If there were a zero star rating, this place would have earned it. If you're going to go work with…read morethese folks, be ready for delays and poor customer service -- especially if you're a woman and you have to deal with the man that works there. He drops patronizing comments around like crumbs from a donut. I imagine he's the sort that if someone tried to address it with him, he'd avail himself of responsibility because women are "over sensitive".
I went in on Friday 11th August to inquire as to whether they could find a box of 4" X 3/4" Brazilian Cherry (Jatoba) flooring to finish about 15 square feet, which I am short. They took my name and number and said they'd call if they found some.
About 45 minutes later, they called me back to say they'd located some. "Come on back in and we'll get that ordered for ya." Since I was already on the phone, I asked if he could take my credit card details so I wouldn't have to make the trip out there a second time. He seemed irritated and unwilling to do it, but I managed to persuade him to take my details, and remained generous and polite despite his dismissive tone. "Ok -- I think we'll be able to get that on the truck this afternoon for you."
The following Wednesday (15th), I still hadn't heard from them. Since he hadn't issued a receipt or confirmation email, I checked my bank account to see if the payment had gone through. It had. Since nobody had called and he'd said the wood would be on the truck Friday, I figured it'd been plenty of time, so I went to the store.
It hadn't arrived. The guy once again seemed harassed and irritated by the inquiry, refusing to make eye contact, and remaining slumped over his paperwork and computer screen, which were turned away from me. Turns out they didn't have it in the warehouse and they couldn't get it easily. He'd have to order a box from somewhere in New Jersey -- for which he explained I'd need to pay an additional $60. I wasn't willing to do that. I asked if he'd considered calling to communicate. He immediately wanted to talk about refunds. (!)
Since I'm on a tight schedule of building, I suggested instead that if they normally carry 3&1/4" or 5" Jatoba, I could get my sample from the car and we could see which of the two would work best. When I came back in, his demeanor had shifted and he was suddenly friendly. It was clear that the 3&1/4" would work, I was willing to just move forward despite his inability to comprehend that I didn't need classes on how to install flooring in a house I'm building with my own two hands.
Turns out they didn't have it in stock. It was going to take too long to order, so he offered a refund, but was unwilling to issue it directly to my credit card because there's a fee attached, and they normally issue checks to defray the cost. (!)
Not long after I left, they called back and had located a box they could get to me the following day. It was a bit more expensive, but they offered to eat the cost, so I thanked them and moved forward.
I showed up to pick up the wood first thing Friday morning the 18th -- a full week after first starting this and being promised different things that they couldn't deliver on. They loaded it in the car and sent me on my way in less than five minutes. At a stoplight, I looked down at the label on the box, which was poking through the seats. It said 5" Tiger wood.
I called and told them that I was DONE, and they'd be issuing me a refund directly to my credit card right away, which they did. I was about 10x more rude to them than I would ever normally be. Ever. Naturally, they said that this "never, ever happens".
And I'm really not proud of being so rude to them in this, but come on. They could've communicated or treated me with respect as a customer multiple times. Not only that, but if you've had a difficult interaction with a customer, you'd think it'd be in your best interest to double check the label on the box before it reaches the customer. So yes, it's the warehouse's fault for picking up the wrong box, but it's THEIR fault for not checking the box before following up with me.
Additionally, being an empathetic, responsible human being in interpersonal interactions is not a super difficult skill to learn, and it goes a long way. Their mistakes have cost me over a week in wasted time, effort and energy during a tight building process.