REVIVAL CUSTOM WOOD FINISHING

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I know this may be long, but trust me, you will want to read my entire dealings with the owners of Revival Custom Wood Finishing. On Friday August 3rd, 2012, wanting to get an estimate only, I took a damaged cabinet door to Revival, and Joe, the owners husband, was at the shop. He said Donna, his wife and owner of the company, would call me the following week with an estimate once she returned to the office. Joe was nice and understanding at this point, knowing to wait for my authorization to begin repairs once I had received an estimate the following week, if I wanted the work to be done. Joe and I discussed in deatail that I didn't want to spend a lot of money on some cheap cabinetry. A whole week went by and after hearing nothing, I called the following Saturday and left a message on their answering machine, to call me back with an estimate. It wasn't an urgent repair on my part, and a few weeks went by untill I did get a phone call from Donna. On Aug. 31st, she said the repair work had been completed and I would owe a little over $140 for the repair, which I NEVER had authorized. I immediately stated my disagreement, that I never authorized the work to be done, and she became very argumentative over the phone. She said her understanding was to begin the work, and proceeded to tell me she had to drive into Dallas to get the piece of wood, stain the wood, all the labor that was involved, etc., etc... She became very rude, and when I pointed out that she was being rude towards me, the customer, she said "she deals with customers the way they deal with her". Remember, I was now the upset customer. She also claimed "I was told about the one hour minimum hourly fee (approx. $75)" which I was never told about. She was not at the shop when I dropped the door off, and Joe had never mentioned it. Remember, he said SHE would quote all prices to me the following week. Donna and I went back and forth over the phone, and I NEVER would expect a business owner to treat a customer the way I was being treated. I informed her that I would be contacting the Better Business Bureau and filing a complaint. She had the "I don't care what you do" attitude towards me and kept on treating me in a very unprofessional manner over the phone. Long story short, she TOLD me in a bold tone of voice, if I wanted my cabinet door, I had to go to her shop and pay her $140, or I could go buy a new one elsewhere, end of story! All this over repair work that was NEVER authorized, and I would have never authorized the work in the first place if I had been given the $75 charge minimum for one hour labor. The door simply wasn't worth that much to me. On Sept. 4th, the following Tuesday, I went to their shop with my pink invoice/work order in hand. My intentions were to see if Joe and Donna were BOTH at the shop and clear up the matter. The invoice has an X at the bottom for work authorization which I never signed. Donna was with another customer but I asked if Joe was in the back and if I could speak to him. This was my first face to face meeting with Donna, so she had no idea who I was. Joe came to the front and I shook his hand, introduced myself again because it had now been a month since I had first dropped the cabinet door off, and I proceeded to tell him about originally wanting the estimate and reminded him that he NEVER said any pricing, quote, estimate, or otherwise when I dropped off the door. I reminded him that he had told me that was something his wife would have to call me about because he said that was all her part of the business. All this time, Donna was still in the back of the shop with the other customer. It was at this point, Joe began treating me in an unprofessional manner and was a totally different person than when I had first dropped the door off. I explained to him that if I could just have my door back in the original way I had dropped it off, I would be done with them, but I also explained this was virtually impossible since the door had already been repaired. At one point, he said "I just think you are an S.O.B.", referring to me. He also said that I was "one of those, always wanting something for nothing"! Nothing could be further from the truth! Yes, I was an upset customer, but I remained calm throughout this conversation. Joe then asked me how I thought we could resolve this issue. I offered him $40 cash, on the spot, to give me the door and I would still leave as an unsatisfied customer. Joe then snickered, and started accusing me of being a customer who should dictate THEIR prices! I said no, you asked me how to resolve this issue, I gave you my answer. Two or three times he made the comment about me trying to set THEIR prices. At some point, Donna came to the front and it was obvious she had been around the corner listening to my and Joe's conversation because she immediately knew who I was and why I was there, and jumped into the conversation. Donna then proceeded to get an attitude towards me and was ranting and raving again, just like how she had done on the phone 4 days earlier, about having to drive to Dallas to get the wood, stain the wood, describe how it took over 2 hours in labor to repair it, etc, etc... I told her I had offered Joe $40 cash and she laughed under her breath, but asked me if I wanted my door back, she would go get the door. At this point, I was under the assumption they would take the $40 and I would leave with my door. She turned around to another employee who was listening in on this entire conversation, and asked if he knew where the cabinet door was. Together, she and the employee went to the back of the shop, and it was just Joe and me again at the front of the store. Joe made some comment towards me that he knew my type, and wasn't surprised my cabinet door was damaged, assuming that I had originally caused the damage in some sort of fit of anger without ever knowing the REAL truth why the door had been damaged in the first place. Almost 2 minutes later, Donna came to the front of the store with my cabinet door in hand. She handed it towards me and I hardly recognized the door! She said "Here's your door, you wanted it back the way you had dropped it off, now leave the premises"! The cabinet door had been kicked in, the center panel was broken WAAAYY beyond the original damage, and NOW, the frame was cracked!!! Donna and this other employee had gone to the back of the shop and one of them had kicked my perfectly repaired door and maliciously damaged it BEYOND the original condition that it was in when I first dropped it off!! She then, had the nerve to bring it to the front of the business and hand it to me!!! Joe and Donna are the ones who had the fit of rage, and it was Donna, or the employee having been instructed by Donna, to kick and damage my door. I have two dusty foot prints to prove it!!! I remained calm throughout this entire ordeal. Most sane people would have started cussing, tearing up the place, and having to call 911 because they just went crazy on someone. You may find this treatment to a customer hard to believe, and I would too, had it not happened to me personally. I remained calm and walked out of their business with the damaged door, stating I would be filing a complaint with the BBB and writing this complaint on Angie'sList. I know that word of mouth will superceed any amount of frustration I could have shown towards them! No matter the quality of work they may do, or references your friends or family may offer from previous dealings with Joe and Donna, I am giving you my honest firsthand account of how they dealt with me. I walked into their business a month ago, only wanting an estimate, and I would have been willing to pay for the repairs RELATIVE to what my door was worth. If Joe had been up front in the beginning, and said there would be a $75 minimum, I would have walked out with the door and said "thanks, but no thanks..the door is not worth that much to me". But for them to repair the door without my authorization, then DEMAND to me that if I wanted it, I would have to pay $140, without me EVER authorizing the work to be done, how any company can stay in business with such treatment towards their customers and business practices is beyond me. Perhaps, and hopefully, my truthful account of what happened will prevent them from EVER having an Angie'sList customer do business with them in the future. **UPDATE** Revival Custom Wood Finishing had a chance to respond, and you can read their response below, but even their response confirms that they run a business with absolutely NO integrity and business ethics, as their response is full of inaccuracies and flat out lies. There was absolutely NO foot-sized hole or frame damage before I took in my door for repair, only about a 10-12 inch crack. I WAS NOT informed of any pricing or charges, or else I would never have left my door in the first place to receive a quote over the phone. I already had in mind what I would be willing to pay, and I would never have paid $75 for the first hour! Yes, I did call her a "B" over the phone, because that is the person I was dealing with over the phone. Within about a 3-4 minute call to inform me I was going to pay $140 for repairs I NEVER authorized, I was treated with the utmost disrespect a customer could receive. I never said I should get my door back for "free", but it's possible I said I shouldn't have to pay anything, but at the same time I was offering $40 for resolvement. And NO!!, I did NOT leave with my door in better condition!! PLEASE READ MY TRUTHFUL ACCOUNT ABOVE!! Donna's response was nothing more than an attempt to cover up and misinform anyone reading this complaint. At first I was an upset customer, but now am angry because they have produced lies and misinformation to try and protect their reputation, at my expense, and I am now in possession of a cabinet door, maliciously damaged that is no longer useable.

I have taken furniture to Donna and Joe at Revival since they've been in business. I've taken them an antique dresser, an antique slipper chair, vintage occasional table, an antique wood, glass and tapestry three-panel screen and a number of other pieces to be repaired and/or refinished and have been very happy with the way they all turned out. Very friendly, very knowledgeable. It takes a little while to get things back but it's because they are busy and they take the time to do things right. They also do reupholstering; I've never used that service but have seen some finished pieces and they were beautiful.