American Granite Design Inc in Freehold, NJ Closed now

Reviews about American Granite Design Inc

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  March 19, 2020, by Erin Krusius
  My husband I certainly wish we had read these Google reviews (that voice very similar complaints) prior to our purchase. Upon our decision to purchase granite for our bar top, the salesman informed us to return with a $200 deposit at which point we would map out our EXACT piece of granite so there would be no doubts as far as the piece we'd be receiving. My husband and I felt confident and were excited to share business cards with family and friends about the wonderful experience we had hoped to have had. When we came back with the deposit, however, we did not "map out" the EXACT granite piece that we would call our own. Instead, the salesman put two pieces of electric tape on the granite to show his men where to cut; one on the horizontal and the other, on the vertical side of the full slab. As you can imagine, when looking at a piece of granite, it is very difficult to see where the piece stops and ends based on one's personal measurements, so I suggested (as per my original understanding) that we outline the whole thing in tape to see EXACTLY what we were getting. My suggestion was not entertained. On the horizontal piece of tape, the salesman originally wrote specific instructions(with a Sharpie marker) about where to cut the slab. Unfortunately, his hand smudged off all the writing and he had to start over. This time, however, the instructions on each piece of tape were minimal at best: "start here, stop here." It confused me so I questioned the salesman again to see if it would be possible to outline the whole piece with the electric tape. I was told that this was the "mapping out" process and American Granite had completed jobs this way for many years without fail. Although this response filled me with an uneasy feeling, the salesman and my husband assured me that everything would be beautiful and not to worry. We left the deposit and prior to leaving the store, I again reiterated what I wanted and didn't want to see in the granite. I trusted that my preferences would be prioritized but unfortunately that wasn't the case. On the day of the install, my husband who was present for the delivery said the piece of granite arrived with chips in it. He also further indicated to the installers that the piece looked different than what we remembered choosing. The installers also agreed that the piece should have never left the warehouse in such a condition. They used a filler to fix the chips in the granite. Unfortunately, the filler left behind what looked like big, black blobs of paint that the installers had all intentions of leaving on the granite prior to my husband standing his ground. My husband told them to take the piece back to the warehouse and make things right. In the meantime, we both spoke to Carlos(the owner) on separate occasions who defended the UNACCEPTABLE condition of the piece as well as the actions of his team. Carlos contended that this was the EXACT piece my husband and I chose. While I was very careful not to get anyone into trouble, I indicated that we never actually outlined any EXACT piece. He didn't take my word for it and added our salesman to the phone call to defend his job (more or less). The truth was obviously not told and the owner said that we were responsible for payment of the piece regardless if we were happy with it or not. Since the company refused to work with us, the granite was delivered. It doesn't look the way we had hoped. There is a one off design slightly to the left of the middle that is not shown anywhere else on the piece. It looks out of place which I was so adamant with the salesman about wishing to avoid. It's very disappointing to have made such an investment that we don't absolutely love. My contention is this: if we had outlined the EXACT piece of granite in its entirety(as per my original ask on more than one occasion), this never would have happened! Let this be an education for you as the buyer to choose ANOTHER company; a company that cares whether they're customers are satisfied; a company that will work with you, not against you to achieve resolution!