Tiffany has a great eye and sense of style, which she adapts to suit your own. For me, she picked…read moreout some fun wallpaper for bathrooms, and replaced dated light fixtures (sconces, pendants, chandelier). Definitely an improvement to my home. $90k total.
Where they can improve: To me, there are three attributes of a vendor that are every bit as important as a keen design eye. 1) They do what they say they will do, and 2) when they can't do #1, they keep me informed, and are transparent, and 3) they take responsibility and act with integrity. TWI fared poorly on all three counts.
The overall proposed project delivery date was missed, as were many of the intermediary milestones. TWI attributed the delays to other vendors from whom TWI sourced their products. TWI characterized the delays as "par for the course since covid". However, TWI mentioned none of these delays in either our pre-contract discussions, or their original project proposal. Planned delivery dates would come and go, promised phone call appointments would come and go, I'd take a day off work to be home and workers wouldn't show up. Instead of informing me immediately when a delay was encountered, TWI said nothing until I called them to find out what was up. This was "par for the course" in my dealings with TWI. Promise dates came and went, and I had to chase them down. This to me is unprofessional and showed a lack of respect for my time.
With regard to taking responsibility, I will highlight the most egregious incident. Tiffany ordered new pendant lights to replace those over a kitchen bar. The originals were small, maybe 5lbs each. Tiffany ordered 2 very large replacements, over 100 lbs each, the size of beer kegs. $18-20k in total. Massive. TWI's electricians informed me that the ceiling could not bear the weight of the "pendants", and that even if they figured out how, the pendants would have to be much further apart or they would touch, and they would hang only 20" from the top of the bar, blocking the view/use of the bar by anyone sitting there. There was nothing in TWI's proposal about reinforcing a ceiling. The lights Tiffany ordered simply wouldn't work and I asked for another solution, which her husband said she already had, and would provide me the next day. No solution came the next day, and instead I overheard TWI blame their electricians for talking me out of accepting them. By this time, the project was so long overdue, I just wanted to be done. I asked for a refund and said I would take care of finding the new pendants myself. About a month later, and after incessant hounding, I finally get a refund and I'm shocked (not shocked) that it was only for half the price I paid. With shipping, and restocking, that's what was left. TWI accepted absolutely no responsibility for their error.
The moral of my story is this: An artistic eye is one thing. Running a business is another.
