Granite Transformations of Portland

*** I have reviewed the complaint and find it a bit misleading; specifically concerning the the use of bleach For the record I reviewed the damage and asked how the countertop was cleaned and was told "with water, only water". As I inspected it more closely I smelled bleach; not
from the counter rather a large bucket that was in the sinkI asked the customer for the contents of the bucket and was advised that it was in fact bleach and it was used to wash rags/socks and said she did that regularlyI do not recall the specifics of what she was washing however when asked she said that she did not use it on the countertopsI accepted that and continued my inspection as the only area that she had pointed out was right next to the sink nearby the bucket of bleach waterAs I was inspecting the remainder of the countertop I found another rough spot quite far from the one she pointed out that was next to the sink and asked her if this was another problem areaShe looked at it and said that it was probably dirt and very quickly reached into the bucket of bleach water and pulled out a cloth to wash it offI was absolutely stunned to see that only moments after she said she only used water and never bleachIn any case the only area that appeared damaged was the one right next to the sink that she said often contained a bucket of bleach for washing cloth items and never the countertop. I returned to my office and called the warrantee department and they said that the use of bleach was strictly prohibited and voided the warrantee essentially saying that they would not pay to replace it as it was damaged by the owner and was neither a material failure or an installation shortcoming. Now as it relates to prior visits I took over the company on 11/15/and there was no one by the name of Randy nor Rick was working hereClearly I would have known that and if a problem was discovered I would also have known thatAlso any conversation about replacing a countertop even if it was damaged beyond repair would have been unauthorizedThe owner in conjunction with the Franchiser's warrantee department makes that determination and neither myself, the owner nor the warrantee department was aware of it She was correct in saying that I did not call her back to report the company's findings until she called backShe did say again that she never used bleach on the countertops other than the only day I was there to witness it. Further her comment regarding her washing the rough spot next to the sink so that I could feel the rough spot may be correct however I do not recall thatI absolutely recall my pointing out a distant spot which turned out to be dirt with itIf she was correct in saying that it would have been twice right in front of meIn both cases she casually washed the countertop off with bleach which suggests to me that this must have been done in the past as well. When I advised her that the company would not replace the countertop under the warrantee she went off threatening to call the Revdex.com and did not even give me time to offer to explore repair optionsThe countertop could be substantially repaired by an expert at a significant cost which I may have split with her which was not requiredI am still available to do that however it will take time to contract the professional and the cost will still have to be split; hundreds of dollars

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: Need to address several falsehoods brought up by this business owner & am not happy that he is indicating that I have not been truthful!First of all, the bucket he refers to that had gal of water to 1/to 1/c bleach is a SMALL bucket (NOT a large bucket as he stated) that was used to purify some cleaning items, including a dishcloth This is a practice I honestly do very seldom & for him so say in his letter that I said I did this regularly is a total falsehood!!! How or why he thinks/feels this is a common practice of mine is puzzling--he certainly would have to be clairvoyant! As I stated in my first correspondence, from the moment he entered my home I was uneasy with his attitude/demeanor & had the feeling this was gong to be a problem I did take the dishcloth out of the bucket (without thinking) to wipe the area so he could feel how ruff the surface was (because he was "balking" at my complaint) & that is when he "jumped" on the idea I always use bleach I told him that was not the case but he, obviously, felt he had a solution to the problem And, the dishcloth in question is bright orange in color, so how much bleach do you think could have been in the SMALL bucket, as the cloth was/is still bright orange!!!When the granite was originally installed I inquired as to how to care for it & what I should not do At that time (it was a different owner then), I was told I did not ever have to reseal the granite & the only thing that could damage it is nail polish remover--which I NEVER use!! There was no mention of bleach but--AGAIN--it is not a practice of mine to use bleach anyway Anther thought--even IF I used bleach on the countertops, then why isn't the damage to all of the countertop & even the area across the room where the countertop is by the stove???????? How is that explained? If I used bleach on all the countertops, wouldn't they all be damaged??? It is just the single area that the original fellow (who came out 11/18) felt was a flaw in the granite stone!!!I also feel the new owner is questioning my statement that a company man DID come out 11/18/ They must have records & the guy who was here--unfortunately I do not recall the name--did take photos of the damage, said he had never seen anything like it before & that he felt it was a flaw in the stone I spoke several times with a very nice gal--office manager, I presume--who could verify my many calls & also give the name (from her records) of the other gentleman who came out in November, but figure she will hesitate to speak up in fear of her job position She could certainly verify all the calls I made to the company., as she was very nice every time I called & did apologize many times for their lack in getting back to me I always told her I was in no rush & understand they are probably busy, but did want to move ahead with solving the problem She is the one who told me the fellow who had been to my home on November 18th (& I do wonder if he is gone, possibly, because of what he told me) was no longer with the company & that it would now be the new owner coming out to review the problem a second time To be perfectly clear & honest, I only have used water & dish detergent on a dishcloth to ever clean my countertopsI do not use bleach & do not "OFTEN" have a bucket of water/bleach in my sink!!! (where he came up wth the one is a mystery!) I sincerely believe his accusing me of using the bleach is a convenient way of avoiding his responsibility & am even hoping there may be some way of testing the granite to prove this bleach idea is ridiculous! I am willing to have any test possible on the stone to prove I am telling the truth & would love if we could access records of the visit I had from the other employee on November 18, 2016, showing what he found I do not accept this current response from the new owner as even remotely accurate!!!Thank you for assisting in this matter & please advise me of my next option
Sincerely,
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From: [redacted]@yahoo.com Sent: Sunday, May 14, 2017 3:34 PM Subject: Paperwork from Granite TransformationsUnder every day cleaning it does read "for really tough marks or stains, use an ordinary cloth and diluted liquid bleach making sure you wash it off immediately"!  And again, I did not even use bleach on a regular basis

The complaint is factually incorrect. The very day he wrote the complaint he called me, I assume before he wrote the complaint, and I said that we would complete the work that week and I would get back with him later in the day to schedule it.  The installers were in the field and I...

determined that they in fact were totally booked for the week and would have to so it took a couple of hours to connect with them and needed to find other skilled resources to do it. I called Mr [redacted] and said that I still needed to work it out and did not have the answer yet however I would indeed get back with him. I also stated that I would try to do it the next day and if I was able to do it asked for the best time. He said anytime after 2:00 as he would be home then. I then went to work to schedule it and was not able to solidify the arrangements until the following day at 6:00AM when I met with the Shop Manager as they began their day. We worked out a plan for he and another person in the shop to go do the repair at 2:00 that day. I called Mr [redacted] and he agreed to2:00. The crew did get there and completed the work to his satisfaction. I called to ensure he was happy and he said all was right. The following day I returned to my office after being away and saw the Revdex.com complaint which absolutely surprised me. There was no mention of it and the situation was worked out. This was an unusual problem one that we had never discovered before and involved what appeared to be a missing part from his oven that was not have been noticed until the oven was pulled out. There was no mis-templating rather we were looking for the best solution to mask it rather than having Mr [redacted] research and buy the part if it did exist.

First of all I was late getting to your home because the GPS keep leading me to other homes and I apologized for that as I entered your home and you acknowledged that in your area even you experienced similar erroneous GPS readings. You even referenced some other guidance system you now use. I was embarrassed to be late and simply felt compelled to explain why. I valued your time and apologized. Further as I had no idea of what I was about to see I had no knowledge of the damage and no opinion. I was there to help. If you read anything else into that you are very mistaken.   Now as for the care and cleaning. To put this in context a prior version of the instructions did say "for ordinary cleaning" simply wipe over the area with a damp cloth using a mild detergent" before the statement that you quoted. Then it went on to caution about stains and warned about stronger chemicals. The current version on our website eliminates any use of bleach. It if not used correctly does damage our materials.   Our stone is very easy to clean and seldom if ever requires and use of chemicals. Now as it relates to bleach the document you referenced did reference the use of diluted bleach on a damp cloth for difficult to clean marks or stains and then stated; use an ordinary cloth and diluted liquid bleach making sure you wash it off immediately"!  On the day that we met and I pointed out an area that was roughened with residue you quickly and rather instinctively reached into the bleach/water bucket and with a wet cloth washed the area never pausing wash it off immediately as required.   I am not in anyway arguing that the damage observed that day resulted from that misuse. Rather it is my basis for believing that it had occurred on more than one occasion in 5 years that since we installed it. This strong belief is based upon:   ·         Your statement indicating that you use bleach in a pale with water in the sink to wash off cloths or ?; (I forget the specific items you referred to). It was said in a way that indicated that it was a routine rather than a one time event ·         .   ·         Your prompt and instinctive reaction to a small soiled area that was brought to your attention by reaching into the pale of bleach water to grab a wet cloth and washing off the counter. It was such a normal response that it is difficult to believe that it did not occur before that day and if it had a few times it would have damaged the counters if the bleach water remained as observed.   I know you spent a good deal of money to install our product and I am upset that it is damaged. My offer to do our best to restore it as best we can and splitting the cost of hiring a specialist to do it still stands.