Discover Marble & Granite

Discover was a pleasure to work with from beginning to end. We ordered the countertops through Lowes. We visited Discover in Millbury to see large sample installations. Alice, our sales rep, was very helpful, listening to our desires and helping guide us to the stone that would work for us. She took us into their warehouse to see full slabs and provided samples for us to take home. She also directed us to the Cosentino showroom (the quartz manufacturer), so we could see more options and make a final selection. When the counters were installed, Will came and measured to create a template. Our layout was too big for a single slab, so we needed a seam. He helped guide us to the best place to put the seam and explained what was going to happen next. A week later, Carlos and Zach delivered the finished counters. We were the last job of the day, and they were running late. Carlos called us several times to let us know that they were running behind and to give us updated ETA. When they got here, four of the six pieces were perfect, but the one with the seam was not, only one piece was on the truck and it was finished like an end piece, not for a seam. Carlos and Zach installed the other pieces, which included the sink, so the plumber was able to stay on schedule. They called the Discover office so we could be assured that the correction was in process before they left. Rod, the account manager, expedited the correction into Discover's busy schedule and set up a return visit. Carlos and Damon returned to install the corrected pieces. We had noticed several surface blemishes that Damon rubbed out with acetone and stone dust, taking care of most of these. Carlos polished out a little blemish in the sink cutout. The seam was done better than any other we have seen. They used a vacuum contraption to hold the slabs together while the epoxy set, then adjusted with a system of wedges to make sure both sides matched up PERFECTLY. Carlos ran a razor blade back and forth across the seam at numerous points and adjusted until the joint was completely smooth. We did have a surface defect that Carlos could not address without damaging the shine. We called Rod in the office and he arranged for a specialist to come to the house to see what he could do. Gilberto arrived and took a look. He put down a drop cloth to protect our new floors and hung plastic around the work area. He wet-polished the area and took care of the scratch. He also gave us instructions to care for the quartz. Today, we are completely satisfied with our new countertops. Every person we dealt with at Discover Marble & Granite was very pleasant and helpful and truly concerned that we were as happy as possible. While we had some issues in the process, in the end we ended up with a perfect installation. We would be impressed had everything gone smoothly, but seeing how Discover handled bumps in the road made us realize how good they really are.

unknown

Phenomenal! The sink came with the countertop and even it was amazing! We went into the warehouse and picked out a stone. They fabricated it and brought it to the house. The gave exceptional service! I would highly recommend them!

unknown

The end result was great and I would not hesitate to purchase from Discover Marble and Granite again.  A few lessons learned (these are not necessarily negatives, just something to be aware of):
The standard thickness of their back splash is the thickness of the slab (1 1/4 inch) and they charge extra if you want the back splash milled down.  They also may not be able to mill down all types of granite.  I did not find out about the standard thickness or the extra charge until it was almost time to have them measure and install.  The day before my installation, I was told that they could not mill down the granite I selected because it would shatter.  It turned out that they did mill it down but I did not find this out until they arrived for installation.
I went with the pencil edge based on their recommendation when I went to look at the slab.  After installation, I noticed several small chips along the edge.  Discover was very responsive and sent out the installation manager that same day to take care of the issue.  He rounded down the edge (which I actually like better) and explained that a very brittle granite like the one I picked needs a more rounded edge.  I was extremely pleased with their response in resolving the issue to my satisfaction.
The price seemed a little high to me but since I could not find remnants of the granite I wanted any place else, I have no comparison.  The remnant I bought had large fissures which they were able to avoid for my small counter.

Project ran like clockwork from start to finish. We visited their warehouse on a Saturday after making an appointment. We were escorted by a professional sales rep who helpfully pointed out which slabs would be in our price range and based on the colors we were looking for. She was patient while we went back and forth on our choice. After choosing our slab she went through a detailed check list of what to expect with the installation and the maintenance of our new countertops. We received a call within 2 days to set up the measurement appt which was on on that Weds. Once a again a professional rep came out to our house and spent almost 2 hours (and we have a small kitchen) precisely measuring our kitchen with a laser and creating templates on the spot. He confirmed which under mount sink we ordered and explained how the corners would be rounded and where there would need to be a small seam. Our installation date was then set later that day for 10 days out. The office called once during that time period to move up the time of our installation to first thing in the morning. On the day of installation, one of the installers called to confirm our address and to let us know they would be a little late. Two installers arrived when they said they would and it only took them an hour to remove our old counters and install the new ones. Before leaving, they had me look over the job to be sure everything was ok and left the work area very clean. I would definitely recommend them.

IT ENDED UP WORKING OUT AS WE BOTH COMPROMISED AND THE JOB WAS COMPLETE

The countertop is gorgeous and the installers did a wonderful job. Our complaint is with the professionalism of the Company. After calculating an approximate square footage needed, picking out our countertop and paying for it at Lowes, we were to be contacted by Discover Marble to have it officially measured and then installed a few days later. The measurement went fine and we scheduled an installation date and time (between 10-2). The day before the installation we were called and told they would not make the 10-2 time and asked if we could push it back to 2-5pm. We said this was fine. The morning of the installation we got a call that our appt would be at the later end of our time frame but we would be called 30 mins beforehand and it would and quot;definitely not be later than 4:45and quot;. 5pm came and went and we had no phone call. I called the Company and got the voicemail stating that the offices were closed (no employee had called prior to leaving for the day to give us a status). We finally got a call from the installers at 5:20 saying they were an hour and ten minutes away. They arrived at 6:30 and installed the countertop along the wall and on our island. The installers were very nice and professional and asked if we would like them to shim our countertop along the wall so that it was level. We said yes and the countertop looked beautiful. It wasn't until after they left (around 9pm) that we noticed that the Island was not level when compared with the wall countertop.

We called the Company the day after and complained about the lack of communication regarding the installation time and requesting compensation for our time considering we took the day off of work and the installers were 1.5 hours outside of our 3 hour time frame - with no word from the Company - we were told (with attitude) that they do not compensate for delays which occur on the installation day but, if we wanted, they could give us back the overage we paid in square footage (they told us that we paid for 41 sq feet and they only used 39 square feet (they also got the price we paid wrong)), but they usually do not refund or require you to pay up to 3 square feet over or under what we purchased from Lowes). They told us they could refund us the $75. When I followed up a few days later to find out how it was being refunded I was told and quot;This is the first time that I am hearing that you would like that amount backand quot;.

Additionally, we asked the Company to come back out to the house to level the countertop on top of the island. We were told that the installers will not check the level of (or shim to make level) the cabinets before putting a countertop on it (which is a lie considering they checked and shimmed our cabinets along the wall) and they are not responsible for making the countertop level. We saw this as a very poor business policy... why not take 2 seconds to make sure the countertop you are installing looks as perfect as possible? We did get them to let the installers come out and the installers had no issue at all with shimming the island countertop and making it level.

When we realized that we had paid for 44 sq/ft (not 41), I reached out to Lowes and asked for a copy of measurements we did with Lowes and what Discover measured . I also told Lowes that we had a receipt showing we paid for 44 sq/ft and it was on sale for 10% which was not reflected in what we were told by Discover Marble and would they please look into the discrepancies. The next day Lowes called and said that we were being refunded $137 for an overestimate of the square footage we received. I don't believe we would have received the proper amount of refund unless I had followed up with Lowes (considering we wouldn't have been offered the $75 from Discover had we not complained).

After exchanging a few phonecalls with the Company they offered us a $50 gift card to Lowes as an and quot;apology for our inconvenienceand quot;. When we received the giftcard in the mail the note with it said and quot;an apology for the installers being late on the day of our appointmentand quot; - which wasn't the reason why were were upset at all!! We had told Discover Marble multiple times that they should have called us before the installers were 1.5 hours late and it was this lack of communication that required the apology. We were required to call the Company AGAIN to make sure they understood why we were complaining.. it wasn't the installers fault (which we felt the notecard was insinuating), it was the Company's communication practices.

All in all it was a disappointing experience and definitely put a temporary damper on the excitement of getting our new countertop.

Please note - they will not tell you that you can have the sink cutout piece of granite.. you have to ask!

I had a very good overall experience with Discover Marble and Granite, there was only one small problem with the installation. The young man who came out to do the template did a very good job. He came out right on time and got all of the work done quickly. When they came back to do the installation they were having a hard time and the young man who did the template noticed that there was a manufacturing defect in the granite that was warping it. They took the granite back and called me to set up an appointment to come back out to complete the installation. They came back out a few days later and completed the installation. I have been very satisfied with the finished product.