PACIFIC COLUMNS

Overall, I am not happy with the product or the service for several reasons: 1. One of the columns that they shipped me had a small crack. Although, I probably could have had them replace it, I didn't have time. The salesrep said that I could repair the crack with Bondo, which we did. We did the repair on the inside of the column so that repair could not be seen on the outside--note the outside of the column has a concrete looking texture that I didn't think we could have repaired as to not be noticed. Since the crack was small, I figured this was the best option. However, over time we got more cracks on this column and others. By the way, these columns aren't load bearing so I'm not sure why they are cracking. 2. While the columns are fiberglass/resin, with color throughout, they tend to fade by the sun. I didn't expect this. i had called a couple of times about this and I was told that they should not fade. I've told them that they do. One guy suggested that I could paint them (which kind of defeats the purpose of a product that is made to look like cement/stone). 3. Also, these columns tend to stain when it rains--i didn't expect this at all since they are supposedly fiberglass/resin. I called about this a couple of times and one customer rep said that I can clean these with acetone. I haven't tried the acetone, but I was able to clean them with water and a sponge; however, see #4 below. 4. The worst thing about these columns is that when they get wet, either by rain or cleaning, they emit a strong noxious chemical smell. I thought that this would go away over time, but they haven't in the two years that I've had them. I called them a couple of times about this. Once about a year ago and once just a week ago. The first time I called I got a denial about the chemical smell being a known issue, so I just figured that the smell would go away over time. During my recent call, after two years of having this product with no change in smell, I was a little more determined to understand if this was a common problem and to understand what the product was made of since I was not only concerned by the potentially noxious smells, but I was also concerned that this product might be leaching into my garden. The customer rep that I spoke to this time (Ryan) said that there was no known chemical smell issues and that the product won't leach. I then asked him if he has product reps that work in Arizona or occasionally come to Arizona to check out my issues, and he said no. I then asked him if he could test his product with water and get back with me and also asked if he could send me a chemical sheet for my review. He said that he would send me a chemical sheet via my email and would try to do the water test. It's been a week now, and I've yet to hear anything from Ryan or the company. I'm am very disappointed by this product and by the customer service. They don't seemed concerned with my issues nor do they follow-up as agreed to. Moreover, I am also very concerned that this product might have some chemical issues that might need some immediate attention yet the manufacturer doesn't even seem interested in exploring the possibility that there might indeed be an issue. I am going to call them again tomorrow and try to talk to an owner or a manager.