client did not wish to have anything done, except to redo the full project. Avalon was placed in a predicament where either we loose a substantial amount of money for a project which was fully acceptable by the standards of the countertop industry or, after several tries at fixing any issue, back away and let the client potentially enjoy the product which they paid for and was fully supplied, installed, and serviced for them.
We are saddened by this situation, and we at Avalon appreciate the inputs (positive and negative) of all clients, so we can always improve and grow to be an industry leader.
Regards,
The Avalon Granite & Marble management team.