Excellence by Nature, LLC

Dear Mr***,There is no way for us to ever know what clients are using to clean their countertops and how they are maintaining them We hope that they follow our instructions of ONLY using blue *** dish detergent in warm water or *** for Stone and Steel but we have no way of knowing if these are the ONLY cleaners that are ever used on the countertops Even other types of *** dish detergent are not recommended to be used on granite countertops because they contain many ingredients that will strip the sealer and can cause problems with the granite countertops after the sealer has been stripped.If you felt that the granite countertops were not properly sealed after the installation, you should have asked us to seal them again for you since at that time it was still well within the installation warranty period Again, we have no way of knowing what types of sealers and/or cleaners were used and if they were applied correctly.The reason that I came out to help with your granite and why we sent *** out also was to try to assist you with your questions about the spots The stripping cleaner that I used on your countertops completely strips anything that was in or on the granite Since these “spots” remained unchanged after that process, we can determine that these areas are naturally inherent in the granite The natural color variations in granite are caused by the many stones and minerals that comprise their makeup and I think only God can answer as to why specific color patterns are located in specific areas of the stone, since He is the one who made the granite.On my first trip to your home to use the enhancing sealer on your granite, you did tell me that you were happier with these areas and that they were less noticeable to you and that they actually didn’t bother you, you were only worried about what potential homeowners would think when you put your house on the market to sell it Granite has been proven to assist in the speed in which houses sell and this asset should help to make your home sell quickly when you decide to put it on the market.Your countertops are not “faulty” and there is nothing wrong with your granite I have been in your home to determine this on two occasions Because there is nothing wrong with your granite, we cannot justify replacing it simply because you have decided that you don’t like the granite and the natural color variation that goes along with them As Sarah mentioned, we would be happy to price a uniform, manmade stone for your countertops if you would prefer that option.Sincerely,*** ***PresidentExcellence By Nature

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 [redacted]er to a close, we would like to know your view on the [redacted]er.]
Regards,
[redacted]  The answer that I got from EBN, is not true. They say that they do not know what kind of sealer we put on the granite. [redacted] told us what sealer to get and where to buy it. We were told to clean the granite with a dawn dishwashing liquid mixed with water. We showed them what we used when they came to try to fix the problem and the installer said that it was perfect and the correct mixture. [redacted] says she doesn't know what we used and this is simply not true. In regards to the spots in question, they are three specific spots where glass trivets were sitting. [redacted] has never been here to see what is going on, so she is just trying to explain away an issue she has not seen. Without seeing the spots you can't say they are normal color variations. There are numerous other things sitting on the granite like canister sets and  a toaster and blender and a large copper box. None of these things have light spots under them, like where the trivets were. As to her statement that we were much happier after [redacted] tried the enhancing sealer, we actually said that we could see a little difference but the spots were still there. Her comment about not noticing the spots for 9 months is not an answer because the trivets were not moved for that period of time. It was only after removing them that we even knew there was a problem. The question I would like answered is, why is the area under these trivets the only area with the color variation. As to the comment about resealing the granite they told us that you can not over seal granite. If we noticed water trying to penetrate the granite then we could reseal it. The granite showed signs of absorbing water so my wife called [redacted] and she told us to purchase 511 porous plus sealer and we could get it at Florida tile in Erlanger Ky. It was purchased in March. Lastly about the warranty being up. They were here trying to fix the problem long before the warranty ran out. I think that their efforts to make the spots in question, go away, was a hope to remedy the situation so they would not have to replace the faulty granite. Although I appreciate the effort, the bottom line for me remains the same. They sold the granite, so they should be liable for it. Don't try to make it look like we did something we should not have done, to cause the problem. [redacted] was here and has seen and worked on the spots. He knows what the issues are and he has said that he doesn't know why it happened nor what the answer is. He never gave any indication that this was a normal occurrence . Please don't let EBN make excuses, make them take responsibility for the product they sold.

Dear Mr. [redacted],We do seal all granite and other natural stone countertops when they are installed.  During the installation, the installation crew also explains to the clients what they should and shouldn’t do to maintain the sealer on the countertops.  After the installation process is...

complete, we trust that the homeowners will follow our instructions and take care of their new countertops as we instructed them to.  Unfortunately, that is not always the case and we cannot be held liable for those mistakes.  You did admit to using some type of sealer after the crew had already sealed the countertops.  We do not know what type of sealer you used or how you applied that sealer to the granite.  We also do not know what types of cleaners you have been using on your granite countertops and how they may have affected the sealer.Sealers can in fact be stripped from the countertops, which is exactly why we instruct clients on how to maintain the sealer after the countertops are installed.  Many cleaners on the market are very harsh and will actually strip the sealer from the granite.  After using these types of cleaners that strip the sealer, the stone can in fact be stained because the stone is no longer protected with the sealer.As a courtesy to you, we sent out the installation crew to assess the problem for you and then [redacted] came out on 2 occasions to try to assist you as well.  There are actually 2 types of sealers that can be used on natural stone.  The first sealer, which is what is typically used on granite countertops, is a penetrating sealer.  Once this particular sealer is cured, there is no visible difference in the look or color of the stone after the sealer has been applied.  The other type of sealer is called an enhancing sealer.  As the name implies, this type of sealer will “enhance” the color of some types of natural stones and make them darker.  Since we do not know what you have been using to clean and maintain your granite countertops, we used this enhancing sealer to try and get the granite to be more consistent in color, at your request.After that enhancing sealer application, you indicated to [redacted] when he left your home that day that you were much more happy with the color of the granite but a few weeks later you called back again to ask what we “were going to do about it.”  I called Miracle, the manufacturer of our sealers, and was advised to use a stripper to remove any and all layers of previous sealer and then to completely reseal the countertops.  [redacted] thoroughly followed the instructions on the stripper to remove any layers of sealer and then resealed all of the granite countertops.  The color variation remained unchanged after this process which tells us that this color variation is just the inherent variance in the natural stone.  This is not a “defect” of the material and the mere fact that the granite has this natural variation is one of the main reasons why most people are drawn to a natural stone instead of installing a manufactured product, which will be very uniform in color and pattern.We offer a one year installation warranty on all of our granite countertops.  That installation warranty covers anything that might go wrong from the installation.  Because granite is a natural product and comes from the ground, no one warranties the actual granite itself.  And because we have no way of knowing whether our instructions for the types of cleaners to be used on the countertops are followed or not by the homeowners after installation, we cannot offer a warranty on the natural stone.  The installation warranty on your countertops expired on February 28, 2015.There is nothing “defective” or “faulty” with the granite that is installed in your kitchen and it is not a “bad granite.”  If there were something “defective” with the granite, you would have had a problem with your countertops immediately, not 9 months after they were installed.  You chose a natural granite to be installed in your kitchen and because granite is natural, color variations are to be expected.  Because the stone is not “defective“, it does not warrant removal or replacement.  If you choose to have your granite replaced because you no longer like the natural variation inherent in your granite countertops, we would be happy to price for you a manufactured product, such as quartz, to replace the existing granite.Sincerely,[redacted]CEO Excellence By Nature