ComplaintsforThe Neighborhood Builder, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  05/30/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The Neighborhood Builder, LLC ID#***********, owned and operated by *********************** was hired to complete some renovations on a house we just purchased in early 2022. The hardwood floor installation did not turn out favorably. There were multiple issues with the floor not being filled and finished correctly which caused the floor to have to be sanded and refinished a second time. The second time the floor was finished it was still not correct. **** himself and even a second opinion from a separate floor finisher yielded the need for more repairs. We contacted **** in early summer of 2022 to get the contact information for the floor finisher, ****, so we could start moving forward with repairs. When contacting **** he stated that he was about three weeks out and would be in touch. This was fine with us but three weeks then four and no word from either **** or ****. We contacted **** again due to the unresponsiveness of the floor finisher. We were told again that they would be in touch in a few weeks. No response again. It was now the holiday season and we decided to wait to contact them until after the holiday bustle had settled down. We reached out to **** in January 2023 regarding the resolution and he stated he spoke with **** and we would be contacted by the end of the week. It is now 5/27/2023, almost a year later, and no one has been back to our house! We used the Neighborhood Bulder, LLC. for some work in our previous home we had and the job we finished in a timely manner and the quality was good. This time around as one can see it was a totally different story. We are still hopeful to get this situation resolved with, either with reimbursement for a new contractor or to get the Neighborhood Builder, LLC. to refinish the floors before this becomes a legal battle. I would definitely not recommend the Neighborhood Builder, LLC. or any of their affiliates to do any work on your home.

  Business response

  06/17/2023

  To whom this may concern:
  We have had a history with working with these customers to come back to resolve issues and have had successful results.  We would be more inclined to help resolve this particular issue if there would not have been an extensive history come back to work for free and provide free materials.We are willing to come up with a compromise to help with the stain color concerns.  In this document we will be providing a breakdown of this past issues with a timeline. These customers who have a history knit picking contractors to come back multiple times for free and not wanting to pay for labor or materials.
  Customers purchased their own red oak hardwood from *********** therefore we cannot guarantee the quality of the flooring.  We did present a quote to purchase hardwood flooring from Denver ******** or LL Flooring.  The customers chose to purchase their own flooring which we had our team install, sand and finish. We sanded and finished with 101 Country White ********
  stain and Bona Mega clear coat from Denver ******** Flooring.We completed this job the first time in January of 2022 for the agreed price.At the time of completion we did a physical walk through with the customers and they approved and we were paid in full. We then fast-forward to March of 2022 when the customers texted pictures of the flooring with gaps. The customers were not happy due to the flooring they bought from ********** (unknown grade quality) and blamed us for not installing the flooring correctly due to gaps and cracking. We had our team come back to sand, fill gaps and finish again with the same products mentioned above in March of 2022. We did a thorough walk through a second time and they were satisfied in person. We did our best to satisfy their concerns with the stain color they chose and filling in the gaps on the flooring they purchased for a second time. We did not charge them because we wanted the customers to be happy. Then a few weeks later there were only a couple of spots that needed to be touched up where there was slight color variation from the first coat to the second coat that was applied. The customer felt that we used a different product for their finishing coat but I reassured it was the same product. She sent me pictures of this small area for touch up but she expressed her floors are showing yellowish color. To recap the customers purchased their own hardwood flooring and chose the stain. We did provide a small 2 foot by 2 foot sample area for the customers at the very beginning of the process for the customers to decide their stain color. The customers want us to be held responsible to come back again for free and provide materials and labor a third time without acknowledging these facts that they chose their hardwood flooring and stain color choice. We can come back to sand and put a clear coat for the customers but this would be a paid service since this would be the third time to come out.
  I do take the responsibility of not responding to the customers sooner but as a small business we need to be paid for materials and labor. Labor also comes in the form of spending time attempting to resolve customer issues, which have been a plethora of hours on other projects that we completed for them and coming back to resolve many questions and complaints without any additional costs. Customers who only want to complain about each small imperfection should understand that time is money. Furthermore, have empathy from a small business owner e dignity and respect to pay for any additional work outside the original scope of work. Even after the second time that we fixed the floors they hired for handrail job which we completed.  We want to work with our customers while creating respectful business relationships with clearer guidelines now on.

  We at The Neighborhood Builder want our customers to achieve their home projects dreams and feel great about our efforts on working together. I am Veteran, so I understand the value of hard work and commitment so coming up with a compromise appears to be the next step. If they want us to comeback to help with their flooring we can do so but there will be contract that will need to be signed. There will be a financial responsibility that we can agree upon for a third visit to their house. There will not be a guarantee for hardwood flooring they purchased due the fact it wasn't a vender we guarantee quality and color. We want to clarify the concerns again since it was unclear the first and second time, even though we did 2 physical walk-throughs.
  We will be available to take a call or text on the customers decision regarding this matter. We appreciate the opportunity to respond to all customers who also treat us with respect and dignity. 

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