Complaint Review: Conklin Brothers

I bought my first house with my wife last summer and so came the quest to get new floors.  We got carpet up the stairs and all, with laminate on the entire downstairs area.  The carpet was great and installed quickly.  The laminate... holy crap, what a headache.  Rafael (sp?) was a great guy.  I think he came with his son and seemed to know a lot about flooring, so I was excited.  The flooring was done a day and a half early... yeah, that was cool. Then the crap hit the fan.  Within the first few weeks the laminate was peaking a bit and corners were popping up a little.  Then the sliding glass door was nearly impossible to open and shut.  Then I managed to slam the sliding door on my finger as a result... ouch, but whatever.  

I called and emailed a few times and they came out to look and they said it is still settling and some other stuff.  Okay, I can buy it.  Fast forward a few months, my floor looks like crap still and my door doesn't open.  So I let them know numerous times and finally Rafael was able to come out again.  He looks at the trim piece and sure enough he takes it off and says he will need to order a new one, since that was the problem with the door.  He also looks around at the floor and I explain how disappointed I am with the quality and finish and he just looks puzzled at the floor.  I ask him if the peaking is and he shakes his head and says no.  He says no and looks at a few spots and says he doesn't get it and explains that he will tell Nelson (my salesperson) when he gets back over to the shop that something is wrong.  He leaves with the piece and goes to order a new one.  This is about 6 months in or so.  Several weeks go by and no word.  

I make some calls and emails to ask if anyone was coming out with a piece and I get that Rafael was on vacation or something.  Sure enough, Rafael comes back out and takes care of the piece.  Turns out, the piece was too big or small or something and needed to be cut.  Not only was it cut, it was chipped and not glued down correctly.  Rafael is usually better, but this looks bad.  I email Nelson and he emails his boss Craig.  Now I'll post pictures about this... I'm not just being picky.  I have a toddler and this wood trim is sharp and sticking up about a centimeter, big enough to cause a cut.  Craig comes out and rubs his hand on the floor and says "it's not catching my hand."  No kidding...  It's the palm of your hand.  I'm in property management and know that trick to make someone feel wrong, thanks but no thanks.  

What really matters is that you can feel the peaking corners on the bottom of your feet and my lil guy's knees.  I show him everything I'm complaining about and he writes it off as not really being anything.  I insist and he offers to call the manufacturer to come inspect.  A week goes by... Then almost a second goes by and then this rude a*s lady calls me while I'm on vacation.  "I'll be in your neighborhood tomorrow to look at your floor."  Like hell you are, where was the heads up and professionalism?  

I call her back when I get back in town a few days later and she answers the phone and I explain my apologies for being gone, but she says "Well I'm not around and it's the weekend and you should call me back later in the week."  What in the hell?  No.  I then message Craig again about the whole crap ordeal and he messages an independent flooring guy named Roland.  Roland is much better and comes out a few days later.  So the Roland story quick and simple.  He looks around, takes some moisture readings and asks me some questions.  I show him things I'm mad about and he says "I get that and yeah it doesn't look right."  He even said "Something doesn't seem right."  Later I get a report, a week and half later from Roland via Craig.  Finding that everything is normal...  WTF!  How in the world?  

He knows he screwed up with that report, too.  Considering I sent him an email twice and left a voicemail once and no response to this date (2 weeks).  Even though in the letter it says if there are any questions by either party to please contact him, something is up.  Absolutely lame.  

So in that letter from Craig it says that they don't want me mad.  That's nice and I can get that, because then these reviews start coming out.  But then his next line offers discounts to offset some of the cost of installing a new floor to replace the one I think and truly believe is defective in some sort of way.  How in the hell is that an offer?  So the first time I met Craig he made a point to say that they have a 30-day guarantee for those who don't like their floor.  I never heard of this at my purchase, but I had an issue right in there, but I don't remember why nobody mentioned anything...   In any case, if you have an issue with your install, insist on the guarantee and just go with another company altogether.  Save yourself from the pain of having to look at crap for the first year of home ownership.  So my next step...  Who in the hell knows...