Complaint Review: Luxury Bath-Joel Salvatore - Salem New Hampshire

The following complaint was filed with the BBB in the fall of 2009 after countless e-mails and phone calls.  Luxury Bath ignored ignored all requests and complaints and my shower will need to be replaced as mold is coming out of the bottom where the grout has peeled.  This company is THE WORST!  I wish I had researched them on "ripoff report.com" prior to signing the contract!

At the beginning of July 2008 (right around July 4th) I had a replacement shower installed by Luxury Bath Systems of Salem, NH.  My first complaint is in regards to the installation itself.  I live in a log home and our bathroom is tongue and groove pine boards.  Rather than remove them neatly, the installer cut and broke the boards on one side, so that I would have to re-do the entire wall to fix it.  It looks horrible! The next indication of a problem was when I went to hang the shower curtain the day after the installation.  I discovered that the shower rod had been installed too low (approx. 4") The installer, "Joe", had asked that if I had any problems, I call him directly.  He explained that Luxury Bath would only contact him anyway, so he wanted to "cut out the middle man".  He also told me that, because he had installed it, he would have to perform any repairs.  So, I called his cell.  I left numerous messages.  More than a week later, he finally did call me back and said he would be out to fix it the following day.  He never showed.  I then began calling the Luxury Bath office.  I was told each time that they would get in touch with him and have him call me.  This happened too many times to count.   At the end of August, 2008, I finally reached the owner of Luxury Bath, Joel Salvatore.  He apologized for my frustrations and said that Joe would be out on Monday to fix the rod as well as the caulking that had begun peeling away from the shower walls.  (He told me there was nothing they could do about the wall) Joe did come out the following Monday.  He repaired the caulking (sloppily) but told me he did not have the materials he needed to move the shower rod.  He said that the truck with the materials would be in on Wednesday and he would be back on Thursday.  Thursday he called to say that he would be there in Friday.  He never came and never called.  I spoke with Kara at Luxury Bath that Friday at 5:00 pm.  She said he might be planning on coming out on Saturday, but she was unable to reach him to confirm.  After calls to Luxury Bath again went unanswered, I e-mailed Joel on Sept 16, 2008.  He told me that Joe had told him I cancelled the Friday appointment.  I never cancelled an appointment with them.  he also told me that he didn't know how Joe was going to move the rod without leaving holes in the wall. I sent follow-up e-mails on October 28, 2008 and November 5, 2008, to Joel, which went unanswered.  I have continued to call approx once a month since that time.  I have never received a call back...  I did speak to a secretary once (not Kara); she knew of my situation, but all she could tell me was that Joe didn't work there anymore, so she didn't know who would be doing the repairs.

The problems that need to be repaired are the shower curtain being too low, the caulking which continues to peel, and the tongue and groove pine wall.

My biggest frustration is the lack of attention these people showed to customer service.  They didn't want to deal with the repair, so they just ignored me!  I will say that they were VERY attentive during the purchasing phase of our "relationship", which just added to my frustrations when I needed assistance.

Finally, I would like to state that this bath system was not installed for aesthetics.  My husband was in the hospital after undergoing a double knee replacement.  One of his knees became infected and he was hospitalized for several months.  Every time I had to spend the day waiting for the repair man that never showed, or making phone calls that were not returned, was time away from him and his care.  Having this shower installed was a financial hardship, but a necessary one in order for him to eventually come home.