Work for Free.

Rick did a kitchen and I believe I posted the photo of the before and after.

It was an average size kitchen. After the homeowners purchased this home they proceeded to make a slew of changes. They removed the island in the kitchen and ordered a new one. So that meant Rick was only doing the cabinets all around the kitchen.

The woman chose a white. She was very particular about her white. 

I get that. She went to Sherwin Williams and picked out a color. 

We use an Italian coating made for wood cabinets and furniture. 

It is HARD like you need in a kitchen. After she made her decision on the color I contacted the Coating company and ordered what was needed in the color she wanted us to match.

The coating was delivered, the can said the right color, and Rick spent 5 days at their home refinishing her cabinets. Each day she and her husband would walk into the kitchen when Rick was finishing up and he talked about his progress and she looked at everything through a picky lens. She kept saying everything was beautiful.

Fast forward 2 weeks and she had her husband call us. 

The color he says is not right. 

As I am listening to him be so polite I can hear her bitching in the background.

When he was done I told him we would make this right. Then she screamed it is not the right color we went to Sherwin Williams and they said you didn't use the right color.  I told him I heard her. I could tell he was embarrassed. 

I said no matter what happened we will make it right. But please allow me to look into this further. In the meantime let's get you on the calendar so Rick can come out to view this as well as schedule a time to have it redone.

I immediately ran out to the garage to see the can. (it has their last name on it so we know who's color is who's should they need a touch-up or something similar)  The color on the can said, special order SW 7004 Snowbound.   That is what it read and what should be inside.

I then called the coating company. He said he saw the special order was to be SW 7004 but he went further and said I will look up the order that sent it to the mixing dept.   Ah ha - they did not write a special order. He asked to call me back.  Oh, so not good.

It appears that they indeed wrote on the can the color it should have been but that is not what was put into the can (apparently this is computerized and that helped us find the problem) 

So what does that mean to us? 

It means Rick had to do the kitchen all over again for free.

That meant 3.5 days of work with no money. That is always fun.

Now that we no longer have employees it sucks to not have someone making us money while Rick is busy doing something that is not making us money.

I called the customer and I asked if we could come to their home before their scheduled appointment to show them this color, to put this color over what they had (and wipe off) so that they were comfortable that this time the color that arrived is correct. Rick went to their home when it arrived on a Saturday so she could approve the color that arrived and that it was indeed the color she wanted. She said it was. When he got home he told me if she hates this she will be on her own. I laughed because I know my husband. He wouldn't do that. 

In the meantime, as I am making everyone happy Rick is bitching a fit that this company did this. The coating company only gave us a 50% discount on the new order, I felt it should have been 100% and I fought it. I lost. 50% is surely better than nothing but....this was their fault. They made us look bad.

The small detail that bothers me is that every day before Rick leaves he likes the homeowner to know of his progress and what they can expect. She came in every day, went over every detail, touched what was not wet. Always was happy. Raved about how good it looked. I guess it just took 2 weeks for her to see the color difference. And I get it, if I were her I'd want what I want so I get them calling us back. I see both sides. 

The newer color that she loves does clash with her new gray and white quartz. It looks horrible but if that is what she likes that is all that matters. When you have a cool color on your counters and a warm undertone on the thing next to it, one will look more yellow or dirty if both the "same" color. Warm color and cool colors can be good in contrast but this wasn't a contrast enough it just looked like the cabinets had a yellow hue. Like I said Rick and I found it awful. Her husband said he couldn't see a difference which made us laugh. He would roll his eyes while facing Rick with his wife behind him.  Rick said he was funny. 

They were both nice about this. She was a bit cold at first. Totally a 180-degree difference from how she had been. Bubbly, cheerful, and perky is how I would have described her before all this. But by day 2 she was nice again. I think we had to prove to her we were going to provide her with good customer service and take care of her. But why they think they must be mean to do so is just absurd to me. 

So on Monday Rick arrived at their home at 8am. He worked a very long day so he could finish this up early. Because he didn't have to sand off kitchen grease and grime from the cabinets that saved a day of work. But he still had 4 days of work ahead of him. He worked on Monday from 8a-6. T-Thurs he only did 8-4 because he would be at a spot where everything needed to dry (primer or paint) and he couldn't go further. 

Since doing their cabinets we have put together a packet for customers using our service. Once they decide to go with us they are given this packet with instructions and what needs to be done before we get there. (cabinets cleaned out, items removed off countertops and appliances, etc) The packet includes a copy of their contract, receipt for deposit, how to care for their new cabinets, and a door dash gift certificate.

The door dash gift certificate of $200 is for them to buy and have meals delivered during the week we have their kitchen down. 

Because we began giving customers this packet right after we did their kitchen we sent them a $200 gift card for door dash for the inconvenience of their kitchen being down a 2nd time. 

We had it arrive the day before we begin.

No matter if it was her fault or the companies we just felt it was the right thing to do. It made Rick chuckle when on Tuesday the male customer came into the kitchen and said, "We're ordering lunch from door dash can we get you something on your dime? 

Rick laughed and said, "I brought my lunch but thank you!" The customer laughed and Rick said as long as they were laughing all was good.

On the 3rd day, Rick had to leave around 3:45p because everything left to do was dry. He went around the kitchen and viewed everything. He found a spot that was a bit light, he put his yellow frog tape there, he also saw something he didn't like in another spot and put his yellow frog tape there. 

Normally on the last day, all he has to do is put the hinges back on, door hardware back on, and put the doors back up on the cabinets. 

He always walks around to view the work and to be sure everything is perfect.  At the end of day 3, he asked the female homeowner to come into the kitchen. 

He told her where he was in the process, he explained the yellow tape and handed it to her. He told her to look around and if you see anything you aren't happy with please put the tape on it and I will follow up tomorrow. She was so happy to do this Rick said it made him laugh.

On day 4 he arrives and sees no more yellow tape than what he applied. Did she even look? Being so anal-retentive he was certain she didn't look. He asked if she had a chance to look everything over and she said she did and the only spots I saw where the two you put tape on. Whew. So Rick finished up his day and called them both into the kitchen. She squealed with delight and it startled Rick. She actually said, "If I could hug you I so would!"  Rick just told them he was pleased they were happy.  Then they handed Rick a thank you card. 

The card was so very nice as you can see below. What you can't see is the $500 (cash) they gave him for his time. Wow. Rick said he couldn't take it. They insisted that he take this. 

While normally in 4 days he would have made thousands $500 was better than nothing and it was the thoughtfulness that meant a lot to Rick and me. 

It wasn't our fault. I was happy to know they really understood the issue  It wasn't the customer's fault. But Shit Does Happen! 

What else could we do but make it right? It was the right thing to do no matter that. We were bummed when the week started because we knew what this meant but we had to just accept it because what else could we do? Be mad?  Sure, but that wasn't going to change anything. 

Here is a photo of the kitchen. Top Before, Bottom After that was the horrible mistake. We did not take a photo of the newest white. It looks like this anyway. 

                                                    Isn't this nice of them?

Nice right? Nice that they mentioned me too being I have never met them only talked to them on the phone. AND they think I am an office manager and not his wife. (no one knows that tid bit) 

The male customer asked Rick a lot of questions every day. They somehow bonded which I find funny. When Rick told him he will be retiring in spring/summer the man told him he couldn't be old enough and that it must be nice to retire so early. Rick said, "Flattery is nice but the price is the price." And they both laughed. 

Rick said he was probably in his early 40s. Rick is 65.

Then Rick told him his age and he about fell over. He told Rick he thought he was maybe 50. Rick told him all the fumes of these chemicals have preserved him well. (rick looks his age I think)

They both bonded each time he went there. So that is how he knows that Rick is planning to retire next year IF the world doesn't blow up! 🤞