ComplaintsforTropical Tile and Stone Inc

• Initial Complaint

  09/25/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I hired Tropical Tile and Stone in ************** to order and install tile in my kitchen for the backspash. Install scheduled 09/21/23. After the tile was installed the installer wanted to grout the tile immediately after installation, I told the installer I wanted to wait to allow for the adhesive to cure. He came back the next day, 09/22/23, but I told him I didn't want to move forward with the grouting because I was unhappy with the appearance of some of the tiles. So he left. That evening the tiles started falling off the wall! Tiles were breaking as they hit the countertop too! I went to the store with photos, 09/23/23, and asked to speak to the owner. The owner, ******************, stated that it was "my fault" because I wouldn't let them finish the job. He said if I had let them grout the tile, it would not have fallen off the wall.At no time, did owner provide a resolution or try to discuss what could be done to resolve my concerns or the quality of work. He just denied that any of the issues were the business' fault.I walked out of the store and told him we were no longer in a working relationship.At this time the tile is of no use to me. I would like to get a refund for the tile as it is no use to me. They can have the tile.

  Business response

  09/26/2023

  Thank you for allowing me to share my side of the encounter. Attached is a picture of the backsplash 9-21-23 about an hour after the installer was finished. On the morning of the installation my installer arrived to start the job and was immediately met by the home owner with contempt and a poor attitude. However he continued to install the tile according to the manufactures instructions as he has done countless times. ( He has been installing tile for 12 years now.) After the installation was complete he had to remove this brown paper on the face of the tile that hold them together. This *************** is not bound together with a mesh backing that most people are use to, it has a solid piece of brown paper that must be dampened and removed after installation. After the paper was removed it was lunch time so he informed the customer that he would like it dry for a while and then come back later that afternoon and grout. This is standard practice among backsplash installation and does not cause any issues. The drywall absorbs the moisture from the thin set pretty quickly and sets up enough for grout withing an hour or two. After my installer left for lunch the customer called me and said she would like to wait until the next morning to grout instead of grouting that afternoon. Even though this complicated my scheduling process for another job I readily agreed. I told my installer this and he said he needed to go back and clean up for the evening then because he didn't want to leave his tools laying around or any mess for the home owner throughout the evening. Shortly after he arrived back at her house he called me and asked my to come to the home because the owner was not happy with something, so i arrived approximately 10 minutes later. This was around 2pm that Thursday. The customer informed me that the tile under the microwave appeared darker than the others and she wasn't happy about it. I tried to reassure her that the darker looking tiles was a trick of the light cause by her microwave casting a shadow due to her overhead lights. She disagreed even though I used the flash light from my phone to show her that was what was happening. I also informed her that this man made glass tile has an inherent color and shade variance in it. The sample she took home with her before her purchase of the tile has this written on it in large bold letters. We agreed to continue to let the tile dry over night and finish the job in the morning. Before we left for the evening we made sure to reinstall her stove so she wouldn't be without. When my installer arrived the next morning she would not allow him to do anything to the job as she was still unhappy with the tile itself. She did not have a single complaint at the time about the quality of the installation and the tile were still on the wall. Saturday morning she showed up to my showroom and since it was my day off my shop manager called me and asked me to come in and talk to her. So I was there about 10 minutes later. When I arrived she showed me the pictures of tile that had somehow fallen off shortly after my installer left that Friday. I asked how we could resolve any of these issues and I did share my disbelief that the tile had just fallen off the day after it was installed when her own pictures clearly show that the tile was firmly embedded into the thin set. She accused us of not knowing how to install tile and did not want me to do anything other than give her the money back for the tile itself. I tried to get her to let us finish the job but she informed me that she wanted to cut all contact with us and to giver her the tile refund. I explained to her that I could not refund the tile because it had been installed already and reminded her that I had never even charged her for the labor and I had no intentions to at this point. She was very rude and raising her *********** the entire time before she stormed out telling me I hadn't seen the last of her. She then proceeded to leave extremely misleading reviews and face book post about me trying to hurt my reputation, she showed no interest what so ever in allowing us to make the job right. It is my belief that she did not like her tile choice after the paper had been removed during the install and she decided to try and get my company to pay for her mistaken choice. Her husband has been emailing me since the accident and saying that the tile fell off because my installer applied too much thin set (this makes absolutely no sense) he also shared his concern that some of the thin set has squeezed up between the grout joints during installation and was concerned we couldn't fix that even though we were never given the chance to easily remedy it. I am sorry she didn't like her choice of tile but I do not appreciate the attacks against my small business because of it.

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