The Master Craftsman

I recently rescued my elderly father from some contracts with these crooks. An example of an attempted charge: nearly $2,000 just to replace four fabric seat pads on his dining room chairs.

Since the contracts were cancelled within Ontario's 10-day cooling off period, his deposits should have been refunded immediately. But the company threatened to sue him, claiming that he had waived his rights by initialing some sticker on the front of the contract. They backed down only when I made it very clear I'd be happy to expose them in court.

PLEASE NOTE: by law, your rights under the Consumer Protection Act (which include that cooling-off period) remain in force even if you agree to surrender them! Don't be bullied, and don't be intimidated!

We were introduced to Master Craftsman through one of their many booths at trade fairs. Their salesman came to our home to inspect the furniture. The initial quote was over $7,000, dropping in increments as we resisted the price, so the first price was highly inflated. The final quote was only good if we signed up on the spot, evidencing their high pressure sales tactics. After the furniture was removed, we received a call that the veneer was water damaged and needed to be replaced. There was no water damage when we gave over the furniture, but no way to check their allegation, since they had the furniture. Repairing the veneer increased the cost by over seven hundred dollars. Our calls to the sales rep. went unanswered. When they delivered the furniture several weeks later, they would not even take it off the truck until we gave over a certified cheque for the balance of the payment. The furniture was badly refinished, improperly stained and had been damaged. We demanded that it be taken back and refinished, which they did, but made the furniture even worse. By now, the stain was a dark red, nothing like the original almond colour, and did not match the rest of the suite pieces. And even more damage was done to the furniture, with trim pieces chipped off. Again, we had to surrender our certified cheque before we could see the furniture off the truck. It was obvious these people could do nothing but make a bad situation worse. We took back our furniture, paid their bill and then hired a reputable, competent furniture refinisher to repair the damage and refinish the furniture properly. This doubled the cost of the refinishing.
Only afterwards did we discover that Master Craftsman is a front, taking in furniture and then farming the work out to the lowest bidder. They are disreputable, shady and dishonest in their dealings with the public.
Stay away from these crooks!!!!!

I was intrigued when I came across the display at the local mall.
I was very concerned that any company would treat my antiques with the care and consideration that I would. But after meeting our estimator in our home, I felt very reassured. The work was excellent, they are truely Master craftsman, my dining room has always been a point of pleasure and even more so today. I found the staff to be very helpful, and excellent at keeping me up to date with what was happening to my prized antiques. I would recommend them to any and everyone, in fact I have an appointment to discuss a very old desk that I have just picked up at auction.

Regards

Karen in Georgetown Ontario

I am sorry to see so many negative reports about this company and having read them, after I made the order, I was prepared for the worst. However despite some negative experience with respect to their business practices, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the refinishing job. The only negative about their work is that the furniture was not stained in the shade we ordered but since we liked it anyway we let it go.
Considering the very very high price we contracted we should have received excellent quality and we were very happy with their expertise. However, I was very unhappy with their frequent attempts to upsell. It started with the supposed need to upgrade the glue in the chairs ( we resisted and the chairs are fine). Then it was a call suggesting we should pay for scotchgarding ( NO i said). Then, and this is my fave, a rep called and said they are at the final stage of refinishing and we should have them add XLT40 to the final lacquer for extreme protection. I asked how much and he said $1,500.......
I called the company and spoke to his boss who said the xlt40 is only $250 but it is the insurance that costs $1,500. Does anyone buy the insurance?
Also at some point during the long process I called to ask to speak to the salesman because I wanted to get his feedback about all the upsell calls. A rep called back and said the salesman was instructed not to call us back.
So in summary be prepared to spend a lot to have your furniture refinshed. And expect a good job. Expect a few calls about up-charges for things that " your furniture absolutely needs and because it is such high quality you should really maximize the value of this fine investment". But resist all their attempts to extract more money for unnecessary upgrades. Just quickly say NO to all those crass attempts to upsell and you will be fine.....

You make a deal, set a price, the furniture is hauled into their truck within an hour after the salesman's departure (because "we're gonna work on it right away as we have to keep our workers busy"), weeks and weeks of silence go by, and then (no doubt based on the salesman's assessment of you at the initial meeting, to see if there's anything more to squeeze out of
you at a later date), you likely will get a call from a very concerned individual, of course having only YOUR interest in mind, announcing that unfortunately they have found an unexpected flaw somewhere in the bowels of your furniture, which you better get fixed (for an additional, ridiculous amount), or else they can't guarantee....blah, blah, blah. Meanwhile Ontario's 10-day cooling-off period, during which they could have easily
discovered the alleged condition if they actually had started the work, has conveniently expired.
In short, a solid cock-and-bull story, probably mainly aimed at seniors who are thought of not only as senile, but also full of cash. Meanwhile, their victims, as a consequence of having already paid down a ton of money (33-50%!!), and with the stripped-to-the-bone furniture sitting in their shop, are being held firmly by the jewels.

Buyer be VERY aware!
These Master Craftsman artists have stands in shopping malls all over the place; the last time I saw them was a few weeks ago in the Parkway Mall in Scarborough. Steer around them!

If you still decide to deal with them, pay careful attention to the sticker on the front of the contract, and article #19 on the back (legal mumbo-jumbo in tiny soft-grey letters on a coloured background, requiring 90-90 vision).
Unfortunately due to other things on my mind, I wasn't on the ball, and that makes me an fool who for once let his guard down whilst the tubby snake oil salesman performed his smoke-and-mirror pitch with his truckload of albums.
That article #19 alone should start ringing alarm bells.

If you're already in bed with them (or any other firm for that matter) or intent to do so, let me give you some advice:

1. Don't allow ANY salesman to pound on you for more than 10 minutes. If he can't give you an estimate within that time, lead him to the door.

2.- Establish right from the beginning that you will NOT fork over more than 10 (TEN) percent of the contracted price! Don't fall for his whining about the company having to buy material, and similar song and dance. If he doesn't like it, he can leave.

3. If you make a deal, do not allow the salesman to cut out a piece of your upholstery unless it's small and from a location that's out of view. Do not allow him to write your name on the material with a black marker "for identification purposes". If for some reason you want out of the deal within the Ontario 10-day cooling-off period, you're screwed because your furniture is now ruined! Write your name down ON THE WOODEN FRAME that's out of sight, but can later easily be found by you when the work is finished.

4. Let the salesman write into the contract that the company will let you know within 5 (five) CALENDAR days if there are any additional costs, over and above the contract price, for further repairs, etc. If so, and you can live with it, I wish you luck. If not, the deal is off and your furniture must be returned to you free of cost, in as close as possible a condition as it was when it left your premises. The reason for this all is that the salesman should be knowledgable and experienced enough to tell you right off the bat in what approximate condition the furniture is in, and base his estimate there on.

5. BEFORE they start putting the new material on, they MUST contact you (NO EXCUSES as in "you weren't home and we couldn't wait"). Then you go down there, and compare the material with the sample in the book (demand to see it) from which you have chosen. If there is no manufacturer's printing on the back of the roll of material, you compare the book sample with the picture you (hopefully) have taken of same at the time the salesman was contaminating your house with his bulls..t!! If you have no camera, write down brand name and nummer.
Before you leave, demand a sample of the material they're going to use. To put the icing on the cake, walk with a digital camera and photograph your stuff inside & outside, preferably with the attending employee in full view.

6. BEFORE they load the furniture in their truck for delivery, they MUST call you!!! Again, go down there, sample in hand, and compare same with the material they've put on. Inspect the furniture with a magnifying glass. Sit on it. Do NOT hand over any money before they arrive at your house. Once there, inspect the items again in the truck (take a flashlight)BEFORE offloading them.

7. Don't get intimidated. If you feel they're jerking you around within the warranty period, or issues arise within the repair period, don't panic, get a legal advisor (a lawyer or paralegal) if necessary, or simply file a claim in Small Claims Court, costing next to nothing.

8. And remember, YOU are not the one who's desperate to make a deal with companies, THEY are!

Check the Better Business Bureau and the Ontario Government websites about these clowns:

http://search.bbb.org/
http://www.gov.on.ca/mgs/en/ConsProt/ConsProt/STEL01_132036.html

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Update:
You can now find them in malls all over the place under the name TMC.
We sucessfully took The Master Craftsman to Small Claims Court. If you feel you are being or have been taken to the cleaners by this firm, you may consider doing the same. If the amount is considerable, hire a good paralegal (they're quite reasonable).
Anybody who entertains the thought of doing business with this or similar firms, INSIST THAT FOR ANY ADDITIONAL ALLEGED NECESSARY WORK, YOU MUST BE CONTACTED WITHIN 7 (SEVEN)CALENDAR DAYS AFTER SIGNING THE CONTRACT AND THAT, IF YOU DON'T LIKE WHAT YOU HEAR, THE FURNITURE MUST BE RETURNED TO YOU FREE OF COST AND IN THE SAME CONDITION IT LEFT YOUR PREMISES.
Do NOT allow them to cut pieces from your furniture's fabric and do NOT allow them to mark your stuff with a black marker.
And if the salesman cannot give you an estimate within 10 minutes of their arrival, lead him to the door.

We have two wing chairs in perfectly good condition however covered in an awfull choice of fabric colours. We had intended to re-cover at some point and by chance came across the Master Craftsman booth at the Home show. We left our name a recieved a call shortly after to make an appointment. From that point on the business model follows the exact same modus operandi as the majority of the reviews I read on this site;

First the astronomical quote (the homeshow special) which was quickly cut in half and then slashed further, but only if we signed immediately.

Once the salesman had his contract and deposit he quick fled the scene with the chair cushions so they wouldn't 'get lost in shipping' (more likely to ensure we couldn't change our minds).

That was followed by the recommended upgrades and extra work which we rejected having read this site by that point...(I actually told the caller i was rejecting the extras based on reviews ffrom this site.)

In the end, we did get out chairs in the correct fabric, with what appears to be a quality job in apprx 12 weeks

On the plus side: We have what appears to be a quality refinish job in the fabtric that we wanted at the cost of approximately what a new set of chairs would have cost.

On the negative: It was all executed by a company that developed their business and csutomer relations practises based on the movie "Glengary Glenross"

The salesman Ed whom we cannot find anywhere. Although he did call us after faxing them with ten faxes threating to sue. He said things would be fixed properly, but they weren't. t At the beginning they tried adding additional cost's after they had our furniture. There reason was so the chairs would last longer. That's the reason I let ED sell me the repairs in the first place. The chairs came back the arm broke off a month later, were i was told by ED an expoxy would be used to attach the arm, there was none to found the chairs went back they glued the broken one, no craftsmen work was done you can see the crack standing beside the chair.

Venture at your own risk when you can't find the guy who sold the job somethings not right.

Wish I had read the reviews first before contacting this company. My experience with Mastercraftsman was similar to some other customers: high-pressured sale tactics salesman, ridiculously expensive estimate at first, then they offerred a "steep discount" provided that you signed the contract right away. Now I know why when we booked the appointment, the receptionist kept asking if all the decisionmakers would be present when the "estimator" arrives. In this way, we were forced to make the decision right away and we could not say that we have to discuss itwith other family members first before making the decisions i.e. no chance or time to think it over.

Their customer service needs to improve: the salesman called Joe said: "if you have any questions, please don't hestitate to call me." Guess what: his cell phone is always busy and you cannot even leave a message. Gave me the impression that once he made the sale, he does not give a damn anymore. He was also supposed to deliver the fabic samples for us to choose. Never did. He has apparently screwed up the order. I ended up dealing with someone called Wayne. While he was polite enough, it could be difficult to get him return phone calls. I have to call him several times over the course of a week before he would return calls.

Then of course, there were this "highly recommended" repair and additional procedure that was not quoted in the contract. My original contract price was about $2,200, my final bill ended up close to $2,800.

As for the workmanship, they did an OK job on the drawer but I told Joe before that I wanted my furniture in the same colour (chestnut brown) as before. Now the drawer is a lot lighter in colour like honey brown. As for the chairs, the legs had many scratch marks and animal bites. Joe assured me that "Don't worry, we'll fix up the legs and the chairs will look just like new". So I assumed that they will re-sand the legs, fix up all the scratch marks and have them repainted. Well, then came the surprise, during my last phone conversation with Wayne, he said "by the way, we won't do anything about the legs." Well, I didn't know what he meant and I was afraid to ask. I was sure that anything we want them to do, it's gonna cost extra and by this point, the cost is just too expensive and all this business of chasing him to return calls has become a hassle. Well, what they did was paint over the major scratch marks making them not as noticable but they didn't do anything about the smaller marks.

In conclusion, I find it just too expensive. People should shop around and do their homework first. For that price, I expected a complete job: new fabric, cushions INCLUDING repairing the legs, not just a half done paint job. Of course, they would say everything (what work is included and what not) is clearly spelled out in their contract but then aqain, we were not given any time to read it before signing, so I would advise everyone to READ CAREFULLY the contract before signing it.

I am sorry to say that while my experience was not as bad as the others, I still don't think I will recommend this place to other people.

I wish I had read this website prior to calling the master craftsmen. As the other stories I was overcharged, once they had my furniture they wanted additional money and they took 4 months to complete it! They also delivered it with missing pieces (which I am still waiting for). I feel like I was completely scammed and the work was not that good. Next time I will do my homework!!

After reading the reviews I think I am at the start of what is bound to be a fustrating ride. We too thought we were going with a trusted company but now I am having serious doubts. Our table and chairs were to be ready last week so I have been calling at least 1x a day now up to 4x a day - left a few message but no response at all. I don't care if there is a delay but at least let me know - customer service 101. So I called into the 'New Customer' line and of course got a live voice. I told them that I want a status update on my furniture and I haven't had any response after numerous attempts. Melissa said that its not her department and although she is in the same building 'its not her department'. So at this point (I am fustrated) - asked for the owners name - she told me to hold on and transferred me back to the c/s line that basically puts you into voicemail. I left a message again that if I don't hear back by end of day then we will go up especially after reading all these reviews. What kind of company is this? I thought I was dealing with a trusted, professional company???