We should have taken the previous negative reviews more seriously. Although the location may be…read moreappealing, our experience was disappointing and unprofessional.
We cannot recommend this business and will not trust it with any of our other pieces for repair. And we felt the experience was so disappointing that we would not even buy anything from this place, despite the convenient location.
We brought in a piece for minor touch-ups and to glue back a small, approximately 1 1/2-inch piece that had chipped off. We clearly explained that we were not asking for a full repaint, reconstruction, or extensive cleaning.
The owner "Bob" initially quoted the work at "under $200." We then started talking to the owner. He even asked personal questions including how much we money make, "Do you make $150?"
In any case, the work was given to another man, who looked 40s/50s and appeared very rushed from the get-go. He initially had to leave to purchase glue. After about 45 minutes for the glue to apparently dry, Bob told us the total would be $200. He said the full $200 "was implied."
During this short time, we overheard negative comments being made about customers. Bob looked at photos of the piece (taken by another employee) and both said they were not happy with the work, and that the guy in the back rushes too much. We were asked to return a few days later. We did so.
When we arrived a few days later, we were not told that the additional touch-ups we had discussed had not been completed. These areas had been marked with tape.
When we returned, Bob directed us to enter the workshop and inspect the piece, but he did not explain that the work was incomplete or personally inspect it. Nor did he even know that the work wasn't done.
The same 40s/50s-ish age guy in the back told us he "doesn't have any patience" for this type of work. He made dismissive comments about the piece, said "Bob is too old" to do the work himself, and refused to address the minor areas we had specifically discussed with Bob prior to leaving it.
When we questioned the worker in the back why the agreed-upon touch-ups had not been done, he raised his voice and told us to leave the workshop, saying that we were "in his space." We found the interaction hostile and unprofessional and even kind of abusive. He even called us a derogatory term.
This was especially confusing because Bob had directed us to inspect the piece in the back. The worker then told us to inform Bob that the work was not completed and that he was finished gluing the broken piece. He actually rejected the touch ups that owner Bob ensured would be complete by this day. But they were not done, Bob didn't know, and more troubling he didn't ensure that they would be done.
Bob never inspected the work in person, did not adequately supervise the job, and did not offer to complete the touch-ups himself. Although he said he would just charge for the glue and provide a refund, we received only $40 back. The work was incomplete and did not reflect what we understood had been agreed upon.
We were not expecting perfection or extensive restoration, but we did expect the clearly discussed minor touch-ups to be completed. And for the owner Bob to stand behind the work, even if it meant him to do it himself.
He literally told us to go buy some supplies at the craft store one block away. So dismissive and unaccountable to his generous customers.
The main issue here are lack of communication, supervision, accountability, and willingness to resolve the problem. We also explained that we had brought the piece from out of state and had other items we were considering bringing in for repair and resale. Bob dismissed this and said it, "doesn't matter."
We felt even $100 was not justified for simply gluing the piece, particularly since the agreed-upon touch-ups were not done. Based on our experience, we cannot recommend this business and will not bring our other pieces here. There are many other businesses to choose from. This one does not meet our expectations in any way and found the items being sold in the store largely junk.
At least with Salvation Army or the other charity based ones are better in our view because the money goes to a good cause.
Housing Works, Habitat For Humanity, Re/Store, etc all have quality products without the drama of this place.
