Stone Source Inc

I am rejecting this response because the information was not true. She led my husband and I out to the warehouse and showed slabs out there. At that time never were we shown the plain tiles in a drawer. She told us she was a designer with years experience. We looked at quite a few. We looked at some and she veto them. She showed some and we said no. Now I realize those wouldn't have been any better. When we said we like the one we chose she said that would look good. Never was the word loved ever used. She did not go over the contract. I did sign. Like I read to late from another customer I should have read the fine print. When it was installed it looked horrible. They broke the large piece and the small piece was on the wall. I called and asked seeing that they had to redo the large piece could I change colors. I told them I had to know asap because the small piece had glue and would have to come down asap. She called back and said yes I could after someone had talked to the installer. When Natalie got back she said you have to pay for the new color. That is not what was inferred. If I was paying full price I wouldn't have to have permission. Natalie talked to someone and told us to come in on Oct 5th and see about picking out a new color. They would work something out and wanted me happy. My husband and relator went in and picked a new one. She did say it had to be ordered but no price was given or we should choose a in stock item. I said I am sure that because it is quartz it is more expensiveShe said not necessarily. She would get back to me on Monday. Finally late Monday I called and she said she had to have it okayed by the VP and that wouldn't happen until Tuesday and she should have called me.. On Tuesday I talked to Natalie and she said all they would give me was dollars off because that is what it would cost them to cut my new piece. She said it didn't matter what I picked that is all they would give me. I asked three times to talk to the VP who made the decision and finally said call the main number and ask for Lenny. He isn't the VP according to the web site he is owner and president. I called Oct 12th and left message and e-mail him Oct 16th. Finally in the late afternoon Monday I hadn't heard a response so went on with this complaint. If it only cost dollars to remake the large piece how come I paid for it. If the piece hadn't broken and I hadn't been told I could change colors this would not be their fault except Natalie presented herself as a designer and told lies through every conversation after she got the sale

Our client wrote in a email to us " It isn't visible to others, but we'll always know it is there"
Our client signed a contract with Stone Source for the granite that we installed in there homeOur contract clearly states that there are repairs that may need to be done to the stone during
fabrication or at installationA repair was needed during this installationThis is in our contract for a reason as repairing stone on site is industry standardWe would never want a customer to expect anything differentWe correct these issues & don't discount our workWe make it rightThe customer told us it isn't visible to others

I am rejecting this response because:
Thank you *** for your efforts.I attached a picture of the granite on our wall that Stone Source says is bookmatched. That is what I am showing people to discourage them from using Stone Source for any of the remodel work - just so *** knows. Thank you and have a good day

Stone is repaired all the time. From the time it goes from quarry to factory where it is cut into slabs & polished, to arriving at our warehouse, after fabrication, and after installation. We have often repaired slabs that we sell, counters that are installed, even have repairs in our own showroom displays. This is the industry standard and you can check with the Marble Institute of America of which we are a member. Repair is perfectly acceptable in the industry if it is unnoticeable. MIA - http://www.marble-institute.com/consumers/. See the homeowners guide to countertop installation. Page 9 refers to repair of cracks.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/12/16) */
I would like to see a copy of your invoice as I cannot find anyone with your name, phone number, address in my system and have no records of this supposed installation on the 14/15th.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2015/12/22)...

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(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
Stone Source installed a backsplash. Thank you for making it right.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/05/13) */
[redacted] purchased on a radio auction a certificate for $2500. She then signed a contract for countertops. In this contract - it states "You have furnished the job measurements & selected the options from which we have estimated your...

stone requirements & cost, and you have reviewed & approved the estimate. The cost includes the stone, cutting the stone to fit straight counter lengths only, cutting for & mounting certain sinks & cooktops, finishing of cut edges, & installation of the stone. Backsplashes are not included in the cost unless specified in the invoice. If you require additional material for your job than material specified in your invoice, the additional material & installation costs will be added." When [redacted] provided her original dimensions in order to receive an estimate via email - the drawing she gave does not show a upper bar piece behind her countertop. It has text stating "contiguous shelf/counter in front of the counter - from which any person looking at the drawing would deduct that it referred only to the countertop drawn. I attached a copy of this drawing. The material she purchased we were in short supply of - the day it was sold we looked at the project, determined it would work, and moved forward with the sale. We arranged a field measure for her and set up an install date as well. After the measure when we reviewed her job - we realized that the upper bar was not in her estimate, and that we did not have enough material to complete the upper bar as a seamless piece. Our contract also states that all counters have seams, and that seam placement is at our discretion". Regardless, we sent [redacted] the layout for approval, the layout is attached as well. She stated that she would like to have the upper bar as a seamless piece. For this we informed her that she would need to pick a different material for the upper bar, or a different material alltogether. While this wasn't ideal for her, she agreed to come look at stones that might coordinate. The issue became that she does not think she should have to pay for the additional square footage (sf) she is wanting installed. The upper bar is an additional 14sf that she feels she is entitled to. She signed a contract based on her square footage that she reviewed, approved, and we allocated that material. We were limited on this material..so if it we had known about the bar top before her job was started our response would be the same as it is today. She still would have had to pay the additional for the top, she still would have to choose a different option to make the upper bar top seamless.
We have sent over multiple estimates with different options and updated information and tried to resolve this - however she simply does not want to pay for material she wants to have installed. We too would rather not work with someone who simply wants something for free, but we already have significant costs.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/05/27) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I will be going forward with the installation of countertop minus the bar as I don't really have any other choice. The crux of the matter is two fold. 1. I had no idea that StoneSource didn't include the bar in the originally estimate and had I not objected to a seam being placed in the middle of the bar I wouldn't have been notified that I now owed them an additional $700+. 2. When I "signed the contract" I signed in good faith that the company was reputable. As a reputable company I would have expected that when the measurements exceeded what they originally thought I would have received a call questioning what happened and that there was going to be a substantial increase in price. Thankfully the seam brought about conversation which led to me learning that they didn't know about the bar. Regardless, I accept that Stone Source assumes no responsibility in the error or the lack of communication regarding the fact that after measuring it was discovered an oversight or lack of communication in what I wanted, the result being an increase in the amount of money that would be about 1/3 more than I had originally planned. I will go forward with the work but I am absolutely not satisfied with Stone Sources response or business practices.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/05/29) */
The customer was notified about the seam placement and the increase in sf AT THE SAME TIME. They did receive a call/email about what happened as soon as we had the opportunity to review all their paperwork.
It is very clear in the contract that the customer is responsible for paying for the sf that is installed.
Regardless, we don't want to work with someone who is clearly unreasonable and we will not be moving forward with the project. We are giving them a refund for the charges on our end, despite excessive costs we incurred. We just spoke to [redacted] directly on the phone and told her this, and she was happy and thanked us for doing that. We also spoke to the radio station that offered the gift certificate and they also agreed to refund the amount paid.

The customer came in and wanted to select a slab to coordinate in her existing kitchen. She was looking for a full height backslash to go with her quartz countertop. She looked at material with Natalie initially, then later came in with her husband and they both loved the Calacatta Vagli stone....

Natalie rang her up, went over our paperwork, all of which is attached. Natalie was not their designer, was never even in the customer's home and is not responsible for making a decision.  The selections that Natalie had suggested the couple declined, but they both fell in love with the Calacatta Vagli. The customer came in and nested the material - which means she selected exactly how it would layout with our production manager.When we went to install the material, we broke one of the pieces. Our recourse is to cut a new piece and set a new installation date. BUT when we were installing it, she also decided that now she hated the way it looked and is putting the blame on our salesperson Natalie for a "poor design choice". The customer selected the pieces, and chose a product they loved. They now regret their choice.She came in to select new material, the new material is not something that we stock, we priced it out for her and discounted it since we had broken a piece and because she was not happy with her choice. We have large selection of material that we import, and we gear our customers towards those as they are the best value. To buy an entire slab to remake a small piece, is something that costs us a lot of money, and we priced it accordingly.She was not happy with the discount that was offered and is trying to come up with any excuse not to take responsibility for her selections. If she selected a replacement out of our in-stock material, we could provide her with a larger discount.Attached are the contract, nesting paperwork, measure paperwork, etc that she signed off on before we cut her stone.

I am rejecting this response because:
As per other reviewers with problems from Stone Source, we have seen that they have shown no ownership for any problems that have incurred.  We feel they are being untruthful and unprofessional.  We are disputing the fact that we had to pay an extra $300 to get our $2700+ counter to look nice!  So many things went wrong with our install and we have received no compensation for them!     The picture of the nesting they wanted to fabricate out of the remaining piece of granite looked horrible!  The two pieces came together with no flow and the pattern actually was chopped with different colors from one to the next.  Of course we were not going to settle on an expensive counter that looked like that! We have the email from Cora that happily tells us the counter could be done seamless!  It was never our fault that it broke during fabrication.  We should not be obligated to piece together two totally choppy pieces.     The lazy susan was a gift which we didn't ask for.  But, since it now has a price tag attached we might as well be reimbursed the $175 as well.  To this day they still haven’t acknowledged that the install guys did not have enough help in removing the counter and sink.  Let me be clear-they were STRUGGLING to remove them!  They were standing there wondering how they were going to get it out.  My father saw this and offered to help.  Clearly if he wasn’t there they COULD NOT have done it.  Why do they not take ownership for this and also for the fact that the install guys were going to leave without taking the old counter and sink with them and when my father happened to notice and told them, they proceeded to argue? Talk about unprofessional!  The install guys also were asking where the sink holes should be drilled.  Per my discussion with the measurer it was written on the template and they were going to be pre-drilled.  I had to insist that they had the template somewhere and they should go off that.  The guy finally said that it’s probably in the truck and went to get it.  The attached email by Jeremy tells about the problem with the counter not being installed correctly with the sink.     Again, this is where they are being untruthful and unprofessional.  The nesting shows the backsplash seamless!  Cora never discussed a seam with us!  As mentioned already Cora said it should have been hidden behind the faucet if the fabricators felt it needed one.  See the attached email that was sent to Cora regarding this as well.  As mentioned, I sent the picture that shows the seam to the left of the faucet in plain site per Cora’s request but never received any acknowledgement or resolution regarding this.     After Cora clearly was not going to take care of our issues we attempted to take this to the next level, the owners.  It is false when they state they returned all emails and phone calls!  We have never heard back from Reena or Lenny after multiple attempts.

HI [redacted],   First of all I'm sorry for the lack of response. [redacted] apparently did not see this in his emails.    This customer we did have problems getting their job completed correctly the first time around at each step, but Cora was in touch with her every step of the way. We...

arranged dates with them, and coordinated the job to completion. And the finished product is the bookmatched layout that they wanted.   While I understand that this caused some delay, all the issues were promptly addressed and the job was completed as planned. We do not compensate for "extra time spent" - the customer understands in their contract with us that they are acting as a general contractor.      Thanks,

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Again, Stone Source is not accepting responsibility for the reason the corner was broken. It was not cracked during fabrication, it was broken upon installation when the installer hit it against another piece.
I strongly disagree with your above statement: "Our contract clearly states that there are repairs that may need to be done to the stone during fabrication or at installation. A repair was needed during this installation."
Wording taken directly from the contract we signed: Many stones contain natural cracks & fissures, and may be prone to crack during fabrication. These cracks may be filled prior to or after fabrication and installation.
Our stone was cracked upon installation, not during fabrication. It wasn't just cracked, a piece was broken off.
Yes, I did state that it isn't visible to others, but we know it's there. I feel we deserve compensation for the fact that the product we ordered and paid in full to you, was broken by one of your installers.
I find it hard to believe that this is industry standard, treating customers this way.
If a customer browsing in your stone warehouse area accidentally breaks a corner off of a slab that has already been purchased by somebody, would it be okay because you could just epoxy it back on and the repair wouldn't be visible to the customer who already bought that slab?