Empire Building Products, Inc.

Mr***'s wife came in on to have windows quoted with myself not Ariel, which is not a femaleAriel was a new salesman who watched how to quote a window and follow up with a business cardMr*** and his wife came back in on which I helped Mr*** and his wife againThey asked
to change the window opening deviceAs with every window order we have the customer sign off on the order verify sizes and look at the picture/diagram of the windowWe will also verify any special items that are put on the window.Mr*** verified and signed off on purchaseMr*** picked up windows on 11.16.16, Mr*** came back later that night stating he made a mistake with those windows, I quoted him new windows and gave him ways we could help him with getting rid of the wrong windowsI offered to sell them in the store for him to help recover costs and also offered him a discount on the purchase of the replacement windowsWe do not accept returns on special orders but do not want to see customers in tough situations.Mr*** said he would take them home and call me back, which he never didI figured he put the project on hold or was trying to sell windows privatelyAt no point in this conversation was there any disagreement.Please see attached paperwork, which states our company policy on special ordersAlso see page 3, order form, which shows the diagram/picture of windows being orderedThis order form was reviewed with Mr*** and signed off by customer.Sincerely,Harold N*** Retail Sales Manager Empire Surplus Home Center

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:Yes I have spoken with the manager at Empire and He has ordered the new windows in the correct measurements as the error was found and said we should have the windows this week January 4thWe are just awaiting a phone call to come pick up the new window for no additional cost to us. We Thank you all for your help as well as the help of the manager at Empire for handling this matter and ordering the correct windows
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
*** ***

Response from Sales Manager, Harold N*** 2nd Response.Mr*** and I have resolved this CompliantMr*** will get his correct sized Widows at no additional cost and in turn he will withdraw the complaint with the Revdex.com, Please send a letter stating that this has been removed.Sincerely,Harold N*** Retail Sales Manager Empire Surplus Home Center

Review: We purchased hard wood flooring from Empire Building Products on July 27, 2013 in the amount of $790.08. The hard wood flooring was [redacted] and we were told by Empire it came with a warranty. Shortly after it was installed we noticed cracking and splintering on the floor. We called [redacted] who told us we needed to contact Empire. Empire said they would have a [redacted] representative come out and look at the floor. They came to look at the floor on August 20, 2013. The [redacted] rep said that the floor was installed correctly and he would file a claim with [redacted] and we would hear something in 7-10 days. We never heard from them or Empire. All emails and phone calls went unanswered. I then contacted [redacted] who said a claim was never filed and they never send representatives out to customers that Empire would handle that. I then sent another email to Empire notifying them that they gave us false information. I then received an email from the HR manager, [redacted] who said she would check it out and get back to me. I never heard back from her. We then contacted her again today. We never received a return phone call. We then received an email saying that they would not give us a credit on the floor. They want us to rip the flooring up and return it to them to receive credit for the damaged product. She attached a claim from [redacted] that said they reviewed pictures and they find no manufacturing defects. This letter was dated November 21, 2013 which is 3 months after they looked at the floor. [redacted] indicated that this was from an invoice dated 1/4/13. We didn't purchase the flooring until the end of July.Desired Settlement: We are requesting a full refund of the purchase price. We have tried for over 4 months to get Empire to respond to us. Their resolution to this issue is unacceptable. We have been treated poorly by the people that work there and they never respond to our inquiries. The only reason they responded this time was we threatened to file a complaint with the Revdex.com.

Business

Response:

December 12, 2013 Dear [redacted], In response to your letter concerning the [redacted], here is our timeline of the events:1) [redacted]'s state the product was purchase from [redacted] in January, this is correct. As a retail store, we purchase product to stock our shelves to service our customers. This flooring was purchase from [redacted] in January2) [redacted]'s stated, they purchase the product from Empire on 07/27/2013, this I correct.3) [redacted]'s installed the hardwood themselves; they did not use a licensed contractor.4) When the [redacted]'s called us we sent out our [redacted] rep. The [redacted]'s knew at this point that [redacted] does not sell directly to the homeowner that they must go through the retailer.5) [redacted], Empire's Store Manager and [redacted], [redacted]'s representative, when to the [redacted]'s home to inspect the flooring. Upon reviewing the floor, ** denied the claim, stating the hardwood was in excellent condition. ** clearly explained the issue was an installation and reviewed the mistakes the [redacted]'s made while installing. (The pressure was too high on the nail gun at the beginning of installation and the wood was placed too close to the wall when installed) [redacted] said "yes this is my first time trying to install hardwood".6} The [redacted] called [redacted], they said there was no claim. This is correct, after the inspection of the floor by the [redacted] representative, his determination was installation error. Therefore, there is no claim to be filed.7) [redacted] called me. I took her call immediately and said I would outline the situation. She told us we were not telling the truth (in not so nice of words) and we sent out someone that was not a [redacted] representative.The [redacted]'s have made every attempt to hold someone else accountable for their installation mistakes.8) The [redacted] reversed the credit card charges. This was then denied by [redacted]. They are currently still fighting the claim.9) The stated I did not return their calls:a. There was never one time that I did not return a phone call to [redacted] or [redacted].b. I gave them my cell phone number to use at their convenience.c. [redacted] says his cell phone is ###-###-####. There was not a place to leave a message.d. His work number states ###-###-####. When I attempted to reach him at this number, I was told, he does not work at this number.10) I e-mailed [redacted] and [redacted] the letter that there was no manufacturing defects along with a note stating that Empire would credit them $200 for a rug. The e-mail is included, I did not say a word about ripping up their floor.11) They have also filed with [redacted]'s [redacted] giving us an F.In summary the floor purchased was in excellent condition, the homeowner installed (without a contractor) the floor with some errors. The [redacted] would like their floor for free and are pushing anyway they can do get it, by eliminating facts.Empire has spent a lot of time trying to resolve their problem and we come out looking terrible. Can you please help lead us in the right direction.Sincerely,

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]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

[redacted] and [redacted]

December 14, 2013

RE: COMPLAINT [redacted]

Dear Revdex.com,

We are in receipt of the response from Empire Home Surplus. We disagree with them. We could certainly get into a verbal battle

with Empire, but we want come to a resolution by sticking to the facts. The bottom line in this dispute is that our

flooring has a manufacturer defect and neither Empire nor [redacted] will stand

behind their product. Instead they shift

the blame elsewhere.

Empire was untruthful in saying that the problem with the floor

cracking and splitting was installation related. We are totally stunned and shocked that a

company would flat out lie to the Revdex.com. They could have responded in a way that would

have been truthful but not have admitted any wrongdoing. But they choose to fabricate a story that is

absolutely not true. We have numerous correspondences

from Empire and our credit card company and poor installation has never been

mentioned until the response to the Revdex.com.

I don't understand why they would be untruthful and fabricate lies. It makes you wonder what they are trying to

hide.

Below is our response to Empire’s timeline:

When we pur[redacted]d the product from Empire we were told numerous

times that the product carried a warranty FROM [redacted], not Empire. We were also told that the warranty

information was in the box with the flooring.

The warranty information is not in the box and the only mention of a

warranty is on the last page of the instructions which says “A

copy of the Warranty may be obtained by calling the Technical Service

Department at ###-###-#### option *”.

I called this number on 8/12/13 and was told that all warranty goes

through the person you bought the flooring from.

The person who came out to inspect our flooring with [redacted]

[redacted] the store manager did not show ID or give us a business card when he

came. We have no way of knowing if the

person referred to above is actually the person who came out to look at our

flooring. He told us he would file a

report and we would hear something in 7-10 business days. The “[redacted] Representative”

told us that the flooring was installed correctly. There was no mention of any issue with the

nail gun having the pressure too high. .

I would appreciate if the Revdex.com would contact [redacted] and the [redacted]

representative to verify that they did tell us the floor was installed

correctly. The first time we have ever

been informed that this was considered our fault because of the way we

installed the floor was upon receiving this answer from Empire. At no time did he say it was because of the

way we installed the floor. He actually

said that we did a great job installing the floor. There were a few areas where the floor to

wall gap could have been larger, but that in no way contributed to the cracking

and splintering issue. We have numerous

boards that were cracked prior to installation and can be supplied back to the

Revdex.com for inspection.

Empire did tell us and our credit card company that we had to rip

up the floor and return it. They would

then give us a replacement product of the same type. I have documentation to support this claim. Below is an email from [redacted]

from [redacted].

On Nov 4, 2013, at 3:29 PM, "[redacted],

[redacted]>

wrote:

Dear [redacted] and [redacted],

I am writing to provide

you with additional information regarding my call and message left on Friday

November 1, 2013.

I was calling advise and

discuss that the merchant has once again declined our request for credit. As

you had first mentioned, you were disputing the charge because you purchased

hard wood flooring from the merchant but upon installation became aware of

splinters and cracks in the wood among other defects with the hard wood

flooring. After last speaking with [redacted] and receiving the supporting

pictures and emails showing your attempts to resolve the issue with the

merchant and the manufacturer we contacted the merchant once again on your

behalf and provided them with the information we received from [redacted] in attempt

to resolve your dispute. However,

when we contacted the merchant to request a credit for your account, we were

told that the merchant is still unwilling to issue credit to the account

without the return of the flooring. I was also made previously aware by

[redacted] in a past correspondence that the return of the flooring was not an

option as the removal would be costly and would cause further damage to your

home. Based on the information available and the results of our investigation,

the charge is considered valid as we unable to further document that the

flooring has been returned.

The temporary credit issued to your account at the time you

disputed the charge has been removed. The disputed amount will appear on your

next billing statement and will be included in the balance on that statement.

We recognize that this

is not the outcome you hoped for in this situation, and we're sorry for any

inconvenience this matter has caused you. If you have any questions, please

call us anytime at the phone number found on the back of your card.

Kind

regards,

Customer Service

Specialist| Merchant Disputes|

###-###-####

Fax: ###-###-####

We do not want to tear the floor up because it would damage the

underlayment. Our options would be to

have a professional repair person come in and determine if the damaged boards

can be repaired. Or we live with it and

hope that it doesn't continue to get worse.

Or we put an area rug over the floor.

The reason we submitted a disputed charge with our credit card

company was because that was the only leverage we had as a customer to get the

help from Empire that we needed. We are

not looking for a free floor; we are looking to be compensated for an inferior

product.

[redacted] has not returned our calls. She called ###-###-#### which is [redacted]'s work

number. When the receptionist told her

that [redacted]'s wife worked here and did she want to be connected she hung

up. [redacted] then called Empire and was

given [redacted]'s cell phone number. She

called [redacted] and got her voice mail and left a message that she was available

and gave the number and gave a phone number where [redacted] would be

available. [redacted] never returned our

call. Again this is an untruthful

statement. We also sent many emails to

[redacted] that went unanswered.

Attached are pictures of damaged floor boards that are cracked

and/or splintering. Any help the RevDex.com can give to us would be greatly appreciated. We have never contacted the Revdex.com or filed a

lawsuit before. This is not how we do

business. The flooring was not in good

condition when we opened the box. There

were many floor boards that were not useable.

They were missing the tongues, the finish was messed up, and they were

cracked. [redacted] would have no idea the

condition of the flooring as she neither sold it nor inspected it. She was also not present when [redacted] and the

inspector came to our house. She would

have no knowledge of what we were told.

We can be reached by email – [redacted] or phone ###-###-####. Thank you again for your time.

Regards,