Garage Floor Coating of MN

The customer signed 2 contracts, garage & step. Each explained the specific system & process. Garage: Diamond System - Granite Chip. Front Step: Bronze System - Grey Stain. The systems are very different. To clarify systems, we include a brochure about our systems with the bid. We also identify the system & describe the process on the bid. In addition, the customer selected his colors from samples. The samples show Diamond System with chips & Bronze with a stain.

The glue was removed before the stain was applied. The “dimples” are a result of concrete deterioration - not remaining glue. If they were, they would be raised – not indented. The front apron, connected to the walk, show the amount of deterioration that has occurred over the years. A stain does not repair concrete damage, it follows the contour. It is designed to color the surface. The body of a stain is too thin to fill in damage. In addition, the pitch was not altered in the process. Our grinders only profile concrete. They do not remove layers. The unevenness of the slab was present before & is apparent in before & after photos on file.

Summary: Customer received system approved by him on his contract, everything on the contract was fulfilled. The customer is now unhappy with the selection for the front step and believes the pitch was changed. Before and after photos show that the uneven slab was present before the process began - not altered during the process. The visible damage through the coating is a preexisting condition due to age of concrete, weather, and chemicals. GFC would be happy to return & apply a chip system over the bronze system matching the garage. We only ask the customer cover the cost of materials & labor to upgrade ($400). Before work begins, we ask the customer pay his past balance for work completed: $850.00 (front step: Bronze system) & $1382.83 (Garage), totaling $2232.83. Upon completion, the remaining $400 is due.

The customer signed an electronic contract via email. Electronic signatures are becoming common practice. To begin, a customer is asked to consent to electronic signature. They may decline. This customer consented to the electronic process. He also selected his signature. Docusign offers several text options for signature. These contracts are legal & meant to make the process easier not more difficult.

The contract is a line-by-line copy of the bid. The customer is to read the bid & all the documents attached before signing. He may stop at any time & exit out if he is unsure of anything. In addition, a GFC associate was on the phone with the customer throughout the process & answered questions. If the customer did not understand anything, he had the opportunity to ask the associate and clarify before signing the contract.

The system chosen for the front walk is called "Bronze System." The color chosen by the customer for this system was Grey. He did not select a Bronze color. He selected a Grey color for a Bronze System.

The concrete was previously deteriorated on the front walk. Our before photos show existing damage. Our process did not cause any additional damage. We only profiled the concrete. To remove the damage would have required pouring a new slab or applying a solid chip system. The sales rep explained both systems & the differences between the garage & the front walk. The sample board in which the customer selected his colors also showed the difference. There would be no way for the customer to think he was getting the same system in both the garage & sidewalk. The look of the Diamond System & the Bronze System are entirely different.

Our offer still stands to apply a solid chip system at cost ($400) once his current balance is satisfied. We want to be fair with the customer, but we also need to abide by the contract entered by both parties.

Although we are sympathetic to our client's concern, we do not believe it warrants a refund.
At time of purchase the client signed a warranty explaining his coverage. Three years later the client indicated we applied the clear too thin & wanted an additional clear. A field supervisor confirmed the clear was properly applied - the issue was cleaning. Since the client did not agree, we conceded to reclear for free. This was not an admission of any wrong doing. According to his warranty, this was not covered. We did so to appease the client. His warranty states, "Garage Floor Coating does not guarantee against dulling of finish."
In 2015 the client informed us the clear was peeling. Occasionally a clear may not bond & peeling can occur. We applied a bonder & clear at no cost.
In 2016 the client reached out about discoloration. The client felt it may be from hot tires but believed it was our responsibility. Our warranty states, "Garage Floor Coating does not guarantee against staining caused by hot tires." Although this was not warranty, we agreed to clear for free.
In 2017 the client called stating the clear was peeling. The owner made an onsite visit, determining the reclear did not bond. A crew reapplied the bonder & clear at no cost to the client.
The client has called stating he's experiencing hot tire staining again. The client has a high performance car. These cars tend to have high performance tires that secrete oils. We recommended the client use a heavy-duty degreaser & soft bristle brush to clean the floor. This is not a coating failure but a maintenance issue. To permanently solve this concern, the customer needs to determine the cause of the staining & alleviate the source.
The idea of a full refund is beyond reason & disrespectful to the numerous times we, as a company, have provided good customer service extending beyond our warranty. We feel we have been fair throughout & ask the client to reconsider his complaint.

We regret we are unable to accept the consumer's settlement request.

James, we are so happy to hear you love your floor!! We sincerely appreciate the kind review, and thank you for being such a wonderful client to work with!! I will make sure to let Shawn, Ryan, Suzzanne and the rest of your GFC Team know how you feel!

Kay, thank you so much! I will pass the word along to Suzzanne and the crew! They all had nothing but great things to say about you, and we sincerely appreciate your business! We hope you enjoy your floor coating!

Thank you so much, Kenley! We take pride in our coating process, and strive for excellence in all aspects of our business. We truly appreciate you!

Sharon, thank you so much! I will make sure Stacy and the crew receive this! We are so pleased to hear you love your new floor coating! Thank you for your business, we hope to serve you in the future!

Carol, thank you so much for your kind review! We sincerely hope you are happy with your new flooring! Please do not hestitate to call us with any future needs.

Gary, thank you so much! We strive to have a friendly and professional staff. We are so glad you're pleased with your beautiful flooring!! Please do not hesitate to contact us with any future floor coating or staining needs.

Brett, thank you so much for your kind review! We sincerely appreciate it, and our team thoroughly enjoyed working for you! Please do not hesitate to contact us with any future floor coating or staining needs.

Jim,
Thank you so much for the kind review and feedback! We will definitely share your review with Emily! It is so nice to hear how our crews are doing, and we do appreciate all of Emily's hard work. Please do not hesitate to contact us for any future floor coating or staining needs.

Thank you so much for your kind review, Shane! We are happy to continue serving you after 4 years and hope you are still enjoying your coatings. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any future needs.

Karen, we are so happy to hear that you are happy with our services! I will be forwarding this information to your Sales Rep, Project Manager, and the crew! I hope you enjoy your floor! It has been a pleasure serving you!

We dispute this complaint because the person submitting the complaint has never done business with our company. He purchased a home from a previous customer and is now demanding we honor a warranty that is no longer active. Our warranties are non-transferable unless previously arranged by the seller (our contracted client) and Garage Floor Coating. There was no transfer of warranty arrangement made. Therefore the non-transferable warranty was cancelled once the original buyer sold their home and moved to a new residence. The institution of non-transferable warranties is not new nor unusual, and many companies adopt this policy for their own business practices.

When this individual reached out to our customer service department with a repair concern, we reviewed the account and determined there was no current warranty. However, our customer service department offered to arrange for a technician to come out for $150 and repair the area in concern. We expect that the repair could be resolved in the one-hour time for $150. If we were to go beyond the hour mark, he was informed that there may be an additional fee for added time. If the idea of a repair technician did not suit him, our customer service department also offered to put together a repair kit for $50 and include instructions so he could repair the area himself. Neither of these suggestions were acceptable by this gentleman as he believed he was a due a free repair since he bought a home that had our coating in the garage. He has been disrespectful with our staff, left negative reviews on social media with the intent to harm and has misrepresented his position in this case to the Revdex.com, social media and the Attorney General.

He has misrepresented himself by imposing himself as the buyer with the Attorney General's Office and due the rights of the warranty. He claims the floor was purchased in 2009 for $5000. In truth, the floor was purchased in 2011 by another individual for the amount of $2598.08. When our customer purchased this floor coating in 2011 for $2,598.08, they also signed a Limited Lifetime Warranty that states in item #1 (see attached) that this warranty is non-transferable. We have attempted to work out a reasonable and fair solution for this person, to no avail. He is not interested in paying for any services needed and is referencing a warranty that is no longer active.

We maintain the need for a non-transferable warranty as the agreement is between ourselves and the purchaser. There is a lot of dialogue about how to care for their floor in addition to what the warranty covers and does not cover. We do not have the privilege to discuss these stipulations with consecutive buyers once our client sells. This inability to communicate with the future buyers and ensure proper care is understood as well as the stipulations of the warranty causes us concern in just freely honoring a warranty several owners later. For this reason, we have set up a transfer of warranty policy in certain occasions that allows us to communicate with the seller, the new buyer and our staff and educate the new buyer on what the warranty entails. In this case no transfer of warranty was made, and we need to adhere to the situation we find ourselves facing. It is only fair to all other customers in the same situation.

We do take our reputation seriously and are constantly working to provide the best product available as well as customer service. Our A+ rating on the Revdex.com and our many positive reviews on Google and Facebook will confirm that we care about our customers and want to treat them as fairly as possible. Many of those reviews are customers that contacted our customer service department directly and had a positive experience with our staff. Although we could not come to a favorable agreement with this individual, we believe policies are put in place for a reason, and we must adhere to them to ensure continuity for all customers and potential customers. I am saddened by this individual's frustrations and am perplexed by his reaction. We have worked to find a resolution and cannot seem to find one that he will accept.

Judy,
Thank you so much! We really enjoyed working with you and your client. We are so happy to hear you are pleased with our service and product! We look forward to working with you in the future!

Jack and Alice, Thank you so much for your review! We enjoyed working with you and sincerely appreciate your business!

We are sorry you are unhappy with your finished project we completed for you last October. I am uncertain as to the reason you are just now leaving this unkind review, but no matter the delay, we take your concerns quite seriously. Customer satisfaction is our number one goal and treating all customers regardless of gender, age or nationality with the same respect is paramount. In a day when the acknowledgement of injustices that have been done to the female gender over the years has come to light, I understand we are all very sensitive to everything that is said or done and how it is said or done. What saddens me is that a kind reference such as "dear" is now considered derogatory and offensive. In another day that would have been considered respectful and courteous. As a female, I actually thank God I wasn't born a male in today's world. The male gender must be so confused and timid to say or do anything because people like you are more than willing to twist it to represent discrimination and degradation. I can assure you there was no malice in our reps attempt to approach you with respect while in our showroom.
As for the female project manager being overstepped by a male coworker, you couldn't be more wrong in your assessment there as well. Your project manager was always in complete control of your project. Her duties involve coordinating the crew with the homeowner and managing the project from start to finish. She is not an actual installer and at times must bring in more technical advise from someone that has worked with the product. Your project manager performed all the duties related with your project from start to finish and was never disregarded as incapable of handling her duties. When your questions became more technical and outside the scope of her knowledge, your project manager found it necessary to bring in someone with more technical training. Since your project manager has never actually worked with the product but has only been part of training exercises, she felt more confident bringing in someone that could answer your technical questions more thoroughly. This decision was her choice to make and a good one if you ask me. She found your project to be more complicated that most she handles and felt the need to bring in more help. The help just happened to be a male, but not by choice of superiority. He just understands the product more than she does because he has been in the field and worked with the product. In the same manner he would never step in and take over her duties because she understands them more completely than he does. We are a body of workers that aid and assist one another. We do not view one part more valuable than another, but together we are a successful team that can meet a customer's needs no matter what they may be. I addressed this issue first before your other complaints because it is important to me for you to understand that we run an equal opportunity business. We do not see gender or race as a hindrance or a superiority issue. We value each and every one of our employees, and we stand together (project managers, warehouse managers, admin, installers, accounting, janitors & owners) to provide the best customer service we can to our customers. We love and view our employees as family. To say anything different causes a stir in me that had to be addressed first.
As for our customers, we have a saying around here, "I don't care if you are the President of the United States or a homeless person on the street, you will be treated with the same respect and honor from each and every one of our employees." This motto is upheld daily as we do have customers that feel they should be treated more highly than others. We remind them that every person and every project is of equal value to us and will be treated the same way. As for your situation, you actually did end up with preferential treatment due to your demands and frustrations. Your project was small in comparison to others we traditionally perform on a weekly basis. However, even though it was the smallest project that week, you earned the most hours spent on your project for the week. One of our largest projects that week actually was pushed back and did not get completed in the timely manner as expected so we could ensure yours was completed to your satisfaction. We actually went against policy to give your project preference during the week. We were committed to seeing your project through even with the challenges that were placed before us. A stain and seal system is not meant to be consistent throughout as it is a stain project and not a opaque layer that hides imperfections more thoroughly. Our showroom is very evident of this. There are large visible cracks of varying color right in our samples on the floor in our showroom. Because stain and seal applications are quite commonplace today, you can probably walk through any commercial space and recognize a stain and seal project. You don't have to look too closely to notice the color variances and the visible cracks. This is the nature of the system you selected for your basement. Most of our customers actually prefer the inconsistency and request it to look more inconsistent and used -- as this is the trend today. I believe your expectations of the final project may have been off, but even so, we listened to your desires throughout - with daily phone calls and repeat visits in an attempt to make accommodations to come as close to your final outcome as possible. It was our belief that we had. In addition, we did credit your account the $200 as you had requested to make some sort of concession to the hassle you experienced. I can assure you, you were never lied to, your project was given priority over others to meet your demands, and you were treated with respect throughout the process with no regard to whether you were female or male. I encourage you to take this experience and reflect on the reality of the situation. Before you accuse someone of discrimination, perhaps you should consider the heart behind it. Was our rep really trying to put you down and degrade you, or was he trying to show you respect and honor? Was he condescending or was he heartfelt? Did your female project manager really get pushed out of the scene or did she engage more experienced individuals to help and assist her with your project? Did you project manager never return to the scene or was she there throughout the process? Did the owner of the company take time to take your calls and answer your questions every time you called? or did he disregard your concerns and ignore your calls? We all know that regardless if it is due to unrealistic expectations or product issues, projects do not always go as smoothly as we would like to see. However, it is our policy for everyone, no matter the challenges, we stick with the project to the end even if it results in a loss in profit and overtime for our installers. Hopefully, you will have an open heart to hear what I have said and will apply it to your everyday life. In a day when everyone is quick to accuse someone else of a wrong, I believe we need a little grace and love. When you see someone down, give them a hug; when you see someone angry, really dig deep in your heart to understand why; and when people are trying everything they know to help you through a situation, find gratitude and graciousness to appreciate the efforts. I believe people are inherently good and there are just a few that have stained the human race. It's time we stand up for everyone, see the good for what it is and be thankful that we have the voice to do so and the heart to reach out.