Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/10/2022

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On July 31, 2022, I contacted *************, Design Engineer for Stone Creek, *** to design me a 41 Cabinet with one shelf and a 6 desk column piece to use with my recent purchase for a desk, credenza, file cabinet costing $11,600.On August 22, 2022, after many delays, ************* advised me by email that she received approval to discount the item from $1,485 to $1,262. She also annotated the drawing of the item to reflect the 3 grommet that I requested.On September 9, 2022, after additional delays, ************* emailed me an invoice with a higher price of $1,485 and a drawing that did not reflect the 3 grommet that I requested. I replied to Ms ****** email pointing out the higher price and inaccurate drawing and I requested she correct them.I never heard back from her. So, on September 17, 2022 (1 week later), I emailed the President of Stone Creek, ***, **************, (with a CC to *************) and mentioned that it had been a week already and I hadnt heard back from ************* on correcting the invoice she emailed me which had a higher price that she quoted (i.e., $1,485 listed vs. $1,262 quoted) and the incorrect drawing (i.e., not listing the 3 grommet I requested). I requested that he follow up with her to provide me the correct documents so I could complete the sale.2 more weeks, and still no corrected invoice & drawing. So, I emailed the President of Stone Creek, ***, ************** a 2nd time on October 3, 2022, and I brought that fact to his attention. I advised him that by ignoring my requests to amend the invoice to reflect the lower price that was quoted, he appeared to be promoting a *************** and "Deceptive Trade" practice and offering ******************** He could eliminate that perception by providing me a corrected invoice & drawing OR by refuting the facts I presented to him.Today is October 10, 2022, and I still havent received a corrected invoice or drawing.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/18/2022

  RESPONSE TO BBB COMPLAINT FILED BY *************************************** complaint on October 10, 2022 left out the string of abusive email communications with our sales person and myself.His most recent order for $10,000 he refers to in his complaint was delivered in July of this year and has nothing to do with this complaint.  There is no complaint about that order. His complaint refers to an additional piece of furniture he was trying to buy at our ********** location with *************************** is one of our senior sales people in her 70's close to retiring.  In my opinion ************ is a bully and was totally out of line attempting to intimidate ***** with long emails in bold type and yellow high lighter demanding discounts and revising drawings to include details that were beyond the capability of our sales people to provide.  He later cc'd me on these emails in another effort to intimidate *************** by making her feel like her job was in jeopardy.I personally responded to ************ and informed him we would not be able to accommodate his request and declined to do business with him.  He failed to mention this in his complaint. The following is a copy of the string of abusive emails from ************ to ********************* andcc: *********************************. followed up by an email from ************ addressed only to me at *********************************.  I have included both email strings for your review.I have an obligation to provide a safe work environment and protect my employees from any hostile behavior from employees and customers.  We have declined to do further business with *************  If anything ************ owes ***** an apology and maybe some flowers.Sincerely,*****************President

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/29/2022

  RE: My Reply to Ron J****, President Stone Creek Furniture, His Response to Complaint #******** Mr. J****'s response to my complaint is non-responsive. He did address and he did not refute my complaint that his company provided me an invoice with a higher price (i.e., $1,485) than was promised ($1,262). This is a "Bait & Switch" which is a Deceptive Trade Practice. His business lied to the BBB in stating that it was not aware of my complaint even though the BBB had made a number of attempts covering a month to secure a response from his business. And when Mr. J**** finally replied on 11/18/22, after receiving BBB notification that the case had been closed on 11/16/22 (when he realized his BBB Rating would be adversely impacted), he lied to the BBB by stating in his response: "I personally responded to Mr. **** and informed him we would not be able to accommodate his request and declined to do business with him.” His actual reply to me stated the following: "We may not be able to satisfy all of your demands." There is a huge difference from what he stated in his reply to the BBB and what actually happened. Please see Attachment #1 which proves he is being dishonest. Mr. J**** never mentioned in his reply that he had declined to do business with me. I assumed he meant he could not provide the expedited delivery I requested when he mentioned "We may not be able to satisfy all of your demands". In my reply to him I told him I could understand that, given labor and material issues. Please See Attachment #1. I also pointed out the reason for my contact with him was because I felt his employee was being careless, unresponsive, and untimely in responding to me because my current order was less than $1,500. I provided him specific examples. I ended my reply by saying: "Please advise if you disagree with what I expect as a customer." He never replied to this email or to two additional **** * sent, which would have been his opportunity to tell me he had declined doing business with me. He ignored replying to my emails, just like he ignored replying to the BBB's multiple voice messages and emails. He obviously doesn't value customer service or being responsive to the BBB. Instead of directly addressing the obvious overcharging mentioned in my complaint, he tries to divert the discussion by name calling me a "bully" and accusing me of intimidating his employee due to my underlining, bolding and highlighting phrases in my "long" emails. I admit to doing that, but for a much different reason, to facilitate identifying the key points in my message. What Mr. J**** doesn't mention is that my emails were factual, and I complimented Ms. M**** and I even apologized to her for a mistake I made, which is evident in the string of emails he sent the BBB. Raising this as an excuse for not correcting his company's mistake of charging me a higher price than promised are not even plausible. What is clear, is that Mr. J**** cannot defend his company's attempt to overcharge me for my small purchase, when they had promised me a lower price ("Bait & Switch). Nor can he defend his employee's incompetence (i.e., her careless, unresponsive, and untimely actions.) For me, it's not the dollar amount, but more about the principle of taking advantage of a loyal customer. I was a legitimate and loyal customer for over 20 years, and I recently made a purchase costing $11,600 which he ignores. Given Mr. J****'s and his company's multiple examples of dishonesty with the BBB and with me, his unwillingness to be responsive with the BBB and me, I would strongly recommend that the BBB close this case with this business being unresponsive to my complaint, lacking a commitment to customer service, and potentially involved in a "Bait & Switch" which is a Deceptive Trade Practice. I would hope that this business's BBB Rating is subsequently lowered. Other potential customers need to be warned of this business's unfavorable business practices. I also hope this business's case file is documented with this Deceptive Trade Practice ("Bait & Switch") and used for future consideration to revoke this business's BBB Accreditation. If Mr. J**** *s still unwilling to resolve this complaint, I will pursue other recommended remedies (i.e., US Attorney Consumer Fraud, Arizona Contractor Licensing Authority, Social Media Outlets, etc.) to promote awareness of this business's illegal and fraudulent practices. Sincerely, ***** **** 

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/29/2022

  We will not do business with Mr. ****.

  Respectfully,Ron J****

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/05/2022

  Based on Mr. J****’s one sentence reply (i.e., “We will not do business with Mr. ****”), I do not accept the business’s response and this complaint should not be closed as a resolved matter.  My dispute has not been resolved. Nor did the business address the basis for my dispute in either of its two responses.  Therefore, I request that the BBB reflect that the “business did not address or answer my dispute.”Mr. J**** is refusing to do business with me because I filed a BBB complaint, doesn’t want to be bothered with such a small order, hoped I would get frustrated and walk away, and most importantly because he cannot refute any of the following negative assertions about him and his company in my complaint and rebuttal:(Doesn’t Tell the Truth/Integrity & Doesn’t Honor Promises & Not Transparent) - Business issued me an invoice to pay for $1,485 (See Attachment 6a) which is higher than the amount promised (See Attachment 6B).  This is a “Bait & Switch” scheme which is illegal, fraudulent and a “Deceptive Trade Practice.”Business issued me an erroneous drawing to approve for production (See Attachment 7) because it did not contain the 3” grommet I requested.  This faulty drawing would have caused unnecessary future contacts and time for me and the company.  It would have also caused unnecessary additional work by its production facility.(Not Responsive to Customer) Business ignored my multiple requests for over a month (9/10/22 to date of complaint 10/10/22), to provide me a correct invoice and a drawing. (See Attachment #8)(Not Responsive to BBB) - Business ignored BBB in responding to my complaint for over a month.  The BBB made multiple attempts to secure a response and left 2 phone messages and 2 emails after forwarding my complaint to the business. (See BBB Records)(Doesn’t Tell the Truth/Integrity) – The business (i.e., Director of Customer Service) lied to the BBB by telling ***** ****** they were not aware of my complaint even though he had forwarded the complaint on 10/10/22, left two phone messages and sent 2 emails.  The business promised that the President would directly reply in a couple of days which didn’t happen. (See BBB Records)(Not Responsive to BBB or Customer) - BBB Closed my complaint on 11/16/22 an “Unanswered Dispute” (See Attachment #9) due to not be successful in obtaining a response from the company.  (See BBB Records)(Not Responsive to BBB & Customer) - BBB received a reply from Mr. Ron J****, President, on 11/18/22 (See Attachment #10).  I assume Mr. J**** finally provided a reply to BBB, because he was notified that the complaint was “Closed Unanswered”, which could have an adverse impact on his rating.(Doesn’t Tell the Truth/Integrity & Not Responsive to BBB & Customer & Not Transparent) - In the business’s 11/18/22 reply (See Attachment #10), Mr. J**** did not address the basis of my complaint, which involved his company issuing me an invoice to pay a higher amount than previously promised by the business and issued an incorrect drawing of the furniture I was ordering to approve.  Instead, Mr. J**** lied to the BBB by stating in his response that he personally responded to me and informed me that he would not be able to accommodate my request and Declined to Do Business With Me.  I provided a copy of Mr. J****’s email reply to me (See Attachment #2) which stated: “We will not be able to satisfy all of your demands”.  There was no mention of “Not Doing Business” with me.  There is a huge difference in what Mr. J**** informed the BBB in writing and to what actually happened.  When Mr. J**** replied that “he would not be able to satisfy all of my demands”, I assumed he meant he could not provide the expedited delivery I had requested.  I even mentioned that in my reply (See Attachment #2). I also pointed out the reason for my contact with him was because I felt Ms. M**** was being careless, unresponsive, and untimely in responding to me because my current order was less than $1,500.(Not Responsive to Customer) – It took Ms. M****, Stone Creek Furniture Design Engineer, 6 weeks to design a small & simple open credenza and issue me an invoice and drawing.  (See Attachment #11 for 7/30/22 start date) (See Attachment #6a for Invoice Date of 9/9/22)(Not Willing to Resolve Legitimate Customer Complaint) – I contacted Cindy M****, Design Engineer, and Mr. Ron J****, President, on multiple occasions to request that the company correct the higher invoice and erroneous drawing before I filed a complaint with the BBB.  (See Attachment #8).  The business made no attempt to resolve my complaint in its 2 responses to the BBB.  It finally replied to the BBB on 11/30/22: “We will not do business with Mr. ****”.  Clearly this business ignores making any attempt to resolve a customer complaintCertainly, these are not the practices of a business Accredited by the BBB.  This business does not even associate itself or list its BBB Accreditation on its own website. Based on my recent experience, this business doesn’t “Tell the Truth”, isn’t “Transparent”, does not “Honor Promises”, and has not been “Responsive to me or the BBB” (BBB Accreditation requirements). Since it is apparent that Mr. J**** is unwilling to resolve my legitimate complaint, cannot refute any of my assertions, has not addressed my complaint, has been unresponsive to me and the BBB, and purposely lied to me and the BBB, I’m requesting that the BBB re-evaluate this business’s Accreditation. It failed the following BBB Accreditation factors: Unanswered Complaints, Unresolved Complaints, Complaint Resolution Delayed, Failure to Address Complaint Pattern, Transparent Business Practices).   I’m also requesting that when the BBB assigns a rating, that it not be higher than a “C” based on my recent experience and other complaints filed against it. Potential customers need to be warned about this business’s illegal business practices, lack of integrity, unresponsiveness, and unwillingness to respond and to resolve customer complaints, and anti-customer service practices.  The BBB needs to share my unfavorable experience with this business on its web site, so that other potential customers are aware of how this business unfairly treated me and could also treat them.  I was a loyal customer for 20 years and I even recently spent over $11,500 with them; however, this business’s treatment of me when I placed a much smaller purchase of less than $1,500 dramatically changed.  They tried to take advantage of me, by charging me a higher price than quotes, and by constantly delaying and being unresponsive to me, hoping that I would go away because my order was too small for them.  And when I filed a complaint, Mr. J**** finally decided to announce “we will not do business with me” in his 2nd reply, with no explanation.Based on Mr. J****’s unwillingness to resolve my complaint and his dish****ty with the BBB and me, and his company’s illegal business practices , I plan on pursuing other recommended remedies  (i.e., US Attorney Consumer Fraud, Arizona Contractor Licensing Authority, Social Media Outlets, etc.) to promote awareness of this company’s illegal, fraudulent and unfavorable customer practices.  I will keep the BBB informed of any unfavorable findings, fines and penalties imposed by the AZ State and Federal Government so it can be used in further adversely impacting this business’s BBB Rating and Accreditation.  The public needs to be made aware of this business’s illegal and anti-customer service practices under Mr. J****’s leadership, which is sad.Sincerely,***** ****