ComplaintsforCustom Armoire Company

• Initial Complaint

  10/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  We entered a contract with this company in March 2023 to build custom shelves in May 2023. They rescheduled to late June. When the installers came in June, half of teh shelves were built to an incorrect size. We were rescheduled for final install at the end of July. In late July, for the first time, they indicated they needed to cancel the install date and come do a final walk through. This was a delay tactic. We did not get another install date until October 2023. The installer came and was unable to complete the project AGAIN due to the company's failure to order the correct supplies. We have paid over $13,000, and our house is in a state of disarray due to this delay. We have been waiting for over 5 months for this company to fulfill its contract from the initial promised date of completion.

• Initial Complaint

  02/25/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  **************** President of Atlanta Bookshelves, came to our home to quote custom bookshelves. During the in-home quote, my husband showed him two shelving units in our home and indicated we wanted the new built-in shelving unit to match the existing ones, including a shiplap back. *** indicated that the new shelving unit would match. These other shelving units are high quality wood, and the shiplap is also true shiplap (separate interlocking boards). What was installed 12/28/22 was low-quality MDF paneling made to mimic shiplap. What we understood we were paying for (and did pay for, as they required payment of the balance the day of installation) was wood shiplap of interlocking boards.When we raised this issue with our project manager, noting the discrepancy between what we paid for and what was installed, she said requests for specific materials have to be made in writing. This was never disclosed to ** by ************ and isn't noted in the contract. The design materials provided by the company refer to "shiplap". The project manager argued that what they installed qualifies as shiplap, though it is not what ************ verbally agreed to provide. We were advised that to replace the paneling with shiplap would be an additional $647 (total paid: $2,288). Since we believe we already paid for shiplap, we'd like a refund for the $647 overpayment. We requested this from the company and were denied.We asked to speak to the ********** **************** in excess of twenty times verbally and in writing, in both his capacity as President and salesperson, but never heard from him. When we called him ourselves, we were told he was unavailable. Overall I found this company deceptive and unethical, and the leadership and management by *************** appalling. Verbal conversations cannot be trusted to be implemented and their lack of specificity on materials in the contract leaves them the ability to use cheaper materials in their sole discretion and without notification to the client.

  Business response

  03/06/2023

  Hello *****,
  
  Thank you for contacting Atlanta Bookshelves.
  
  I apologize, we have delivered every part of your project and received a confirmation from your husband that we have completed the punchlist for your project. 
  
  As previously discussed, the quote given at the start of the consultation was for a shiplap was for standard MDF material unless requested as wood. We offered to replace them with wood for $647 which you declined.
  
  We are unable to issue any refund.
  
  We understand that this is not the message you wanted to hear and it must be disappointing. We hope you understand and we sincerely appreciate your business.
  
  Sincerely,
  Atlanta Bookshelves
  
  

  Customer response

  03/10/2023

   
  Complaint: 19499308
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Thank you for the response. The punch list was completed six weeksand after three missed or rescheduled (by Atlanta Bookshelves, not **) appointmentsafter the initial install. The question of punch list completion was never at issue, nor was it part of the complaint. 

  Several key points to rebut your response:

  1. You said the quote given at the start of the consultation was for a shiplap was for standard MDF material unless requested as wood. The materials Atlanta Bookshelves intended to use were never disclosed to us verbally or in writing.

  2. We showed ************ what we wanted his work to match, including the material. This constitutes a verbal request for true wood shiplap. 

  3. It was never disclosed to us, verbally or in writing, that this request needed to be made in writing. 

  Therefore, we believe that what was quoted was for the same wood shiplap in other areas of our home and believe that Atlanta Bookshelves operated fraudulently, leveraging a lack of disclosure on their part to charge us for a product we did not receive.

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

  Business response

  03/17/2023

  Hello *****,
  
  Thank you for your response. 
  
  Please see clarification below:
  1. Materials that we use are standard in the industry. We received the initial request via email from your husband without any request for wood. The quote provided was not for a wood product. Please see attached file.
  2. *** saw the sample to match for the design when he came out but did not receive the request for wood material. If wood was request, an add-on cost would have been advised since wood is more expensive than MDF.
  3. If a request has been made to specifically use wood as material for the built-ins, we do not have records of it. If we made a mistake that we missed your request, we would have rectified this mistake without additional cost. Since you are also unable to provide any records, we offered to replace the shiplap with would material. 
  
  Our stand remains the same that we have delivered the product that was quoted. I am sorry, we are unable to provide any refunds.
  
  We apologize for any misunderstanding. We appreciate your feedback.

  Customer response

  03/20/2023

   
  Complaint: 19499308
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  With due respect, you are still unable to dispute the fact that my husband verbally requested wood by showing you the product we wanted, and your company never indicated that any request had to be made in writing. 

  1. Standard in the industry may be known to you as a vendor, but it is not known to us as the customer, nor was it ever communicated. If youre adhering to an industry standard, you bear the burdenas the member of the industryof conveying it to the customer. The request for wood was made when showing you the product we wanted used, at which point you should have communicated that what we had previously installed in our home is not industry standard and thus we either needed to request that in writing or the quote would be based on this un-communicated standard. You did not, so we believed that what wed been quoted was for wood.

  2. What was requested was for the product your company would install to match what we had in our home, both in design and material. It was not advised that we had to make any requests in writing. We were also never told that there would be an add-on for wood, or that the quote was not for wood. Thus, our understanding was that the quote was based on use of wood materials.

  3. Again, we were never told, verbally or in writing, that a request for specific materials had to be made in writing. We believed the verbal request for the proposed new shelving to be the same as the ones previously installed 

  The bottom line is that we asked for the same product as we have already. We were not told that any requests had to be made in writing. Therefore, we believed the quote was inclusive of what wed asked for: wood shiplap. Neither your verbal communication, written communication, nor contract indicate that requests for specific materials must be made in writing. 

  Our stance remains that you intentionally and fraudulently utilized subpar materials, having led us to believe that the verbal conversation (in which it was never communicated what industry standard is, or that wed need to request a deviation in writing) would suffice. And it is my belief that you know this was fraudulent and unethical, and this is why *************** declined our repeated requests to discuss this issue with him directly. 

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

• Initial Complaint

  01/19/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My wife and I entered into contract with Atlanta Bookshelves Inc. to build a large wardrobe-style, built-in closet in the master bedroom of our home in Atlanta. The install occurred on October 27th, 2022 and was mostly completed, except for the installation of a closet lighting system that was to be included. Apparently the lighting parts were faulty. We agreed that they could come back to finish that aspect of the installation. We provided a check that day to pay the balance of the contract ($5,885 in total), trusting that Atlanta Bookshelves would return in a timely manner to finish the lighting installation. What followed a series of repeated delays by the company, continually pushing the completion of our installation to a later and later date, scheduling - and then cancelling the day of - on Nov 23, Dec 15, and Dec 27. When they finally came on 12/28, the lighting was not installed properly, and only works when all closet sections are open at the same time, rather than lighting up each individual closet when opened, as designed. Given the repeated waste of our time by the company - having rescheduled plans and emptied our closets on 3 occasions, only to have them cancel on us - and a faulty installation even when they finally did come, we have requested both by voicemail and email that they simply refund us for the lighting portion of our invoice and not return to finish the job. We do not have faith that they will complete it properly or honor scheduled commitments and we simply don't want to waste any more time on the process. The company seems to have decided that our request does not deserve a response as they've failed to reply to our phone calls or email. We're simply hoping we can be refunded the small portion of our overall invoice that covers the work not completed and be done with this process.

  Business response

  01/23/2023

  Hello ****,
  
  Good afternoon. We had some technical issues and missed your email. I am just seeing your email now. I also do not have any records of the voicemail you mentioned that you left after the installation was done last December 28. I sincerely apologize for this extreme delay in responding.
  
  At this point, since we have installed everything for your project, your built-ins are under warranty for up to a year, and the lights are for 60 days. As previously stated, a refund is not possible. The option is for us to fix them. With that said, I have the installers scheduled to come out on Tuesday, January 31 from 5 pm onwards, together with *******
  
  Please let me know how you would like to proceed. Thank you for reaching out. Atlanta Bookshelves will take care of you.

  Customer response

  01/25/2023

   
  Complaint: 18835759
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  (1) I find the company's response that they have no record of my voicemail (left the night of the failed installation) and that "technical issues" prevented them from responding to my email quite disingenuous and honestly a bit insulting. 

  (2) Under normal circumstances, the company coming to remedy the installation would make sense, unfortunately, as I documented in my initial complaint, Atlanta Bookshelves has shown extreme disregard for keeping their scheduled appointments, cancelling the day-of on three separate occasions and every time only communicating this after we called to find out their ETA. Not once did they proactively inform us of their need to reschedule. If this had occurred once, it would be understandable, but it is a clear pattern. We simply do not trust them to show up on the scheduled date. The company seems totally unwilling to even acknowledge this pattern or apologize for wasting our time over and over. 

  (3) Atlanta Bookshelves has stated that "a partial refund is not possible" - they have given no rationale as to why. We are not looking for a significant sum of money, as I can't imagine that these lighting components are very expensive. I would think a token refund would actually be more cost efficient then sending out staff to our house yet again. 

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

  Business response

  01/25/2023

  Hello ****,
  
  Thank you for your response.
  
  We apologize once again that we experienced technical issues. We strive hard to keep our scheduled appointments and we admit that we failed to communicate properly the first time the go back was cancelled, we did inform you and your wife the reasons why he had to reschedule on the next two instances. So the statement that "Not once did they proactively inform us of their need to reschedule. " is simply not true.
  
  As stated on the previous response, ALL parts of your project has been delivered and installed. Your project is in warranty up to 12 months and the lights for ********************************************** Article 6 #**.
  
  Since we have not received a response that January 31 would work for you, we tried to call yesterday but reached your voicemail. 
  
  The installers can come out on Wednesday, February 1, arriving after 5pm onwards, with ***************, to fix your lights. This is the only option we can offer.
  
  Let me know how you would like to proceed. Thank you.
  
  

  Customer response

  01/26/2023

   
  Complaint: 18835759
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I think that I've made it clear that we are not willing to entertain Atlanta Bookshelves coming back to our home given the repeated cancellations and disregard for our time. If that is the only option that Atlanta Bookshelves can offer, then I suppose we're at an impasse and I shouldn't waste my time further. 

  I will note, just for the record that when Atlanta Bookshelves states: "we admit that we failed to communicate properly the first time the go back was cancelled, we did inform you and your wife the reasons why he had to reschedule on the next two instances" - I never claimed they did not tell us the reasons why they had to reschedule. I was pointing out the fact that in all three instances where they cancelled the day-of the appointment, the company did not proactively contact us to inform us they could not keep their schedule. It was only after I called their office on each of those days asking for update on the estimated time of arrival that I was told, in fact, they could no longer come. 

  In any event, it is unfortunate that this couldn't be resolved. I have no issues with Atlanta Bookshelves craftsmanship (other than the failure to properly install the lighting), but the communication from the company could certainly be improved. I'd also point out that only offering to schedule the many "go back" appointments after 5pm and typically many weeks apart, when the work has been fully paid for, sends a really bad message to the customer, demonstrating that you're prioritizing new work over existing obligations. Do with that feedback what you will. 

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

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