Salem Stones — Local services in Hamilton Township

I have worked with many granite suppliers over the years, some were pretty good, others were terrible. As my business grew, my old "pretty good" supplier simply couldn't keep up with my high volume of orders, custom memorials, and high expectations. I knew I had to make a change, and for some reason didn't to call on Salem, probably because of how good it's marketing materials.

I took a tour out to visit their facilities in Ohio and was blown away by their inventory, capabilities, and most importantly, their staff. This company simply does it right: From their customer service, to their attention to detail, to their marketing tools, drafting, and quality of labor, it is hard to find any flaws in this company.

Salem goes above and beyond to exceed expectations, while servicing a ton of clients, yet making every client feel like their only one. It is difficult to keep a "boutique" and "concierge" feel when you are as large as sample, but the teams in Ohio and Georgia have the capabilities of a large supplier, while maintaining boutique service.

I would highly recommend using them if you are considering a change, and if you aren't considering a change, then let me tell you that had I known this would be the service I would have received, I wouldn't have thought my "good suppliers" were...

Salem is a wholesale fabricator. They take no responsibility for delays from either the quarry or the stone cutter/finisher, those are supplier operations. Salem’s position seems to be "it is out of our control". They routinely miss targeted progress dates with no communication and no plan going forward except to wait. The regional sales managers purportedly have the authority to make accommodations to recover from missed commitments, however the one responsible for my order was overruled leaving us hung. On their web site they claim timeliness as a prime feature of doing business with them. Nothing could be further from truth. A memorial we ordered, initially with a 6 month lead time, has not been delivered in 11 months. There is no plan except to allow things to progress to completion. On their site they make claim to "what drives us" touting "families rely on them to deliver a meaningful experience" suggesting they understand the emotions surrounding a memorial. Again nothing could be further from the truth. Their actions imply "you will get it when you get it, we don't care how this impacts the grieving family, and if the surviving spouse does not live long enough to see the stone placed...to...

I just want to make other customers aware that they apparently charge for liftgate even if you do not request one. I was told it was company policy. If they are not being charged by the freight company for a liftgate, what exactly are they using our 75.00 for? The "lady" I spoke with offered to go to her supervisor and see if they could remove the charge, but after having to wait for a replacement stone, because the first one came in damaged- (which ultimately made my delivery to the cemetery a few days late) I was so irritated I just told her to forget going to a supervisor, I would just pay it and simply not order from them any more, she said okay and charged my card. I have worked with Salem for many years, when I worked for another company, and when I opened my own and I can tell you that the customer service has greatly declined. I am now officially done using...