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Can a Glass Company in Rancho Cordova Fix a Bad Mirror Install?
How can a contractor make a homeowner whole again when a project was completed incorrectly and it’s too complicated to tear down and redo? The way I look at this situation is even if the glass company agreed to refund all of my money in full — gave me back my 500 bucks — it doesn’t change how I feel about it. A refund won’t cut it. It’s really not the money; it’s the principle. It’s not like I did not make my expectations perfectly clear from the beginning, because I was adamant.
I also had met with the installers from the glass company in Rancho Cordova when they measured the wall for placement of the mirror. The mirror is about 6 feet wide and 5 feet high, so it’s a big mirror. Thinking ahead like I am predisposed, I had requested that the glass company paint the back of the mirror with an additional coating to try to prevent peeling of finish, resulting in that weathered black edge after time. The mirror was to be installed on a wall from a left inside corner to a right outside corner. It was extremely important that the mirror’s edge on the right line-up flush with the edge of the corner. The job required perfection.
When the installers from the glass company placed the mirror, the edge was not flush. I complained on the spot and asked them to fix it. The installers proclaimed it was impossible to fix because the wall was not plumb. Some yo-yo burly guy insisted that he had placed a level on the wall when he initially measured, and the wall had been plumb at that time, but after the marble was installed, it was no longer plumb. Or, at least that was his story, he was sticking to it and what he would tell his drinking buddies later.
After measuring the mirror, it was clear to me that the installer was a doofus. Not just your usual triple Big Macs for lunch and supersize the French fries idiot, a true doofus. The mirror was 1/8th of an inch longer on top than it was on the bottom. It meant the company that manufactured the mirror had not cut the mirror to precise measurements. I called the glass company in Rancho Cordova to address the problem. The customer service guy sent over a different employee to measure the mirror to determine whether his guys measured incorrectly or if the manufacturer screwed up. It was the manufacturer’s fault.
However, upon presentation of the facts, the manufacturer claimed a variance of 1/8th of an inch on a rectangle mirror is insignificant and therefore acceptable. I agree, if the mirror was centered on a wall. In that event, I could overlook it because I would not notice it. But when the mirror meets an outside corner, no, it is NOT insignificant. It is hugely important.
Why don’t people take pride in their work anymore? Why do companies not care about how they manufacture products and so readily accept mediocracy? Has bottom-line profit margins been so reduced over the years that excellence is no longer a goal?
I noticed the installers had chipped a piece of marble when they installed the mirror. It was not a professional installation job in my estimation. One of the shims is protruding slightly as well. If they rip off the mirror, which is attached with a strong industrial product, it is highly likely they will demolish the wall in addition to ruining more of our beautiful Carrara marble. The wall is reinforced with chicken wire and concrete. It’s probably best to leave it alone.
Still, the company in Rancho Cordova wants to know how they can make their customer happy. Turn back the clock, hire workers who give a crap, instill a policy of professionalism, and don’t accept inferior products from your manufacturer would suffice, but that’s not gonna happen. I’m in a service business selling real estate in Sacramento. I demand excellence from myself and my team members. We strive not to merely make our clients happy or satisfied but our goal is to make them ecstatic with our performance. Perhaps if I were some lemming, I wouldn’t care, too, like so many people do not. But that’s not how I am wired.
My husband, Adam, has a solution. To install a small chrome frame around the mirror. It would reduce the beveled edge unevenly, but it might not be enough to be visibly noticed and hence an irritant.
The No Drama Sacramento Real Estate Agent
Arthur Burke, a real estate agent in Sacramento has, on more than one occasion referred to me as the No Drama Sacramento Real Estate Agent. Probably because there are real estate agents who will yell and scream to get their point across, but I’ve never found that approach to be necessary. The truth is everybody knows you get more attention if you whisper. Does that stop some agents from bellowing at each other or their clients? Logic would say yes but logic doesn’t govern real estate nor some Sacramento real estate agents.
I recall once driving down I-80 with the top down on my car and my right hand trying to steady a giant cat tree in the seat next to me — not the safest thing to do with cars whizzing by at 75 MPH — when my phone rang. Even though that was not the most opportune time to answer my cell, I was wearing a hands-free Bluetooth device. The problem was I could answer it only if I temporarily removed either my right hand from the cat tree or my left hand from the steering wheel. It’s not like I couldn’t talk and drive at the same time, but trying to do so with a 6-foot high cat tree wobbling in the seat next to me probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do. If all of us always made the smartest decisions possible, though, Bandaids would go bankrupt.
Using my elbow to steer, I answered my cellphone. I had a lot of deals in escrow, many of which were short sales, and when banks call, a Sacramento agent better answer because she might not ever get back through to the negotiator. The bank’s call-back number isn’t just an 800#, it also involves a series of digits for an extension, sometimes up to 7 numbers, plus you need to know the last four numbers of the seller’s Social Security, including their middle initials, and the complete property address with correct ZIP code. Knowing I did not have any of that information available at this time as I sped past the bottleneck mess at the 99 South exit, I did not feel the least bit anxious about answering my phone.
It was a Sacramento real estate agent, and I won’t mention where she works because you might figure out who it was, and I’d rather not have to talk to her again. High, shrill voice. Screaming with accusatory tones. I had not spoken to this person for months. It took a while to figure out why she was calling and why she was so angry. She was upset because a seller she was representing had asked me to do a CMA for a home this seller owned elsewhere. I tried to explain that I did not call the seller, I did not solicit the seller, and we did not discuss the home the seller presently owns. After all, the seller is free to choose a different agent to sell a different property. Nobody owns a seller.
It made me wonder how this agent became a top producer when she screams at people. It’s one thing to scream when you’re right, which is not really justifiable, btw, but it’s another to scream when you’re wrong. I also tried to explain that this was not really the best time for me to be discussing our mutual client while driving down the freeway with this cat tree in the car.
She then began to scream at me for answering my phone.
There’s only one thing to do with these kinds of people. Click.
That action involved removing one hand from the steering wheel again. It didn’t feel like a life threatening situation at the time. Staying on the phone sounded like a life threatening situation. Whenever I see this agent’s name, I recall the experience in which I concluded I would rather face death than continue speaking to her. If anybody ever said that about me, I’d want to curl up and die. And that is one good reason I don’t scream at people. I don’t mind being known as the “no drama” Sacramento real estate agent.
