I just read your other thread.
Even though I'm no expert with plaster, I do have a ton of customer service, business and people person experience and skills.
What I have gleaned from our wonderful and ever so helpful TFP experts in your other thread, is as follows.
I really feel you are getting jipped on this whole thing.
Why, when the PB goofed up, or their crew, whatever. Should you have to pay for another finish "upgrade" at your expense?
What, because they're implying that they don't trust you'll be happy with it?
That's preposterous!!
This basically means that the PB finds what your pool surface turned out as, is an acceptable end product of his plaster jobs.
Thus, he feels, to himself, that if he re-plasters your pool with the same finish as before. That there's going to be no change in the end, as you'll have the same complaint. The PB has no confidence in his/her end product or the ability to make "you" happy.
Rhetorically... Why, are your requests out of line, can he/she not deliver on the end product??
You should be able to get "the finish" YOU PAYED FOR in the 1st place and they should do it at no cost to you. PERIOD!
You shouldn't have to upgrade, you shouldn't have to compromise. You shouldn't have to fork out more money for their mistake. I'm sorry, but in my book and my nearly 20 years of business experience, dealing with large corporations, government, small businesses and all the way down to consumers. I feel that's bad business and it's just not right.
Now of course, if you told the PB in the 1st place to go with some el' cheap'o plaster product and a cut rate crew fresh out of school. Then yeah, it's your fault for going so cheap and expecting this fabulous, high quality product. But that's not the case.
What your PB is offering you, to me, is like a painter being hired to paint the outside of your house. When the painter completes the job, the paint begins to peel and flake in the elements over the course of the next year, as the seasons change.
The painter comes back and says that's your fault for having not purchased a good enough quality paint. When in fact, you paid for and made sure you were getting a long lasting, quality paint. Or better yet, oh, that color does that. *Then why do you sell it??
But in fact, what happened is that the painter cut corners and failed to properly prep the underlying surface before doing paint & primer. So it was destined to fail!! Even if the painter had plastered it with a marine epoxy paint that dries with a bullet proof gloss finish. It still would have failed!!
I know there's a bit more to plastering than painting. But I think my analogy still holds weight to your situation.
I can say that I have been in these sorts of situations before, more times than I care to count. Sometimes I think that everything mechanical, electro-mechanical or physical in any nature simply sees me from a mile away and knows that I'm a tech. Thus it thinks it's automatically OK to pick me as the one it breaks on. GRRR lol
I know from dealing with companies on defective things, whether a product, service, or what not. That you have rights and those companies will attempt to downplay them, or try to convince you to go with the option that's best for them and their bottom dollar. Not for you and your hard earned money, desiring and expecting a functional end product that you paid for.
You have to seriously stand your ground and put your foot down when necessary.
I do like you philosophy of effectively catching more flies with honey than vinegar. That is so true in life, almost even more so when doing any sort of business transaction, monetary aside.
But if you're all nice and sweet, it'll get you so far and with some, not far enough. So then you have to turn up the heat as necessary, not being mean, irate or out of line. But simply enforcing your rights and making sure they stick to it.
Basically restrict their honey, maybe dribble in a little vinegar into the bait. Just enough that they won't really notice. HEHE
I understand that they seem to be a reputable company. But things happen, crews change, people get too busy to give the proper attention needed to the job, sidetracked with other things, life, personal, etc... Or have a vendor snafu causing a quality control QC issue and so on.
I have seen long term #1 A+++ businesses go to an F- like an Indy race car crashing on race day. It's not pretty!
Unless you have just really said to yourself.
Self... "I think I really wanted a quartz finish in the 1st place, but couldn't justify it. Now I think I will do it."
Well super!! Then you came out in the end, especially if you negotiate them down to material cost, instead of "cost difference plus markup" in materials.
But, if what it sounds like is that you really like that white finish. Stand your ground, don't let them push you around.
Get it fixed and get it done right.
Tell them that the industry has been doing plaster pools since... I don't know. Ask these guys how long. Did the Romans invent this??
A proper plaster job will look white and be durable and last for many years to come. About 15-20 seems to be the consensus on here.
State that this is not outside the acceptable limits of plastering. State that you wish to have a proper and correct plaster job done. If they can't do that, or it comes out poorly. Then tell them that at their expense, you will send a sample off to get analyzed.
If it is determined that it was an improper plaster job, then they either need to figure out how to make it right, or they need to hire someone to do it that knows how. *I would suggest the latter, especially if they re-do it and it's still not right.
I'd get a sample, 2 actually, before they break it up to re-do it. So you have a comparison to go back to if need be.
I don't really think any of that concept is overly out of line and it's what I would try to embark on. I wanted that nice, quality, smooth paint job on my house and I'm going to get it! Gosh golly!! One way or another! LOL
But ultimately, it's totally up to you as to how much you want to fight this and how far you want to go.
If you do decide to go at this and you hit more walls. There are legal avenues that you can take. They work quite well, many are free, some are less than you'd spend on dinner for a family of 3 at an affordable restaurant. Not exactly bank breakers and huge peace of mind, things that ultimately force them into correcting it.
Usually all but avoiding any sort of ugly, long, drawn out legal battle.
If you want info on your options there when the time comes, re-visit this thread and ask. I'll see it and chime in.
Either way, I myself and everyone here. We're all here to help you and support you in whatever your decision, your pool needs and questions going forth. We're like one big pool loving family.
