Response from All the Marbles, Inc.
Let me first respond by saying that we were not hired to seal all of the stone in this house. Let me also say that we did this work in May 2012, and now in April 2015, The Earthman’s are posting this review. Please read the rebuttal and you will come away with a very different opinion. This is very sad that something so inaccurate can be posted without investigation . I will address each paragraph as to the real facts. First, we were never contracted by the builder to seal any of the counter tops in the kitchen. Second, when I was called to come over and look at the kitchen granite counter tops, I did in fact place a wet towel to show that the granite did in fact absorb water and need to be resealed. The stains were from oil and I was successful in removing the oil from the granite counter. I informed (removed member name) that we needed to seal with a special sealer that would float oil and eliminate the problem from happening again. From her comments, this apparently is has worked. As for charging her $200.00, again, her facts are inaccurate. I charged her $150.00. And, no I had no intention to reimburse her as we were never contracted to do this work in the first place, it was a separate issue. I agree with (removed member name) in this paragraph. I am not a fan of sealing many stones that are not porous. Simple reason is that if the stone is not porous then the sealer has little or no where to penetrate into the stone. The problem is that many people have a high level of expectation of sealers that typically under-deliver when sealing marble. The problem is that most damage or staining on marble, travertine or limestone is cause by acid damage. Sealers are designed to repel or float water or water salts but offer NO protection from acid etching. Google: Do impregnator sealers protect marble www.miraclesealants.com www.royalcareservices.com www.drytreat.com/surfaces/marble.htm I hope that these remarks will help to understand why I only recommend sealing when a stone is porous and it is appropriate. It would be MUCH easier for me to sell sealer to everyone, only to have customers disappointed when they had etching/stain problems. I sleep much better knowing that I have in no way mislead my customers. It’s a shame the (removed member name) didn’t review the real facts before they decided to post such an inflammatory review. Just to be clear, I don’t sell cleaning products. I do recommend that customers clean with InterCare Cleanser and as I tell all of my customers, if they will follow my suggestions, in a positive way, I would hope that they would never have to use our service again. I have performed Post Construction Clean & Seal/Polish on every house that Richard Price has built in the past seven years. Until the (removed member name), I have NEVER had one call back. I’d also like to reiterate that we have never sealed counter tops for any of Richard Price’s homes. The fabricator, Joe Barboza, has always done that work. I was asked by Richard Price to go with him, Doug Spreen & Joe Barboza to look at the master bath floor as the (removed member name) were having issues with the floor being dirty. This was I believe September 18, 2014, almost two years and three months after the (removed member name) moved into their home. We were not hired to seal the master bath floor. The installer was taking care of this part of the stone work. Again, I agree with her it would have been a waste of money to seal the marble as the stone was not porous. Was the stone over honed? Not sure how to answer this statement as I have seen so many different degrees of honing. From a standing position, the marble floor appeared as though it had been honed like most that I have seen in the past. From touching/rubbing, the marble stone did not feel rough to the touch. There were no visible grind marks/scratches left in the stone from the honing process. As for the four other marble cleaning companies stating that the floor had been OVER HONED I would like for those to give a quantitative response as to what constitutes OVER HONED. I have talked with several fabricators and installers about this subject and all seemed puzzled as to what would be meant by Over-Honed. You could hone or grind a stone too much making the stone to thin but a cleaning company making this type of a comment is frankly absurd and carries little to no value. As for the comments that I called (removed member name) a liar, absolutely not, as a professional and business owner, I would never insinuate a customer was lying. This subject had come up because (removed member name) had made the statement the floor had been honed in place. After that statement, I began to look around the room and in more detail of the installed floor. I looked in the corners and behind the counter trim and next to the kick plates. It was obvious to me, as a certified stone inspector, that the stone had been honed off site. The marble floor still had the normal amount of lippage (lippage is where one stone is slightly higher or lower than the stone next to it) and all of the edges were straight and crisp. None of the edges had a pillowed or rolled edge. I had already talked with Joe Barboza, the installer, before we met at the (removed member name) so I would have a clear understanding as to what process Joe had used to hone the stone. Some installers will hone with acid, which is not an ideal way, which will leave the stone with a very uneven finish, and many times, rough to the touch. Joe had assured me that he honed the marble stone off site using 80 grit sand paper, followed with 120 grit, 220 grit and 400 grit abrasives to keep a consistent finish on the stone. This is the correct way to hone. As for the floor looking dirty, again, I would have to agree with the (removed member name) statement. It was very dirty. When I sprayed the InterCare Cleanser onto the marble floor and took a clean white towel and wiped the stone, the marble immediately came clean. Did I blame the housekeeper? I believe it is the fault of the products and procedures used to maintain the floor. After repeatedly asking how the floor was being cleaned, (removed member name) assured me that the floor was being cleaned as I had recommended, as I do with all of Richard Price's new home buyers. The fact was that the floor had been cleaned for two years and three months with a sponge mop. Upon discovering the real issue was the dirty sponge mop, (removed member name) then turned and asked what it would cost to clean the floor. My response was $600.00. (removed member name) then turned and asked if Richard Price was going to cover the cost. Richard responded by saying no. At that time (removed member name) appeared to be very put out with his wife and said, we will go to Bering Hardware and get the right supplies. We then all left the house meeting. For several days, and maybe as many as a dozen phone calls and several unpleasant messages from (removed member name), I finally answered one of her calls. She told me that I had called her a liar and she was due an apology. I assured her that I had in no way called her a liar or even alluded that she had lied. I did tell her that if it made her feel better that I would apologize to her. I apologized, and she said that’s all she wanted. We said good bye and hung up. Immediately, I called Richard Price to ask him if he thought if I had called her a liar. His response was, not at all, in fact he thought that I had handled the situation in a very professional manner. This is very upsetting to me. I have always provided my customers with the best service that they can get. I have always done what is in the best interest of the customer and NOT what would be the most profitable avenue for me to take. Trust me, it would be much easier to seal ever stone that I come across and much more profitable for my company. I sell our services on the basis that I must show you the customer the benefit that you will receive from the services we will provide. If I can show you the benefit, then I can sleep much easier. I am a register certified marble and stone inspector through the IICRC # 102458. (Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification).