GRANITE TRANSFORMATION

My experience with them went really well.  The countertops were beautiful.  They did a good job.  I got them through Angie's List.  They had good reviews.  The guy that owns the company was great.  He took me out to pick the granite.  The price was fair.

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When finished and the installer was leaving, I noticed the edges were as sharp as razors.  He then used a stone to smooth the



edges in some places.  Since this time I have ruined over 20 shirts, (runs and holes from the edges).  I have had Granite



Transformation back several times to fix this problem.  About a month ago, I called many times over two weeks and could not get my calls returned.  Finally the manager just happed to pick up the phone and did set a date to come out and again work on the edges. Last night I had on a brand new shirt and noticed a hole in it after doing the dishes.  I would just like all of their products



removed.

They required you to go to their showroom before they would give an estimate, which we did not like.

We visited the showroom and then scheduled an in-home appointment for a quote. The salesperson (owner ?) was over 2 hours late to the appointment, and when she arrived I felt it was a rather pushy sales pitch that tried to rely upon scaring us about argon gas from natural granite (which has been dispelled many times over). When her price was 2.5x that over a natural granite quote, the hard push continued that relied upon bad-mouthing competitors rather than selling us on their own product, which I'm definitely not a fan of. 
Would not recommend.

14 Sep - 3 Oct, 2102

*** BUYERS BEWARE *** A long read, but if you plan to do business with Granite Transformations (GT) of San Antonio, TX, please read. Some of it doesn't flow as well I had hoped, but you will get the gist, which is BUYERS BEWARE.

We've had just an awful and unfortunate experience with Mel and Jeanette Esperza - husband and wife team - of Granite Transformations in San Antonio, TX. We feel Mel has been deceitful in our transactions; I have emails that substantiate most of my claims. I've also had family members present during both home visits, one visit was with me and my 18 year old son, and the most recent was with my wife and 16 year old daughter - his demeanor, behavior and escalated voice during that visit lead to both my wife and daughter fearing the worst - he was eventually asked to leave our home. It began a couple of weeks ago when we contacted him to overlay our kitchen island. During our email transactions I stated to him we're interested in purchasing a new delta faucet, to which he replied "I found a delta pull down for 300.00 with my discount". We were sent a price estimate, which included the Delta faucet, and agreed to purchase. A few days later we met at my home for measurements.

During the meeting Mel stated he would install the new Delta faucet and "round" the granite edges for free; for safety reasons, all of our granite has rounded corners. In front of my son - who I introduced to Mel and was present for the entire transaction - he said "I will take care of that for you for free". My son and I both were amazed at the level of CS and extremely thankful. I signed the contract. I now feel that was deceitful business practice.

Later that day I spoke of his kind gesture to several of my colleagues. Then later that evening I researched the faucet model number he had annotated on the contract - the faucet was NOT the Delta upon which we agreed. The faucet listed on the contract was a 200.00 Price Pfister - not the 300.00 Delta. I contacted Mel through email and brought this to his attention - I asked for clarification and added that we discussed Delta in several emails (to include a pricing email from Jeantte which reflects Delta faucet for 300 + 25 tax). He responded with just the following comment: "If you found a Price Pfister GT534-CMS for $200.00, go ahead and order it and we will install it". He did not apologize for having me sign a contract that I believed included a Delta faucet, nor did he apologize for having me sign a contract that should have been be at least 100.00 cheaper, nor did he create a new contract. I responded and told him it was a surprise to find a different faucet on the contract, yet no mention from him, and no price adjustment. I also asked if we bought a faucet ourselves, should we now expect to pay 325.00 less - he replied and said yes, we can pay 325.00 less. Had I not researched the faucet model, would I have paid for the delta? I 100% believe we would have.

Island countertop was installed on 26 Sep. Installer arrived at 0900, but advised us that the overlay would not fit (yet Mel states later that he inspects all pieces before they leave the warehouse). Installers state they would be back in 'a couple of hours', which turns in to 4.5. No problem, they stayed late and finished the job. We told them they did a good job and we liked it - reality was they did an OK job and we DIDN'T like it (burned thru the "granite" in several places, legs were just glued on and not dried when they left - I touched the leg and it slid out from under the island)--the sides make it all look like cheap laminate. We don't feel comfortable addressing negative concerns with installers...we prefer to speak to the managers or owners. The installers stated to us that they couldn't get a hold of anyone, and that we should expect to hear from Mel the next day.

The edges are not rounded as Mel told me and my son that he would do. But Mel now claims that he stated to me that he would SOFTEN the edges. Mel denies telling me and my son that he would round the edges. Had he told me he would SOFTEN them I would have inquired on what SOFTEN means. Regardless, they are not rounded or soft - they are as if they are sawed through each corner's 90 angle overlay, creating a flat edge with two corners - nothing is soft or rounded. It turns out, after speaking to the boss - who also happens to be his wife - that they don't soften corners, they BULLDOG them (I think it is basically how they are now) and that the overlay granite is IMPOSSIBLE to round or soften - yet Mel told us he would round them. Had Mel been honest and told me upfront that they cannot be rounded, I would not have signed contract - we feel this was deceitful practice and a violation of the Consumer Bill of Rights - particularly "The Right to be Informed" AND was done so in an attempt make a sale.

Mel told us he would install the faucet, plus the installers UN-installed the existing faucet - we thought they would install the faucet but they informed us that they don't install faucets. After the overlay installation we did not pay the remaining balance as we were still waiting on the faucet install. Mel contacted me on 27 Sep and stated "Plumbing was not included or ever discussed". I then responded and quoted his email where he states he would install the faucet. My wife called Mel on 28 Sep to discuss all of these concerns and he told her that when he said he would install the faucet that he meant he would cut a hole in the granite for it. Again, we view this as deceitful practice and violating "The Right to be Informed". How many customers would think installing a faucet equates to drilling a hole for one? Drilling a hole and installing a faucet are certainly not one in the same to me or ANY of the 15 or so people with whom I've shared this story. Mel offered to reduce the price by 100.00 to cover the cost of the faucet install and agreed to meet her at our home to further discuss.

On 1 Oct Mel visited my wife and daughter at our home; she wanted to discuss some of our concerns. Mel became what appeared to be very angry...boisterous...raising his voice...and at one point started to approach my wife in a manner that scared her and my daughter. My wife had to ask him to step back, and eventually had to ask him to leave.

I spoke to Mel's "boss" regarding most of this, only to find cold, empty, and argumentative responses. She "apologized" when I told her that Mel scared my wife and daughter, but it lacked any and all sincerity and she sounded like I was annoying her. She told me she would review all of the emails and call me that evening. She didn't call until the next day when she threatened to place a lien on our home should we not pay the balance of 697.00. I emailed her back and offered to split the final costs. I offered, but we are victims of deceitful and unruly business practice - I don't feel we owe them anything at all, let alone 697.00. I feel they owe us a complete refund as we feel we've been deceived and tricked into buying something for which we did not agree.

Today (3 Oct), Mel emailed back and said not only are they now NOT going to discount the 100.00 we paid to have the faucet installed, that we now owe them the FULL 797.00 and that they "will go forward with our procedures to collect this debt".
We are actually going to pay the 797.00 (even though they've now added a renege to all of this) for reasons we think best not to share at the moment BUT we are contacting multiple organizations that protect people in our situation. I have emails and witnesses Hopefully with the number of agencies we're contacting that someone SOMEWHERE can help us. We're also filing an incident report with a local department - Mel's behavior in our home must be documented.

Bottom line - buyers beware. Yes, I should have performed more research before hiring them - GT

I sent in my request for an in home quote and to receive additional information about the product.  I received a response from Mel Esparza on August 2 thanking for considering Granite Transformations for my countertops.  We went into details about their location and hours was well as just the general information that is found on their website.  In closing he stated that he was passing this information to one of his sales people and they would be in contact with me shortly.  Well today is Aug 13th and still have not heard from any sales person from this store.  I guess they have enough business they do not need mine.  So I will be taking my business to another company that will contact me and keep their word and be professional.  One thing that I find the most unprofessional about a company is when they do not keep their word and this company DID NOT KEEP THEIR WORD.

3 days installation could easily have been 1 day, 1 1/2 days at most, except that 2 installers required 10-15 minute breaks every hour, did not arrive on time and left early, with one hour + lunch breaks. My queries were met with condescending attitude - obviously I didn't understand the job. At the end of day 1, when their feeble attempts to capture the terrible dust from prep work was done, I specifically asked if any more dust would be generated next day. Answer was no. I cleaned for hours that night. Next day: more sawing and dust again! Expectation setting is key in any service job - this service provider failed, not once but several times, depite my attempts at clarifying what would happen next in the process and what the 'side effects' would be (e.g., fine dust all over my house, extreme toxic smell from glue). The " finish and cleanup" day 3 was very stressful for me - the installers again were condescending when I insisted on them re-sanding rough edges, calking and grouting areas and sections they missed or did not do well. The installers were careless in other ways, also: my door frame was gouged where they ran into it several times with countertop product and my flooring has many nicks in it from them not protecting it well and dropping the product. I had glue on my floor in many places that took me a long time to remove - again, not putting adequate floor protection down. I documented all the issues, informed the owner and her son via voicemail the next morning, and finally heard back from them 3 business days later. I used my own plumber for sink removal and hook up of new one - very happy I did that, as he did not charge me for the extra time he had to spend waiting on the installer-set schedule. I have several areas on the backsplash that show evidence of very sloppy cutting and installation. I have yet to have them replace the pieces, but the owner assured me they would. My schedule has not aligned with theirs yet to do this, as I refuse to allow the original installers back in my home. Bottom line: I am happy with the appearance and so far the durability of the countertops and backsplash. I was not happy with the installation process, and installers lack of professionalism and lack of careful attention to installation and my home. Neither am I impressed with the low priority placed on my repairs.

I love the new counters. The work was beautiful and I enjoy it. Unfortunately, the workers were messy. I would have gone with a different company hindsight.

They charged me to come out and make a bid, since I live 30 miles away.  They told me that upfront though, and I accepted that.  They were more expensive than the actual countertops.  They were good people; I just decided to use real granite instead of overlays. 

I was very happy with their work.  They were just very professional.  I think they are a little expensive but the guys who do it are really professional and very quick.   They do a good job. I think because they are the only people doing it in the area their prices are little expensive particularly when natural granite has come down drastically. I would recommend others to use them because they are great.  

We decided to go with solid granite. I thought they were a reputable company. We didn't go through with the deal on them. They came in and did the measuring. They gave us a quote on how much countertop we needed. They were pleasant to deal with.

We met sales representative Jeff Case at the Fall 2010 San Antonio Home and Garden Show on 25 September 2010. Jeff asked if he could come to our home and show us the product. Jeff arrived at 9 a.m. on 6 October (on time) and showed us their product, gave us a quote on the product cost, installation cost and plumbing cost. He gave us the choice of using the plumbing company they use or use one of our own. We chose to use their plumber (this was a very wise choice on our part). We, also, received a Polaris 16 gauge undermount stainless steel sink valued at $565.00 as a "show special." Jeff told us that we would need to purchase a new kitchen sink faucet before 20 October (installation date). At 9 a.m. on 8 October, Michael Martinez arrived on time, to measure our countertops and to prepare a template. This young man was very professional and treated our home like his own. He was very courteous and I really appreciated that. On 18 October, I received a call from Sandy Cooper, their office manager, to remind me of my installation date and what time the installers would arrive. Before 9 a.m. on 20 October, Javier Vicuna and Richard Sielski arrived to begin the installation. The first thing they did was to come in and assess the kitchen and then they started prepping my kitchen for the installation. They taped down heavyweight kraft paper to protect my tile floors and then they shrouded my kitchen so that no dust would go into the rest of the house. The entire process started a little before 9 a.m. and with cleanup, they finished and were out the door by 3:45 p.m. We had one piece formica countertops, the backsplash and actual countertop was all one piece. This meant that they had to bring in a saw and cut the piece in half. This was a very noisy process for approximately 30 minutes. When they removed my kitchen sink they discovered a part to my disposall that had rusted through. They told me that if I had time this evening that I might look at replacing it myself, we did, my husband and I went to Home Depot and found the part for $16.00 and had it ready for the plumber the next morning. That evening, Ernest Saucedo of ECO Plumbing called and said that he would arrive by 9 a.m. the following morning of 21 October to reconnect my plumbing and to install the new kitchen sink faucet. Ernest and his wife, Betty, arrived promptly at 9 a.m. on 21 October. Ernest got right to work on installing my faucet. He, also, found that I had a couple of problems underneath my sink and asked if I would like for him to fix the problems. I told him yes and he fixed them. I would like to insert here, that when my husband came home and found that those two problems had been corrected by Ernest, he was very happy!!! The Saucedos were in and out of the house within an hour and I had a brand new kitchen. From the very start of this project, the professionalism, punctuality and courteousness of all those involved with this restoration project went above and beyond our expections. We are so very pleased with the transformation of our kitchen. If you or someone you know is even considering taking on this type of project, we advise you to call Granite Transformations. As for Ernest and Betty Saucedo of ECO Plumbing, we have found a new plumber!

They were good and they showed up on time. The only issues was that they were no less expensive than a complete cabinet replacement and real granite counter tops.

My experience was very good. Work was done professionally and on time. Product quality is very good.

Once again, I am extremely impressed by Granite Transformations and its staff. Xavier, Trey, and Anthony arrived every morning by 8:00 am and promptly went to work. They finished up and cleaned up every day around 5:00. When it became obvious, that another day would be required to complete the installation, they came back on Saturday rather than leave us in the lurch over the weekend. Their work ethic is only exceeded by the quality of their work. These guys are real craftsmen and take pride in getting the job done perfectly. It was a pleasure to have real professionals remodeling our kitchen. Granite Transformations did not let us down.

PERFECT! From start to finish, it was a pleasure doing business with this company. After we visited their showroom and picked up samples, Jeannette came out to our house to assess our needs. She gave us a quote and we put half down. About a week later, Mel came out to measure. Two weeks later, the installers, Javier and Richard, arrived ON TIME to do the installation. They were very professional from the start. They even swept our front porch so they would not drag leaves into the house. They taped paper down on the carpeting everywhere they planned to walk and sealed off the kitchen with plastic so no dust would get into the living room and dining room. Both made sure to keep the front door closed so our cats would not get out. They worked diligently all day and the project was completed by 5:00. Javier and Richard cleaned up and replaced appliances before leaving. They next day the plumber came to reinstall our sink. We love our new kitchen and have to say that this is the first time we have had any work done at our house that went without a flaw.

I'm not quite sure what the dimensions of the countertop were, but I know that it was a very reasonable cost compared to other companies we looked at. They do a very professional job and completed it in a short amount of time. I would gladly refer them to others.