A-1 AMERICAN METAL REFINISHING

A good introduction, a getting to know you visit that was very helpful and he was generous with his time. I will report on work results when we get the furniture done.

I needed to replace slings in two patio chairs, a chaise lounge and an adjustable recliner. I had gotten a quote from the patio furniture store where I bough the items, but their quote was too high (I could have spent a little more and replaced the chairs with new ones). I decided to get a quote from A1 American Metal Refinishing after seeing a 25% discount offer in the newspaper. I used the contact form on their web site to provide information about the chairs and ask some questions. A few days later, I received an e-mail reply from the manager, Linda Crouse, responding to my questions. We exchanged a couple of additional e-mails, and Linda provided a quote, which was considerably less than the patio furniture store. The quote was for $259, including $69 for pickup and delivery, so I called Linda and told her I'd like to have her do the work. Linda told me they would be in my area the next day (Friday), and I'd hear from the driver later that day to arrange for pickup. No one called. The following Monday, I sent Linda e-mail and left voicemail indicating that I didn't hear from the driver yet. On Tuesday the driver, John, called, and said he would call back on Thursday to arrange for pickup. He didn't. The following Monday, John called and asked if he could pick up the chairs the following day, but I wasn't going to be available then. On Thursday he called again and asked if he could pick up the chairs the next day between noon and 1:00, and I told him that would be okay. The next day, John called sometime after 1:00 to tell me he was going to be later because of traffic issues. I don't remember exactly when he showed up, I think sometime between 2:00 and 3:00. He arrived, alone, in a Sunniland Patio Furniture truck -- I asked about that, and John told me the American Metal and Sunniland Furniture had the same owner (or something to that effect). John had samples of the different fabrics I could choose from, so I picked what I wanted. He told me that the work usually takes 4 weeks, but it might take only 2 weeks. When John loaded the chairs on his truck, he piled them on top of other chairs, and didn't to anything to protect them in the truck. If you're getting your chairs refinished, it doesn't matter if they get scratched on the way to the shop, but I was only replacing slings. About two and half weeks later, John called on a Tuesday and asked if he could drop off the chairs the next day, between noon and 1:00. He showed up on time, with another person, and they brought the chairs out to my patio. I looked at the slings, they were the right material and seemed okay, so I paid for the work and John left. The next time I used the chairs, a day or two later, I noticed that both chairs had noticeable scratches on the finish that weren't there before, presumably from the trip to and/or from the store. In addition, one of the chairs was missing an end cap from the back of the arm rail. I wished I had noticed these issues when John delivered the chairs, but I was focused on the slings. As far as I can determine, the slings were installed correctly. The material has a little more give than I was expecting, but I've never had slings replaced before so I don't know what to expect. About a week after receiving the chairs, after I had a chance to use them and check them over more carefully, I sent e-mail to Linda telling her about the scratches and the missing end cap, and I included a couple photos, one showing the worst scratch, which was on one of the arm rails of the chaise. Linda replied the next day, and was very apologetic and said she wanted to make sure I was satisfied, and someone would come out and fix the issues at my house, at no cost to me. She said she would call me to make arrangements, and would also talk to John about the issues. Within a few days, John called one morning and asked if he could come later that day to pick up the chairs. I asked why the work couldn't be done at my house as Linda indicated, he said they couldn't find the matching paint color without bringing the chairs back to the shop, so I told him he could come get the chairs. Later that afternoon, I noticed the chairs were gone -- even though I was home, John didn't attempt to contact me when he arrived, he just took the chairs. I don't know how he managed to do that, because I live in a gated community, and he should have had to call me from the gate to get access. So, the chairs were gone, and I didn't have the opportunity to show John where all the scratches were. About a week later, John called again and told me he had the chairs, and asked if he could come over and drop them off. He arrived with another person, they brought the chairs to my patio, and I could see that the scratch I had sent a photo of was taken care of, and the end cap had been replaced with one that wasn't exactly the same, but the other scratches were still there. At this point, I wasn't going to send the chairs back again, so I let it go. The shop refinished both arms of the chaise, but nothing else. The new finish is the right color, but it's much glossier than the original finish, so the difference is noticeable. I don't remember how glossy the finish was when the chairs were new -- maybe the glossiness will fade over time. Based on my experience, I would not use A1 American Metal Refinishing again or recommend them to anyone else. However, I will say that Linda was very responsive when I initially reported the problems, and I imagine she would have taken the chairs back again to resolve the remaining issues if I had asked her to, but I didn't want to give up the chairs yet again or continue dealing with the company.