Discuss I'm having trouble with a customer relating to grout (Bal Micromax) in the Australia Tiling Forum area at TilersForums.com.
this customer will not accept fugafresca................113 and 299 limestone seem to go patchy depending how wet you get it when washing of, maybe a similar problem with the bal micro.
Bal = dog s##te
Ultra colour plus for me.
@EdinTiler don't let these b##tards get away with it, people like this need teaching a lesson, I know a Bulgarian man who can be very persuasive, he lives in Manchester though.
Defo trumpets!
So I'm having trouble with a customer relating to grout (Bal Micromax)
I have tiled 70 sq metres of Porcelanosa 60 x 60 polished porcelain tiles on a job.
The customer supplied everything apart from the floor adhesive and primer. They went to CTD in Stirling to find an appropriate grout to compliment the colour of the tile and came back with Bal Micromax 'Manilla' which was the closest colour to the laid tile as they could get.
As usual, it was mixed and applied to the ratio stated on the reverse of the bag of grout with no problems. I find that Micromax has a tendency to slump so I go over it twice to bring the grout up to acceptable level between the tiles. The tiles are rectified but have a 1.5/2mm chamfer around the top edge of the tile.
Approx 25 metres was grouted, wiped down and left to dry. The customer returned from being out and stated that the colour was not what she had told it would dry to and was not the same colour as the grout They said that the sales assistant in CTD had said that the grout would dry darker than the colour of the unmixed grout powder in the bag. I told them that this was rarely the case and that they should take this up with the manager of the branch of CTD that they bought the product from.
Needless to say, they asked me to remove the grout so they could return to CTD and pick something more suiting to the tile. They then came back with Micromax 'pebble'.
I removed the existing grout with the multi tool, swept and hoovered the grout joints. Washed them down and then went back over the grout joints again using the same method until all existing grout was removed and grout joints were back to the same state as before the grout was applied in the first instance. I told the customer what the extra cost that would be incurred for time spent rectifying a mistake that was not mine.
I then mixed to specification the new Micromax 'pebble' and applied it appropriately. This time the grout dried lighter than the colour in the bag yet again but also this time it had dried patchy.
They told me that this was down to my incompetence so I then got the Bal Technical support out to take a look and take samples of both grouts away to test for colour tolerance and if the mixing ration used was correct. No problem for myself as I only ever use tiling products to the exact specifications stated by the manufacturers.
The customer is refusing to acknowledge that I have done any extra work or that the initial grout they supplied to me was even chosen by themselves. This is nonsense as they picked and paid for both sets of grout themselves. I had absolutely no part in this process.
So when the customer pointed out that the 2nd lot of grout was wrong and that they also wanted this removed and replaced, I said that yet again, I needed to recompensated for my time and labour to rectify yet another mistake that was not of my making. The first thing to come out of their mouths was that they were not going to pay a penny regardless, so I walked off the job until a resolution could be reached by all parties involved.
I get a text message this morning, stating that the Bal rep phoned the customer back at the weekend and gave a verbal report to them saying that the grout discolouration and patchiness was down to an inconsistent mix (too much water to powder). I found this hard to believe as they wouldn't surely get back with any info unless their findings were rock solid and the rep had told us categorically that the tests would take 4-6wks due to the time of year and the backlog of other tests that were being carried out before ours. So I phoned the Bal head office and also the very rep who came out to the job and have been told that there has been no follow on correspondence whatsoever between Bal and the customer since he last site last week and they'll give me proof in writing to that effect. I knew this but needed proof myself before continuing any further with anything.
So the situation I'm in is that the customer won't pay me for the initial work or for rectifying the mistake/s that were not of my making.
There has been at least 3 sets of all types of trade on this job and I know for a fact others have left due to the same circumstances as myself. Being asked to do one thing, customer not being happy, re-doing it and not being paid for their time.
As the customer has lied to try and get the work done in time for the kitchen being fitted, it now renders our working relationship untenable and I am going to have to go through small claims to recoup what money I can from this job.
Any others here had similar problems? All suggestions/advice/questions on the matter are appreciated in advance.
EdinTiler
Thanks
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