PENDER'S ANTIQUES & REFINISHING
About us
Pender's Antiques and Refinishing has been in business since 1993 and is the largest refinishing company in the Triangle. We have the most up to date equipment and an over 6000 sq ft building. We do residential and commercial work and all clients deal directly with us from the original estimate to the final pick up and delivery, We offer fire and water damage restoration as well as moving and insurance claims from minor touch ups to complete refinishing of damaged furniture.
Services we offer
Service offered include: Complete refinishing, We offer free estimates locally. We also refinish front doors., chair caning, furniture storage and pick up and delivery, gluing and veneer work, leather replacement, piano refinishing and restoration, repairs, stripping, upholstery and fabrics
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However, we had an issue with the durability very quickly (within a few months) as a couple spots seemed to chip off and you could see the wood beneath the color (its a black painted wood table). When he came to look at it we were even blamed for "taking a screwdriver" to the surface or scratching it with something intentionally. So knowing that we didn't do anything destructive to the table, nor had we used it for anything other than eating, we asked them to redo the surface with whatever product they had used in the past since we didn't like this "new" product. He did and we were very thankful for his willingness to get this done for us. (However he did want to tell us about 10 times how he had to "scrape" that finish off to put on their old product, probably to keep implying that we must have done something to scratch the table and that it is a good product)... Anyway, we got the table back again after a few weeks, and it again looked great. Now here is where my WARNING comes into play.
My wife is a very clean person and likes to kill germs or wipe things down very often, especially in the kitchen. So when the table was delivered, she specifically asked if she could use the same cleaning products on it that she always has (we had the table for roughly 9 years) and the answer was "absolutely." This is key because it put us in a "he said, she said" situation that EVERYONE who deals with this company needs to avoid. We ended up having issues again with our table but this time it had to do with the cloudy damage that happens usually from moisture. We were told this would not happen especially since we use place mats, but it certainly did cloud up in three different places. I brought the table to his office to see what he thought was going on, and after having it for another two weeks, they asked what we used to clean it and I provided the same info we shared when he delivered it. Apparently he didn't look that closely to what we showed him because when we told him our cleaning products, he berated us on the phone about using items other than soap and water. Now this is all of a sudden our fault and we should never have used anything other than soap and water, and he now wanted to charge us a second time to do the job.
I don't mind owning my mistakes but when we are told something specific in person and you shake hands, that should be good enough. Unfortunately, we were told that we are now lying about being able to use cleaning products and this is a HUGE problem. First of all, I volunteered the information about my cleaning products because in our mind, we had NOTHING to hide and wanted to do everything right to take care of our table. Second, when it comes to Pender's invoice/paperwork he doesn't have ANYTHING listed about care for our table. If you do business with them, you may get a good looking product, but you better get in writing how you are supposed to care for your product. We know we live in a state where the law is on the side of the consumer, but we just decided enough was enough with this company and small claims court would take more time than it's worth. Anyway, I hope this helps keep someone from making the same mistake.
"In response to [member name removed]'s complaint concerning the refinishing of his kitchen table. As he stated we refinished his table using an industrial grade finish and delivered it in excellent condition. The [member name removed]'s were very happy with the quality at the time of delivery. After a few months I received a call from the [member name removed] saying something was wrong with the finish. I came out to there house to look at the table. Upon inspection it was quite obvious that there were two indentions in the table which appeared to be two screwdriver marks as they were the exact shape and size of a flathead screwdriver. They claimed that they had done nothing to the table. I disagreed but as is good business practice I agreed to redo the top of the table and to use another type of finish as they requested. To prove how durable the finish is we had to actually scrape the finish off because stripper would not remove it. I redelivered the table and again the [member name removed]'s were happy with the finish. At the time they asked me about what I used to clean my furniture and I explained that all it needs is soap and water or if you would like to use some furniture polish I recommended Liquid gold. After 8 months I got another call from the [member name removed]'s saying the finish was messing up again. I stated that he would need to bring the table in for me to look at. When I saw the table I knew immediately that they had put something on the table to damage the finish. It was quite obvious that it was not the finish as the table legs and skirt were fine and only the top finish was messing up. Upon questioning them in detail I was told that they used a kitchen COUNTER cleaner. If you read the bottle it specifically states for KITCHEN COUNTERS. When using products for wood furniture you need to make sure that the product can be used on wood. I can not be responsible for redoing furniture that people are not using products designed for furniture. In my 20 yeas of business I always try to go beyond customers expectations but I can not be held responsible if customers are putting products on their finishes that are not specifically designed for wood surfaces."
He took the rails back to his shop with a plan to add wooden pieces to make them longer. A week later he returned with the new rails and placed the mattress on the bed. He charged me an additional $75 for the adjustment!
As I tried to make up the bed, I realized that the mattress fit so tightly within the four posts, it I could barely fit the covers around the mattress. Furthermore, because he had advised me to discard the box springs (good advice) and to set the mattress on the slats or plywood (not good advice), it was apparent that a bedskirt could not be used because, other than the slats (he didn't bring the plywood), so there was nothing underneath the mattress to hold the bedskirt in place.
Fully disgusted with his work, as well as his additional charge, I wrote him a letter describing why I was dissatisfied. When he got the letter, he called me to say he would adjust the bedrails a third time and would use the plywood to support the mattress. By this time I feared he would be unable (or unwilling) to do the work to my satisfaction. In addition to my dissatisfaction with his work, and added cost, I found his attitude condescending and defensive. After reflecting upon my experience, I opted not to pursue it with him.
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