I wish I could give a thorough and complete review of Emmart's Remodeling's services, but it…read moreremains a mystery. I couldn't even get a quote! It's too bad, because my husband I have been anticipating a bathroom remodel for years. So in excitement of one day doing our bathroom remodel (and because we're major silly dorks), every time drove by, we would sing our own little cheery jingle we've made up over the years: "EmMART'S ReMOdeling... to-DAY!"
We even had many silly discussions about who Emmart is. And how cool he would be. Would he be an old-timey prospector type, or would he be a rugged silent man type? Is Emmart his first name? Or is Emmart his last name? Is Emmart just one dude in doing everything from answering phones to filing paperwork to doing remodels? Does he like dogs? He probably likes dogs.
We became enamored with our made-up lore of Emmart. So when we finally determined we were ready to make our bathroom remodel happen, you can imagine our excitement on finally being able to talk to Emmart.
On a beautiful Tuesday afternoon, my husband and I walked into the store. Thankfully, it was not busy. In fact, it was quiet, save for a couple of associates hauling fixtures from the store to the back. The store layout was a little confusing. When you enter, there's no reception up front, but there is a desk way in the back, which we found out when a small, gentle voice called to us, "May I help youuu?" We could see the head of a lovely silver-haired woman peeking out over the top of a high-walled desk. "Yes!" I said.
We made our way to her and said we were looking to get our bathroom remodeled. She asked us to wait a moment as she went to an office a few feet from us. We could hear her speaking with someone, and we anticipated another associate to come out... or - dare we dream - Emmart himself? Instead, the receptionist emerged, returned to her desk, and asked us to fill out a basic information sheet. Our hearts dropped. Okay. No worries, though. I assumed that Mr. Emmart himself was in that office and that he was busy. Totally understandable.
As we filled out our sheet, the receptionist told us that Mr. Emmart will get back to us, come to our home, and provide a free estimate. Ooh, free estimate! (And Emmart is his *last* name! One mystery solved.) We happily filled out the form and handed it over to June, as we learned her name was. (That's lovely. She looks like a June. Also, I felt an immediate kinship, as my birthday is in June.) As we walked back to our car, we realized June didn't say exactly when Mr. Emmart might get back to us. But we shrugged it off. Probably a couple days, three days tops.
But as each day went by with no phone call from Mr. Emmart, or no email from Mr. Emmart, we've been left to imagine several scenarios of what went wrong and wonder why we weren't deemed worthy as customers. To assume the best intentions, sure, we could've been lost in paperwork or perhaps Mr. Emmart became very busy.
But when you're left with no one reaching out at all, you start assuming the worst. Were we profiled somehow? Did we look too young to be able to afford a remodel? (My husband and I have had the blessing and curse of baby faces and have faced this discrimination before.) Was our address not in a cool neighborhood? (Psshhh impossible, we're in one pretty darn cool neighborhood, if I do say so myself.) Does Emmart's Remodeling not like happy and friendly couples who make up jingles for their store and legendary lore about their namesake? Sure, we could call and ask, "Hey, what's up with our quote?" but as someone in customer service myself and as someone who values good customer service, I feel like I shouldn't have to chase someone's business. In my experience, if something like this starts out a little rocky, it's a good indicator of how the rest of the relationship will go. From the sales and service provider perspective, the initial sales contact is everything. Follow-up is everything. Chasing that lead is everything.
I gave Emmart's Remodeling 2 stars, because June was friendly and made us think we were actually going to get a call back.
But alas, now, when my husband and I drive by the store, we sing our happy jingle no longer. We are left to still wonder who Mr. Emmart is. And what kind of service he provides remains a melancholy mystery.
[said in Robert Stack's voice] UPDATE: I'm happy to update my review if Emmart's Remodeling ever gets back to us. But when we told our story to my father-in-law, he convinced us to just have him take care of our bathroom remodeling needs. As a lifelong tradesman, craftsman, and all-around good person, we knew he could take care of our needs, but we didn't want to bother him more than we already were. (We're expecting in the fall, and he's been doing some major remodels already.) So the lesson is, we were dreaming about our faraway Emmart when we had our own Emmart all along.
