George & Barbara in Woodbridge

Our advice to those reading this is: DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH TMC RESTORATION! Our experience with TMC began just after Christmas 2010, when we saw a display at the Woodbine Centre in Etobicoke. We put our name on a sheet to get an estimate regarding our dining room table because of a small mark on it. A day or two later, we got a call for a representative to come to our place. On January 5, 2011, a salesman named Ed H. arrived at our place. He actually appeared to be quite knowledgeable. We had a discussion and agreed that the damage to the table was so minor that it didn't justify refinishing. Before leaving, however, he looked at our Rockwood Maple kitchen table and chairs which we have used for over 35 years. He gave us a price and started filling out forms. For some reason, we didn't follow our usual practice of comparison shopping. We signed the invoice and gave him a substantial deposit in the form of a cheque. Within a couple of hours a truck came by and a man took some photos of the furniture and carted it off. I guess it's hard to change your mind once the furniture is taken away. Among the things that Ed, the salesman, told us was: - refinishing work was to be done by highly-skilled people who took great care in what they did, - the company did not use the faster, but inferior, "dip and strip" method, but did everything by hand, - the end result, we were assured, would be "as good as when it was new", - about 4 weeks after delivery, someone would come to our home to make sure we were totally satisfied. A couple of weeks later, a woman named Sharon called to have us come in and make sure the colour of the stain was O.K. We live fairly close to their Brampton location, so we went over and said the colour was O.K. but the finish was rough, but we were assured that it would be much smoother when finished - it was just the colour we were there for. Then, a few days later (Jan. 19, 2011) a man named Wayne called to say that the minor re-gluing of the chairs that Ed had noted on the invoice was really insufficient and that MAJOR re-gluing was needed to improve the structure of the chairs so that the full warranty could apply to the structure, as well as the finish. This involved an additional cost, which is not insignificant to seniors like us! Wayne gave the impression of being in some position of authority but he may have been just some "call-centre type guy", based on the "AUTHORIZED ADDITIONAL WORK CONFIRMATION" copy attached to the invoice on delivery. This form included instructions to ask us very specific questions over the phone to confirm our agreement to pay more money. It even noted the recording on their Tape #4B. Then, again, in early February, a man named John K. called to try to get us to agree to have an additional "brand new" spray applied to harden the surface - for additional longevity, he kept saying. He said Ed, the salesman, wouldn't have been aware of this new finish. He was quite insistent and somewhat pushy but we refused to pay anything more. We were fed up and had enough by this time. This seems to be something this company likes to do - once they have your stuff, they keep finding ways of getting more money out of you. On February 8, 2011, a woman named Kelly called to arrange delivery. When the furniture arrived on February 10th, we had a few concerns. The delivery man suggested we call the office. Our dissatisfaction came from the fact that the furniture was not as smooth as we expected and, in fact, was quite rough in a few places. It was NOT "as good as when it was new". In fact, we suspect that they DID use the "inferior dip & strip" method, because the grain on the underside of all the furniture was very rough. We wanted someone knowledgeable to come to our home (not far away) for a follow-up which was something we expected anyway. This still hasn't happened. On Monday, February 14th, 2011, we spoke to Linda, who told us no one would be available for 3 weeks (!?) On March 7, 2011 (3 weeks later) we called Linda again. She said she would speak to her supervisor and get back to us. She called back to say a service guy would call us. We ended up having to call him. A man named Roy was supposed to come by on the afternoon of Sunday, March 13th. He did not show up or call! We spoke to Linda again the next day. Apparently Roy could only come late afternoon or early evening on Fridays only! Friday, March 18th didn't work for us so Linda left us a message saying Roy would be at our place at 7:00 p.m. on Friday, March 25th. We were here . . . Roy did not show up again! Not even a phone call! TMC is very quick to respond to get your money. Once they have your money, forget about it! You won't see them again. As we said at the beginning, DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH TMC RESTORATION.