Purchase and Install Santos Mahogany Hardwood
John , the managing director, measured the ground floor of my house and came up with a requirement of 450 sq.ft. of Santos Mahogany (expensive, yet our choice). They were to deliver 24 boxes (18.75 sq.ft. per box) of the wood needed several days in advance of the installation that they also undertook to do. I found that four of the boxes that were delivered had been opened before and had pieces of wood missing (I took pictures of the stacks of the boxes on my old parquet floor). They gave a part of an extra box to make up for the shortage. Now, getting opened boxes with presumably discarded or leftover pieces from previous jobs is not the same as getting 24 unopened boxes with brand new planks of wood when you have paid the full price for new wood, especially after being duped into buying an excessive amount of wood. When I called John a few days before installation to get a confirmation of the installation, he was dismissive of me and referred me to his office clerk, who confirmed the installation date. When no one appeared in the morning of the day of installation (it was to be completed in 1 day), I called the office and was told that the installer and his assistants had another job to do and asked me if it was OK for just 1 installer to come by the next day and complete the job in 2 days. I was not inclined to put myself out and accommodate them, especially after the lackadaisical and almost rude treatment that I had received from both John and his office assistant, Quesy. As I had with me quotes from other companies for the installation, I decided to go with one of them. That company’s quote only called for 418 sq.ft. But, since my interest was in getting the job done by Three Towers Flooring itself, I purchased John’s suggested requirement of 450 sq.ft. to avoid paying a second delivery charge if less wood was purchased and it ran short. As it turned out, 3 full unopened boxes were left after the installation. When I called John to return those boxes, he said that they don’t take any boxes back even if unopened. The fact that I had to buy those extra boxes only to satisfy his excessive quote did not matter to him. Also, the statement on their website that they are environmentally conscious is a lot of hogwash when they overestimate the wood by a significant margin and have no facility to take any unopened boxes back. If that were indeed their policy, I wonder how my consignment was delivered partly in opened and incomplete boxes. The installer, on being informed of this subsequently, was astonished about the policy. Having done many installs using wood delivered by other companies, the installer had taken extra trouble not to open all the boxes in a haphazard fashion and to leave 3 unopened boxes intact, thinking from his previous experiences that unopened boxes were returnable. Three Towers Flooring should be avoided at all costs for these reasons: (i) they are indifferent towards customers, almost to the point of rudeness, (ii) they renege on contractual obligations, (iii) their products are not up to snuff, and (iv) their purported environmental consciousness is an idle boast almost to the point of being farcical. I would never buy any product or entrust any business to Three Towers Flooring in this lifetime again. I will try to find the time to report this company to the Better Business Bureau for unethical business practices.
========= Feb 4, 2014 ==================================
This is in response to the Three Towers response to my review. What they are saying are absolute fabrications. Here's the proof: My house's current constitution is as follows:
(1) Basement - incomplete & has a cement floor (original)
(2) 2nd Floor - fully carpeted (original)
(3) Listed Square Footage for the house - 1798 (for 2 floors)
(4) Stairways leading away from Main Floor - fully carpeted
(5) Main floor area (1/2 of 1798) = 899 sq.ft of which the Foyer, Powder Room, Laundry Room, Kitchen & Dinette all have original ceramic floors. Hardwood was needed only on:
(a) Family Room 11'4"x12'8" = 143.4 sq.ft. minus Fireplace area 3'x3' = -9 sq.ft.
(b) Dining Room 11'10"x10'2" = 120.3 sq.ft.
(c) Living Room 11'10"x11'10" = 140.0 sq.ft minus angled wall for Foyer = half of 6'x6' = -18 sq.ft.
Therefore, the total hardwood requirement was = 143.4 - 9.0 + 120.3 + 140.0 - 18.0 = 376.7 sq.ft. + 7% wastage = 403 sq.ft.
I have receipts to show that I got 450 sq.ft. from Three Towers and the total sq. footage required (with wastage) by the other company that installed the floor was 418 Sq.ft. Why would I buy 450 sq. ft. from Three Towers if I already had 3 boxes which they claim I had from a previous job and needed only 418 sq.ft. for the whole job? Defies logic, doesn't it? My receipt for the installation from the other company specifies removal of only parquet flooring (original) and no previous hardwood flooring. It's easy to show that the Three Towers Flooring's response is full of fabrications. Like in the old Wild West, they seem to be shooting from the hip. I'll not quibble any further with a company that's so cheap as to compound unethical business practices with downright falsehoods. Nothing of what they have said in their response can they substantiate. The proof is in the pudding. Compare the above numbers with their response. Good luck to those who ignore my warnings, because they'll be needing it big time! Read my other reviews on this site if you have any doubts about my bona fides. Note that I take the trouble to write a review only if I'm overly pleased or absolutely disgusted with a company. Three Towers Flooring is a rare example of the latter. Enough said.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $2,924.00
- Company Response
Marino is only telling us half the story. First of all, when he purchased the floor he worked out a discount based on the fact that we would both supply AND install. Based on the knowledge that we had already purchased material from us, we went waived the $50 fee for measuring his home. When we arrived at his home, he advised that he already had 3 boxes left over from his previous installation(he had installed his living and dining room and now was doing his family room and hallway). Our measurement tally showed 418 square feet, and based on 418 square feet we told him he needed 450 square feet. Now this is where the squabbling begins: he tells us that we should use HIS 3 left over boxes and we told him we cannot warranty the installation if we start mixing material, because we do not know if his material will fit together with ours. He insisted that he only wants to buy 400 square feet and that we use his 3 boxes for waste. When we told him we could not do that, he went ahead with his purchase of the material of 450 square feet, but cancelled our installation service, and proceeded to install with his previous installers. Now, at the end of the job, he used ALL of the 450 square feet that we supplied, and he was trying to return the original 3 boxes that he had left over from his previous installation!! He did not even buy those boxes from us. So my question to Mario is if you were so confidant of your measurements, and you hired your own installers to install for you, why did you order the 450 square feet? John did tell you he required 450 square feet to do the job, but the question here is not the footage, it was the fact that you were trying to get rid of the 3 boxes that you had left over from your other job. When Three Towers told you they would not use the material, you went ahead and purchased the full amount you needed, fired Three Towers from the installation and then try to return the wood that you bought from someone else. Seriously, 3 or 4 times a year we get people trying to return wood that we did not sell to them. They change the stickers, even going to the extent of filling a box with off cuts from the installation and bringing it back. This is just some of the things we deal with.
With respect to our environmental policy, we are dead serious when we source our material. All of our suppliers have a forest management plan, especially the suppliers of exotic wood. Our own staff goes to Brazil, Colombia and Panama 3 times a year and visits our suppliers. We know them very well, and we simply would not do business with anyone if we had the slightest inclination that they were selling us any type of illegally logged timbers. I have seen the re-planting programs, the logs are selectively harvested. I have seen it all and we are extremely serious about our dedication to buying only from companies that respect the environment.