Woodside Homes of California, Inc.

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*** ** *** Dear Mrs*** I am receipt of your letter regarding the new home you purchased at Dakota in Audie Murphy RanchI just received the letter today
and while I had been told of your dissatisfaction with your Tub/Shower combo enclosure I was not brought up to speed until just recently of the other issues I’ve read the complaint filed with the Revdex.com and if that complaint is complete, I believe I have a reasonable idea of the issue you have and will do my best to offer my assistance to resolving those issues First and foremost, let me apologize on behalf on Woodside Homes for any non-response to any phone call that were made to our officesI’ve run a backcheck to my extension and I do not believe I have any calls from the numbers that I was given as yours nor were there any messages left for me that I could pull up from you, regardless, I still apologize on behalf of Woodside Homes for your inconvenience and the failure of one of our team members to not call you back especially after four attempts to reach themSometimes a call could be missed or a message left for the wrong extension but four unanswered calls would make me angry tooWithout question I’ve been informed by our sales team that you are through with verbal communication and would prefer instead to have communication in writingHence, I am writing you this letter I know the tub enclosure is a big issue with you so I will address that last Most of the items you’ve called out such as a crack in a door frame, broken window in a bedroom, crack in a pantry door, light switches and plug outlets not being flush or even being crooked are very typical during construction and all those items are pick up work done when the house nears completionThe main reason is because construction is not done with the home yetIt’s still an active construction zone and broken windows if repaired may break againTrades come back to do the finish work when the home is in the final stages of constructionThat is the most efficient way to complete the home and it reduces the chance of damage to finished work caused by one trade doing first install another doing final finishEach trade does his final finish at the same time and all items called out by the superintendent are completed at that time Trash on a worksite is unfortunately part of the headache we have in constructionMany of the trades are paid by the amount of work they complete as opposed to being paid hourlyFor that reason, they will often eat their lunch while they work to maximize amount of work they do in one dayTo be honest, that may be the best solution to keep them on site working instead of going off site for lunch and maybe not coming back that dayWe have receptacles for them to put their trash away but we often see the food wrappers, cups and plastic bottles on the site until we can get them cleaned up Beer cans and beer bottles are a completely different storyThey are not allowed on site and any sub caught with beer on site would be kicked off the site and potentially fired I’ve been in this industry for a long time and while I know that some trades will grab a beer after work and some will bring it back to the site when they’ve finished their work, I’ve never seen a sub drink while they were workingThat wousuicide to themselves and their companyThey would be terminated on the spot and never allowed back on a Woodside work site againThey would be a danger to themselves and to others around them and the other trades would bring it to the attention of the supervisor of the trade and the field superintendent I’ve not seen your pictures and while I acknowledge it could have been an “After work couple of beers when the boss has gone home” gathering (Which we try to prevent), it could have also been people not associated with the Woodside nor our subs, just trying to find a nice quiet place to have a couple of beers togetherUnlocked homes are unfortunately a magnet to young adults, vagrants and someone looking for a place to lay low from interruptionsI have personally caught a couple homeless people staying in some of our production homes at night to get away from the elements. It’s something we hate to see and I wish it didn’t happen but unfortunately it does happen occasionallyNot just at Woodside but at other home builders work sites tooWe often use some of the same sub-contractors as other home builders in the areaIf it’s happening to us it’s happening to them too. Lastly is your tubWhile I understand your anxiousness over the hole in the tub, the industry fix and the recommended fix by the manufacturer is to re-glass the damaged areaThe tub is made of a high-quality fiberglassIt’s a manmade product that if you want a bigger tub you just put in more fiberglassThere no break issues like there are with stone or natural materialsIt can be broken up and the pieces can be remade into a new tub. I had a corvette with a fiberglass body(I believe all corvettes come in fiberglass) My neighbor backed into the side of my car and I was distraughtThe car was worth a substantial amount of money and now there was this big crack in the quarter panelThe main body of the corvette was one big piece of fiberglassI took it to the Chevy dealer and he said no problemThey would just re-glass the broken part and it would be as good as newAnd when they finished it was. My point here is that’s the way they fix fiberglassMy boat, my car, your shower and tub I understand your feeling it’s not a new tub but a fixed one but the difference is in the way they fix the tub as it’s the same way the make the tub in the factoryThe manufacturer sends out a repair person and the job is done on siteThe repair is seamless and unless you knew where the hole was there, you’d never have guessed it was doneThat’s why they offer a three-year warranty instead of a one year. I believe this has moved from a physical condition of the home that will be where you want it to be as the home nears completion, to a very personal issue of you being unhappy with the solutions you’ve seen up to nowThe belief that your home will fall apart because it wasn’t built properly is not a reasonable thing to believe but it is understandable based on what I read in your letter. Woodside does not want you to be unhappy with your home and have you think that the home is unproperly constructed because we wouldn’t change out your tub. Based on that, if you are really that unhappy with the purchase and would rather cancel then continue, I will direct escrow to fully refund your earnest money deposits to you and cancel our agreement in its entirety I can’t change what’s happened and I regret any missed steps our team has takenWe would prefer you be a content home buyer but if that’s not possible, we want you to feel you can move on with any further obligation to Woodside Homes. I thank You for your time. David LopezDirector of Sales and MarketingWoodside Homes Southern California Division

I am rejecting this response because:
We received a reply from the Sales Director of Woodside and he is assuring us that the bathtub will be repaired, not replaced, to 100% satisfaction as if there was never a grapefruit sized hole cut in the wall.  I would still like to request a credit be given to our closing costs for the insulting customer service and unprofessional work practices that have been going on for 3 months.     Thank you,  [redacted]

Dear Miriam CarmonaI am in receipt of your letter regarding the complaint filed by [redacted] assigned ID 12194259. I am responding to the complaint as requested.I first became aware of an issue with Miss [redacted] on Monday June 12th, 2017. I was notified by our sales team that Miss [redacted]...

had some issues with her purchase and needed to have them resolved. I resolved the issue at hand and it looked like it would work out but it's elevated nowA Bullet Point summary of the events can be described as follows;1.) Miss [redacted] had purchased a home with her fiance at Dakota and this was her very first home.2.) Miss [redacted] had visited our model home community Dakota, while we were selling our second release of homes. Miss [redacted] had all the literature from that phase release. In that second phase release, we were installing ceiling lights in the loft are of the plan four home as standard feature.3.) In the Phase Three release Woodside changed the ceiling lights in the loft from standard to optional because it wasn't standard in any of the other home plans that had loft areas and sales said it was confusing for the buyers.4.) Miss [redacted] came back and purchased a home in our phase three release. She never mentioned the can lights and the sales team didn't realize the expected the lights as a standard feature. After the home was drywalled, Miss [redacted] brought the issue to the attention of our sales team and construction. Construction said the lights were not standard and she would have to pay for them if she wanted them. 5.) Sales brought the issue to my attention and I decided that we would go ahead and install the lighting in the loft at no charge since Miss [redacted] believed them to be a standard feature when she brought the home and no one knew to tell her different. I put the order in. 6.) Sales informed me that there were a few other issues but that the installation of the lighting would probably solve them.7.) I instructed the sales team to give Miss [redacted] my number and for her to call me if there was anything further that needed discussion.8.) Miss [redacted] never called but did send an email which went directly to my mail clutter as I get 80 to 100 hundred emails a day and the system didn't know who the sender was. I get around 400 emails a week and unknowns go to spam.9.) When I heard about Miss [redacted]s additional issues, I set a meeting with Miss [redacted] and her fiance. Miss [redacted]'s mother joined us to discuss the issue. I was briefed from the sales team what the other issues were and discussed them with all parties involved on the Woodside team. 10.) Miss [redacted] had an issued with a bathroom that she had optioned to not have a shower in. The problem was the location of the toilet in that bathroom and a wall she wanted built next to the toilet. She also had a problem with a location of a cable outlet in the master bedroom and a problem with the location of standard tile in the entry. An lastly she had a problem with a built-in fireplace surround in the family room. I will take these issues one by one lettered "A" through "F".A) I explained how I was having the lighting installed into the loft at no charge and Miss [redacted] seemed very pleased.B) Miss [redacted] wanted a framed wall next to the toilet where an optional stall shower was located and shown in the model. There is no wall there in any configuration of the bathroom that we offer. Miss [redacted] felt it was needed to hold a paper roll. I explained to Miss [redacted] that we clearly show the bathroom with a shower in the model and we show the bathroom on the floor plan without the shower and neither has a wall. I went on to say people do not like eliminating square footage from a home by putting up a wall closing off usable floor space behind it. I explained most designers will take a space  like that and put a free-standing piece of furniture to store your bathroom essentials. Miss [redacted]s mother kind of agreed and Miss [redacted] ultimately decided the wall was a bad idea.C) Miss [redacted] had asked sales if the toilet moved over a bit because she did not select the stall shower and there was ample room to do that. If you look at the brochure, there is a slightly different detail on the counder top which makes it appear to have more room between the sink and the toilet when the shower is not installed but it's an illusion. The countertop on the sink is smaller and there is more room but the toilet doesn't move. Unfortunately, the sales people weren't sure and someone ultimately told Miss [redacted] the toilet may move but no more than foot. The brochure Miss [redacted] had is correct and it shows the toilet in the same position in both examples. I explained to Miss [redacted] that we don't move pluming around and as evidence I showed her we have a drain buried under the floor where the shower would normally be. I explained I was sorry for the miscommunication but that the floor plans she had showing the toilet in the same place were correct and nothing good happens to a concrete floor in you try to move plumbing after it's in the foundation. Her mother agreed and said a relative was a plumber and she knew that to be the truth. Miss [redacted] agreed.D) Miss [redacted] said she was going to take our standard flooring out once she closed escrow. She said taht the standard tile entry we offer ran about 10 feet down the hallway and it would be hard to tear out and was a waste. She said the design center would not let her put just a minimum amount of tile and that the standard layout was the standard layout. I told her I would call the design center and have them put only the minimum tile they needed for the doorswing. She seemed happy about that. E) Miss [redacted] was unhappy with the location of the cable outlet in the Master bedroom as the model showed a TV cable outlet behind the TV on the wall mid height. I told many items in the model are done by the designers and that the cable outlets are always at the same height near the floor. She insisted it needed to be moved, which is an option she would normally have to pay for but since there was some confusion on the location of the toilet, I went ahead and had the outlet moved at no charge. F) Miss [redacted] said that she was told the fireplace surround that comes with the fireplace option in the family room was a standard and that she wanted it even though she not to take the fireplace option. I told her that she didn't order the fireplace and the surround is only installed to cover the fire place and the vent going out. She told me she asked if the surround came even if the fire place wan't ordered and she said she was told yes. I asked her to explain what she asked and what was said back to her. She said she asked the sales person, "Without the fireplace is it was like this?" She moved her hand in a circle as she said it. She told me the sales person said "Yes". I shared with her that the question she just described was not clear and if she sales person thought she was directing her to the open wall nexxt to the fireplace that is it recessed space, then "like this" could mean is it just an open space, which it is. No other buyers have been confused on this issue and all the family rooms come the same way when they don't have a fireplace. There is an individual disclosure document on the counter, in that model that Miss [redacted] has a copy of. It states that the fireplace in the family room is optional and it also states that the designer surround is optional too. The floor plan clearly delineates the fire place and surround with a dotted line showing it is optional and not standard. I felt confident this misunderstanding was mostly in her corner. She said may be but she wanted what she believed was told. I told her I would consider it. No promises. I later sat with construction and asked them to get a price for me building the surround using an outside construction person. The price came in between $500 to $700. Construction said we were too far along in our construction to go back and to build that and with the number of issues Miss [redacted] had they were worried that they would build it and she wouldn't like it and Miss [redacted] would want it redone. They weren't going to accommodate the request and I can't blame them. I instead offered Miss [redacted] a $1500 credit to have the surround built after she closed escrow. She was having the flooring torn out and redone so she could have it done during that period. I really didn't feel we were in the wrong here but to make her happy, I agreed to pay her $1500.00I'm not sure if everything is perfect in Miss [redacted]s mind but I will tell you that Woodside Homes has been more than fair. Given all the evidence that we are in the right, we still stepped up and went an extra mile to make her happy. Miss [redacted] was outraged that the sales person said, "If you are really that unhappy and you want to cancel I'm sure the builder would give you money back." That was an effort to have her feel like she wasn't stuck with the home she didn't like and if she felt she needed to cancel, that option would of course be available to her. Miss [redacted] was crying in the sales office at the time. This is the first home Miss [redacted] has purchased ansd she believes what she believes regardless of the evidence to the contrary. Most of (Not all but most) of her position is based on "He said and she said" which is covered in our purchase agreement. It says she is to rely on the floor plans and the documentation given to her in the sales office and not on a side conversation. Everything agrees to need to be in writing. The very reason is to avoid situations where a buyer believes he or she heard something that is contrary to documents given out in the sales office.Miss [redacted] has made some very egregious comments about Woodside Homes, the home itself, the sales team and construction. If Miss [redacted] would like, she may cancel and get all of her money back at any timeSincerely David LopezDirector of Sales and MarketingWoodside Homes, Southern California Division[redacted]