Closet Factory And Designer Herbert Closet Factory New York: False Advertising, Sub-Standard Product, Nonexistent Customer Service Long Island City New York

In early October 2008, we chose Closet Factory - Long Island City ("CF") to design and install 2 closets in our home. After the design was completed, before the contract was signed, we were informed that it would take 2 weeks for the production and installation of the 2 closets. We were also informed that installation would happen during a work day (not a weekend) and one of us would have to take the day off from work to be present during installation. With this knowledge, we signed the contract and agreed under these terms. Shortly thereafter, we were informed it would take a month (not 2 weeks as initially advertised). We were not offered any compensation or given the option of canceling the contract at that point. Installation date ended up being 11/13. We hired a person to be present at our home for that day. The CF employee arrived at our apartment late in the morning, spent 3 hours assembling part of the work, and left after saying he would complete the installation on 11/14. This was after we had been assured that installation would take 1 day. We ended up being forced to hire the person for one additional day because all of our attempts at trying to convince CF to install in one day had failed. Overall installation time took less than 1 day (approx. 5 hours). By now, CF had charged us the full price for the two closets (approx. $6,500). When I arrived at home and inspected the closets, I found a few problems: - Lock in jewelry drawer not working - 2 valet rods that were part of agreement not present - There is a gap between the walls/ceilings and the closet; we were told no gaps will be present In summary, my problem is threefold. 1st I am unhappy about the delivered items - they are incomplete. 2nd I am unsatisfied with the misleading and false advertising practices used by CF since the time/duration of installation were the only reason I have chosen CF over their competitors. 3rd I am disappointed with the way CF customer service handles client concerns and problems. We informed CF of our concerns and indicated that we wanted them addressed immediately. It has been a month since we expressed our initial concerns, and CF is not addressing our concerns. On 12/10 I called CF and explained my concerns but was denied when I requested to speak to a manager; instead I was assured a manager would call me that day. No one called. I followed up on 12/11 and was allowed to speak to a manager by the name of Bill, who was rather rude and insisted that CF is not at fault for any of my inconveniences. When I indicated to him that I have travel plans for the holiday and that I need to have the installation ASAP, he did not seem concerned and said that they have not scheduled anything for me yet. He did emphasize that he would be talking to his manager and would call me back that day; he did not. On 12/12, I called back again and my request to speak to a manager was denied. Instead, I was told that somebody would call me back about my issue. As usual, nobody did. A few days later, I reported this to the Better Business Bureau of New York and shrotly thereafter Bill (the manager) called me back and made an appointment for 12/31 to remedy the problem. I hired a person to sit at my house and oversee the work, but CF employees never came. When I called and tried to find out what\'s going on, I was only told "Not sure what to tell you, I would be pissed too." by the secretary answering their phone. Looking online, it looks like Closet Factory NY has been consistently delivering bad products, providing poor (or no) customer service, and making false promises that they have no intention to fulfill. All my recent attempts at contacting Herbert Tamayo have been miserable failures. This designer has made a habit out of disappearing, losing his phone, and having sick relatives. After he ran out of excuses, he started ignoring all my calls. Very unprofessional individual in my view and his "design" skills are mediocre at best. I would strongly, strongly recommend that you avoid both Closet Factory and Mr. Herbert Tamayo and consider all other alternatives, even "do-it-yourself" ones. You will save time and money, preventing countless headaches.

Mahdi
Brooklyn, New York
U.S.A.