Crafted Northwest Design, Inc.

Review: Contracted Crafted Northwest to build an exact duplicate of a door on their website. After they accepted the deposit, they notified us that the door we requested should not be made in the size we wanted, even though they show it in the exact size we wanted on their Facebook page. Long after they accepted our deposit they notified us that we could only use one brand of a lock set, because they had lost their account with [redacted] Bronze which was what they had used on the door we asked them to reproduce. Refused to give $250 dollar credit, which was stated in contract. We notified them at the time of the contract, that we did not require interior trim and we sent photos showing how the exterior trim must match our existing door. This was stated repeatedly and agreed upon by [redacted]. Crafted Northwest then built the interior trim and said we had to pay for it because it was in his original quote even though he was informed we did not want it, and the exterior trim was built to look totally differently from what we had requested in our photos. When we refused the interior trim, Mr. [redacted] informed us that he would not build the exterior trim as we had requested. Crafted Northwest then sent us photos of the door after it had been stained, which was not even close to the color we had requested. We then told them that we would refuse to accept the door. Mr. [redacted] acknowledged his mistake, he wanted to strip the door and restrain it, which we thought was unacceptable on a brand new, very expensive door so we refused. Shipping estimate was double what Mr. [redacted] verbally quoted and attempted to tack on a never before mentioned crating fee. Mr. [redacted] acknowledged that the door he built was unacceptable, and offered to build a new door, because of everything mentioned above, we refused because of the constant escalating costs and mis-management. We then requested a refund of our initial deposit which was listed on the quote.Desired Settlement: I would like my deposit to be returned to me in full.

Business

Response:

Crafted Northwest Designs was contracted by [redacted] to build a Maple Craftsman Style door. It was originally stated that she wanted an exact copy of a door they had seen on our website. We sent to them, (that would mean [redacted] and her boyfriend , as it was through him that the majority of our correspondences were channeled ), a written quote that showed itemized costs for every detail. She approved all the items and charges listed on the quote, and signified that, by placing her %50 deposit down on her purchase. [redacted] states, in her complaint that we, after accepting her deposit, notified her that that the door she requested "should not be made in the in the size that she wanted". This is simply not true! As with all my customers I explained to her boyfriend that I will give ideas and suggestions, but the final decision is always theirs to make. I also explained to him that the door on the website was 3' wide and 6'8" tall, so the "lites" (windows) , on the door appear to be almost square. ([redacted], however, didn't order the exact door on our site, she ordered one that was 3'wide and 8' tall. ) This greatly changes the window/door proportions. I suggested that she may want to consider having 6 lites instead of 8 lites. My reason for offering this option was due to the fact that on an 8' tall door the 8 lite would appear long and skinny. He asked for my "professional opinion". I stated that my "professional opinion" was that on a 3' wide, 8' tall door 8 lites would look like "prison bars". That is still my "professional opinion" today. He took some time to consider my opinion(I'm assuming that he conferred with [redacted]) and they decided that a 6 lite door would look better. To further confirm this fact, I received a text directly from [redacted] at 3:07 p.m. PST on Sept. 5th with this caption; Thank you, looks beautiful ! She sent this to me exactly 29 minutes after I sent her a picture of her 6 lite door.Concerning the lockset. Our quote is very clear. It states ; EXTERIOR HARDWARE SET IS INCLUDED IN PRICE UP TO $250.00 IN VALUE . The contract states nothing about a $250.00 credit nor has it ever been suggested, referenced, implied, or discussed with [redacted] or her boyfriend at anytime. We are a rep for EMTEK , and EMTEK alone. they have the option to use our hardware, or not. It is their choice. Even though there is no obligation on our part to do so, we chose to offer her a full discount of what that hardware would have cost us, which is less than the retail cost. [redacted] said that she wanted exactly the door shown on our website. This would include standard brickmold (shown in the picture that she saw). Only later did she express through her boyfriend that they wanted different ext. trim As I stated in the first paragraph, the interior trim was included in the package and clearly shown on the quote that [redacted] approved of. I do not remember nor do I have any record of [redacted] or her boyfriend stating that it was not wanted at the time of the deposit. I do know that he has, on more than one occasion, mentioned it since then. This however was a very simple issue to resolve. I thought I had done so when I offered to keep the price the same and build [redacted] a second set of Ext, trim at no additional charge, (again at extra cost to me). It seems to me that [redacted] was very content up and until Friday Sept. 29th. It was then that I texted a picture to [redacted] of her newly finished door. I even received an e-mail from her stating , again, LOOKS BEAUTIFUL ! A short while later her boyfriend called and said the color was wrong. He was exactly correct. We had made an error on the color. It was too dark. I immediately told them that I would make it right . I told her boyfriend that we could remove the color and re-color it and have it ready for shipment by middle of the following week. He said he didn't understand how we could do that. I asked him to trust me. His exact words were "Well, OK , but I just don't see how". That was after our normal closing time on Friday. My people worked on it all weekend to get it back to fresh clear Maple, ready for the new color. Apparently [redacted] had changed her mind in the middle of the night on friday. I found out on Monday morning that "under no circumstances" would they accept that door. It appeared that [redacted]'s boyfriend had become an instant expert in what can and can't be done with wood. In a further effort to end up with a satisfied customer, I asked [redacted]'s boyfriend, "Would they be happy if I built them a new door out of fresh material at my expense. He said that would be great and he said that he didn't care if it took longer as long as it was right, even though he had expressed concerns earlier about the changing weather. I even told him that I would build her door as an eight lite if she agreed to pay just the cost of the additional glass. I then sent them an e-mail detailing out each and every step to ensure that all would go flawlessly with [redacted] in absolute control at every turn. It was at that point that they insisted that I make a 3rd set of trim at MY EXPENSE , GIVE them a discount for the int. trim, CREDIT them full retail on the hardware, crate the package for FREE, and essentially pay for half the shipping myself. ALL THIS IN ADDITION TO MY OFFERING TO BUILD ANOTHER MAPLE DOOR FOR THEM AT MY EXPENSE. For some reason this sounds to me like someone who is looking for an OUT because they have changed their minds 95% of the way though a business deal.The last item That [redacted] mentions is freight. Her boyfriend has told her that I "QUOTED" a freight price of :$400.00 to $500.00. 1st of all, that's not a quote! 2nd of all , that's not what I said! And lastly How can I give a "quote for a freight company that I don't run nor do I know there daily changes in fuel and other expenses?Here's what I did tell him . He asked what I "thought it would take" . I explained to him that I had comparable door package sent to Boston Mass. in March of this year. I didn't have the exact number in front of me but I knew that Oak Harbor Freight Co. sent me a quote for about $650.00 (depending on exact weight). I expressed my opinion that I thought [redacted]'s cost should be about the same.In closing; I explained the details of this matter to my attorney . He advises me to pursue [redacted] for the balance of the contract. I have made numerous efforts to complete and resolve this issue. She is the one who has failed to perform and continues to resist resolution. But I see no scenario where these people will bring this matter to a rational conclusion. Though I strongly resist the idea of going to court, as I am 50 years old in a few days , and in all my 30 years of being in business have never had a situation where I had to go before a judge to have a matter settled, however I will do what I must .

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received, your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Revdex.com,

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]

Regards,

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received, your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Revdex.com,

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.