The Carpet Studio Inc

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2016/04/18) */
The scope of this installation included: furniture moving, removal and disposal of existing flooring, preparing all areas for new flooring, installation of new flooring in 3 rooms and closets, halls and 2 sets of stairs, and finishing work to...

the stairs and stringers. Luxury Vinyl Plank was selected and installed, with any concerns brought forward being addressed within industry standards.
At the time of this installation, one of bathrooms located adjacent to the flooring we installed had existing tile on the floor but some tiles were loose, so it was determined that the customer would need to reset those tiles before the transition could be successfully installed. In the other adjacent bathroom, the customer was going to install his own tile but hadn't completed the work by the time the installation of the Luxury Vinyl Plank was scheduled to begin. Had the work in these two bathrooms been properly completed, our installer could have successfully installed the transitions in question.
While other transitions are available, installation of the selected type of transition is included in the installation service at no extra charge, if they can be installed when the crew is already on site. It is standard protocol that if work cannot be completed due to insufficient site conditions or issues that are the responsibility of the purchaser, that when the work can be completed there is a minimum service charge of $175 to have the installer return to the jobsite. The fee is not charged if the item could have been completed at the time of the initial installation, which in this case, it could not. Therefore, this is not an item that the customer has paid for or should be reimbursed for. It does not, in any way relate the fee for installing the transitions (as there wasn't one) nor the number of transitions needing to be installed, therefore the customer's extrapolation is irrelevant.
Since the customer did not have the tile work in the bathrooms complete, he asked the installer if he could put the transitions in after the tile work was complete, and the installer's response was correct - yes, of course we can come back and install it - we wouldn't tell a client that we cannot provide a service we both know we are qualified to perform. It is normal in this industry to have items exposed at time of installation that need to be resolved, the loose tiles in the bathroom that needed to be addressed are an example of this. Charges for additional trips to the jobsite to complete work are not uncommon in many trades. As it was, both our sales person and our installer went over and above, in some aspects, to assist the customer along the way and appease the concerns. According to the installer, the fee for returning was mentioned at the time. The installer said he then cut the transitions to size for him and showed him how to install them, which shows that he did as much as he could to complete the task.
It is completely up to the customer whether they would like the transitions installed or not. We would be happy to send an installer out for the indicated minimum service charge amount. Otherwise, all work that was charged for on the Sales Agreement has been completed, in addition to the items brought to our attention that were areas of concern at the time of installation. This customer was also provided with a complimentary mop and cleaning kit, which normally sells for $65.60.
In terms of the communication, the customer was out of the country beginning in September. We didn't know when he would be returning. Our office was open over the holidays, except on the statutory holidays and days in lieu. Records indicate that our first communication received from this customer after his return was phone calls in mid-January, in which the fee was re-iterated and an email on January 19. Due to the time gap since the installation took place, the inquiry was sent to the service department the same day. The service department did an investigation of the scope and happenings of this job to more accurately respond to the inquiry. The customer was contacted with a response on February 2nd, 2016, and again on February 9, 2016 when he indicated that he had not received the response on February 2nd. Our sales person and service department have not received any communications from this customer following that date.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 10, 2016/04/21) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
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Several items of disagreement:
1) there were never loose tiles in the one bathroom, so that excuse was invalid
2) we were never told that there was a time limit on tiling the other bathroom, and the additional cost therein; or we would not have started the initial installation
3) we were never told by the installer that there would be an additional charge to return to install the transitions later. The mention of "standard protocol" would not be known by the consumer. We were not aware of the additional charge until the January email.
4) the installer never cut the transitions to size for us nor showed us how to install them
5) if the mop was complimentary, why mention the cost. Mop was given because there were many streaks on the flooring.
6) the salesperson and installer did address some of our concerns but not over and above what is expected from any business
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