It has taken me 8 months before I could calm down enough to write a reviewI I would give the company zero stars if I could.
Would a 9 month wait time acceptable to you?
I would never recommend Bella Pietra to anyone. They display and SELL stone that is no longer in stock and they are extremely unresponsive.
In early December 2013, I ordered and PAID IN FULL some beautiful stone (Rainforest Green), in a 12x24" size, that was displayed in their showroom in addition to some other glass tile. We were going to use the stone for our kitchen floor. It was expensive, but it was beautiful and we designed our kitchen around the color and texture. In late January/early Feb 2014 (about 8-9 weeks), I was informed that the tile was on order and that I should get it in a couple of weeks. This was one of the only two phone calls that would be initiated by the company. A couple weeks later, I called the salesperson, and I was informed that it would be arriving in a few days. I called in a few days, and found out that it was the GLASS tile would be arriving shortly, not the stone. This was in February. I asked about the stone and the salesperson said that she would have to talk to the warehouse manager to see when that would be coming in. I called in a couple of days after I didn't hear from her. I left a message for her to call me back. She called me back the next day (second and last phone call that the company initiated) and said their vendor no longer carried the product. I was very angry. I told her that we were counting on the tile since we had designed our kitchen around it and had already ordered and paid for our cabinets and countertop! She said she would see what they could do. I called back a few days later and after many unreturned phone calls, I got a hold of her and she said that they would be able to provide us with 12x12 tile that they could get us in a couple of weeks. I told her that that was unacceptable to us. After many more calls into the company without any returned phone calls, I got a hold of the salesperson. She said that they would be able to order the tile directly from the manufacturer in India.
Long story short, after about 20 calls to the company without any returned calls (I am NOT exaggerating!!) and our contractor calling the company and finally talking to the owner, Layla, we received our stone tile in AUGUST 2014!!! (A few days of the delay was the result of the shipping strike). This was 9 months after our order date. The late delivery held up the completion of our project by at least a month. I talked to the owner about some compensation and she agreed to work something out, with the comment that, in hindsight, they should have cancelled our order and offered the 12x12" size to us. After a couple of emails to follow up on the offer of compensation, I gave up.
If you do decide to go with this company, make sure they call their vendor to see if the product is in stock before you pay for anything. Make sure you have a LOT of leeway in your construction schedule, and do not expect any phone calls to be returned.
After I shared my story with some co-workers, they shared their experiences with me. I heard negative stories from two of my co-workers about incredibly poor service, many unreturned phone calls, delays in delivery and vendor not carrying product anymore. One of my co-workers said he was particularly disappointed because he wanted to give the business to the company because the owner was a former student in his management class that he taught. I wish they had shared this info beforehand.
I must say that Layla was very nice, her company just didn't deliver what it promised and she keeps employees that are unresponsive and appear not to know what is going on with their client orders. The receptionist is awesome. I am sorry I don't remember her name. (I remember now. It is Kuulei) . I was on the phone with her more than anyone else and she often (I think she did), tried to find whoever I was trying to get a hold of and left many many message for me. The warehouse person was also very nice, when I stopped by several times to see if the tile had come in.
6/18/2015: Layla contacted me after my review was posted to offer compensation for my experience. After a few emails back and forth, we worked out an arrangement that was acceptable to both of us. In addition, she offered a discount on any future purchases. Layla sent me a very nice letter and I believe it was a sincere apology. read more