ROMA TILE & CARPET

Jim is a liar who sold us a “porcelain, Spanish tile.” He assured us it was just as good as Italian tile. We looked up the sku number because we needed more since it chips so easily and we found that it is a Chinese ceramic tile. His installers didn’t even chip up the old tile properly so it isn’t even. He ripped us off selling us a high quality item and delivering garbage. The tile chips if you drop a pencil on it,

Jim, had the bill worked out that I paid him for products and I paid the workers for their labor. He would only deal with cash or checks. Just a warning not to order from a catalog. Imperative to have detail order no word of mouth, if their is a change have it writing.

We contracted with Roma Tile and Carpet, Inc., to purchase and install 36” long porcelain planks in my art studio, anticipating the results to look like an authentic wood floor. I asked Jim Hazini, the shop’s owner, whether he carried “Prism”, a grout which is resistant to staining. He didn’t carry it, but stated that if I provide it, his installers will use it in the installation. I declined immediately, and stated that I’d like him to install the grout he stocks. We stressed to Hazini that we needed the job completed, by the next weekend, as we were having company and didn’t wish to have the entire contents of the studio strewn all over the house. He promised us that the job will be finished in a day, 1½ days at most; that we’ll definitely have the space back to order by the weekend. The job was not finished by that weekend, or the next, and we were forced to move our furniture and furnishings in and out of the studio several times. The job is still not finished, but Jim Hazini refuses to finish it. Our issues are listed below: Halfway through the 1st day, one of the two installers asked whether Jim Hazini had called us concerning some of the tiles being curved/warped. He had not. We immediately called him, and were informed that since the tiles are baked in a kiln, and since the planks are long, “it sometimes happens that some of the tiles are warped a bit…” The installer had then shown us the defect in question on several of the tiles, and since it did not appear to be serious, we decided to proceed with the job in order not to jeopardize our deadline. We didn’t want to lose any time waiting for replacement tiles; particularly since there was no guarantee that they won’t be warped as well. The next day only one installer came to work on the installation. He asked me whether I had picked a grout color. Jim Hazini never asked me to select the grout, and I assumed that that was due to the fact that this particular tile had its own color matching grout. I commented that Hazini must have forgotten to ask me to select a grout. The installer had a chart, and I selected a grout that was the closest in color to the body of the tile. The installer left for the day shortly after noon! Some of the tiles weren’t even installed yet - let alone any grout applied! When we called Jim Hazini, he immediately went into “attack” mode, blaming us for the job’s not being finished yet, claiming that it is due to our wasting 2-3 hours to decide whether to accept the warped tile. We were flabbergasted! We informed Hazini that at most, this delayed things 20-30 minutes (and that was generous, since in effect, the conversation with him took less than 5 minutes; not the 2-3 hours he decided to allocate to the short conversation we had!). We chose to not remind him that we knew full well that warped tiles was a condition he brought to the job; not we! Nor did we mention that a faulty material should entitle us to an adjustment in price. Late that afternoon, Hazini called to inform us that the grout color I had picked wasn’t available, and to please pick another one. I reminded him that I didn’t have the chart. He then named another grout, claiming it was very similar to the one I had initially picked, and that I will be very pleased with it. I responded that I was at a disadvantage; I didn’t have the choices in front of me, so I’d have to take his word that the grout matches the body of the tiles. The next day I was not at home when the grouting began. When I returned, I immediately informed the installer that the grout was way too light in color! The effect was not of a wood floor, but of long tile planks bordered by a contrasting grout. We called Hazini. He once again went into “attack” mode, insisting that the color that was installed is the very color that I had picked! When I reminded him of his phone call of the previous evening, and his informing us that the grout color I had picked from the installer’s chart wasn’t available, he actually denied making that call! Further, he started shouting that I had said I’d supply the “Prism” grout - otherwise he’d have written a grout color choice in the contract. When we posed to him that had that been the case, why didn’t he then insert in said line “customer to supply grout”? He hadn’t. He proceeded to increase his level of hostility, shouting and filibustering even louder on the phone. When my husband could finally get a word in edgewise, he requested that we discuss how to move forward from this impasse, since right now the job is not acceptable. Hazini informed us that the grout cannot be replaced without tearing all the tiles up (a claim which he later also denied making!) We inquired about staining the seams and/or applying the correct color over the wrong grout color. He declared that he will not correct the problem without additional money (over and above the contracted amount). He proceeded to advise a “quick and sure” remedy: Olive oil applied to the seams; promising that he had used it many times in the past, and that it is very long lasting. We tried a bit of it, and the color looked wonderful - until it dried. Then the seams returned to being too light. Next he advised using motor oil; stating that it is a long lasting solution, since olive oil will at most only last one year, and then fade - a fact he neglected to mention the previous day…) We purchased some motor oil and tried it: It didn’t work, but it stank the room up like a mechanic’s garage. Hazini yelled at my husband: “What difference does it make? Who cares what it looks like? It’s only a studio! She will spill paint on it! Besides, the grout will darken over time!” My husband responded that this isn’t the issue. We had paid good money, and are entitled to a satisfactory job! Besides, it should look good if/when we put the house up for sale. The studio is, after all, occupying one of the bedrooms in the house, and should be able to revert to a bedroom! Hazini finally agreed to send his installer the following morning, to see what he could do. But he stipulated that his installer will need to be paid extra to change the grout color, and that we we are to purchase and provide the grout. Attempting to resolve the situation, my husband reluctantly agreed. When the installer arrived at 8.00 a.m. the next morning, he declared that it will take him a full day, but he will be able to remedy the situation by scraping the wrong grout out with a blade, since it is not fully cured yet, and reapplying the correct grout (which we were to provide). He wanted additional $200.00. My husband reluctantly agreed to the charge. The installer was to start the following day. Less than three hours after starting the job, the installer proclaimed the job finished. My husband discussed with him the fact that he estimated a full day’s work, but is leaving after less than half a day, and is therefore not entitled to the full $200.00 - particularly since the original installation fee for the entire job was $350.00, and that included Jim Hazini’s markup! They settled on $150.00. Once we were able to wash to floor, removing the construction dirt and dust, we discovered that not all of the grout seams were redone. In the areas where they were re-grouted, the floor looks like the wood floor it is supposed to look like. The areas the installer skipped retreating look like wood planks with contrasting light borders; definitely not the floor we contracted for, and definitely not presenting the look of a wood floor. We contacted the installer, who promised to come at 8.00 a.m. the following morning. He did not. He did call us at 9.30 a.m., and stated he could come at noon. He did not show up then either, nor did he call. We waited a couple of days before contacting Jim Hazini. He was not interested in discussing the floor; only that we still owed the installer $50.00. My husband stated that we had already paid, twice, “for the completed installation job”, and that it is still not complete. Hazini then began a loud tirade of how everything that went wrong was our fault, and lying about anything and everything that he and we had previously said. He did not let my husband put a word in edgewise, yelling louder and louder, and then hanging up on him! We want the job finished! We believe that we are entitled to a professional job to be provided by professionals. Certainly that is what we believed we had paid for! We never asked for, nor were we offered a discount, and therefore fail to see why Jim Hazini kept shaking us down for more money, above the amount he charged and we paid fully. We did not deserve to have been yelled at, and verbally abused, by that man! Not getting any satisfaction, we sent Hazini a certified letter, giving him a deadline of August 7th to complete the job. He called upon receipt and proceeded to shout, berate, insult, and threaten us. Fred tried to move the conversation to a polite level, succeeding finally in getting Hazini to promise he’ll call back the following day, after talki