Reviews for COLUMBIA SHELVING AND MIRROR INC

Review from S. L. W.

The shower door is just what we ordered and there were no problems with installation, so we are happy with that. The garage door is another issue entirely. One of the upper panels had dents all along the lower rim. This we didn't notice initially: we didn't examine the door closely because the door opened and closed properly. A week later, the seal on the right-side bottom panel was brushed by the car's antenna when an overeager driver backed out before the door opened completely. There was a small bend on the inside of the lip of the bottom panel, but otherwise the door was not damaged. Within a few days, however, the door started to squeak - the sound it might make if the wheels needed lubrication - and we wondered whether one of the wheels had gone out of alignment. Columbia Shelving and Mirror sent a repairman out on March 16. He found a bulge on the left-side second panel from the top and said it was rubbing against the abutting panel, causing the squeak, and that the bulge, though only on the panel's interior lip, could not be fixed. Subsequently, the salesman, Marty, called me and said the only solution would be to replace the panel - at a cost of $450. He said we'd have to pay for the panel and the cost of installation before he would order it and that the work would be done the following week. Several weeks later, having not heard from Marty but having seen the charge for the panel already on my credit-card statement, I called Columbia Shelving. The receptionist said that Marty was out of town; I left a message. He did not return my call. I called again on April 13, and again told that he was out of town. I did not bother to leave a message, but tried his cell number. No answer several times. On April 16 I called Columbia Shelving and Mirror and explained the problem to the woman who answered. Within a few minutes, a repairman returned my call and set up an appointment for April 18. He arrived promptly, but with the wrong panel. I showed him the variety of dents in the garage door - all of them fairly evenly spaced along that lip. He said damage of that sort was most likely caused during transit or installation. In that case, I told him, perhaps the panel was defective and should be replaced at no charge. He called Marty, who said he would call me in the afternoon. He did not. The following day, I called Columbia Shelving and Mirror again. Telling them I was posting my experience on Angie's List did get Marty to return my phone call. It also got a service call from the company's owner and several others. The owner examined the dented panel and asked the original repairman - the one who said we had to order a replacement panel - why he hadn't tried to fix the dent that was causing the squeak. The repairman's response? He hadn't had the right tools with him. The owner suggested he try now. Guess what? The problem appears to be solved. In fact, it could have been solved four weeks earlier, had the original repairman come to the call prepared. By this time, I was too frustrated to ask whether the panel had been defective from the start. The owner was very polite and did apologize. But if I hadn't threatened the company with a bad review on Angie's List, I'd have spent $450 on a panel replacement - which also turned out to be twice what it should have, since for some reason Marty ordered two panels, not one. As for the refund, six days later it had yet to appear on my credit-card account - it took two more calls to get the refund transaction put through. I would like to say that all's well that ends well. These people all were pleasant at all times. They are the kind of people you want to do business with. But given the overall experience I had with them, I won't. Services Rendered: We hired Columbia Shelving and Mirror for two jobs: to install a shower door for a bathroom renovation and to replace a garage door.