Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/02/05) */
We are so very apologetic and embarrassed by the misunderstanding in our office that has led to this complaintAlan, the design consultant has built a relationship with *** that he values tremendously and we all wish that this
internal misunderstanding would not have brought us to where we are today
There was a misunderstanding in our office of an estimate presented by our plumber to get the basement plumbing ready to install our bathroom materialsIt was interpreted that the costs were way beyond and much more than what the *** were charged for in the agreementThis was a mistake, we know that now and it would have become clear and no additional charge would have been necessaryAt this point, we are now extremely sorry for the stress this has caused the ***We would sincerely love the opportunity to proceed as contracted at no additional cost to the ***To compensate for the unnecessary inconvenience, frustration and stress, we would like to extend a discount of $off of the contract amount
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/02/06) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
We appreciate the apologies and the offer to do the work with a $decrease in price
My wife and I thought long and hard about this but we feel that any trust we had in the business, is gone and it will be hard to do business with Great Lakes at this timeIt was very difficult to come up with decision but we feel it is the right one
If we did not complain about the increase in price, would they have really seen the problem with the cost increaseWe're not so sure they would have
Please return our deposit so that we can move forward with our bathroom project
Final Consumer Response /* (3000, 10, 2015/02/24) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
We appreciate the apologies and the offer to do the work with a $decrease in price
My wife and I thought long and hard about this but we feel that any trust we had in the business, is gone and it will be hard to do business with Great Lakes at this timeIt was very difficult to come up with decision but we feel it is the right one
If we did not complain about the increase in price, would they have really seen the problem with the cost increaseWe're not so sure they would have
Please return our deposit so that we can move forward with our bathroom project
Final Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2015/03/03) */
We are honoring the homeowners request to return their down paymentWe would like to once again apologize for any frustration that this has caused
Revdex.com:
We believe we have submitted a very fair offer to the homeowners in the previous response. If the homeowners are STILL not satisfied with that and would like to continue on with arbitration, we would be willing to accept that
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of ArbitrationIf you wish, you may update it before sending it.]Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID .***,and find that arbitration is necessarySincerely,*** ***
We are very sorry to hear of this dissatisfaction and would be happy to address the customer’s concernsThe customers signed a contract on September 9, for us to complete a bathroom renovationOur contract clearly states “all pricing is based upon the existing observable conditions of each
areaAny additional costs arising out of latent defects or obstructions discovered in the course of preforming the work for this contract will be charged to the Owner as an additional charge.” Since there were additional expenses after the second measure, this cost was added as the customer’s responsibilityWe would very much like to move forward with this project but since the homeowner’s have not signed a change order for the additional scope of work we have been at a standstillIf the homeowners would still like to continue forward with their cancellation, they are welcome to do soHowever, as a business we have certain expenses that cannot go unpaidWe are willing to allow the customer to leave their contract and are willing to give them back a portion of their depositThat refund amount shall be $2,
The Homeowner received everything that we were contracted to provide and we have provided all services we were contracted to complete. More specifically, the homeowner did not order an "off-set" vanity top (clearly states on contract). That was not on the contract so that is not the one
we ordered. Her vanity is very small so it would be very little/no change to off-set it. To change the vanity top to an off-set vanity top, we would have to remove the old one which may destroy the existing vanity. We would also have to reconfigure the plumbing which would require a plumber to come back out. This would be for something we were not contracted to do. The homeowner has already replaced the vent cover and we have agreed to reimburse her for thatAny and all other service issues will be completed after final payment is received
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 11, 2015/09/03) */
We would like to complete the project within the next 2 weeks. We have been trying to start the project many times and have been told no. Here is a timeline of events: The Project was Sold on 7/5/2014. The additional down payment was given...
on 7/30 and the project 2nd measure was on 8/5/2014. Due to scheduling backlog of previous projects and our plumbers not being available, This project was pushed out past the beginning of November (as discussed at second measure) to later in the month. The Homeowners didn't want to get started around the Thanksgiving holiday so their project was scheduled for the week after thanksgiving. The homeowners decided a week before we started that they did not want the project done in the winter (because it was going to be too cold coming in and out of their home and they didn't want to deal with dumpsters on the street and snow emergencies. they wouldn't have to but that wasn't taken into consideration by them). Gary (salesperson) decided to give them a discount if they held off (and did not cancel) until it warmed up to start the project. A New agreement stated we couldn't start work before April 15th and work needed to be finished by the end of June. On April 27th I called the homeowners and left a voice mail message stating we were looking at getting started on their project the First or second week in June. After not hearing back from them I called them again and left another message on Wed. June 3rd and told them we would like to get started the following Monday (6/8). A plumber was lined up and Material were allocated. On Thursday June 4th [redacted] and [redacted] called me (on the line together) and were pretty belligerent with me. They said they have water in their basement and seeping through their walls and right now it wouldn't be wise to cover up the walls until the water issue was fixed. They kept using the phrase "putting a band-aid" on the problem. I agreed to hold off until there wasn't any water and told them to let me know when they have the water issue fixed and we would start. On (7/7) [redacted] called in to speak with me (Brandon). She was belligerent, and angry, and all she would say is "I want my Money" She continued to threatened me by saying she was/is a police officer and I should give her their money (or else). I conferred with her and figured out that she was talking about her down payment. I told her I couldn't give that back to her but if her water issue was fixed we could certainly get started on her basement project. She just kept demanding I give her money back and said she wanted interest and if she didn't get that by the end of the day tomorrow she was going to go to the Revdex.com and the attorney General etc. I told her the only person who could make that decision is Dan the owner of Great Lakes. Dan called her and he received the same response. As stated before, we have all of the products we needs and would be happy to get started on their project as contracted. We only need them to allow us into their home which has been the biggest obstacle.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 17, 2015/10/06) */
Thank you so much for re-sending me the info. I have no idea why I didn't get it the first time. Please re-open the case. Of course I disagree with most of the response from Great Lakes Window and Siding. When all this first started on July 5th 2014 we were told it was a six week project. Our job was to be finished by fall of 2014 before the ground froze. Someone from Great Lakes (I believe Brandon) called in November to start the project in December. December just didn't work for us for many reasons. Too cold to leave our dog outside, company coming for Christmas, the weather. When we discussed this with Great Lakes they seemed to understand and sent Gary out to sign a new contract. They gave us a nice discount on the second contract, because they knew they dropped the ball by not having the work completed within a reasonable time frame. We appreciated the discount, but added in the new contract the work would be completed by June 28th 2015 we were leaving town. We were reassured this wouldn't be a problem. The problem came when they called in June wanting to start the project we were originally told would take at least four but probably six weeks. Therefore could not be completed by the agreed upon date of June 28th. Where the rest of the nonsense in their response comes in is beyond me. I would just like my money back. They didn't do any work at all at my house. I have lived in my house for over 30 years, the basement is damp, that is why we wanted the remodel in the first place. I take exceptional offense to the remark that they claim I said I was a Police Officer, I would never claim to be someone that I am not. I have absolutely no reason to. When I asked Chris for my money back I even told him he could keep any interest, I just wanted my money back. He just laughed and told me to sue him and I may see my money sometime in 2018. I am hoping that the Revdex.com can assist me in getting my $18,474.00 back from Great Lakes Window and Siding, it is a lot of money and they have no right to keep it. I would prefer to have any interest made off my money sent to me as well, but would be settle for $18,474. I just don't understand why Great Lakes Window and Siding thinks they can keep my money. They violated the contact by not getting the project started and completed in time. We really would like to move on and get another company to remodel our basement.
Final Consumer Response /* (3000, 20, 2015/10/22) */
Thank you so much for re-sending me the info. I have no idea why I didn't get it the first time. Please re-open the case. Of course I disagree with most of the response from Great Lakes Window and Siding. When all this first started on July 5th 2014 we were told it was a six week project. Our job was to be finished by fall of 2014 before the ground froze. Someone from Great Lakes (I believe Brandon) called in November to start the project in December. December just didn't work for us for many reasons. Too cold to leave our dog outside, company coming for Christmas, the weather. When we discussed this with Great Lakes they seemed to understand and sent Gary out to sign a new contract. They gave us a nice discount on the second contract, because they knew they dropped the ball by not having the work completed within a reasonable time frame. We appreciated the discount, but added in the new contract the work would be completed by June 28th 2015 we were leaving town. We were reassured this wouldn't be a problem. The problem came when they called in June wanting to start the project we were originally told would take at least four but probably six weeks. Therefore could not be completed by the agreed upon date of June 28th. Where the rest of the nonsense in their response comes in is beyond me. I would just like my money back. They didn't do any work at all at my house. I have lived in my house for over 30 years, the basement is damp, that is why we wanted the remodel in the first place. I take exceptional offense to the remark that they claim I said I was a Police Officer, I would never claim to be someone that I am not. I have absolutely no reason to. When I asked Chris for my money back I even told him he could keep any interest, I just wanted my money back. He just laughed and told me to sue him and I may see my money sometime in 2018. I am hoping that the Revdex.com can assist me in getting my $18,474.00 back from Great Lakes Window and Siding, it is a lot of money and they have no right to keep it. I would prefer to have any interest made off my money sent to me as well, but would be settle for $18,474. I just don't understand why Great Lakes Window and Siding thinks they can keep my money. They violated the contact by not getting the project started and completed in time. We really would like to move on and get another company to remodel our basement.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 24, 2015/11/11) */
As mentioned before, We have been trying to and are willing to complete this project. We have complied with all of their deadlines and other demands and have been extremely accommodating. I can appreciate that they have a new contractor that they would like to do this project, however they have a contract with us and we plan to honor that contract as is our right under Minnesota Law. Any delay in completing this project is due to the actions of the aforementioned homeowners. In the state of Minnesota, there is a window of 3 business days in which one can cancel a contract such as this. We were well beyond that date before they decided to not honor their contract. The ball is in their court.
Great Lakes did indeed give two recommendations. One being our plumbing/HVAC installer who was on-site. The other (the professional the homeowner is looking for a Revdex.com rating on) I cannot vouch for which is the exact reason we do not typically give recommendations of this type and will not give any further recommendations on this matter. If the homeowners do not trust the professional opinion of our staff, I wonder why they continue to ask for it. As stated before, we would be happy to work with the homeowner on this service issue. If they feel it necessary to insert their opinions on the professionalism of our staff, they will have to spell out much clearer how they would like us to proceed. There is nothing more important to us than getting this taken care of and creating a satisfied customer. We look forward to working with this customer on a solution.
First off, I would like to say Thank you to [redacted] for his returned and referral business. It is greatly appreciated. The products we use/sell/install are all great products that carry warranties from their manufacturers (we are not a manufacturer). These warranties cover manufacturing...
defects and nearly all of them will replace the product if it is determined by the manufacturer to be defective. Although the product is covered, the labor to replace/fix the defects are not. That being said, there are certain items that are not covered under warranty -- one of those items is caulking. This is clearly stated in our warranty as well as the warranties from our siding and window manufacturers. Unfortunately there isn't a sealant/caulking out there that has been proven to last a lifetime of the home. In regard to our to this specific instance, [redacted] called in a service request for caulking, we notified him of our service procedure and pricing. This is not the first time he has been notified of our service procedure and pricing and should not have been surprised. He asked for the matching caulking and said he would do the touch-up work himself. We did not have that color match (we do not stock caulking in our warehouse), but told him where he could get that specific color from the manufacturer (less than 15 mins away from his home) and told him it would be quicker if he picked it up than if we scheduled a time to pick them up. Because of this suggestion, [redacted] came in to our showroom and verbally berated our receptionist with a multiple 4 letter word tirade that left this person shaken and very upset. No one should be treated this way while at work. In an effort to curtail this scenario from happening again, we picked up OSI quad caulking that would work with his color siding and notified [redacted] that we had it. He told us he would pick the caulking up and did so on Tuesday June 27th. We have worked with [redacted] on other service issues on a case by case basis and have been very fair with him as we would with any other customers of ours. I think now more than ever, we cannot make exceptions on a case by case basis with him as we have in the past. We have to treat all of our customers exactly the same way. The caulking was installed correctly. The reason it is "cracking " is due to age (over 7 years old) and required maintenance. We certainly wish [redacted] didn't feel this way. We thank him for his business and will continue to do great service in accordance to his warranty on his home as needed. Brandon [redacted] Great Lakes Home Renovations Apple Valley, MN ###-###-####
Unfortunately there seems to be a misunderstanding between what the homeowner's were thinking they were receiving and what they signed up for. We apologize for any part we played in that misunderstanding, but we do everything we can to make sure there is very little interpretation in what our...
customers are purchasing and we are certain this is the case in this situation as well. In order to have the shape and size of shower pan that Mr and Mrs [redacted] want with a wall being built along one section of it, there needs to be a narrow end to accommodate a nailing flange on the side the wall is constructed. The measurements "60x36" are taken at the widest point. In order to accommodate the narrow end to be 36" on the inside, we would need the long side to be over 40" long which is considerably more expensive and also wouldn't be possible due to an HVAC vent at approximately 37" mark. In remodeling, we are sometimes constrained to existing situations. The shower pan did have a chip in the nailing flange and we informed the homeowners that we would be happy to re-order a new shower pan but informed the homeowners that no size modifications could be made. The homeowners told us not to re-order the shower pan. We would love to continue this project if the homeowner but are left at an impasse. We will not be refunding the down payment the homeowner is looking for. We have many material and labor costs associated with their project. We have a contract with the homeowner that we have a legal obligation to uphold. We hope the homeowners will allow us into their home to complete the project and we thank them for their business.
First off, let me start by saying we greatly appreciate Mr. [redacted]'s business and absolutely stand behind our work, our product, and our warranty. Mr. [redacted] called in on Tuesday morning (12/27) and a service ticket was written up. In order to better serve our customer, we asked that, if it...
was possibly, he submit pictures of the situation so we could determine what specific material and tools we needed to complete the service. The pictures were sent via email and a service was set up for the following Thursday (12/29). On Thursday 12/29, the service was complete. If for some reason Mr. [redacted] is not happy with the work we performed on Thursday, We ask him to please call us at ###-###-#### and let us know if there is anything else we can do. If he is completely satisfied, it would be great if he could let the Revdex.com know as well. Thank you.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/08/14) */
A refund of the down payment was mailed August 1, 2015
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 10, 2015/08/17) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
We appreciate this response and would be happy to explain. Work for us, begins as soon as a project is signed. Since the homeowner's signed a contract, our office begins processing, planning, and ultimately, executing that remodel. Just because the homeowners did not see us physically, at their home, does not mean that we were not working on it. Here is an overview of the steps we’ve already invested to get this project where its stands today: I.Our design representative, Gary met with these homeowners and provided them with an inspection and estimate. The homeowners approved an agreement. II.Our Production Coordinator reviewed the contract and determined what needed ordering. He scheduled the second measure. III.Our financial department ran down payment. IV.Our marketing team was in contact to answer any questions. V.Our senior measuring technician, along with Gary the design rep made the drive out to get the full perspective of work and confirm Gary’s initial measurements. VI.A third measurement was conducted which included; our senior measuring technician, a plumber from Cities 1 Plumbing and Gary. VII.Our business owner is involved, having conversations with both their representation and these homeowners. VIII.Our marketing team stepped in to respond to the complaint. None of our employees work for free. There are expenses incurred at every phase of a home-improvement project. This project has been touched in one way or another by nine employees here. We want to mention we are not always able to determine the full scope of plumbing without a technician’s inspection. It was clear to everyone involved that the scope of plumbing work was larger and that is why an additional tech measure was performed in October with a licensed plumber. This is the reason that our contract mentions this fact. Our contract reads, “Owner holds the Contractor harmless from hidden or pre-existing conditions. Existing out of square and plumb conditions may require similar conditions in the new work... Contractor may change installation methods, as required, to comply with local building code requirements.” This is all at an additional cost to the customer as mentioned in our previous response. “All pricing is based upon the existing observable conditions in each area. Any additional costs arising out of latent defects or obstructions discovered in the course of performing the work for this contract will be charged to the Owner as an additional charge." No bait and switch ever transpired as the homeowners signed a contract with full knowledge of the contract stipulations. If every homeowner could disregard their contract like it never happened what would be the point in signing it? We will stand by the agreement. The homeowners may cancel their contract and receive their partial deposit of $2,750.00.
We are rejecting the response from Great Lakes Home Renovations because we don’t think that the response is reasonable. Whomever wrote the response says that we have an agreement with them signed on 9/9/17, but our agreement was signed on 9/7/17. The response references a clause of the contract that discusses a price increase if “latent defects” are discovered “in the course of performing the work,” but the work never began and any observed defects would be patent – no walls were opened, no fixtures were removed, no work (other than a few measurements) was performed. The response references a “change order” but this is the first time we’ve heard of a change order. Nothing about the work to be performed changed between the signing of the agreement and Great Lakes’ attempt to raise the cost of the work. We feel this is a classic example of “bait and switch”: after we have a signed agreement, they raise the price of the project and try to hold us to the agreement. They are withholding our deposit in bad faith. We’ve never seen a list of the “certain expenses” referenced in the response. We’re willing to submit supporting documents to the Revdex.com if it helps. Great Lakes has already received a copy of our documentation.Great Lakes has an A+ rating on the Revdex.com website, but their business practices are horrible. How can we get our money back? How can we stop this from happening to others?
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/03/20) */
This unfortunately is the first we've heard of this issue. Typically Owens Corning (the manufacturer) is responsible for warranty claims. It sounds as though you have been in contact with them and it would be great to hear what came of that...
interaction. We would be happy to replace the wall panels for you as soon as possible. I apologize that this has not been taken care of sooner. It is unfortunate that this issue has escalated to this point.
I ([redacted]) have called and left two messages for [redacted] and as of today have not heard back.
We are very sorry to hear Mr and Mrs [redacted] are unhappy with their project.We have made several attempts to work on a resolution to their concerns but all attempts have been denied. Jeff met with the homeowners on November 15th 2016.He handled this project as he does all his projects and gave...
no misleading or false information. Upon that meeting, the homeowners signed a contract for a full kitchen remodel including a new center island. On December 14, our call center received an email asking for an update about their project. Jeff met with the homeowners the very next day and the center island design was approved. We cannot order anything without written approval from the homeowner which was given to us on Dec 15th 2016. Material was ordered and install was scheduled for January 20th 2017. On January 24thJeff met with the homeowners again to go over the installation and answer any questions. At that point the homeowners requested custom paneling for the center island at no additional cost to them.This product was immediately ordered to satisfy the customer. These panels are very "custom" and take time to build templates for, write code for the routing machines and assembly.This is a very costly endeavor ($1,100.00) which Great Lakes was willing to undertake in order to make the customer satisfied with their project.When the panels arrived, our kitchen Installer called the homeowners to ask when he could be out to install them. At that point the homeowners refused further installation processes and told him they would be finding someone else to finish their kitchen project.An invoice was sent to Mr and Mrs [redacted] for the work completed.As of today (Wednesday March 8th) NO payment has been received outside of the agreed upon down payment. As for the statement on the timeline, the website states “kitchen installation will be finished in a matter of days”, it does not say “a few days”. Kitchen remodels to this scale cannot be completed in "a few days" even if we had two overnight crews. Our expected time-frame was correct until the homeowners refused any additional installation. It was the homeowner’s choice to close the doors to us, however it does not change what was agreed to in the original contract. All work Great Lakes completed is how it would be done in every home and is how it is done by the manufacturer, and is keeping with industry standard. Great Lakes is willing to deduct $500 from the final balance to put toward the damaged stove top. This is not an admission of responsibility, rather a goodwill gesture. We would also, as has been reiterated to the homeowner multiple times, request the opportunity to take care of any service items and address any concerns the homeowner may have.
Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:[redacted] told us at the beginning of our project that our desire to maximize headroom in our shower could be accomplished by attaching the ceiling directly to the overhead joists. They never said that in doing so there would be risk that the shower would be delivered with crooked walls and a bowing ceiling. Regardless, review of the ceiling installation by a 3rd party contractor indicates that the “blocking” method used by [redacted] to install the ceiling (directly to the joists in lieu of framing and sheetrock) isn’t what caused the ceiling to bow. Instead, it was incorrect placement of the blocks to the lowest hanging joist. Something that, if done correctly, would have prevented the ceiling from bowing. Documentation of this assessment was provide to [redacted] but no follow up/feedback was received. In addition, if any defects/issues with the shower relate to incorrect framing (as [redacted] has claimed), they are still held responsible since it was work contracted by them, not us. We should not be forced to pay for, and live with, a poorly installed shower because [redacted] failed to manage and inspect the work performed by their subcontractor (framing) and their employees (ceiling “blocking”). We agree with [redacted]’s assessment that there was nearly weekly contact between us but only because we initiated it. And yes, calls were made to both the office and personal cell phones of the production manager (PM) but only because these were the numbers given to us. Our phone records show that between 09/03/15 and 02/10/16, 56 calls were placed between us and the PM’s office or cell phone. We initiated 29 of the 36 office calls and 17 of the 20 cell phone calls. Only 2 calls reflect a weekend day, both on Saturday and both to the office number. I think these numbers are a good reflection of how one sided our communication with [redacted] was throughout the course of our project. In addition, the earliest call was at 09:02AM and the latest at 5:55PM. In addition, if at any time we were told to restrict our calls to specific numbers and times, we most assuredly would have complied.Once the [redacted] work begin in November, the PM made only 3 visits to our house. None were to discuss the details of our project or to review/inspect the progress of the work as it was delivered. The first visit was in November when [redacted]’s framer brought two light a possible issue relating to two small pipes that infringed into the area above the shower. The PM came on site, took pictures and told us that “no” the pipes would not pose any problems. No additional details were provided. The PM’s second visit was in December on the day the interior bathroom finishing and shower install was to begin. We asked him to come to the house when we were told by the installers that they had been instructed to install a soffit to address pipes that hung over the shower. The PM never told us a soffit was to be installed and should have known that would not be agreeable with us given we had clearly communicated at the startup of our project that we wanted to do everything possible to maximize headroom. At this point we had no other choice but to incur the additional cost and time to have relocate the pipes. It was our hope that [redacted] would provide us some type of financial consideration since we felt this issue could have been prevented if it had been identified and addressed earlier in the project. For example, we could have avoided the pipes altogether by shortening the length of our bathroom by 2 inches, or we could have had the pipes relocated in the months leading up to the bathroom install which would have prevented the one month delay. A late night phone call with the owner resulted in no such relief. The owner was abrasive, intimidating and flatly refused to accept any responsibility. The PM’s third visit to our home was in January when we refused to make final payment. At our insistence he was accompanied by the business owner, who as we pointed out in our original complaint, refused to accept any responsibility for the flaws/defects in what [redacted] had delivered. We do not agree with [redacted]’s assessment that the wall and ceiling finishing defects were “minor”. When the PM and owner came to our home to view the completed bathroom and the defects for which final payment was being withheld, we had placed at least two dozen pieces of blue tape on the walls and ceilings where flaws were found. We can provide photos if necessary.We take exception to [redacted]’s feedback that we were satisfied and “signed off” on the work and only voiced our concerns when final payment was requested. The so call “sign off” was presented to us as the [redacted] workers were rushing out the door. In fact one of the workers was sitting out in the truck with the engine running. We were advised by an employee that he was mandated by [redacted] to get the completed form before leaving the site. We fully regret not pushing back and refusing to complete it until we had more time to thoroughly inspect the work (w/o tools and equipment impeding our full access and w/o the [redacted] worker looking over our shoulder). It is also important to point out that in completing the form we included a number of comments highlighting our complete dissatisfaction with the way in [redacted] had managed our project including complete lack of communication and customer service. At the same time as sign off, we were also asked to make final payment. The fact that we refused to do so, reflects our dissatisfaction with what had been delivered. Also, I would like to point out that in terms of sign off, [redacted] didn’t come anywhere close to delivering upon what they have stated in their Exclusive Guarantee. It states “we will review the end-of-project review form with you BEFORE beginning the installation of your new bathroom. If you cannot rate us as Outstanding on any criteria at the end of the installation, tell us – and we will make it right. We do not believe in “good enough”. In addition, the Guarantee states “within two weeks of installation an independent Customer Research/Survey company will contact you to get your unfiltered and unbiased assessment of our company. We take this feedback very seriously…” We were never contacted to provide suchfeedback. In terms of the injured employee…we know his ability to perform was impeded by his hand injury, whatever the type. He dropped a slab of sheetrock resulting in the need for a third employee to be called onsite to help carry sheetrock on his behalf. We also witnessed him having difficulty carrying a heavy piece of equipment resulting in him putting a “ding” in a wall which was then patched.In terms of [redacted] employees performing non licensed plumbing work…feedback from our contracted plumber is that one of the [redacted] shower installers removed an inner wall faucet plate used to help provide stabilization to the exterior faucet when attached. The removal of the plate should have been discussed with the contracted plumber who installed it. If removal was deemed necessary, it should have been removed by the plumber, not the [redacted] installer. Additionally, we contracted and paid the plumbing service to install the shower head and faucet. It should not have been installed by [redacted] resulting in the faucet being installed "crooked" with blame being placed on the contracted plumbing service.Our originally communicated desired resolution remains unchanged.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2014/09/02) */
Great Lakes Window & Siding Co mailed out check # XXXXX as a refund including interest per consumer's desired resolution
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of Mediation. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID .[redacted], , and find that Mediation is necessary.
Regards,
[redacted]
We are very aware of the location the homeowner is hearing the squeak from. [redacted] our production manager was made to get into the tub and step on said "Back" area of the tub. The homeowners are worried there is some "give" and a squeak. The product will/was meant to flex. At the time of inspection by our Production manager, the only squeak her heard was from the floor. We are well aware they do not believe the squeak is taking place on their floor. In any case, if the homeowner believes there is a defect in the product, they will need to submit a warranty claim to the company that manufactured the product. This company is not our company. The contact information should be on their warranty. If they no longer have this information, they can contact our office and we can provide them with this information.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/02/05) */
We are so very apologetic and embarrassed by the misunderstanding in our office that has led to this complaintAlan, the design consultant has built a relationship with *** that he values tremendously and we all wish that this
internal misunderstanding would not have brought us to where we are today
There was a misunderstanding in our office of an estimate presented by our plumber to get the basement plumbing ready to install our bathroom materialsIt was interpreted that the costs were way beyond and much more than what the *** were charged for in the agreementThis was a mistake, we know that now and it would have become clear and no additional charge would have been necessaryAt this point, we are now extremely sorry for the stress this has caused the ***We would sincerely love the opportunity to proceed as contracted at no additional cost to the ***To compensate for the unnecessary inconvenience, frustration and stress, we would like to extend a discount of $off of the contract amount
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/02/06) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
We appreciate the apologies and the offer to do the work with a $decrease in price
My wife and I thought long and hard about this but we feel that any trust we had in the business, is gone and it will be hard to do business with Great Lakes at this timeIt was very difficult to come up with decision but we feel it is the right one
If we did not complain about the increase in price, would they have really seen the problem with the cost increaseWe're not so sure they would have
Please return our deposit so that we can move forward with our bathroom project
Final Consumer Response /* (3000, 10, 2015/02/24) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
We appreciate the apologies and the offer to do the work with a $decrease in price
My wife and I thought long and hard about this but we feel that any trust we had in the business, is gone and it will be hard to do business with Great Lakes at this timeIt was very difficult to come up with decision but we feel it is the right one
If we did not complain about the increase in price, would they have really seen the problem with the cost increaseWe're not so sure they would have
Please return our deposit so that we can move forward with our bathroom project
Final Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2015/03/03) */
We are honoring the homeowners request to return their down paymentWe would like to once again apologize for any frustration that this has caused
Revdex.com:
We believe we have submitted a very fair offer to the homeowners in the previous response. If the homeowners are STILL not satisfied with that and would like to continue on with arbitration, we would be willing to accept that
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of ArbitrationIf you wish, you may update it before sending it.]Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID .***,and find that arbitration is necessarySincerely,*** ***
We are very sorry to hear of this dissatisfaction and would be happy to address the customer’s concernsThe customers signed a contract on September 9, for us to complete a bathroom renovationOur contract clearly states “all pricing is based upon the existing observable conditions of each
areaAny additional costs arising out of latent defects or obstructions discovered in the course of preforming the work for this contract will be charged to the Owner as an additional charge.” Since there were additional expenses after the second measure, this cost was added as the customer’s responsibilityWe would very much like to move forward with this project but since the homeowner’s have not signed a change order for the additional scope of work we have been at a standstillIf the homeowners would still like to continue forward with their cancellation, they are welcome to do soHowever, as a business we have certain expenses that cannot go unpaidWe are willing to allow the customer to leave their contract and are willing to give them back a portion of their depositThat refund amount shall be $2,
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me
The Homeowner received everything that we were contracted to provide and we have provided all services we were contracted to complete. More specifically, the homeowner did not order an "off-set" vanity top (clearly states on contract). That was not on the contract so that is not the one
we ordered. Her vanity is very small so it would be very little/no change to off-set it. To change the vanity top to an off-set vanity top, we would have to remove the old one which may destroy the existing vanity. We would also have to reconfigure the plumbing which would require a plumber to come back out. This would be for something we were not contracted to do. The homeowner has already replaced the vent cover and we have agreed to reimburse her for thatAny and all other service issues will be completed after final payment is received
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 11, 2015/09/03) */
We would like to complete the project within the next 2 weeks. We have been trying to start the project many times and have been told no. Here is a timeline of events: The Project was Sold on 7/5/2014. The additional down payment was given...
on 7/30 and the project 2nd measure was on 8/5/2014. Due to scheduling backlog of previous projects and our plumbers not being available, This project was pushed out past the beginning of November (as discussed at second measure) to later in the month. The Homeowners didn't want to get started around the Thanksgiving holiday so their project was scheduled for the week after thanksgiving. The homeowners decided a week before we started that they did not want the project done in the winter (because it was going to be too cold coming in and out of their home and they didn't want to deal with dumpsters on the street and snow emergencies. they wouldn't have to but that wasn't taken into consideration by them). Gary (salesperson) decided to give them a discount if they held off (and did not cancel) until it warmed up to start the project. A New agreement stated we couldn't start work before April 15th and work needed to be finished by the end of June. On April 27th I called the homeowners and left a voice mail message stating we were looking at getting started on their project the First or second week in June. After not hearing back from them I called them again and left another message on Wed. June 3rd and told them we would like to get started the following Monday (6/8). A plumber was lined up and Material were allocated. On Thursday June 4th [redacted] and [redacted] called me (on the line together) and were pretty belligerent with me. They said they have water in their basement and seeping through their walls and right now it wouldn't be wise to cover up the walls until the water issue was fixed. They kept using the phrase "putting a band-aid" on the problem. I agreed to hold off until there wasn't any water and told them to let me know when they have the water issue fixed and we would start. On (7/7) [redacted] called in to speak with me (Brandon). She was belligerent, and angry, and all she would say is "I want my Money" She continued to threatened me by saying she was/is a police officer and I should give her their money (or else). I conferred with her and figured out that she was talking about her down payment. I told her I couldn't give that back to her but if her water issue was fixed we could certainly get started on her basement project. She just kept demanding I give her money back and said she wanted interest and if she didn't get that by the end of the day tomorrow she was going to go to the Revdex.com and the attorney General etc. I told her the only person who could make that decision is Dan the owner of Great Lakes. Dan called her and he received the same response. As stated before, we have all of the products we needs and would be happy to get started on their project as contracted. We only need them to allow us into their home which has been the biggest obstacle.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 17, 2015/10/06) */
Thank you so much for re-sending me the info. I have no idea why I didn't get it the first time. Please re-open the case. Of course I disagree with most of the response from Great Lakes Window and Siding. When all this first started on July 5th 2014 we were told it was a six week project. Our job was to be finished by fall of 2014 before the ground froze. Someone from Great Lakes (I believe Brandon) called in November to start the project in December. December just didn't work for us for many reasons. Too cold to leave our dog outside, company coming for Christmas, the weather. When we discussed this with Great Lakes they seemed to understand and sent Gary out to sign a new contract. They gave us a nice discount on the second contract, because they knew they dropped the ball by not having the work completed within a reasonable time frame. We appreciated the discount, but added in the new contract the work would be completed by June 28th 2015 we were leaving town. We were reassured this wouldn't be a problem. The problem came when they called in June wanting to start the project we were originally told would take at least four but probably six weeks. Therefore could not be completed by the agreed upon date of June 28th. Where the rest of the nonsense in their response comes in is beyond me. I would just like my money back. They didn't do any work at all at my house. I have lived in my house for over 30 years, the basement is damp, that is why we wanted the remodel in the first place. I take exceptional offense to the remark that they claim I said I was a Police Officer, I would never claim to be someone that I am not. I have absolutely no reason to. When I asked Chris for my money back I even told him he could keep any interest, I just wanted my money back. He just laughed and told me to sue him and I may see my money sometime in 2018. I am hoping that the Revdex.com can assist me in getting my $18,474.00 back from Great Lakes Window and Siding, it is a lot of money and they have no right to keep it. I would prefer to have any interest made off my money sent to me as well, but would be settle for $18,474. I just don't understand why Great Lakes Window and Siding thinks they can keep my money. They violated the contact by not getting the project started and completed in time. We really would like to move on and get another company to remodel our basement.
Final Consumer Response /* (3000, 20, 2015/10/22) */
Thank you so much for re-sending me the info. I have no idea why I didn't get it the first time. Please re-open the case. Of course I disagree with most of the response from Great Lakes Window and Siding. When all this first started on July 5th 2014 we were told it was a six week project. Our job was to be finished by fall of 2014 before the ground froze. Someone from Great Lakes (I believe Brandon) called in November to start the project in December. December just didn't work for us for many reasons. Too cold to leave our dog outside, company coming for Christmas, the weather. When we discussed this with Great Lakes they seemed to understand and sent Gary out to sign a new contract. They gave us a nice discount on the second contract, because they knew they dropped the ball by not having the work completed within a reasonable time frame. We appreciated the discount, but added in the new contract the work would be completed by June 28th 2015 we were leaving town. We were reassured this wouldn't be a problem. The problem came when they called in June wanting to start the project we were originally told would take at least four but probably six weeks. Therefore could not be completed by the agreed upon date of June 28th. Where the rest of the nonsense in their response comes in is beyond me. I would just like my money back. They didn't do any work at all at my house. I have lived in my house for over 30 years, the basement is damp, that is why we wanted the remodel in the first place. I take exceptional offense to the remark that they claim I said I was a Police Officer, I would never claim to be someone that I am not. I have absolutely no reason to. When I asked Chris for my money back I even told him he could keep any interest, I just wanted my money back. He just laughed and told me to sue him and I may see my money sometime in 2018. I am hoping that the Revdex.com can assist me in getting my $18,474.00 back from Great Lakes Window and Siding, it is a lot of money and they have no right to keep it. I would prefer to have any interest made off my money sent to me as well, but would be settle for $18,474. I just don't understand why Great Lakes Window and Siding thinks they can keep my money. They violated the contact by not getting the project started and completed in time. We really would like to move on and get another company to remodel our basement.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 24, 2015/11/11) */
As mentioned before, We have been trying to and are willing to complete this project. We have complied with all of their deadlines and other demands and have been extremely accommodating. I can appreciate that they have a new contractor that they would like to do this project, however they have a contract with us and we plan to honor that contract as is our right under Minnesota Law. Any delay in completing this project is due to the actions of the aforementioned homeowners. In the state of Minnesota, there is a window of 3 business days in which one can cancel a contract such as this. We were well beyond that date before they decided to not honor their contract. The ball is in their court.
Great Lakes did indeed give two recommendations. One being our plumbing/HVAC installer who was on-site. The other (the professional the homeowner is looking for a Revdex.com rating on) I cannot vouch for which is the exact reason we do not typically give recommendations of this type and will not give any further recommendations on this matter. If the homeowners do not trust the professional opinion of our staff, I wonder why they continue to ask for it. As stated before, we would be happy to work with the homeowner on this service issue. If they feel it necessary to insert their opinions on the professionalism of our staff, they will have to spell out much clearer how they would like us to proceed. There is nothing more important to us than getting this taken care of and creating a satisfied customer. We look forward to working with this customer on a solution.
First off, I would like to say Thank you to [redacted] for his returned and referral business. It is greatly appreciated. The products we use/sell/install are all great products that carry warranties from their manufacturers (we are not a manufacturer). These warranties cover manufacturing...
defects and nearly all of them will replace the product if it is determined by the manufacturer to be defective. Although the product is covered, the labor to replace/fix the defects are not. That being said, there are certain items that are not covered under warranty -- one of those items is caulking. This is clearly stated in our warranty as well as the warranties from our siding and window manufacturers. Unfortunately there isn't a sealant/caulking out there that has been proven to last a lifetime of the home. In regard to our to this specific instance, [redacted] called in a service request for caulking, we notified him of our service procedure and pricing. This is not the first time he has been notified of our service procedure and pricing and should not have been surprised. He asked for the matching caulking and said he would do the touch-up work himself. We did not have that color match (we do not stock caulking in our warehouse), but told him where he could get that specific color from the manufacturer (less than 15 mins away from his home) and told him it would be quicker if he picked it up than if we scheduled a time to pick them up. Because of this suggestion, [redacted] came in to our showroom and verbally berated our receptionist with a multiple 4 letter word tirade that left this person shaken and very upset. No one should be treated this way while at work. In an effort to curtail this scenario from happening again, we picked up OSI quad caulking that would work with his color siding and notified [redacted] that we had it. He told us he would pick the caulking up and did so on Tuesday June 27th. We have worked with [redacted] on other service issues on a case by case basis and have been very fair with him as we would with any other customers of ours. I think now more than ever, we cannot make exceptions on a case by case basis with him as we have in the past. We have to treat all of our customers exactly the same way. The caulking was installed correctly. The reason it is "cracking " is due to age (over 7 years old) and required maintenance. We certainly wish [redacted] didn't feel this way. We thank him for his business and will continue to do great service in accordance to his warranty on his home as needed. Brandon [redacted] Great Lakes Home Renovations Apple Valley, MN ###-###-####
Unfortunately there seems to be a misunderstanding between what the homeowner's were thinking they were receiving and what they signed up for. We apologize for any part we played in that misunderstanding, but we do everything we can to make sure there is very little interpretation in what our...
customers are purchasing and we are certain this is the case in this situation as well. In order to have the shape and size of shower pan that Mr and Mrs [redacted] want with a wall being built along one section of it, there needs to be a narrow end to accommodate a nailing flange on the side the wall is constructed. The measurements "60x36" are taken at the widest point. In order to accommodate the narrow end to be 36" on the inside, we would need the long side to be over 40" long which is considerably more expensive and also wouldn't be possible due to an HVAC vent at approximately 37" mark. In remodeling, we are sometimes constrained to existing situations. The shower pan did have a chip in the nailing flange and we informed the homeowners that we would be happy to re-order a new shower pan but informed the homeowners that no size modifications could be made. The homeowners told us not to re-order the shower pan. We would love to continue this project if the homeowner but are left at an impasse. We will not be refunding the down payment the homeowner is looking for. We have many material and labor costs associated with their project. We have a contract with the homeowner that we have a legal obligation to uphold. We hope the homeowners will allow us into their home to complete the project and we thank them for their business.
First off, let me start by saying we greatly appreciate Mr. [redacted]'s business and absolutely stand behind our work, our product, and our warranty. Mr. [redacted] called in on Tuesday morning (12/27) and a service ticket was written up. In order to better serve our customer, we asked that, if it...
was possibly, he submit pictures of the situation so we could determine what specific material and tools we needed to complete the service. The pictures were sent via email and a service was set up for the following Thursday (12/29). On Thursday 12/29, the service was complete. If for some reason Mr. [redacted] is not happy with the work we performed on Thursday, We ask him to please call us at ###-###-#### and let us know if there is anything else we can do. If he is completely satisfied, it would be great if he could let the Revdex.com know as well. Thank you.
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/08/14) */
A refund of the down payment was mailed August 1, 2015
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 10, 2015/08/17) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
We appreciate this response and would be happy to explain. Work for us, begins as soon as a project is signed. Since the homeowner's signed a contract, our office begins processing, planning, and ultimately, executing that remodel. Just because the homeowners did not see us physically, at their home, does not mean that we were not working on it. Here is an overview of the steps we’ve already invested to get this project where its stands today: I.Our design representative, Gary met with these homeowners and provided them with an inspection and estimate. The homeowners approved an agreement. II.Our Production Coordinator reviewed the contract and determined what needed ordering. He scheduled the second measure. III.Our financial department ran down payment. IV.Our marketing team was in contact to answer any questions. V.Our senior measuring technician, along with Gary the design rep made the drive out to get the full perspective of work and confirm Gary’s initial measurements. VI.A third measurement was conducted which included; our senior measuring technician, a plumber from Cities 1 Plumbing and Gary. VII.Our business owner is involved, having conversations with both their representation and these homeowners. VIII.Our marketing team stepped in to respond to the complaint. None of our employees work for free. There are expenses incurred at every phase of a home-improvement project. This project has been touched in one way or another by nine employees here. We want to mention we are not always able to determine the full scope of plumbing without a technician’s inspection. It was clear to everyone involved that the scope of plumbing work was larger and that is why an additional tech measure was performed in October with a licensed plumber. This is the reason that our contract mentions this fact. Our contract reads, “Owner holds the Contractor harmless from hidden or pre-existing conditions. Existing out of square and plumb conditions may require similar conditions in the new work... Contractor may change installation methods, as required, to comply with local building code requirements.” This is all at an additional cost to the customer as mentioned in our previous response. “All pricing is based upon the existing observable conditions in each area. Any additional costs arising out of latent defects or obstructions discovered in the course of performing the work for this contract will be charged to the Owner as an additional charge." No bait and switch ever transpired as the homeowners signed a contract with full knowledge of the contract stipulations. If every homeowner could disregard their contract like it never happened what would be the point in signing it? We will stand by the agreement. The homeowners may cancel their contract and receive their partial deposit of $2,750.00.
We are rejecting the response from Great Lakes Home Renovations because we don’t think that the response is reasonable. Whomever wrote the response says that we have an agreement with them signed on 9/9/17, but our agreement was signed on 9/7/17. The response references a clause of the contract that discusses a price increase if “latent defects” are discovered “in the course of performing the work,” but the work never began and any observed defects would be patent – no walls were opened, no fixtures were removed, no work (other than a few measurements) was performed. The response references a “change order” but this is the first time we’ve heard of a change order. Nothing about the work to be performed changed between the signing of the agreement and Great Lakes’ attempt to raise the cost of the work. We feel this is a classic example of “bait and switch”: after we have a signed agreement, they raise the price of the project and try to hold us to the agreement. They are withholding our deposit in bad faith. We’ve never seen a list of the “certain expenses” referenced in the response. We’re willing to submit supporting documents to the Revdex.com if it helps. Great Lakes has already received a copy of our documentation.Great Lakes has an A+ rating on the Revdex.com website, but their business practices are horrible. How can we get our money back? How can we stop this from happening to others?
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2015/03/20) */
This unfortunately is the first we've heard of this issue. Typically Owens Corning (the manufacturer) is responsible for warranty claims. It sounds as though you have been in contact with them and it would be great to hear what came of that...
interaction. We would be happy to replace the wall panels for you as soon as possible. I apologize that this has not been taken care of sooner. It is unfortunate that this issue has escalated to this point.
I ([redacted]) have called and left two messages for [redacted] and as of today have not heard back.
We are very sorry to hear Mr and Mrs [redacted] are unhappy with their project.We have made several attempts to work on a resolution to their concerns but all attempts have been denied. Jeff met with the homeowners on November 15th 2016.He handled this project as he does all his projects and gave...
no misleading or false information. Upon that meeting, the homeowners signed a contract for a full kitchen remodel including a new center island. On December 14, our call center received an email asking for an update about their project. Jeff met with the homeowners the very next day and the center island design was approved. We cannot order anything without written approval from the homeowner which was given to us on Dec 15th 2016. Material was ordered and install was scheduled for January 20th 2017. On January 24thJeff met with the homeowners again to go over the installation and answer any questions. At that point the homeowners requested custom paneling for the center island at no additional cost to them.This product was immediately ordered to satisfy the customer. These panels are very "custom" and take time to build templates for, write code for the routing machines and assembly.This is a very costly endeavor ($1,100.00) which Great Lakes was willing to undertake in order to make the customer satisfied with their project.When the panels arrived, our kitchen Installer called the homeowners to ask when he could be out to install them. At that point the homeowners refused further installation processes and told him they would be finding someone else to finish their kitchen project.An invoice was sent to Mr and Mrs [redacted] for the work completed.As of today (Wednesday March 8th) NO payment has been received outside of the agreed upon down payment. As for the statement on the timeline, the website states “kitchen installation will be finished in a matter of days”, it does not say “a few days”. Kitchen remodels to this scale cannot be completed in "a few days" even if we had two overnight crews. Our expected time-frame was correct until the homeowners refused any additional installation. It was the homeowner’s choice to close the doors to us, however it does not change what was agreed to in the original contract. All work Great Lakes completed is how it would be done in every home and is how it is done by the manufacturer, and is keeping with industry standard. Great Lakes is willing to deduct $500 from the final balance to put toward the damaged stove top. This is not an admission of responsibility, rather a goodwill gesture. We would also, as has been reiterated to the homeowner multiple times, request the opportunity to take care of any service items and address any concerns the homeowner may have.
Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:[redacted] told us at the beginning of our project that our desire to maximize headroom in our shower could be accomplished by attaching the ceiling directly to the overhead joists. They never said that in doing so there would be risk that the shower would be delivered with crooked walls and a bowing ceiling. Regardless, review of the ceiling installation by a 3rd party contractor indicates that the “blocking” method used by [redacted] to install the ceiling (directly to the joists in lieu of framing and sheetrock) isn’t what caused the ceiling to bow. Instead, it was incorrect placement of the blocks to the lowest hanging joist. Something that, if done correctly, would have prevented the ceiling from bowing. Documentation of this assessment was provide to [redacted] but no follow up/feedback was received. In addition, if any defects/issues with the shower relate to incorrect framing (as [redacted] has claimed), they are still held responsible since it was work contracted by them, not us. We should not be forced to pay for, and live with, a poorly installed shower because [redacted] failed to manage and inspect the work performed by their subcontractor (framing) and their employees (ceiling “blocking”). We agree with [redacted]’s assessment that there was nearly weekly contact between us but only because we initiated it. And yes, calls were made to both the office and personal cell phones of the production manager (PM) but only because these were the numbers given to us. Our phone records show that between 09/03/15 and 02/10/16, 56 calls were placed between us and the PM’s office or cell phone. We initiated 29 of the 36 office calls and 17 of the 20 cell phone calls. Only 2 calls reflect a weekend day, both on Saturday and both to the office number. I think these numbers are a good reflection of how one sided our communication with [redacted] was throughout the course of our project. In addition, the earliest call was at 09:02AM and the latest at 5:55PM. In addition, if at any time we were told to restrict our calls to specific numbers and times, we most assuredly would have complied.Once the [redacted] work begin in November, the PM made only 3 visits to our house. None were to discuss the details of our project or to review/inspect the progress of the work as it was delivered. The first visit was in November when [redacted]’s framer brought two light a possible issue relating to two small pipes that infringed into the area above the shower. The PM came on site, took pictures and told us that “no” the pipes would not pose any problems. No additional details were provided. The PM’s second visit was in December on the day the interior bathroom finishing and shower install was to begin. We asked him to come to the house when we were told by the installers that they had been instructed to install a soffit to address pipes that hung over the shower. The PM never told us a soffit was to be installed and should have known that would not be agreeable with us given we had clearly communicated at the startup of our project that we wanted to do everything possible to maximize headroom. At this point we had no other choice but to incur the additional cost and time to have relocate the pipes. It was our hope that [redacted] would provide us some type of financial consideration since we felt this issue could have been prevented if it had been identified and addressed earlier in the project. For example, we could have avoided the pipes altogether by shortening the length of our bathroom by 2 inches, or we could have had the pipes relocated in the months leading up to the bathroom install which would have prevented the one month delay. A late night phone call with the owner resulted in no such relief. The owner was abrasive, intimidating and flatly refused to accept any responsibility. The PM’s third visit to our home was in January when we refused to make final payment. At our insistence he was accompanied by the business owner, who as we pointed out in our original complaint, refused to accept any responsibility for the flaws/defects in what [redacted] had delivered. We do not agree with [redacted]’s assessment that the wall and ceiling finishing defects were “minor”. When the PM and owner came to our home to view the completed bathroom and the defects for which final payment was being withheld, we had placed at least two dozen pieces of blue tape on the walls and ceilings where flaws were found. We can provide photos if necessary.We take exception to [redacted]’s feedback that we were satisfied and “signed off” on the work and only voiced our concerns when final payment was requested. The so call “sign off” was presented to us as the [redacted] workers were rushing out the door. In fact one of the workers was sitting out in the truck with the engine running. We were advised by an employee that he was mandated by [redacted] to get the completed form before leaving the site. We fully regret not pushing back and refusing to complete it until we had more time to thoroughly inspect the work (w/o tools and equipment impeding our full access and w/o the [redacted] worker looking over our shoulder). It is also important to point out that in completing the form we included a number of comments highlighting our complete dissatisfaction with the way in [redacted] had managed our project including complete lack of communication and customer service. At the same time as sign off, we were also asked to make final payment. The fact that we refused to do so, reflects our dissatisfaction with what had been delivered. Also, I would like to point out that in terms of sign off, [redacted] didn’t come anywhere close to delivering upon what they have stated in their Exclusive Guarantee. It states “we will review the end-of-project review form with you BEFORE beginning the installation of your new bathroom. If you cannot rate us as Outstanding on any criteria at the end of the installation, tell us – and we will make it right. We do not believe in “good enough”. In addition, the Guarantee states “within two weeks of installation an independent Customer Research/Survey company will contact you to get your unfiltered and unbiased assessment of our company. We take this feedback very seriously…” We were never contacted to provide suchfeedback. In terms of the injured employee…we know his ability to perform was impeded by his hand injury, whatever the type. He dropped a slab of sheetrock resulting in the need for a third employee to be called onsite to help carry sheetrock on his behalf. We also witnessed him having difficulty carrying a heavy piece of equipment resulting in him putting a “ding” in a wall which was then patched.In terms of [redacted] employees performing non licensed plumbing work…feedback from our contracted plumber is that one of the [redacted] shower installers removed an inner wall faucet plate used to help provide stabilization to the exterior faucet when attached. The removal of the plate should have been discussed with the contracted plumber who installed it. If removal was deemed necessary, it should have been removed by the plumber, not the [redacted] installer. Additionally, we contracted and paid the plumbing service to install the shower head and faucet. It should not have been installed by [redacted] resulting in the faucet being installed "crooked" with blame being placed on the contracted plumbing service.Our originally communicated desired resolution remains unchanged.
Sincerely,
[redacted]
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2014/09/02) */
Great Lakes Window & Siding Co mailed out check # XXXXX as a refund including interest per consumer's desired resolution
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of Mediation. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID .[redacted], , and find that Mediation is necessary.
Regards,
[redacted]
We are very aware of the location the homeowner is hearing the squeak from. [redacted] our production manager was made to get into the tub and step on said "Back" area of the tub. The homeowners are worried there is some "give" and a squeak. The product will/was meant to flex. At the time of inspection by our Production manager, the only squeak her heard was from the floor. We are well aware they do not believe the squeak is taking place on their floor. In any case, if the homeowner believes there is a defect in the product, they will need to submit a warranty claim to the company that manufactured the product. This company is not our company. The contact information should be on their warranty. If they no longer have this information, they can contact our office and we can provide them with this information.