[Tom M]

Well, It happened. I’m surprised it didn’t happen earlier, but there it is. After warning every single customer that shows an interest in Stone that :

1) we do not recommend natural stone countertops.

2) there will be cracks and fissures. Not might, not may be, WILL BE(!).

3) that the customer will be making the final decision on slab choice.

4) that there is not the 10 – 15 year warranty available on engineered stone and solid surface counteretops, which we DO recommend.

I got a call from the customer about two hours after we finished the install. The customer told my installer that he knew there was no warranty on this. He even took a picture of my installer with a razor blade fine finishing the joint adhesive, remarking how thorough he was. After all this, they called, said they had a crack right in front of the sink and they are not happy. These are not high maintenance or PIA types. They were very reasonable when we had to delay the date (only by a day or two, but they were understanding), they complimented us on our attentiveness.

I am going to look at what will probablty be a fissure or small crack that has a small difference in surface feel. The sink front is rodded, of course, so I doubt there is a separation or grossly out of level break.

So what’s the problem?

I go out of my way to ensure that I have a happy, satisfied customer. It is almost a passion that my customers feel like they got more than what they paid for. So I am caught between what we sold and what they expected, even though they should not have expected anything other than what we sold them.

I have no idea what the outcome will be on this, but I can assure you that I have changed the Fact Sheet Addendum I posted in the files and documents section (I will try to reload the file before Fla, if I can). The new wording for Granite or other stone materials says the following:

Granite

Please be sure you get the proper care and cleaning info (especially regarding sealing and stain resistance) of the specific type of granite you have chosen. The rules are different for the different types. Stone can also be scratched. Interesting to note: one of the main causes of scratches in stone is sand. Be careful what you use for cleaning, as well. Some types of granite can only be cleaned with warm soapy water, for instance. Special cleaning products are available. Citric and other acids may etch the stone. You should receive proper care and maintenance instructions. If not, please call. Stain removal in granite tops can be a complicated process.

Although heat resistance is one of the compelling reasons for choosing granite, we will never recommend placing hot objects directly onto granite or engineered stone tops. Always use a trivet for placement.

Also, please understand: No two slabs of stone are alike. Every one has a different absorption rate, heat resistance, amount and condition of fissures, effective behavior after sealing, etc. There will be cracks and fissures in your Granite or other natural stone countertop(s). These will probably get worse over time, and there is very little to do to repair the “damage”. In most cases, you will be selecting the slab(s) out of which your countertops will be made. There is no warranty, whatsoever on these tops. We are recommending against granite as a general rule, and will remind you of this if you notice any flaws, cracks, fissures, etc. in your countertop(s). We are hat serious about this.

If you choose a Granite by DuPont™, or other “Granite” top that has a warranty by the manufacturer, we will of course honor that.

Sincerely,

Thomas Mather, President, C. Mather Co., Inc.

(bold print is in the document as bold)

Can anyone think of any more obvious warnings I can include here?

Thanks in advance.

Signed,

Miserable

[Andy Graves]

After reading the form, it seems that you should be covered. I wouldn’t add anything.

Good luck. I always hate to dissappoint customers, especially after they just spent so much money.

[Tom M]

Andy,

Thanks. I will try and reload the file later, to reflect the current version.

I won’t disappoint my customers. If they are even close to reasonable on a compromise, I’m gonna follow through and make sure they are satisfied. It will cost me, but that’s the way it is.

Tom

[Joe Corlett]

Tom M wrote

Well, It happened. I’m surprised it didn’t happen earlier, but there it is. After warning every single customer that shows an interest in Stone that :

1) we do not recommend natural stone countertops.

2) there will be cracks and fissures. Not might, not may be, WILL BE(!).

. There will be cracks and fissures in your Granite or other natural stone countertop(s). These will probably get worse over time, and there is very little to do to repair the “damage”. In most cases, you will be selecting the slab(s) out of which your countertops will be made. There is no warranty, whatsoever on these tops. We are recommending against granite as a general rule, and will remind you of this if you notice any flaws, cracks, fissures, etc. in your countertop(s). We are that serious about this.

Tom:

By your first paragraph above, it looks to me like you already warned your customers. Verbally? In the second paragraph you want to warn them again. In writing?

I don’t think it matters a bit. There ain’t a piece of signed and notarized paper on earth that’s gonna get you out of this dilemma or prevent it from happening in the future. Why? Your customers are in love. They love that shinny smooth hard rock and you’re playing the I-told-you-so father-in-law in this relationship. I never listened to my ex-father-in-law, although I should have in hindsight, and, like star-crossed lovers, these people aren’t going to hear it from you. Shakespeare wrote of this several hundred years ago and it ain’t changed much.

Tom, sell granite and take your poundings like a man or stop selling it altogether. You’re not gonna piece-a-paper your way out of this, I promise.

See ya soon,

Joe

[Andy Graves]

Tom M wrote

Andy,

Thanks. I will try and reload the file later, to reflect the current version.

I won’t disappoint my customers. If they are even close to reasonable on a compromise, I’m gonna follow through and make sure they are satisfied. It will cost me, but that’s the way it is.

Tom

Do you think the crack can be fixed or repaired without replacement? Maybe this would be a acceptable comprimise considering you told them up front. It really isn’t your responsibility to cover it although it may hurt your reputation a bit.

[Jim]

Tom, unless this is an unbelievable crack, why can’t you fill it with transparent flowing and a color to match, then go back over it with several steps of diamond resin pads to blend it in? I’d like to see a pic of it.

[Valerie Graves]

Can anyone think of any more obvious warnings I can include here?

Thanks in advance.

Signed,

Miserable

My only other suggestion would be to have your customer agree to tatoo these conditions on his/her forehead backwards so that they can read it every time they see their reflection in the mirror!!

Sorry to hear about this. Unfortunately no matter how hard you explain it, some people just want granite so badly that they disregard everything you try to warn them about.

Good luck with this one. My heart goes out to you! Been in your shoes.

Val

[Andy Cook]

Okay, the customer is always right cause of the damage they can do to your reputation or sympathetic judges ruling against the deep pocket business man/contractor. That said, where is the line drawn? If a what a reasonable man would use a product for sets the expectations for the product, why doesn’t a resonable warning of the drawbacks of a product hold up in court, at the very least. People who won’t listen have a lesson coming to them, or they choose to take a risk willingly.

I have to fix my or my guy’s mistakes because it is my responsiblity. How is it my responsiblity to pick up after a stupid customer? Or more accurately, one who refuses to listen? Do my other customers, the one who listen to my advice, deserve to foot the bill in higher prices to cover things like this?

Tom, I am sure you have been following stoneadvice.com forum. This has been discussed before and it is generally considered a fixable condition if the peices haven’t shifted. Offer to patch and top polish but only after getting them to sign a waiver that says you will give it your best effort, but no guarantee to finial result.

[Tom M]

Joe – special comment for you at the end…

Andy, Dave, al,

As I thought about it more and more, I realize that I do have options. Some may not cost as much as others. I have to say my stone fabricator is absolutely top-notch. I seriously doubt I would sell natural stone if I couldn’t have him fabricate it. They have also done repairs in material that is not supposed to be repaired. They did a plug fill in Zodiaq that was almost as good as solid surface. Harder, took a lot of time, but I was really impressed. Scott and Barry can vouch for me on this.

Viking Kitchens in New Britain, Ct. Thay are actually competitors in the solid surface business, but we don’t cross markets much. I wouldn’t care if we did.

So, yeah, good thoughts, and I will see what happens. I have to say that I am pretty depressed about this, because, as Joe alluded to, it’s gonna happen again, even with the document. When you want to do right by your customer, and you have to let your customer make the final call, natural stone will cause a conflict every so often.

al, I actually don’t have too much time to spend on Stoneadvice.com. You are my umbilical to most things stone at the time.

Thanks for the relief, Val and Joe.

Joe,

You know, at first I thought you might be wrong about that. I figured if I made it so freakin’ obvious that it might actually hold weight. But you’re right, dangit.

Funny about your ex father-in-law.

One of my favorite artists, Fred Eaglesmith wrote a song about just the opposite – he doesn’t miss his ex wife, he misses his ex father-in-law.

“Well he was kind of deaf in one ear,

So I’d kind of have to shout.

We’d talk guns and horses, till the lights went out.

We’d stay up till midnight drinkin’

whiskey and water.

And he’d pretend not to know

I was sleeping with his daughter.

How’s Ernie,

Hey that’s what I would say.

If I wrote her a letter,

Or I called her up some day.

How’s Ernie?

You know it ended up real bad.

But I don’t miss her anymore,

Though i sure do miss her dad.

Thanks all.

Tom

[Author]

Posts