Pro Grout

2/14-First met with Thien about replacing grout in our Master Shower. Thien said all the grout does not need to be replaced-only cleaned and replace two tiles that are broken. Replace grout around shower seat. Quote $600. I was happy with this information and we scheduled to have work done 3/9. I understood that Thien would send Joe to do the work. 3/9-Joe arrived on time. After 2 hours of work, he called me to the bathroom to tell me that he had chipped one of my tiles. We have large profile tiles 36” x 12”, and a chunk was missing out of the top of one tile. (Tile is discontinued and unavailable.) I was sick. I told him that he cannot continue if damage to tile is imminent. He promised to be careful and there would be no more damage The work took longer than expected, so before he was done I had to run an errand. I wrote a check and gave it to him. When I returned an hour later, I saw that he used bright white grout, with a thick grout line (3x thicker than existing). The rest of the grout is cream color and very, very thin. It did not match and stuck out like a sore thumb. 3/9-Contacted Thien that same afternoon asking him to look at the grout color and line thickness. He told me via text message that “new grout is always lighter than old grout b/c the old grout is stained.” OK, but you told me my grout was going to be cleaned. Clearly, Thien did not want to deal with this problem, but after numerous text messages, he finally called me the next afternoon and agreed to meet to look at the mismatched grout. 3/15-Thein arrived to look at the grout. He admitted that he talked to Joe, who said the grout looked ‘mismatched.’ I asked why my grout was “stained” and couldn’t be matched if it had been cleaned. Thien then admitted that he hadn’t told Joe to clean the grout!!! WHAT? OK, so now we need to replace the stark white grout AND clean the rest of the grout. The re-work was set up to happen on Saturday 3/17. Michael would come and clean the grout and Thien would replace and match the stark white grout. (Thien actually wanted to send Joe back but I refused. I told Thien that I wanted him to do it.) (3/17)-Michael arrived to clean the grout. Within 5 minutes he told me the grout was stained and could not be cleaned—it needs to be replaced!! WHAT?? I asked what’s involved in replacing the grout—specifically, was there any chance my tile could be further damaged. Thien arrived at that point and we discussed that I was just told that my grout cannot be cleaned-must be replaced. I repeated the question about the possibility of additional damage to my tile. Both Michael and Thien strongly claimed NO CHANCE OF DAMAGE in removing/ replacing grout. Since my tile is discontinued-potential damage was my primary concern and factored heavily into my decision. Because of the lack of consistent information from Thien in the past, I wanted to be completely clear, so I asked this same question about damage 3 more times. Each time I was assured, “Don’t worry, NO CHANCE OF DAMAGE!” My husband was present and heard the entire conversation. If there would be no damage, we would consent to having the grout replaced. We were quoted an additional $300 (We already paid $600). 3/18 – Michael arrived on time. Started working immediately. Within 30 min, he called me to the bathroom and started to ‘walk back’ the promise of no damage to tile made the day prior. “Sometimes just a ‘little’ chip happen.” Then showed me a large chip in the tile and claimed it was previously there. He had even taken a picture of it on his phone! I came unglued and told him it WAS NOT there previously–and there can’t be any damage—The tile is d/continued. I sat down on the toilet and watched every move he made for the next three hours. Four more chips occurred. Bottom line-Chips CAN happen-Michael and Thien knew this, but lied repeatedly. As a customer who is relying on a business owner for advice, I need and expect forthright advice. Thien knew potential damage to my tile was my primary concern and would factor heavily into my decision. Yet, his consistent answer to my question about potential damage was “Don’t worry, NO CHANCE OF DAMAGE!” As I found out, there is a BIG CHANCE OF TILE DAMAGE while removing grout (See pics). Thien absolutely KNEW this—but chose to be dishonest to create a sale, without regard for his customer’s wishes or best interest. In discussions with Thien at each stage of this process, his first mode of response was to project “blame” on me. Each attempt was false. But here’s the real problem—and what I’ve learned—ProGrout has no paperwork. Thien does NOT write down notes. He has no contracts. His promises, price quotes, work descriptions are all verbal. He wants checks made out to him personally—not to his business. Reputable professionals DO NOT do business this way.