THE PLUMBERY

When we decided to remodel our master bathroom down to the studs, we visited the Rockin, CA, showroom of The Plumbery Luxury Bath & Kitchen. We were assisted there by sales rep Tim Belarde. We explained to Mr. Belarde what we needed in terms of fixture and accessory types and styles. We also took pains to explain to Mr. Belarde the schedule on which our remodeling contractor was planning to work. After being shown a number of fixture options, we selected a style with an attractive brushed nickel finish. Mr. Belarde assured that he would place the order for our fixtures and accessories in plenty of time to have them available when our contractor needed them. Several weeks later, after our contractor advised us that our new bathroom plumbing was in place and he was ready to install the fixtures, we discovered for the first time that the fixtures and accessories had never been ordered by The Plumbery! It seemed that Tim Belarde had gone on vacation, shortly after our visit, without having submitted our order. A different employee at The Plumbery went into swift action and began rounding up the items we needed, but we still experienced a lot of inconvenience and delay that we felt were inexcusable. (Tellingly, we never received afterwards a single word of embarrassment or apology from Tim Belarde.) One other gripe: When we initially discussed our needs with Mr. Belarde, we explained that we wanted fixtures that would require little or no routine maintenance. Imagine our chagrin when we eventually read the instructions for our newly installed fixtures and accessories. Every bit of surface area requires a monthly coating of carnauba wax in order to preserve the finish. Caveat emptor!

We had ordered everything a month and a half before the project was to begin, and were assured everything would arrive on time. Initially they sent the wrong size of pipes and the wrong finish as well. We had to keep calling and visiting to get everything properly. They were very nice throughout the ordering process, but everything fell apart when it was time to actually get everything. We would not recommend this company and are still not finished with everything because of this situation.