I am shopping for granite counter tops and back splash for my rental home. Since I am in California I’m doing this long distance with the help of the internet and my tenants. Not the perfect way to do this but after talking to plenty of fabricators it seems very doable.
I screened several review sites for the highest rated providers (and a big name with not such high ratings). All of them were very helpful and got me proposals quickly. I now have it narrowed down to the top two, either of which I’d be comfortable with. After they visit the property I’ll commit to one of them and get started.
After my first call to NW Trends I was very impressed with Rick and told him so. We had a great, fun conversation (at least to me) and I complimented him on his knowledge and professionalism. I hung happy, very encouraged that I may have found my company.
Unfortunately here’s what happened after that first great call;
- I received some quotes right away and after 24 hours, I hadn’t heard back from Rick so I just wanted to make sure he got my email. I emailed him again and said “no rush” just let me know you got my email. I did this because if I waited a week and found out he never got my email, well you get it. Still no reply to my email. So the next day I called and left him a voice mail. Again “no rush” just let me know you got my email. And again no response. Finally three days later I get an email that Robbin would be helping me because she was better at design.
- I emailed my counter measurements on 4/17/18 and didn’t receive the proposal until 4/30/18, 13 days later! I received most other proposal’s within 48 hours. One place took a week and one reminder call. NW Trends topped the bummer list with a couple reminder calls, a last chance deadline and then finally 13 days later I receive the proposal.
- I researched fabricators with the top reviews and received about eight quotes. NW Trends was the absolute highest of all of them and over $2,000 higher than the top two fabricators on my list (top reputation, experience and reviews).
- Originally I sent Robbin a backsplash that I liked. But since I already found that on my own I specifically asked her to show me a tile back splash option. That option would require a bit of design or at least finding a picture of a design. When she finally got me the proposal she simply said I should go with the type of stuff I sent her. Thanks for that opinion Robbin but I wanted to see a tile option. Ya coulda spent 20 minutes lookin at pictures and sent me some and still given your opinion to go with the style I already showed you. But I get it, that woulda taken an extra 20 minutes in front of your computer screen. Oh and she mentioned all the considerable thought she put into my design. She sent me one slab idea and the type of stuff I sent her. Wow huge effort, lotsa new ideas, not.
- They outsource the demo and installation. When I expressed concern I was told they’d stand behind any work done. I believe that but if the company has a new employee on the job and my cabinets get busted up during the demo well that lack of control may be the cause. I don’t need it taken care of I don’t want it busted in the first place. I’ve done enough re-modeling (about 14 homes) to know that bringing in an outside company is NOT as good as in-house employees doing the work.
I will say that there is a good chance that if you shop in the traditional way by walking into their showroom and dealing with them in person. You either don’t mind paying a lot more if your happy with the service or you just don’t price shop then you may end up having a good experience.