Portofino Tile

I give Portofino Tile 1 star. Be careful signing any contracts. I was forced to give them $750.00 for 1 and 1/2 hours of a “Showroom Consultation” to look (only) at a computer- generated (AUTOCAD) rendering of my master bathroom.

I regret doing business with Portofino Tile.

Portofino billed us for 3 hours of consultation that we feel was still part of the sales process. He states a customer only gets 2 free meetings.We began the process of looking to hire Portofino Tile. We set up a meeting to go over bathroom selections and sign a contract for 7/14/2015. When the meeting came to a close, we wanted to review the contract before signing. Portofino would not let us leave with the contract, thus we decided to work with them. On August 3, 2015 we received a letter and an invoice for that meeting. Portofino contends his website clearly spells this out. The website does state that subsequent meetings may be charged as consultations. We contend that the selection meeting on 7/14 was still in the sales process, a process where we are deciding to hire Portofino Tile based on the selections we could obtain. We do not feel the meeting was a consultation and should not be billed as such. He uses strong arm tactics like sending us a bill 20 days later and stating they will deduct this fee from a signed contract amount.Desired SettlementWe simply want the invoice null and void with no payment due. Business Response /[redacted]/Classic CUSTOMER strong arm tactic of retaliation for being billed for services rendered that they do not wish to pay for. 1. My process is three steps, which is clearly stated at the time we set the first step up. First step is a home visit for photos and measurements. Second step is the showroom visit for a consultation which involves me reviewing the project, creating a concept, and giving a price to do the job prior to the clients departure. There is no obligation at that time for the client. The Third step is the client has agreed to hire me, and then I prepare 2 to 3 pages of drawings using a drawing program (so when printed out is on 11" x 17" paper"), and then the client comes to the showroom for the selection process at which time the detail are completed and written on the drawings, customer is to sign the contract at that meeting. There is NO gray area here. That is how I operate and how I do it with over 2M is annual sales, each and every time.Here is the truth of what really happened:Husband came to showroom without his wife on April 18, 2015. First red flag. 95% of decisions in my business are made by the wife. I advised him at the first "Free Estimate" meeting upon arrival, that I did not wish to continue without his wife present, as I do not do this step twice; unless I am paid. He advised me that his wife was leaving it up to him as she traveled with her job and was too busy. He would be the one making the decisions. I tool what he said at face value, and agreed to move forward with the "Free Estimate" visit. At the end of the "Free Estimate" visit he was provided a cost to do the job. I asked if he wished to schedule the contract signing visit, and he told me he would have to discuss it with his wife and get back to me. Subsequent follow up calls, I was told his wife was going to meet with a decorator at their home to discuss colors, etc., and once that process was complete he would have an answer on moving forward with a contract. After contacting him in June, he told me that he wanted to hire me. I advised him that that meeting would be selection and contract signing day. I would prepare the drawings (which take several hours to prepare) and as the selections were made I would write then down on the drawings, print them out when completed, and they would sign the contract at that meeting. No gray area here. He agreed to that meeting scheduled for 7.14.15 at 2:00 pm. I advised him the typical process for selections is approximately 1 hour. Meeting day, a decorator arrived before Mr. ** and his wife. I do not work with decorators with a client. Like two cooks in the kitchen. I have been designing bathrooms for 36 years, and guide my clients through all selections of products, colors etc, in my extensive showroom. I have done over 10M in bathrooms in my career. I told the decorator of my process, and proceeded with meeting once the [redacted] arrived. Prior to starting the meeting, I once again advised them that today was selection and contract signing day. No gray area once again. Had they advised me that regardless of selecting everything, that they would not sign that day, I would not have proceeded for another minute. I am not an unpaid consultant. They agreed an we moved forward. I selected all the products and guided Mrs. [redacted] with what I recommended for her based upon my experience and what she expressed she had an interest in. I did that withing 15 minutes of starting the meeting. The decorator dragged it on for 3 hours. In the end, what did Mrs. [redacted] go with for products? Everything I selected for her. The decorator left, I finished the final touches on the drawings, printed the drawing and the contract out and presented them to the [redacted] to sign. It was then that Mrs. said she wanted to sleep on it. My reaction was stern, as that was not the deal. They were there to sign a contract, that was clear and concise prior to starting that meeting. They never mentioned they wanted to "read" the contract. That is BS. I go over the entire contract prior to signing. The decision to hire me was already made prior to this meeting. They used my time, and it is not free at that point, they deceived me into spending time with them outside of how I operate. I was abundantly clear about the process, and it states this on my website. Do you know Architects, Interior Designers or Decorators who work for free? I don't work for free either.Mrs. was not happy with my then disgruntled attitude, rightfully so, and continued to ask "don't I get a copy of your designs to take home" Seriously? I refused. I reminded them that that was not the arrangement. They left, and I said I would call them in the morning. I did, no decision. I gave them more time, and as a week to two weeks transpired, they stopped answering my calls. A high profile business like mine, I have to be careful of people using my company as a "reference point" to gauge what the job should cost, and also to "steal" my ideas, and either do the job themselves, of perhaps if they had the design in hand, they could use the contacts the decorator might have and try to use my experience and designs without cost, and proceed on their own. They were sent an invoice for my time, which is have of what I earn hourly (verifiable). They don't want to pay for professional services. Plain and simple. I will continue now to take this to small claims court for non-payment of professional services and let a Magistrate decide. I'm sure they paid the decorator for her services, I expect to be paid for mine. This is a blatant act of retaliation to try and blemish my stellar reputation. Including with the Revdex.com. Go to my website and read my reviews..."liars figure, figures don't lie" as they say.Consumer Response /[redacted]/The response is not totally accurate. I never told them my wife travels and it is my decision about the remodeling. Secondly, he never discussed with us that this meeting would be charged for if we did not sign the contract that day. Portofino is making it out to be we were in it to steal his ideas, not true. We were in good faith meeting with him, it is not a clear as he makes it out that he charges for his meetings. We are not using his company as a reference point, we were meeting with him to see if what he was offering was what we wanted to buy. His way of business does not work with our way of buying. We did not just want to read over the contracts, we wanted to mull over if Portofino is offering in product and service what we wanted to buy.Final Business Response /[redacted]/I shall offer a reduction in cost of my professional services to $295.00 to avoid the time to go to court and have a Magistrate decide. This offer is good through Sept. 4, 2015. If payment is not received by that date, I shall proceed with legal action and the associated costs.

Portofino Tile helped me with my bathroom remodel. They were willing to listen to my ideas and make suggestions. Everything was done on-time with the highest quality finishes. I would highly recommend them to anyone who is looking for the master bathroom of their dreams!