Hollywood Stove Museum

Victor did not restore the Western Holly as he said he would. He did not return our original complete set of cast iron drip pans and grates instead replacing them with ill-fitting replicas, he did not attempt to re-porcelain the interior of the oven, the burners on the cooktop do not work uniformly or well, the knobs cannot be removed making cleaning and repairs impossible. Without our knowledge, or permission, Victor attempted to re-surface the cooktop and oven with a poorly executed satin finish. Our pristine cooktop was returned with deep scratches and hatchet marks all over the surface which clearly appeared to have been made some sort of machine. In addition, the cooktop was returned bent no longer fitting evenly on the counter top as it had all these years. The old replaced parts were not returned to us so we have no way of knowing what work Victor performed on the cooktop/oven and the list goes on and on….Victor seemed to have given us a unsatisfactorily $600 job and charged us the full $1200.  We contacted Victor Smith numerous times to try a remedy these problems. Though he said he would take care of these issues, Victor never did. Eventually, we filed a complaint with the Bureau of Electronic and Appliance Repairs (BEAR) but the issues remained unresolved. Prior to hiring Victor Smith, when I initially did research on him, the Hollywood Stove Museum, Div. of A-1 Stove Hospital Inc., I found that the BEAR website showed Victor Smith as being licensed since 1977 with his status listed as CLEAR. Only after I filed the complaint with BEAR did I discover that a status of CLEAR does not tell the whole story. For a service dealer to have an unclear status on the BEAR website numerous “serious complaints” must be filed and investigated within the past three years for there to be a change in status. What was more disturbing was that appliance repairmen who claim to specialize in the restoration and repair of antique stoves are exempt from most BEAR regulations when working on vintage equipment. After our encounter with Victor Smith, I did further research and found a different rating of his work on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website. The BBB gave Victor Smith, the Hollywood Stove Museum, Div. of A-1 Stove Hospital Inc. a grade of ‘F’. Certainly, I would NOT have hired Victor Smith had I seen that rating on the BBB’s website first. I would urge anyone who has had a negative experience with Victor Smith, the Hollywood Stove Museum, Div. of A-1 Stove Hospital Inc. to file a complaint with BEAR. If enough people take the time to file a complaint perhaps his status will eventually be changed on the BEAR website and other consumers will not have to go through the frustration and disappointment my mother and I have had to endure the past several months. Hiring Victor Smith has turned out to be a costly decision. In the future, I fully expect to have to hire another repair man to fix and repair the numerous problems Victor Smith’s poor workmanship created. This addition cost is regrettable but undoubtedly necessary. The next time I hire someone to do repairs I plan to search the web, blogs and sites, in the hopes of finding a professional repair man. It is my hope that this note will save someone the misfortune of working with Victor Smith in the future.  To read the rest of my story, or to share your thoughts, please go to: http://bestwebdecisions.com/vintage-stove-restoration/