Cerminaro Construction Co Inc

This customer placed an order on 7/8/17 for Faux Wood Blinds in the color Sandblasted Cherry which as shown on our website is a brown color, after cherry wood, it is in no way a red color which is clearly evident by the picture of the color. On 7/25/17 this customer called and stated that she was...

not happy with the color of the blinds she ordered. She wanted to return the blinds. Unfortunately, everything we sell is custom made so there are no returns, refunds or exchanges, as stated in our policies on our website. She claimed that we do not back our policies stating that she should be able to return them due to our satisfaction guarantee, which is not the case. We offer free sample swatches for all of the products that we sell so customers can see the color in person, on an actual slat of the product for faux wood blinds, allowing them to select the correct color prior to ordering. In our satisfaction guarantee it clearly states that if you have a complaint regarding the color of your product that “Samples must have been ordered prior to placing your order and have been received within 30-days of the date your placed your order”. This customer did not order free samples, which are free to the customer, we pay for them and we pay to ship them. The samples are offered because everything we sell is custom made and there are no returns, they allow a customer to select the correct color prior to placing their real order. We highly recommend the free samples on our website, this customer chose to not order them. Upon realizing that she cannot simply return the product for disliking the color, the customer then claimed that she was sent the wrong color and that the color she got was Chestnut. Chestnut is a Real Grain slat color, which means it resembles a stained wood, which is not what the Sandblasted Cherry is. They are very different in appearance and the Real Grain Chestnut is a more expensive color. The customer was asked to send us pictures of the product she received so we could see the slats and determine if the color was incorrect. She refused, most likely because she knew that she got the color she ordered, she just didn’t like it. I then explained to her that there is a policy that would allow her to re-order a different color at a price that is below our cost, we lose money on this policy and only offer it so if a customer makes a mistake or is unhappy with a choice that they made then they can re-order for a price that is cheaper than our cost. She became upset that we would not simply refund her because of her rush to order without samples. I attempted to discuss the situation with her more and she then hung up on me. Sadly, some people cannot take credit for their mistakes and want to blame others. At no time during her call did she make any mention of any other problem or issue with the blinds she received. She never stated that there were scratches on them. On 8/16/17 this customer called and left a threatening voicemail and then emailed us similar threats. In that email, she claimed that we do not stand by our satisfaction guarantee, again we do stand by it as explained to her, but you must order free samples prior to placing your actual order. You cannot complain about color on a custom product if you do not even bother to take the time to order free samples so you get the best color for your needs. These products cannot be resold or reused, they are custom. In the email she also stated that she could not access our website and that we blocked her. We do not block people from our website, nor do we have the capability to do that. Our website is open to everyone, it is not account restricted nor does it require an account to use it. She then stated that she is going to sue us. On 8/16/17 I emailed her back, I also left a voicemail on her phone and left a message with her husband, on what I assume is his phone number (there are two phone numbers on her order) to have her call us. We realize that we are not obligated to do so as our policies specifically address this exact situation but we would like to discuss her order with her further and attempt to work this out. A flat refund is not an option but we are willing to discuss this with her and see if we can find some solution. Unfortunately, we have not had any follow up contact from her since. I waited until today to give her the full timeframe to contact us back before I responded to this blatant attempt to attack our reputation and character, all over her decision to not order samples and her inability to take credit for her own mistake.