Chris Lancaster

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2016/03/30) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXXXXXXXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@yahoo.com
First of all her complaint continues to grow since the very first time that she let me know of the damage and reported a complaint...

to Homeadvisors. Customer service is and always has been very important to us, our reviews on Homeadvisors reflect it. For the first time in 24 years I have a customer who I believe is truly trying to get one over on me. She claims we damaged a small corner on a closet door while installing a wood floor in her bedroom.(about the size of a dime) Not sure if we did the damage but I offered to fix it for her as we don't like to leave customers unhappy. I patched, sanded and painted the small corner of the door. After receiving final payment in full, she even asked me to give her an estimate for a backsplash in her kitchen and wanted me to finish the Wainscoting in the bathroom that she already started. It is obvious that she was happy with our professionalism and work ethic or why would she ask me to do more work for her. It took me three days to actually cash her check. She did not stop payment. I believe she is complaining because I actually told her that I did not believe I should do any further business with her considering her demeanor the entire time I was in her house. Days later I got a phone call from her telling me that I damaged both closet doors and they need to be completely replaced as well as scratches on all walls. I have always strived to make my customers happy. After dealing with her throughout this project and afterwards, I feel there was no making her happy without her taking advantage of me. I felt the only protection I had was to let it proceed to court where I can show a judge pictures of my work at her house and the damage on her closet door before and after the repair.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 12, 2016/04/01) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
My original complaint states the facts. The house was being renovated; the closet doors new, the paint on them new, the paint on the walls new. No damage to anything in the room before they worked in the room. The 'fix' was inadequate and subsequent damage was noted after payment. Regardless it would be illegal for me to stop payment of a check for work agreed upon also with the damage that he created, his payment would not completely cover the damage, and so forth. Note that the paint on the door was still wet when he left and I waited until it dried to see what it looked like, which again was different than the other part of the door and the second door as the paint was applied too thick. It was his helper who did the painting. The 'damage' and extra paint is noticeable as is the damage to the other door.
Additionally, [redacted]' response is making assumptions of how I felt which is inappropriate. [redacted] did state that he wants his customers to be happy and so forth and stated a lot of things about it but left the door damaged and did not make this customer happy. He also stated in an email that the door was functional as though that was sufficient disregarding the damages. I have a substantial number of photos of the damages and scratches on the walls etc. I do not recall giving [redacted] permission to take photos of the inside of my home and only hope that he did not take photos of other parts of my home. I am not interested in [redacted]' ego, only in my closet doors being in the same condition that they were before he originally entered my home. I would not invest so much time if I were satisfied with his work. Normally, I work things out with people when there is an issue, I had a plumber come in and damage a new kitchen cabinet door. I showed the damage to the owner and he accepted responsibility. When people do not owe up to their responsibility, I pursue it. I take very good care of my home and furnishings, the only damage I have had has been from contractors. Professional people owe up to their mistakes, he does not. [redacted] may be able to manipulate other people into not pursuing what is right or people may be too busy to continue to deal with issues where the cost is under a certain amount of money but I do not think that it is OK for anyone to come into my home to do a job and damage something without being responsible for it. It is not logical for [redacted] to state that I am taking advantage of him, when he has suffered no loss. I have suffered a loss of property due to his unprofessional behavior and that can be substantiated with the photos and other evidence. [redacted] did no other work for me. I have asked for a lot of quotes from an array of vendors, so it would not be unusual for me to ask [redacted] or anyone else already at my home for a quote to get an idea of what locals charge, this does not necessitate that I would use their service. [redacted]'s behavior was boisterous and rude at times. Having done a complete renovation of my home, I have hired and spoken with all types of persons and I take them as they are so long as they do an adequate job. I know it is a short term relationship and try not to be judgmental other than quality of workmanship. I try to get along with people and concentrate on purpose of their being there.
I believe that [redacted] is supposed to be bonded and insured so he should be able to use this if he does not want to pay from his pocket.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 14, 2016/04/07) */
The complaint has grown from a small dime-sized chip on the bottom right hand corner of the closet door that I repaired professionally by reglueing the small chip back in place, filling it, sanding the area, asking Ms. [redacted] for the paint color that she provided us (which was a Glidden color mixed in a Behr paint), buying the paint from Home Depot, and painted it. Now the complaint is we have damaged all the walls and both closet doors aren't functional and need to be completely replaced. At this time, there is no compromise to be met based on what she is demanding. The fair thing is to let a judge decide. In 24 years, I have never had to go to court. This is the first time that I have had a situation that I couldn't resolve.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 16, 2016/04/09) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
With regard to the walls. I have already covered this so to be brief, I brought it up at the time that they were there and [redacted] stated he would not repair them, His helper stated that the scratches etc. would wipe off if I were to clean them with a cloth. As though it was my responsibility to fix the damage that they caused. I was upfront about this with them and with Home Advisors and had sent Home Advisors photos of the damage. The closet door was damaged and was bulging due to the type of material. [redacted] stated that they were 'cheap doors' and if they were 100% wood it would be easier to fix. Matching the paint was fine but when you apply several coats to an area where there is only one or two coats there is an apparent color difference and it was to a wide area around the damage not just on the damage so it is evident.