Bath Fitter Franchising

We met with a Bath Fitter sales rep who guaranteed us they would complete the work of installing a shower in our upstairs bathroom in one day. After taking measurements, the sales rep left our house and said someone would be contacting us to set up a time to complete the job.
After more than three weeks, someone finally contacted us to schedule a date/time to come to our house and install the shower. On the day of the install, one man - who barely spoke English - arrived in a Bath Fitter van to install the shower. After several hours, he informed me that the door for the shower was too big and would not fit into the shower. He also informed me that the job would not be completed that day - as was promised by the sales rep who took the original measurements.
I called the company and, instead of receiving an "I'm sorry, " the company rep instead made excuses for why they would not be able to complete the job. He took no responsibility for their ineptitude and lack of ability to complete the job the same day - as PROMISED. I advised the company rep that I would need a discount on the charge they assessed us because of their inability to complete the job as promised. The company rep appeared taken aback and, after much haggling, agreed to knock a small amount off the final amount (we had already paid $1, 000).
After installing part of the shower, the Bath Fitter employee left our house. Contrary to claims that Bath Fitter employees are factory-trained, this particular employee obviously had little clue as to what he was doing as he forgot to connect the U-joint to the shower. Needless to say, the bathroom began to wreak of sewage after a couple of days. And, would you believe it was like pulling teeth to get someone from Bath Fitter to come back to our house to fix THAT problem? And, once again, there were no apologies from Bath Fitter - just excuses.
After four trips and several weeks, we were more than a bit disgusted with the lack of customer service and failure to provide services GUARANTEED to us by the sales rep at the first visit. We chose Bath Fitter because of the one-day installation promise and because of the lifetime warranty. However, after what we went through in the first few weeks of trying to get them to properly install an itty bitty shower in our bathroom, why would I ever think they would honor any warranty? They now are billing us for services they failed to complete as promised. Anyone looking at Bath Fitter as an option for installing their bath/shower, be warned!

Bathfitters Company is doing grim business. They tried to get more money that used to pay. They call you and play with your emotions. They threaten you and persuade to pay immediately, without time to think. They can’t behave like that with honest people! It is ridiculous!

From day one I have been lied to by the company bathfitters. I have worked for them for 3 months and get lied to at least once a week. The hours suck and my boss needs to get her head out her ***. The other employees constantly call off so am always being called in. I actually follow the rules but I am the only one. We get a fifteen minute break per 8 hours not that you work a 8 hour shift. usually just 3 hours. I take a bus and my boss knows that yet she schedules me for night shifts. She also knows I cant work saturdays and schedules me then.

2 months ago we had Bathfitters install a shower with surround wall. The salesman SWORE that nothing would stick to the walls as long as we didn't use bar soap, which we don't.

We do have well water and was concerned about the rust, he reassured us several times, that wouldn't be an issue. He has one at home, and he has well water, and to use Fantastic with bleach, which he even left a bottle for us, and now, our white shower is reddish brown... we've called them several times, and have gotten such rude customer service people. We paid $5000 for this tub, that is in our eyes ruined. I will NEVER promote their product or services.

We told them upfront what problems we have with our water, if they couldn't haved fixed the job, they shouldn't have taken the job!

The walls surrounding the tub pulled away from the walls from the beginning, the service man said not to worry, we have a life time warranty, when we called a few months ago they said we need to pay 400.00 to fix their poor installation. We had a new tub & wall surround installed 7 years ago. The walls And tub pulled away right after, the service man came to repair 2 or 3 times, the walls still pulled away. We got busy & kept forgetting to call, but we though we had a life time warranty, not the case, they sent another man out to check the problem, and we were told it would cost us $400.00 to fix, we disbuted it and we haven't heard from them since. they do not stand behind their product. It would have cost us less if we had tiled the walls

I called Bath fitters on Monday 10/04/10 to schedule an estimate for our bathroom, I had to give the girl my address 3 times and my phone 3 times before she got it right. On 10-04-10 Bath fitters called a co worker of mine since his phone number is close to mine.
Then I called and complained and they said they would be out on 10-07-10, the sales person that Bath fitters sent out would not give me an estimate since my spouse was not home.
the woman refused to give me an estimate and wanted to set up another day that she could come out. I already lost 2 days of work for Bath fitters.
Who ever heard of such nonsense, do you need your spouse home to get an estimate for getting your water heater replaced or any other home improvements NO.
Don't do business with this company.

BATH FITTERS MUST NOT NEED BUSINESS!

BathFitters SUCK and they are criminal. They recently scammed my sister a young mother with a handicapped child. Told her the child was getting sick from mold and charged her an outrageous price to clean it up. When she tried to get out of contract they threaten to sue her and charge her full price without doing any of the work. Basically stealing money out of a child's livelihood. Please, please do not use them. They will say anything to get you to sign their contracts. I can't believe businesses today can get away with scamming people the way they do.

As a former employee, it was the worst experience of my life. Good luck to new employees. They change every 3-12 months, whether you're good or not. The only ones who stay are the mokena bunch. This is a horrible company! The product is cheap and not installed properly most of the time. I have to be honest (not angry).

24 hour service? Three weeks later and my bathroom still isn't complete. All that's left is a shower door (which they carried around for a week, found out it was broken) They were supposed to show up today. They never called. I finally called them to find out even though the new door is in, I won't get it for another week because -- get this -- all the service people have the flu. What is this -- My Counsin Vinnie? Everyone has the flu?

Would never recommend them.

Stay away from the Pittsburgh Bathfitters, The worst in Customer Service they came out looked at the bathroom, Never gave a set price, We never picked out a date or Time, Never looked at products or colors, or styles they did however need a 1500$ deposit and mysteriously did not get back to us after repeated calls until 7 days later just enough time to cover the 3 day rescission period, 2 years No Work done, Calls Ignored, No Return of Deposit, Don't let it happen to you. What kind of company has such little integrity that they look to be paid by word games instead of the work they they are supposed to be in business to do. BEWARE.

Sometime in December I visited a Bath Fitter Mall Kiosk. I left my contact information to receive a follow-up call. An appointment was made for December 29th and a Sales person was sent to my house.

He arrived at my house about 6:45 PM on December 29th. The meeting began like many sales calls I have experienced. Very cordial and understanding that there are other options besides the company that he reps.

After he was done with his sales presentation and evaluating my bathroom. He asked if we liked the product he demonstrated. We said that we did and that price would be a determining factor. He played a DVD for us as he filled out the "contract" with the price options.

He reminded us that we would only be eligible for a 10% discount if we purchased from him today. He then showed us the price of $4, 460 and a deposit due that day for $1, 350.00. We said thank you very much we love your product, but we need some time to get our finances together to make the purchase. His mood changed instantly! He said remember I told you that your discount is only valid today. I said I understand that, but to me $400 off is not as important as making sure that I can afford the product.

I was trying to be as polite as possible, but he was not getting the message. I told him that I am expecting a bonus in February and I did not want to make any major financial decisions until I was sure that I was getting the bonus and what the exact amount the bonus would be. He said to me, that this did not make sense to him. If I was sure that I liked the product why would I not just sign the agreement today. I re-explained to him that I wanted to make sure my finances would work and I do not want to finance (make payments) on this.

He became very angry and continued to pressure my wife and I to sign the agreement. I could not believe that someone in my house was not getting the picture and it did not seem that he was going to leave until I signed the agreement.

He then began to ask me personal questions about my bonus. How much do I think that it is going to be? Would I use the whole amount to purchase his bath system? and on and on... He would not stop pressuring us and I thought that this was very strange.

I finally got the point to him that I was not going to make the decision today. I told him that I liked his product, but I need some time. He said to me; "I have never had someone like my product so much and not buy it right away." I find this very strange for a $5, 000 commitment. I told him that I will be making a decision within a month and I would like to contact him so that he would get credit. He told me don't bother, they send in re-hashers (not sure what this is) after the first visit and he would not get credit for the sale. He also told me that his girlfriend would kick his but if he passed up the opportunity to save $400 like we were doing. (not sure why he felt it necessary to say this)

I walked him to the door and thanked him for his time. He said nothing to me as I extended my hand to shake his. He then walked right past me out my front door without a word or a handshake.

This last part was the icing on the cake. I immediately called Bath Fitter to let them know what their sales person just did. I was able to speak to the lady who originally made my appointment. She took my complaint and told me that she would pass it on to his manager.

I was expecting a follow-up phone call for an explanation and did not receive one.

2 years ago Bath Fitters was hired to renovate my bathroom and they did a sorry job. A few things were corrected but the overall product is of inferior quality for the cost. The Wainscoating on the tub wall bows out because not enough adhesive was used and the wall didn't stick. The bowing causes the soap dish to tip downwards so nothing will stay on the dish, everything falls off. The tub was supposed to be anti-slip and I have slipped numerous times due to the honey-comb bottom of the tub holding water. Debris was left in the drain and I have had problems with the water draining from the tub. After 2 years, whatever was left in the drain finally collected enough hair to totally clog my pipes. I lived in this house 8 years before that tub was installed and never had a clogged bathtub drain or pipe under the house until bathfitters installed this tub. I have had to have the pipes snaked twice since the installation and hair clogging the drains and pipes have been a problem since then also which was never a problem in the 8 years before the installation. I cannot recommend this company to anyone.

I saw a demonstration at a boat show and thought it would be a great replacement of our old fiberglass shower. I know better now. After at least 5 men and three showers the job is still not perfect. In a three way shower one wall just will not stick. Every person that came had a different comment on what the guy before had done wrong. I am just tired of trying to get it done right. We are also having a horrible time with mildew building up in the caulk at the base of the shower. You are limited with what chemicals that you can use. We may have to remove the caulk to clean and put some back our selves. Think twice before using this product and working with this company...I question the ability of the installers. I have scratches on some of the trim pieces and I was watching the workman drop the pieces on the concrete as he sawed them into the correct sizes. Even I could have prevented that damage!

I replied to an add from CraigsList intitled "installers needed" that Bath Fitters had posted. I have 20 plus years in the installation, construction and customer service industry. The manager suggested that I should do sales for the company instead of inslallations and I agreed. They also said the paid traning would start on November 30th and they would be calling me. On Nov. 24th, I received a letter stating that the position had been filled. Oh well, their loss. At least I'm clean cut. You should have seen the "salesman" they sent me on the rid-along with. That guy had the nastiest teeth I had ever seen. Buy a tooth brush!

This isn't the first time I've had trouble with Bath Fitters in Burlington, Vermont. The last time they incorrectly installed the drain, tried in every way to avoid redoing it, then finally agreed to pay whatever plumber I hired to do it right. They also left a piece of molding unglued. The product itself is pretty good, if over-priced.(About $3, 000 for the basic model with a corner shelf - four years ago)

This time, however, the request was really simple. I called Burlington to find out what kind of screw driver I needed to remove the clean out cap under the spigot. It was one of those that require a square-tipped screw driver which come in three sizes. At that point I didn't even know such screws existed.

Nobody answered the phone; "please leave a message and we'll call right back." That was three weeks ago. Meanwhile, I'd made the trek to Home Depot to see if anybody there would help me and ended up buying the wrong size screw bits for my drill. Another week later I get to the hardware store and buy a proper screwdriver. If it was the right size, it still stripped screw - probably because the screw was the wrong size for the opening. I really had to work at getting it out. The 2-inch brass screw(!) was toast by the time I finally got it out, using pliars. It took about 8 minutes to remove it (it was VERY tight) and meanwhile the cap got scratched. I'm pretty sure that screw was too large and not intended for that opening.

Looking at the complaints in the margin I see "Bath Fitter is unprofessional" I have to agree. Too bad. AS I say, the product is pretty good if over-priced. Bath Fitters service ***.

I am a former employee. I am writing this not out of bitterness, I actually left on good terms. The hours were great and so were the benefits. I managed a branch office in the mid-west region, but was not considered to be a branch manager. I gave over a year in good faith and service to this company and have an excellent, educated and informed perspective on Bath Fitter as a company. It is surprisingly and unfortunately negative.

All employees, including installers and office staff are grossly underpaid with expectations from management to take on extreme work loads. I was the unofficial manager of the office, even recognized in those terms by the branch manager, but was not rewarded in any manner for my skills or services. (Customers would call and ask for me, "the manager" by name!). Installers are paid a measly 7.8% commission rate on installations, which usually average around $1, 000.00 but keep them working on the job until around 7-9 pm. You do the math.

It was common for the local branches to hold Help Wanted Open Houses that are advertised in the newspaper every 2-3 months, in which they hire off-the-street installers and salesmen. The reason behind hiring people with little to no experience is so that Bath Fitter can train them with Bath Fitter's guidelines... A recipe for disaster.

Not only is the turn over rate absolutely outrageous but installers are only required to complete 6-8 weeks of training - only 3-4 of which are used in a hands-on training facility! When our location was desperate for installers, our branch manager approved new hire installers to work after only completing the written course training portion of 4 weeks. Desperate times call for treading a thin legal line, apparently. When questioned by me and other staff regarding the decision to allow this the branch manager responded by saying "who's going to know besides us?"

The people who knew ended up being the angry, disatisfied customers who's bathrooms were left in damaged, leaking, shoddy condition for WEEKS waiting for resolutions. Sometimes these were customers only bathrooms with children or grandparents residing in the home. The manager would instruct me to handle all complaint calls and "use my best judgement" to resolve them. I dealt with a laundry list of complaints on a daily basis and it only kept growing as I made my exit from this company.

Just so you have an idea, I can recall installers breaking 50 year old porcelain antique bathroom floor tiles and our company never reimbursing, replacing, or repairing them because they were "too old." (So what? Does that mean these customers are not entitled to compensation?) That complaint still had not been resolved by the time I left the company.

It's an everyday occurence to have a liner installed crookedly. Of course it is usually the "fault of the homeowners floor tiles for not being straight." Yes, that unfortunate excuse was actually given. Never the fault of poor craftsmanship - OR Bath Fitter. This, not to mention the terrible caulking jobs with large gaps, leaking walls, liners with bubbles behind them...these bubbles must be due to the fact that the walls are not perfectly level, right? Laughable.

There was an ongoing issue with a customers home in which the plumber that BATH FITTER provides (not one the consumer choses) actually broke a water pipe behind a wall and did not say anything and just left it that way. A few hours after the installer completed the job, the homeowner's kitchen ceiling light directly below this bathroom was flooding with water and his entire kitchen ceiling needed repair. This went on for WEEKS and WEEKS with Bath Fitter trying to escape responsibility. "Oh, it's the plumber's fault, not ours..." The branch manager finally agreed to send out an installer to repair the drywall and ceiling of his kitchen - an 18 year old, fresh out of high school, green handed kid with NO experience in the realm of home repair.

Branches rarely made good on promises to compensate customers for bills they incurred from repairing damages our company made to their property - like the steam cleaning bill from blood on white carpet and not removing shoes leaving scuffed and scratched floor tile despite being "required" to lay down a drop cloth
.

Some customers file complaints with the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and as soon as Bath Fitter hears of these complaints they are immediately addressed and the situations rectified. Most of the time Bath Fitter attempts to settle issues before complaints are filed, but that only strings trusting consumers along for a waiting period of up to months before the office makes good on their promises.

The salesmen, or "estimators, " are paid only an 8% commission rate on sales. The are not given an hourly rate and usually have around 6-9 calls a week. Of those calls, approximately 30% will sell. Most of the salesmen estimate on a part time basis because of this and therefore it is not their primary means of income. They are instructed by every level of management to make each sale a high pressure sale wrapped in a low pressure atmosphere. They are told to hike the price to an outrageous level and then charm the price down. For example: "Well, Mrs. Mathers, this package is normally around $7, 000 (completely made up) but if you decide to purchase your liner system from me tonight I can lower the price to about $3, 000." Most estimators that I've met could care less about Bath Fitter as a company and even less about their 8% commission rate. There are absolutely no incentives for salesmen, excuse me, "Estimators" to go out and make sales.

If you haven't picked up the trend yet, my main point is that a company's only as successful as the management and employees it hires. And from my experience Bath Fitter fails in both aspects. That's why I left. I wanted no more ties with a company of this negligence. They have unhappy employees and hidden, cowardly management. I have spoken with many Bath Fitter employees who complain of the very same things I've written here, which is so unfortunate because this company has the potential to be more lucrative and successful than it is. I'm shocked that they have been in business this long.

Of course there are those "couple thousand satisfied" customers that they keep telling me about...hmm. From my experience these customers are satisfied - only after Bath Fitter takes responsibility for their managerial and costly in-home blunders. Do you have the time, money and patience to do business with a company like this? You'd be better off doing the project yourself. Bath Fitter is a total scam.

Bathfitter is a total rip off. The cronies running the place are using the U.S. consumers as their target for selling cheap product. In addition, I understand they are racist and treat ALL their employees like crap. Any citizen of this country who would spend money on a company like this should be considered a traitor. This company out of Canada, is bad for U.S. business. If you look at the number of complaints, you will see overall the number of dissatisfied customers out weight satisfied customers by a margin of 2 to 1. I also heard they target the elderly.

This is a company who installs walls of acrylic over old bathroom tiles. Their brochure states that they jut need one day. On May 14th they installed the walls in my apartment. Within two weeks one wall bowed into the room. I was told that the man did not allow for expansion due to the heat. This was on May 30th. I was told that they could not return till July 3rd. Over a month away. I felt like I was doing business with organized crime and I had to accept the date I was given, notwithstanding the fact that the brochure stated all they needed was one day. I waited patiently when July 3rd came and the man did not. I received a call stating that he was not given the acrylic wall to complete a proper installation. The matter has since been resolved . It was obvious that their men are not well trained and their brochure statement was false advertising.