Touch of Stone Chicago, Inc.

This is the second time I used Touch of Marble, and this time, it was a bad experience. I had done thorough comparison shopping the first time I used them, so found them to be very competitively priced. SInce I was buying the exact same product (Caesarstone honed countertop), I didn't price compare this time around. After signing contract and paying 66% deposit, I happened to measure the countertop area myself and discovered that they were charging me over 40% above the first job for the square footage cost! When I called to inquire, Derek had various reasons he used alternatively. He first said he had to pay $7/sf MORE for the material than he did last year (Caesarstone people said prices did not go up during this time), but when I pointed out that he was charging me $30/sf more, he then said it was because I had to buy the whole slab, and that the last job used up much more of the whole slab than this one. When I then asked that the remaining leftover be used for a backsplash (since I was paying for the material already), he said there was not enough to do that. When I ultimately asked him to give me what was left over of the slab, it turned out there was nothing left other than a small 3ft by 9 inch piece!! He continued to swear the material cost him way more than last year, and promised to show me the receipt from Caesarstone to prove this. After the job was over, I asked him for the receipt, but he said he forgot to bring it with him and would drop it off in a couple of days. I then discovered that he was so hasty in the installation that he left huge gobs of clear silicone caulking smeared onto the counter, and I couldn't remove it with any product, even with a knife. So I called him about this, and also to remind him to drop off the receipt. I have called him three times in the last three weeks and left messages, but not a word from him either about the smeared caulking or this supposed receipt that proves he had paid so much more for the material than the same thing last year. I will never use this company again. They are not to be trusted because they took advantage of my complacency, and instead of treating a repeat customer with extra care, they did the opposite and took advantage of this.

I like the idea of buying locally and they are very close. The woman who took me out to look for granite at a local granite shop was very patient, she never tried to rush me or push me in one direction or another. We originally looking at one type of stone, I found another that I liked, we took two trips to look and then confirm. She had a good working relationship with the granite company. The installation was very quick, maybe 3 hours. They cleaned up very well. The pricing was good and competitive.