ComplaintsforRestorations By Watts Woodworking

• Initial Complaint

  07/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I paid $2,325.00 to have dining room furniture repaired, sanded, stained a light oak color with a gloss finish. When I went to have the furniture picked up today (6/16/2023) by two men and a truck (after its been in the workshop for one year now, since 6/17/2022)), the only piece that had the gloss finish on it was the table (only the top of the table, not the claw feet legs of the table). The chairs had no gloss finish on them at all and the china hutch and ****** cabinet did have a gloss finish either. The China hutch/cabinet doesnt even match the table because the table top has a gloss finish and looks to be a darker stain used.****** Watts (owner) told me today when I stated (after touching/feeling the chairs and china cabinet) that they did not have any finish on them (because they were rough feeling not smooth like it would be if it had a coat of finish on them) that I just couldnt see the gloss finish because of the lighting and that the furniture needed to acclimate to its room temperature when I got it home and then I would be able to see the gloss finish. This is simply not true. The chairs have a very rough feel to them like they were sanded down and thats it! One chair is two different colors because it was not completely sanded so theres the old finish and then a lighter color where it was sanded down in different areas but no finish whatsoever. Now the Watts are not responding to my texts (thats really bad customer service!) so now I will have to get legal advice to see what can be done. And on top of the original $2,125.00 I owed, two days before the furniture was scheduled to be picked up, ****** Watts texted me and told me that it would be an additional $200 (bringing the total to $2,325.00) due to the extra sanding they had to do on the chairs. Its a shame that you pay a lot of money to a business you thought was a reputable business and get treated like this! Shame on you ******* and ****** Watts! You know that you did not do what I paid you to do and you lied to me about the gloss finish, but I still have the paperwork showing exactly what all you were supposed to do to my furniture and it clearly states Gloss finish on all pieces. Im a very dissatisfied customer.

  Customer response

  07/19/2023

  This business used to be located in ******, ** and they then moved to *******, **.  The place/location where the work was done on my furniture was located in ******* ** at:

   

  ***************************

  Cullman, **  35055

   

  i had also posted a review on ****** regarding my dissatisfaction to the work that this business did on my Living Room furniture set and the owner of Restorations by Watts Woodworking did respond back to that review.  I do not accept their response to the review I posted on ******.   This business did not complete the job I paid for them to complete and they are the ones that advised me what the cost would be initially and then charged an additional $200.  Since this time, I have taken a drawer and a table chair from the furniture set to a different restoration business located in ********* ** and after the owner (who has over 20 years of experience) of this business looked at the furniture pieces, he agreed that this furniture was not finished with a gloss finish and the chair I took did not even have all the old stain removed, so basically Watts Woodworking did a very poor job and did not do what I paid them to do.  I will have to pay another business to complete the job that Restorations by Watts Woodworking should have completed to begin with.

   

   

  Customer response

  07/31/2023

  No, I have not heard back from this company other than the company responding to a review I submitted on ****** regarding their poor service but they have not reached out to me directly and I doubt they will.  
  

  Thanks,

  ****** *** Harrison 

  Business response

  07/31/2023

   
  As you can see, there are several pieces to this dining set.  Table, chairs, buffet, hutch, China cabinet.  
  

  This is old furniture that had been in a home fire and was heavily smoke and fire damaged.  We gave the customer a very good deal on the project.  And the extensive work and time spent on it was much more than she pad for. 
  

  We have a signed work order from her stating that she understands that restoration results are based on age, materials, and condition

  Customer must have a reasonable expectation of finished product knowing that a specific outcome is not guaranteed.  All sales are final

  All pieces received gloss finishes.. But not all the pieces appear as glossy as flat table top.  Different pieces, different conditions  

  We talked about many things before she left with her furniture.  She stated that she was going to wax the sides of the buffet to get a higher shine.     I suggested that she wait a few days before waxing her furniture to allow it to acclimate to the home temp and environment. 

  Customer response

  08/02/2023

   
  Complaint: 20198965
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Watts Restoration / Watts Woodworking stated that all pieces would have a gloss finish (this is what the work order states also) but only the top of the table had a gloss finish applied.  The other pieces have a rough feel to them (almost like a sand paper feel), even after I applied ****** ********** Wood Polish and Conditioner several times to all pieces over the past several weeks; it made no difference in appearance or feel.  This is not what was agreed to!  I feel like all this company did was sand down some of the pieces (not all the pieces like the chairs) as some of the chairs still have some of the old stain left on them which was never removed and you can tell the difference between the surfaces where the old darker oak stain was sanded down/removed and the places/surfaces that were not sanded down at all) and then just the natural oak stain was applied to those surfaces that were sanded down with NO GLOSS FINISH applied at all.  
  

  This company did not work on my furniture during the whole year they had my furniture because every time I called or sent a text message to get a status update, there was always some type of excuse they had as to why they werent able to work on it.  
  

  The job they did was in no way worth the $2,325.00 that I paid them.  The only piece that had heavy fire/smoke damage was the buffet the table and chairs did not have any heavy damage but all the pieces needed to be stripped and re-stained/re-finished like they were before the fire so that they would all match (but all the pieces do not match because some of the pieces still have the old darker stain which was never removed and the only piece that has the gloss finish is the table top).

  The Watts never mentioned the Disclaimers documented in the work order until I posted a negative review on their website via my gmail account, so I then reviewed the work order again and saw/read the disclaimer typed in small print.  To me, this is just a way that Watts Restoration or Watts Woodworking (whatever name they go by these days) can do whatever they want to do (poor work) and the customer who pays a lot of money (the amount the company states it will cost) is basically at a loss because Watts Restoration/Woodworking can get away with scamming customers like they scammed me.

  I hope other dissatisfied customers that have been treated the same way I have by this company come forward and provide their review regarding the work they had completed by this company.  You have to have a ****** (gmail) account to post a review for this company because this companys ******** page doesnt allow a customer to provide a review (that should tell you something). 

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ***********************

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