Just about the worst contractor experience I've had, and I've had a lot.
In my experience, National is a poorly run company that is not only capable of real incompetence, but which is also disinterested in customer service or satisfaction, and unwilling to take ownership of their mistakes.
We try very hard to be understanding of the difficulties of managing a business, and we do give contractors a lot of leeway and many chances to make mistakes right. Everything can be resolved if people are honest, ethical, and respectful of each other.
Contractors like working with us, and we have good relationships with contractors, because we've been there, we understand what they're up against, we pay our bills, are willing to pay extra for quality, and ultimately, all we want is a job well done and promises met.
So, we needed a simple carpet runner made to replace a worn runner on our front staircase. This was in a house we own that was vacant and being prepared to sell. Our general contractor recommended National.
National claimed to have come to our property to measure the job multiple times (no one else was present so I don't know if their claim is true). They quoted the job, went over carpet samples with our agent, and then scheduled installation, and gave them a deposit of 50%, as they requested.
Based in part upon their schedule, we scheduled other things, including final cleaning and staging.
When the carpet installation date came and went without anything being done, we contacted them. There were more delays and difficulty getting anyone to respond, but eventually, David, the owner, wrote that the job was simply too difficult for them and they'd have to pass.
We suspected there had to have been a misunderstanding (including the possibility that they'd been looking at the wrong staircase) as there was nothing anyone, including the general contractor, could think of that was particularly difficult about the job. To clear up any possible misunderstanding, we sent multiple emails with photos of the actual staircase. We thought we were all on the same page when Nyomi, the salesperson, rescheduled the job for this coming Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the comprehensive housecleaning was completed, as was staging. So this would be very last minute, but we could make it work. Then, yesterday, David wrote asking if we had more than one staircase in the house, as if none of this had ever been discussed, no emails had been exchanged, and no photos provided.
Apparently, they really had not read the emails at all.
We sent the photo again, and David eventually responded, admitting that they'd measured and quoted the wrong staircase, but now blaming it on us, or the realtor, for having put the lockbox on the wrong door! Really?
Nevertheless, we hung there with them because we really needed the job done and National had consumed all the time we had for this job and thus we did not have time to start over with another contractor. We continued emailing and calling, trying to get the project back on track.
Finally, yesterday, David seemed to get it and told me he'd try to schedule it and get it done as originally promised.
Throughout all this, they never apologized for anything or in any way suggested wanting to make things right. Instead, David wrote today to advise that they'd become too busy and did not have time to do the job, after all, leaving us with nothing but a big mess to deal with.
At this point, we are within days of listing the house, and will have to put the old carpet back down and put the property on the market, otherwise sparkling clean, with 10 year old worn carpet on the front staircase. It's a shame.
I understand from others I have talked to since that this is not the first job this company has botched recently and failed to make right. I don't know about that, but I do know that in our case, National showed no signs of acknowledging responsibility for their errors, the mess they made for us and left us to deal with, and certainly, there has been no apology for any of it.
I'd stay away from them if you have any other options. read more