Terrible experience, questionable ethics
Our condo renovation involved many vendors, and West Flooring stands out as the worst in terms of quality, interpersonal dealings, and ethics. The purchase process was smooth, with salesperson Kristofer being generally helpful. However, the flooring arrived in terrible condition—boards were too narrow, cracked, or had chunks missing. Although I usually would have rejected such materials, the installer and vendor worked for one another, pushing me to proceed with the install and attempt repairs later. The materials were so bad that even the installers refused to continue. In the end, there were huge gaps and issues everywhere. Management, particularly the West family, immediately went to work shifting blame, claiming the boards, even 6 7/8” wide ones were within NWFA standards (they’re not) and attributing cracked boards to humidity issues in our apartment, even though they were delivered just a day before. Kristofer, our initially helpful salesperson, disappeared, leaving us to deal with the unpleasant management. Eventually, West offered a “substantial” discount to attempt repairs, but refused to actually put the discount amount in writing, another red flag. In a phone call, Peter West offered a 50-75% total discount. Predicting this company would not honor their word, I documented this agreement in a follow-up email, which of course went unanswered/unconfirmed. Deciding whether to take the discount, we sought opinions from multiple floor investigators and consultants, all confirming the materials were substandard and wouldn’t be satisfactory even after repairs. However, with a newborn and facing months of delay, we decided to proceed with the repairs and get the discount. After two months of waiting and delaying our move in, the repairs were finally completed. The floor looked OK in some parts but not great in others; not all narrow boards were replaced, and some cracked boards remained. The finish was uneven. The repairs made were boards that appeared to have filler everywhere, which i'm not sure will stay put long term. To close the matter, we requested the promised refund at the lowest agreed-upon range of 50%, to avoid further disputes. West Flooring kept stalling, most recently claiming they needed more pictures, despite never scheduling a date. It seemed they were filing an insurance claim, irrelevant to our refund status. With many texts and calls unanswered, no responses on scheduling a time, and no confirmation of our refund amount or timeline, we were forced to seek alternate means. We disputed the charge with our credit card company, aiming for the lowest refund amount. West fought tooth and nail, denying they promised the refund amount while privately and sneakily reaching out and offering a lowball settlement way below the promised range — even this had strings attached, including a quality release and NDA. They even accused US of coercion. Rather than accept the lowball offer and be silenced, we are choosing to warn prospective customers like you all. If you decide to work with West Flooring, take pictures before and after, spell out everything in writing, and do not take anyone at their word. We recommend an immediate third-party inspection of any work performed. Proceed at your own risk. For our family, it has been a terrible experience that we wouldn’t wish on anyone.
By Former TK F.