Whalen Custom Homes

The customers statement is misleading I have an email communication (October 5th) with the customer explaining the timeline for addressing each item He has agreed to this timeline via emailThe customer has been informed that the sink has been ordered (even though we were able to get the stain in question removed) As soon as the sink arrives, we will contact the customer to schedule a time to replace Customer was made aware that the sink could take weeks to arrive Per the customers approval, we will be replacing the damaged casing when we come to replace the sink The shower door water repellant has been ordered The nails above the garage have been fixed The customer stated in an email that the paint on the driveway was taken care of by one of our service men but just today informed us that it was still visible We are happy to go back and address on Monday We were unable to find the sunken area of the driveway so for a second time have requested the customer to please mark the spot so we can address We will revisit this on Monday as well All service items are underway and will be complete as soon as parts arriveI just spoke with the customer and he confirmed that he was aware that all items are in the process of being addressed and that he was aware of the timeline that we agreed upon via email on October 5th

Customer Service is a priority for Whalen Custom Homes and this case is no exception We regret that this customer is dissatisfied with our customer service despite the fact that we have met our contractual obligations under the warranty and have at times gone above our obligations in an effort to satisfy themIn accordance with our 2-Home Builders Warranty, we have provided the customer with their day and month walk through and have met with them several additional times to address their warrantable items In addition, we have addressed some concerns of the customer that are not covered under warranty, including: replacing a functioning hot water heater at our expense to alleviate a hard water concern, assisting in their pool installation when their contractor failed to follow proper procedures after closing, and returning to the home to address paint and drywall concerns after we had already addressed these items and the customer signed off that they were satisfied with the work the first time around We respectfully dispute the assertion that we have not responded to our customer's concerns in a timely manner We have done our best to complete the service work quickly We have at times postponed service work at the customer's request to accommodate the customer's schedule.We do hold this customer in the highest regard While we believe we addressed their concerns in accordance with the terms of our contract and the 2-warranty, we have reached out to the customer upon receipt of this complaint and have agreed to complete this remaining requests He has agreed in turn to withdraw his complaint with the Revdex.com upon completion of the work When we spoke with the customer he did acknowledge that he did not have a full understanding of some of the warranty terms and procedures prior to making this complaint The outstanding items we will complete are:-Water repelling coating seems to have worn off shower doors-Paint on driveway-Sinking pavers on driveway near sidewalk-Kitchen sink has a white haze-Replace a piece of casing around breakfast room entry-Nails sticking out and painted over in front of house along garage entranceWe look forward to moving forward and maintaing a positive relationship with this customer

We understand that the customer is withholding his withdrawal of the original complaint until all of the work is completed to his satisfaction.  We agree to that arrangement.  However, his previous communication via this thread implied that we have made a limited effort to satisfy his concerns.  He said that we only ordered a sink and fixed nails.  We want to clarify for the record that all work has either been completed, ordered, or scheduled.  This has been communicated to the customer and he has approved this plan and time line via email.  We look forward to completing the work asap and having the complaint withdrawn at that time.

The customers statement is misleading.  I have an email communication (October 5th) with the customer explaining the timeline for addressing each item.  He has agreed to this timeline via email. The customer has been informed that the sink has been ordered (even though we were able to get the stain in question removed).  As soon as the sink arrives, we will contact the customer to schedule a time to replace.  Customer was made aware that the sink could take weeks to arrive.  Per the customers approval, we will be replacing the damaged casing when we come to replace the sink.  The shower door water repellant has been ordered.  The nails above the garage have been fixed.  The customer stated in an email that the paint on the driveway was taken care of by one of our service men but just today informed us that it was still visible.  We are happy to go back and address on Monday.  We were unable to find the sunken area of the driveway so for a second time have requested the customer to please mark the spot so we can address.  We will revisit this on Monday as well.  All service items are underway and will be complete as soon as parts arrive. I just spoke with the customer and he confirmed that he was aware that all items are in the process of being addressed and that he was aware of the timeline that we agreed upon via email on October 5th.

Customer Service is a priority for Whalen Custom Homes and this case is no exception.  We regret that this customer is dissatisfied with...

our customer service despite the fact that we have met our contractual obligations under the warranty and have at times gone above our obligations in an effort to satisfy them.
 
In accordance with our 2-10 Home Builders Warranty, we have provided the customer with their 60 day and 11 month walk through and have met with them several additional times to address their warrantable items.  In addition, we have addressed some concerns of the customer that are not covered under warranty, including: replacing a functioning hot water heater at our expense to alleviate a hard water concern, assisting in their pool installation when their contractor failed to follow proper procedures after closing, and returning to the home to address paint and drywall concerns after we had already addressed these items and the customer signed off that they were satisfied with the work the first time around.  
We respectfully dispute the assertion that we have not responded to our customer's concerns in a timely manner.  We have done our best to complete the service work quickly.  We have at times postponed service work at the customer's request to accommodate the customer's schedule.
We do hold this customer in the highest regard.  While we believe we addressed their concerns in accordance with the terms of our contract and the 2-10 warranty, we have reached out to the customer upon receipt of this complaint and have agreed to complete this remaining requests.  He has agreed in turn to withdraw his complaint with the Revdex.com upon completion of the work.  When we spoke with the customer he did acknowledge that he did not have a full understanding of some of the warranty terms and procedures prior to making this complaint.  The outstanding items we will complete are:
-Water repelling coating seems to have worn off shower doors
-Paint on driveway
-Sinking pavers on driveway near sidewalk
-Kitchen sink has a white haze
-Replace a piece of casing around breakfast room entry
-Nails sticking out and painted over in front of house along garage entrance
We look forward to moving forward and maintaing a positive relationship with this customer.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and agree to remove the complaint once the items are satisfactorily completed.  
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:I clearly stated in my previous correspondence that I would agree to closing the complaint once all items were completed to our satisfaction. By accepting the first response, it appears the case was closed without the list being completed. We have communicated with the builder and acknowledge/appreciate some items have been addressed.  I would like this to remain open until we have everything completed due to past concerns over communications. I realize items have to be ordered and will need to be installed which could take some time. Once everything is completed to our satisfaction, I will agree to removing the complaint.  
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
I clearly stated in my previous correspondence that I would agree to closing the complaint once all items were completed to our satisfaction. By accepting the first response, it appears the case was closed without the list being completed. 
We have communicated with the builder and acknowledge/appreciate some items have been addressed.  I would like this to remain open until we have everything completed due to past concerns over communications. I realize items have to be ordered and will need to be installed which could take some time. Once everything is completed to our satisfaction, I will agree to removing the complaint.  
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Customer Service is a priority for Whalen Custom Homes and this case is no exception.  We regret that this customer is dissatisfied with our customer service despite the fact that we have met our contractual obligations under the warranty and have at times gone above our obligations in an...

effort to satisfy them. In accordance with our 2-10 Home Builders Warranty, we have provided the customer with their 60 day and 11 month walk through and have met with them several additional times to address their warrantable items.  In addition, we have addressed some concerns of the customer that are not covered under warranty, including: replacing a functioning hot water heater at our expense to alleviate a hard water concern, assisting in their pool installation when their contractor failed to follow proper procedures after closing, and returning to the home to address paint and drywall concerns after we had already addressed these items and the customer signed off that they were satisfied with the work the first time around.  We respectfully dispute the assertion that we have not responded to our customer's concerns in a timely manner.  We have done our best to complete the service work quickly.  We have at times postponed service work at the customer's request to accommodate the customer's schedule.We do hold this customer in the highest regard.  While we believe we addressed their concerns in accordance with the terms of our contract and the 2-10 warranty, we have reached out to the customer upon receipt of this complaint and have agreed to complete this remaining requests.  He has agreed in turn to withdraw his complaint with the Revdex.com upon completion of the work.  When we spoke with the customer he did acknowledge that he did not have a full understanding of some of the warranty terms and procedures prior to making this complaint.  The outstanding items we will complete are:-Water repelling coating seems to have worn off shower doors-Paint on driveway-Sinking pavers on driveway near sidewalk-Kitchen sink has a white haze-Replace a piece of casing around breakfast room entry-Nails sticking out and painted over in front of house along garage entranceWe look forward to moving forward and maintaing a positive relationship with this customer.

We regret that our efforts to address our clients’ concerns have not been satisfactory.  Our clients have a 2-10 Warranty on their home which explicitly identifies warrantable items and details the processes and procedures for addressing warrantable items. Ground water infiltration is not a...

warrantable item.  Nonetheless, we have exercised our best efforts to address all our clients’ concerns in accordance with and above and beyond our Contract, warranty, and warranty period.  There have been no reported warranty claims under our client’s warranty policy.  We remain committed to working with our clients to address their concerns to the extent possible.  The following is a brief response to the complaint:1.)    Our clients have experienced excessive ground water infiltration during excessive rains.  It should be noted that St. Louis has experienced two 100 year flood events over the past four years.  It should also be noted that our clients had another contractor construct a large covered patio (650 square feet) and a large swimming pool (400 square feet) with a concrete apron after their home was built.  This additional construction changed the grade and nature of the back yard and greatly increased the area of impervious surface.  These features reduced the area of natural rain water absorption and have exacerbated the problem.  We are investigating whether, or not proper permits and subdivision approvals were obtained for this work.  We have received no information from the covered patio or pool contractor regarding the scope of work they performed within the areas of concern.  Still, upon learning of the issue, we had our waterproofing contractor inspect their drainage and sump system.  The system was installed correctly and was performing in good order.  This is the limit of what we are required to do under our warranty commitment.  Despite this limitation, we made multiple attempts, at our expense, to improve the situation and even installed an additional sump pit and pump.  We also had our geotechnical engineer review the site.  Subterranean water issues are not something a builder can control (especially under record rain fall conditions) nor are they issues covered under warranty.  We can only do our best to take steps to mitigate the concern.  We have continued to work in good faith with our client to help them but we are unable to provide an exact date for repair as there are many variables involved.2.)   It should be noted that our clients’ complaint about drainage was not listed on any of their original warranty item lists.  Again, this is an issue we have made several attempts to correct to their satisfaction.  We have re-graded and re-sodded the areas of concern.  We have recently engaged another grading/sod company to review the area for an alternative solution. This complaint was filed before we obtained any feedback from the other company.  This issue is not a warrantable item.  Our efforts to help our client are out of courtesy and not contractual or warranty obligation. We have received hundreds of emails from our client since they purchased their home over four years ago.  We have records of each timely response and scores of work orders executed to attempt to address each of their concerns to their satisfaction (regardless of whether or not the concern was covered under warranty).  We remain committed to work with our client to help address their concerns. We feel this complaint is unfounded in fact.  We understand our client is frustrated with certain conditions.  These are conditions which are natural occurrences.  They are not the result of negligence or inadequate performance on the part of our company. We have spent tremendous time and financial resources trying to help resolve problems we did not create.  We have gone above and beyond to try to help our clients.  Given the opportunity, we will continue to do so.  We will provide the Revdex.com with all our warranty documentation, work orders, invoices, and client correspondence.  This documentation will clearly demonstrate our good faith efforts to address our clients’ concerns in an ethical, courteous and professional manner.Respectfully, [redacted]
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