Just a few things the average consumer needs to be aware of before hiring this Company:
1. You will need to retain a Lawyer to review the your contract.
2. You will need to retain a third party independent granite consultant to be present while the templating is being performed to ensure that it is being done correctly because the average consumer won't know how to tell this person how he should do his job.
3. Have the Lawyer and Granite Consultant present during the installation, because you will not know if the granite was installed correctly and you will be "presented a certificate of completion which they must read throughly and sign stating they are 100% satisfied with the installation". Unless you install granite for a living you will have no way of knowing if the installation was correct and this certificate is Cassa way out of correcting mistakes.
Also, try not to get upset when your Salesperson nolonger takes your calls and the Manager laughs at you and then dares you to take them to Court.
The following is a copy of the report filed with the Better Business Bureau (edited to remove our names as required by Ripoff). Please take the time to read the entire report so you can see what you will be upgainst, the BBB closed the complaint because Cassa Stone would not respond to the consumer rebuttal.
Consumer's Original Complaint:
Cassa Stone was contracted to install granite in our kitchen and bathroom.invoice #907018, Sales Tami Potoczy. The kitchen island was designed to accomadate a family of five, this made the prep side of the island and the bar side very large. We were aware that we would have a seam on both sides of the island due to the length, we delayed the templating appointment via Tami until the metal supports were in place because the supports were to be mounted to the knee wall stubs which would make the middle support off center. The Welding Company indicated that the recommended standard number of supports for an island that size with a seam was 3, however he was more comfortable putting in five. Knowing that the granite companies are not responsible for supporting overhands and that the Welding company is we went with the additional two supports.
After the supports were in place I contacted our Tami and scheduled the templating appointment. The templator was there for approx 4 hours asked a few questions and left. During the week of October 8th, the granite was installed. My husband (Builder) and several sub-contractors were at present during the install, I was out of town at the time. When the installer place the two sections on the island bar the seam was not located in the correct spot (on the middle support). My husband asked why the seam was not on the support and the installer first responded that the supports must not had been in place during the templating, therefore the templator didn't know where the seam should landed. When told that the supports were in place the installer stated that the supports wouldn't have held anyway and that we needed to install a support post under the seam.
When I returned the following week I called Tami and explained the situation regarding the seam and also a few other concerns ie. The stove piece was cut to short, the ends of the prep island were not shimmed for support, and there was a 1/2" gap between the granite and the wall. Tami was not happy with the installers comments regarding the supports and that we needed a post. An appt was scheduled for a repair visit and Tami was also coming to look at the island seam.
During that appt the same installer was sent out without Tami. The piece behind the stove was removed and the installer repeated the same statement to me that the supports are not going to hold the granite anyway so it doesn't matter that the seam is in the wrong location because we need a support post. I called Tami again and also the store manager and explained that I wanted the seam moved into the correct spot rather than installing a support post. There was alot of money involved in this island to be able to seat five people.installing a post would cost an additional $980, and I would be end up with a 4 person bar. I was told to hold off on ordering the post and that they would come out and look at this.
Prior to that appt. The welding company came out and stated that the supports needed to be shimmed and had the seam been positioned on the support correctly the supports would have worked. A week later the Fabricating Manager arrived to install the piece behind the stove. Rather than the Owner, Manager and Sales person as promised he was also there to address the bar supports. The Fabricator removed the temporary post and indicated that the installer was incorrect and the supports were fine. When I asked about the seam not being on a support he stated that the seam would have been in the correct location if we had pointed this out to the templator who only took a measurement of the bar and did not template the bar showing the supports locations, he stated that regardless it should be fine. Given the fact that Cassa is not responsible for the supporting of the overhang, the comment "it should be fine" is not acceptable. We told the Fabrication Manager that I was under the impression that Cassa was coming out today to make a discision about replacing the bar top.
Consumer's Desired Resolution:
When I contacted Cassa for a fair compensation I wanted to keep it simple, I was looking for around $2,000.00. I have to date not heard back from anyone. I was promised by the Manager that I would get a call last Monday 11-12. After not hearing back from Cassa I have looked into some of the cost associated with designing such a large island/breakfast bar in order to accommodate a family of five. If we had designed a four seat bar we could have saved a considerable amount of money having fewer cabinets on the prep side, a shorter knee wall, less plastering, less cabinets panels under the bar wall, less granite, less supports, not to mention no seams to deal with. As it stands now we have paid a lot of extra cost including in addition to $980 for the post to end up with a four person island for no reason. If Cassa is not willing to come up with a reasonable refund I will consider all of the cost mentioned above.
Please let me know if I should forward the Photo's or any additional information needed. I have approx. 40 Photo's, etc.
RECEIVE BUSINESS RESPONSE: I am in receipt of your letter dated January 8 and my response is as follows:
Cassa Stone was contracted to install granite at the home of XXXXXon September 10. On October 1 we went out to her home to template the kitchen/island. After the template came back to Cassa Stone, XXXXX came out to lay out the template on the slabs with Tami (salesperson) and John (fabrication manager). This required all slabs to be out to establish the right pattern flow. It was then stated and agreed to by XXXX where the seam would have to be placed on the island to accomplish this pattern flow. The desired slab was then sent to fabrication to be cut at the indicated places for the design. The granite was then installed October 9. Upon installation all customers are presented a certificate of completion which they must read thoroughly and sign stating they are 100% satisfied with the installation. This was presented to XXXXXXof XXXXXXBuilders (XXXXX husband) signed and dated at the time of completion.
Cassa Stone then received a call from XXXXX stating that she had concerns about the supports she had installed by the welding company. We responded to her concerns by sending out our Fabrication Manager John to the site. He then explained to XXXXX that the supports that were installed were more than enough support and safety was not a concern, as no seams exceeded any supports by more than 3'.
NOTE *Granite can exceed any support brackets by 8-10' without fail. The temporary support showed in the photos was left by the installer merely for the epoxy on the seam to cure.
At the beginning of November Mike Milliken received a call from XXXXX stating she still had concerns regarding the Island. Mike then returned her call and at this point she was told that there was no need for any additional post to be installed (this was told to her on 2 other separate occasions by John our Fabrication Manager, Tami Potoczny her salesperson).in addition it was also stated to XXXXX that Cassa Stone was in no way was negligent with their installation and that no monetary compensation would be issued. At that point we considered the issue closed until I received the letter from the BBB on January 17.
Copies of all original signed Contracts, Seam placements documents, and Certificate of Completion form will follow by mail.
Regards,
Michele Strzelewicz
Cassa Stone, Inc.
BUSINESS: Please see attached for additional documents from business.
Manually sent this info to consumer. Ec
RECEIVED CONSUMER REBUTTAL: (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I am not satisfied with Cassa's response to my complaint, the response is vague and some of the information is not accurate. First of all I previously neglected to mention that the original templating appointment was rescheduled by myself due to the fact I had not yet signed the contract and provided the deposit because I was waiting for the island supports to be fabricated and installed. I contacted Tami to apologize for not getting the deposit to her and asked if the stones were still tagged, I explained to Tami that we were still waiting for the supports for the island so they would be in place during the prior to the templating. Tami stated that she understood why I had delayed the templating and that my stones were still tagged. Once the supports were in place I went to Cassa's with the deposit and signed the contracts. Tami can confirm that I needed to wait until the supports were in place so the seam positioning would be correct.
As stated in the letter from Cassa I did meet with Tami and John to lay out the templates on the slabs of stone. And yes the idea is to make sure the flow patterns are as smooth as possible. During this process the wooden (picture frame like) pieces are placed against several slabs and mark. When the kitchen island templates were layout onto to the slabs the flow pattern was good. At not time was I told that the person who performed the templating only measured the island top and never mark the location of the supports. The templates used to mark the slabs for the islands were not adjusted nor was the seam moved during the lay-out to create an even flow. Neither Tami, John or myself at the time knew that the templates created for the island top were never sized correctly so that the seam would land on the middle support. Therefore the seam location was not changed to create an even flow.
Cassa's response neglects to mention why during the installation of the granite their Installer was the one who stated that the supports would not hold the granite and that we needed a center post so it did not matter that the seam was not located on the middle support. This was after the installer first insisting that the supports must not had been in place during the templating, therefore the person who performed the templating had no way of knowing where the middle support would be located.
Cassa's response also does not mention that the first repair appointment which was missed by Tami was with the same installer who made the same comments to me as well other Contractors I had stay for the appointment. When I explained to the Installer that the Welding Company disagrees that the supports would have failed, the installer took it one step further and stated that the seam would have landed on the middle support had we pointed out the five supports protruding out of the island during the templating.
When I asked as to why the five supports under the granite were not shimmed or glued during the installation he stated that it was pointless because we needed to get a post under the seam and that would the post would hold the granite in place. This was the second time in front of several people we were told we needed a post and the supports would not hold the granite. I would like to have Cassa's Installer as well as Tami who was not happy that the Installer was still telling us that we needed a post comment on this.
During this appointment other repairs were made and the Installer removed a section of the granite that was cut to short behind the slide in range and left.
At that point is when I contacted Tami again to inquire as to why she wasn't there as promised and mentioned that the Installer still insist that we need to order a center post for the island. Tami indicated again that she was not happy with the Installers comments and would be calling me back. Since that point I have never spoken to Tami again and was passed onto the Mike Milliken. Mr. Milliken stated that when the replacement piece behind my range was ready that he and Tami would come out with the installer to look at my island top, a decision would be made about whether I should order the post parts or if the island top could be redone so the seam could land on the center support.
As mentioned before, the following appointment was not kept by Tami or Mike. Cassa was running late that day and I had called to find out when Tami, Mike or the Owner as well as the Installer would be arriving. I was told by Michele that the workers were on their way and that Tami was with a customer and Mike was not coming.
John the Fabricating Manager arrived with the replacement piece of granite, he looked at the island and stated that it was ok that the seam was not on the center support and the Installer was incorrect about needing a post. I explained to John that I was expecting to have Tami and Mike come out to decide whether or not they would be willing to replace the island top so the seam would land on the middle seam. John indicated that he could not make that decision. John placed a call to Mike and I was told that Mike would be calling me shortly. I was never contacted by Mike and finally called him myself. I informed Mike that due to no response with my request to have the island top replaced that we had moved forward and ordered the post and that I would like to receive some compensation. After talking in circles with Mike he stated that he would be contacting me on November 12 with a response. Needless to say I never received a call back so therefore I was never told by Mike as Cassa stated that there would be no monetary refund when I requested to be compensated.
As far as the Certificate of Completion is concerned, we have never been asked to sign such a thing throughout all of our years in business. Yes the granite was installed and looked good, however, unless you retain an independent Granite Consultant hourly to wait for the installers and be present during the installation there is no way of knowing if the installation was performed correctly. Given the time of day that the granite was installed (approx 7pm) my husband had no way to confirm if the Installer was correct or not that the island supports would not work and that we needed a post.
Could you please request that the people involved in this project, the individual who performed the templating, the installer who started this whole issue about needing a center post and Tami who is aware of all of these issues give statements in response to what took place? Also, could you request a copy of the templating changes that were made during the stone layout? This will show that there were never changes made to the seam location on the island to "create an even flow" proving that the templates were wrong to begin with, the only changes made were two seams were moved on the main kitchen counter that I need to initial, one of which ended up in the wrong spot as well.
01/29 EC MAIL Forward Consumer Rebuttal to Business
02/07 OttO BBB No Response from Business re: Consumer Rebuttal
02/07 EC BBB Bureau judged complaint UNRESOLVED Otto Ltr
02/07 Otto MAIL Inform Business Otto Ltr - Close UNRESOLVED
02/07 Otto EMAIL Inform Consumer - Case Closed UNRESOLVED
02/07 Otto BBB Case Closed UNRESOLVED
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