JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Months after a Jacksonville resident became frustrated with his granite countertop installation, the company who installed it, Art Stones Design, came through with their promise of customer satisfaction.
In December, John Soars came to the Maple Street Biscuit on Edgewood Avenue with a complaint for On Your Side's I'm Telling Ken.
"We put $4,000 into these kitchen countertops and they look horrible," he said.
In his kitchen were new granite countertops that were installed in the summer of 2017 by Art Stones Design. Six months later, they were soil and dingy; they had lost their luster and in some places turning black, he said.
His wife, Angelina Soars, was also upset.
"We just learned they were not sealed properly," Soars said. "As you can see, it is all discolored here and everywhere."
Employees with Art Stones Design advised that the granite was porous and it was not a perfect stone. The Soars' argue that it was beautiful after it was installed, but the installer failed to seal the stone in a timely manner.
Company owner Marco Pertile told On Your Side it was up to the homeowner to seal the countertops.
Even so, Pertile said his team made several attempts to correct the problem.
Pertile said he was willing to work with the family but they had reached an impasse because the last effort would be for them to pay to have the work redone, he said.
The Soars family refused to foot the bill.
"We went back and forth, round and round with the people from Art Stones," Soars said.
On Your Side back then reached out to the company and again, the owner said he was willing to work with the family, but at the time he did not know what he would do.
Fast forward to March. John and Angelina Soars are no longer the frustrated homeowners they were.
"Right now we're happy as a clam," he said.
Two weeks ago, Art Stones Design replaced the entire counter tops with darker granite stone.
"Right now, I think the kitchen looks excellent," Soars said.
Soars agreed to cover the cost of replacing the sink and any cost associated with the disconnect and reconnect of the plumbing, and Art Stones Design agreed to do the rest.
"I'm really pleased now that they've come in done what needed to be done, they took care of the whole process," Soars said.
He said he hired the company in the first place because of its commitment to customer satisfaction.
"I am really really satisfied with how great it looks," he said. "It just looks absolutely fabulous. They did a good job on this re-install.