A STRIPPING WORKSHOP

I do not recommend A Stripping Workshop because of their competency, honesty, and ethics. They failed to remove the stain on our front door and did not stand behind their work. I engaged A Stripping Workshop to remove the varnish and stain from our solid mahogany front door. The door’s value is a approximately $4,000 - $5,000. It was important to have the door prpfessionally stripped because sanding would be difficult because of the corners, moulding, and tight spaces. I chose A Stripping Workshop because John said they have over 40 years experience. Stain is hard to strip so I asked him three times if they would be able to remove the varnish and stain. Three times, John deliberately told me that it would not be a problem to strip the varnish and stain. He said they used commercial strippers that were stronger than I could get. I was quoted a price of $485. The work order stated “remove finish”, and finish is understood to be the stain and topcoat. When John came to pick up the door, he said he “forgot” to include $50 for an environmental fee to dispose of the stripping chemicals. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was intentional to quote a lower price and later add the environmental fee. When the door was finished, John, with his 40 years of experience, authoritatively stated twice the stain was removed. The stain was not removed. The picture clearly shows the stain and the newly sanded bare wood. A competent company would have removed the stain, and an honest company would not have stated the stain was removed when it wasn’t. Sanding the door was difficult, and I spent over fifty hours sanding both sides of the door to remove the stain. When I complained to John, he said that some stains are not removed when stripping. I told him that if he had told me that when I first spoke with him, I would have wanted more information, and it would have been likely that I would not have engaged him. John suggested that I bleach the wood, but that didn’t work. I accept that sometimes things go wrong. What is important to me is that the company make things right by fixing the problem or refunding all or part of my money. When I requested a refund, John said he would refund my money. After a month, I hadn’t received a refund so I contacted them again and was offered a refund of only $200. This was unacceptable because I paid them $535 and was originally offered a full refund. I offered to settle for $400, but they never responded. Would not a honest and ethical company stand by their work and refund what was originally offered or at least $400? In conclusion, A Stripping Workshop was hired to remove the stain and varnish from my door, jacked the price up, returned the door claiming the stain was removed when it wan’t, offered to refund $535 and then backpedaled and only offered $200. They did poor work and didn’t stand behind their work. Based on my experience with them, I have strong doubts about their competency, honesty and ethics. I do not recommend them.