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Hi,
I have a dilemma and I'd love some opinions...
With all my craft stuff, we need plenty of storage! We are remodeling a house and hope to live there for the rest of our lives. We ordered a "California Closet" storage system from a lady who had sold us these closets for our existing house (we bought 3 times already). Because we are repeat customers, she gave us a great deal -- about 25% off and we install it...
We got a system designed and the lady ordered it for us and she sent me the final design and contract via e-mail this afternoon (after about a month of discussions -- during which time she came to the job site). As soon as I saw the contract this afternoon I saw she had put down the wrong color (white instead of almond). Of course I e-mailed her back right away but she didn't get it until about 8:30. She had put a rush on it because we need it by Friday (remember the discussion has been going on for a while) and so by the time she called the production unit a few hours later (about 8:30), it was already done. So now there is a 15' x 6' system sitting in Denver waiting for us to pick it up -- but in the wrong color. We hadn't signed the contract yet.
She has worked for California Closets for 18 years and says this is the first time she has made such an error. If we don't take the system in white, then she says the company owners will make her pay for it (about $2500). She says we didn't tell her the color (I believe I did, verbally, but I don't have it in writing) -- but she did know that we wanted to reuse some drawers and admits that she has our old orders on file and that she didn't look at them. She has offered to redo the existing old drawer fronts in white.
I don't want her to have to buy this system -- she is a very nice lady and also it's a small world. Also, she says the company won't be able to cut a new system for us in time -- she doesn't know when they'll be able to get to it (of course, she used her green stamps with the owners already by putting a rush on it because they are very busy). So if we insist on almond color, then we don't get it in time and she suffers.
I haven't been able to sleep -- she is leaving this morning and is going to call back in a few hours -- of course, I'm dreaming that maybe someone out there in the Denver area has a need for a California Closet (it's a modular system and can be reconfigured) and will want this great deal and I can get the closet I wanted for my dream house.
What to do? Would you stick to your guns and insist on the almond color or would you just take the white one even though it isn't what you wanted? I know it's just a closet, but it has no door and will be visible -- everything else is NOT white (and we paid extra for that).
If it were me and this is the house I was going to live in the rest of my life... I would insist on the color I wanted... her mistake is not your mistake and you should not have to pay for it.
Whether she has to pay or not - not your problem. Not your bank account affected, etc.
And I bet dollars to donuts she can find a person/place to purchase the unit from her. Also, I don't think she'll be out as much as she is saying she will be. (Remember she is probably getting it at half of what you are spending for it.)
Good luck! Go with your heart.
__________________ I see who I want to be
In my daughter's eyes.
~Martina McBride
Wow, that is a delema. I think your decision really depends on what kind of personality you have. I mean, if this white closet is going to bug you, you have to insist on the almond. But, if it is not all that important to you, let her make it all white, get it on time and be done with it. I guess I'm saying you need to weigh the pros and cons and make a decision you can live with for a long time.
Why would you settle for something you didn't want. When you are paying top dollar for something you need to get what you paid for. Any reputable company will fix the mistake without making you feel bad that they made it. I am not trying to be harsh here, but you need to stick to your guns. If this is your dream house and your dream house has a white closet then is it really your dream house?
I would ask for the almond and not sweat it. If she has been doing this for 18 years then she should know better.
Again not trying to sound harsh, but you should definately get what you wanted to pay for, not what she wants you to pay for. ;-)
I would stick to what you want. You are going to have to live with it for the rest of you life. Get the color you want and be happy. It is your dream home. I am sure she could sell it to someone else also she does not have to pay what you do so is making a profit and has made a profit off you in the past.
No contest here. You need to get what you paid for and she needs to not lay the guilt trip on you. Especially if she admitted that she did not double check you previous orders. There is absolutely no reason for you to fret over this other than how long you will have to wait for the new unit. Hang in there and don't settle!
Heather
Location: Lake Wylie, SC (minutes from Charlotte, NC)
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Stand behind your request
Hi- I negotiated contracts as a profession for a large financial institution for 10 years. Verbal or not, you have a binding agreement which you and her are responsible for. You could argue that you never signed the contract but you did work with her to order it which would make it binding. Regardless of what she is saying, I would go above her (sales manager, owner, whatever) and settle the dispute. You have to remove the emotion she has laid upon you. She is trying to keep herself out of trouble at your expense. At a minimum, they should be able to paint what you have. No big deal. You might not get it when you wanted it but you would have what you wanted. Or, she should give you a helluva deal for accepting something you won't be happy with. Since you are a repeat customer, my hope would be that they would want to keep you around because their product is not cheap. Tell them you could've bought white at a home improvement store, installed it yourself and paid half.
Good luck-
Renee
(If she is willing to paint your existing door fronts, she can paint the rest of the system....Please let me know the outcome.)
I had the same thing happen when we had our kitchen redone. The cabinets were partially installed when my husband called "Honey, can you come home at lunch? I need your opinion on something." He never said what but as soon as I walked in the door every installer saw the look on my face. The wrong color cabinets were being installed! The ONE color we said we DIDN'T want was the color they sent. (We had discussed this at home, so there was no way there was any confussion with the kitchen place.) I was going to keep the color, b/c I didn't want to cause any hardship for anyone. My husband took me outside and told me to think about it. It was something we were going to have for a very long time and something I had to look at every day of my life. I was still on the fence b/c I am a pleaser and didn't want to have the kitchen place eat the cost. I went inside and one installer said that Jim was right, if I ordered another color then that is what I should have. We called the guy and he tried to tell us this is what we agreed upon. Luckily we had a sample of the cabinet so we could pick a floor color.
I would say think about looking at this for the rest of your life. Will you regret keeping what you really don't want?
I ended up sticking to my guns, waiting another 6 weeks and got what I love. Everyday I look at the kitchen and I know I did the right thing.
the 2 toned look is a very nice look. I'm NOT saying that if you're not happy having to look at white that you should just get it to make this lady happy, however if you did decide to keep the white it might look good?? but everyone is right. you will have to look at this closet for a very long time. you should be getting what you want. you don't want to regret that closet for the rest of your life. and I'm sure she can sell the white to someone else. whatever you decide good luck. I hope you're happy in your new home
If the closet has no door to close it off from the rest of the room, and you had a color scheme where white does not fit, then I would insist on Almond. You have to look at it and live with it, not her.
Afterall, it is your money that you are spending.
And dont worry about who has to pay for the white unit - it is modular, and someone will be happy to get a deal on it and adapt their needs and wants to save the money.
I agree with everyone else. Stick to your guns. Six years ago, we finally made the decision to change our kitchen counter to slab granite--a whole lot more that $2,500! They installed the correct slabs, everything looked fine until I walked up to the sink and saw a crack at the skinny part where I would stand every day, many times of the day. Where I would slash water every day. Where I would lean up against it from time to time. The tried to "repair" it. They tried everything. Had this crack been on one of the not so used counters, I may have taken the "pleaser" track. But I could only imagine it getting worse 15 years from that point. I insisted on a new piece. They had to rip out that slab, re-cut a new slab and re-install. No questions asked and no money out of our pocket. My sales person said "Some jobs go well, some don't, its all part of business! It happens." I love my counters and I am pleased I stuck to my guns.
Storage -- Denver area -- maybe a deal for you?
Stand behind your request
