3 years ago
The most humiliating and painful experience of my ...
The most humiliating and painful experience of my life was had today while interacting with Nora the lady who coordinates the design process.
From the start her customer service is sorely lacking. She mostly treated me like a mom would treat a truant child. I am new to the remodeling process and at every stage her answers are brittle and belittling.
I only persevered with this because a friend recommended them. I am in the middle of a stressful move to a house and was trying to upgrade 2.5 baths .
For example when I came in to make my material choices and start the process I was told by her to immediately make choices about the cabinet fronts because it takes a long time to receive them. This was not said politely as a matter of fact it is barked at you as if you are a mentally incompetent. I stood my ground and said no unless I see all the materials together in terms of counter, tile, flooring and fixtures I cannot make an outright decision on cabinetry. At this point all that was shared with me was an estimate and a black and white drawing showing where things would be placed , no mock up or anything.
Things broke down when I asked about paint. Apparently painting the walls of a tiny powder room is not included in the estimate!! I was surprised becoz the estimator told me that they would paint. As I came to terms with this she said in the background loudly to the estimator I can t believe she is ( meaning me) making such a fuss over the paint . Further I discovered that material costs and fixtures are not included in the estimate.
I admitted ( to them and apologized) that I had not checked the estimate closely and asked her to estimate the cost of the fixtures I had selected . She responded I don t have all day , I have other appointments and it will take me time to add up the cost of the toilet , fixtures etc.
By this time, I had agreed to pay upwards of $35,000 for 2 full bathrooms ( not master) and a powder room!!
Only mistake I did was to not read all the exclusions fr this estimate the cost of all plumbing and fixtures light and fixtures and paint. I blame
this oversight on my move and already coordinating hamdymen, electricians s, movers, pool repair, roof repair etc etc.
I had paid the $5000 deposit using a credit card for which they said there was no charge. So finally I said I want you guys to hold on to the $ 5,000 and I will think about it because at that stage Nora was not giving me a ball park on the additional cost. If she had politely said I am going to not be able to tell exactly but now your $7000 powder bathroom is going to cost $ 10,000 . I might have considered it. But because she has a major attitude while talking ie she is always doing you a favor , she is total put-off.
Sp as I tried to walk out, she came back and started heckling me again . You need to make a decision right now, you can t keep us hanging , we have many time commitments etc etc. . At this stage I got angry and said I can t work with you as you make the process very difficult . Please credit back to me the money . To which she said there will be a 2% charge for returning the money , which I was mad about but agreed and I stormed out once she gave me back the credit receipt. I was vert angry and humiliated by this lady for over an hour!! Later I looked at the credit and thought she had taken $600 and not $100 for the so called credit charge . so I went back and asked her what that was and why she had taken so much out ( yes I was angry by this point and not thinking clearly) but she said you don t know Math or what? It is the correct amount removed from your deposit . To be honest no one has spoken to me like this in my entire life and my 26 plus years living. In the USA.
So buyer beware and read your estimates and wear a suit of armor if you go work with this person!