I was asked to drop by Stone Gallery in Mills River to review the man made slab that was ordered 3 weeks ago. I chose a quartz countertop for the soft neutral tones and because quartz is antimicrobial, completely maintenance free, and being man made I assumed the quality control would be more reliable than natural stone. The stone cutter came out this past week to plot exact measurements and I had great expectations we would have kitchen countertops within the week.
Two things went wrong; I ASSUMED and EXPECTED. When will I ever learn?!
I walked into the showroom all excited, I left cussing. The customer service rep wasted my time and got a taste of my tried patience by asking me to drop by to review counter material that in no way resembled the showroom sample. Her exact words as we approached the custom order, “There will be slight variations in all the slabs, and the color of this one is a bit off.”
Upon viewing the slab she stopped in front of I replied, “SERIOUSLY?! This is it? The background is supposed to be off-white, this looks like the Gaffney Peachoid – it’s absolutely BUTT UGLY peach!! ‘A bit off’– you’re kidding me, right? Um, absolutely HELL NO, under no circumstances, will this be going in my house.” And as my anger escalated, my social manners digressed.
Assumptions and expectations have just about been the death of me throughout this restoration. All MBSR training (Mindful Based Stress Reduction – aka meditation practice) has temporarily been disabled. MBSR is all about living in and accepting the present…but after 7+ months of a hotplate & toaster oven, mud (have mercy, the mud), blown budgets, laundry mats!, and sharing 900sf with a grandchild, temporary guests, a pig, two birds, 6 chickens who now have their own permanent home outside, and a cat – all present moments are grinding on my every last nerve. I simply can’t deep breathe and ohm this crazy shit away. So, when I pay premium for countertops I’m expecting to get what I pay for and assuming they will be installed when I was told.
So, assuming the next slab that is being rush shipped comes in reasonably close to the showroom sample we should have counters in 2 more weeks. I actually called the company, Cambria, on Friday to talk with a customer service rep about the variation in color to verify with them that slabs could be that distinctively off and he verified that indeed they could be. To which I asked, “Then why bother with showroom samples?” Blah, blah, blah…there are people in the world with real life and death problems. I’ll end this post on a positive – almost all the interior painting is completed by Keith. Duke Energy is coming back for a third round today, and the floor refinisher is due in this week to bring the fabulous oak floors back to life.
UPDATE: 8-22-16 – Counters were installed today. The new slab was a little off color, so much so the tile I had planned to use for the backsplash is no longer ideal. No biggie – the quartz looks great just the same. See pictures here.
Also – THIS happened over the weekend! Our son scored these cute little boats and Keith, decked out in his painting clothes and work boots, decided to have a go in the boat to check out the pond drain. To which, he successfully sunk the boat in 5 minutes and will have the claim of being the first person in King Pond – which, by the way, is deeper than we thought! 🙂
