Global Natural Stones LLC — Local services in Springboro

We purchased granite for a small kitchen renovation. My daughter was home from college so she and my wife went to pick out the color. The owner was standing right beside them at the slab they picked out, and they showed him the corner they wanted for the island. I opted for them to install the overhang brackets for the island because I just installed brand new custom made maple cabinets, and if any thing happened during installation I wanted to be protected. ($150 for 3 brackets and another $150 for the installation.) Installers showed up the day before the granite install and here's where the fun began. I had to tell them HOW , not where ,to install the brackets. They didn't have the required materials to do it correctly. No wood, tape, glue or screws. I then noticed a reciprocating saw in their bucket. No way I was letting anyone hack into my brand new cabinets with that, a hammer and chisel. I contacted the store and spoke with Kevin. I told him the installers didn't know what they were doing and that I would be installing the brackets myself. I asked for a refund of the installation cost and he said no problem. Next day granite installers showed up. They did a good job on the installation side of things. My daughter came into the kitchen and right away said " that's not the piece mom and I picked out for the island" I sent a picture to my wife and she said that's not what they picked out. Not only was it the wrong piece, but it had a 1 1/2 x 1/4 gouge on one of the edges. I contacted the owner and he said that's what my wife and daughter picked out because that's what HE wrote down. Unbelievable. I then asked him about my refund for the bracket install and he would only give me back half because " the guys showed up and you should have let them TRY to install them" Sorry, but I wasn't about to,let them hack on my new cabinets, especially because the brackets are visible coming up from the basement. He then told me that " I'm too particular "

I finally calmed down my wife over the island, and set up,an appointment for them to come repair the damage in the granite. They never showed up. I talked to Kevin the next day and he told me the crew ran over time on a prior job, but they should've called me and then he apologized. A few days later the owner (Panna) contacted me to set another time to come repair the damage. When I ask him why the crew never showed up, he told me that the crew lost my paperwork and that both guys had forgotten their cell phones. I'll let the reader decide which story is true. Funny how I wasn't paid any money for the no show on his crew. I guess only his time is worth money. Finally a crew shows up to fix the island ( 1 hour late) . They came through my house ( brand new flooring) with snow covered shoes getting water everywhere. He put a few drop of crazy glue on the gouge and then scraped it with a razor blade. Took him 5 minutes. It looks 10 times worse than before. Then he said "that's the best I can do" . It took me twice as long to clean up the floor as did the the repair. I contacted the store, but then my wife and I decided we didn't want any of his employees back in our house ever again. I gave them a chance to properly repair it once. I'll try the repair myself and if I'm not happy with it, I'll have to hire a granite repair specialist to come fix it. ( You know, a proper repair. Ground up granite mixed with epoxy, dry sanded, wet sanded, polished, buffed, then sealed.) In summary, if you don't have any problems, you'll probably be happy with your purchase. If you do have any problems, you're pretty much on your own because you have to pay in advance of installation. I'm sure the owner will retort my review and say "we got everything we paid for ". You'll have to decide for yourself because apparently, the customer is always at fault if there...

From Exciting to Disappointing. We decided on a custom-built stone countertop for our kitchen and took our precise measurements to GNS. They provided a quote based on our measurements, we picked out a stone and paid the down payment. They sent out their lead installer to check measurements against our initial submission, we received an email with the balance due to be paid before installation. We paid the balance and were told the installation would be in a week or two. The timing for the installation was as stated, two installers came and installed. As soon as it was installed, we noticed the depth was not correct as we had shown on our measurements initially submitted and correct for the fit of our already installed farmhouse sink, the difference of ½”. Communication with the installers was difficult, so we were given the phone to speak directly to the lead installer who did the measurements. When we advised the depth was incorrect based on what we had requested, he advised he told us it would be instead a depth to “industry standards”. There was no conversation with him during the initial measurement regarding the depth. We were not given any opportunity to review anything or sign anything for approval when he did his measurements. We also were never notified the depth had been changed from our custom requested size. We called the Sales rep who we had worked with, advising him of our disappointment and frustration on the depth being incorrect, and of our conversation with the lead installer about the depth being to “industry standards” In our conversation with him, we advised him we brought measurements to him and asked for a custom counter top for a reason, we didn’t request a counter top to “industry standards”, he agreed as to the reason for our frustration. We sent pictures to him showing the depth, and he advised us he would get with his boss and get back to us. When he called back after discussing with his boss, he advised sorry there is nothing they can do as the depth is to “industry standards”. Never did he offer any solutions or options to correct or make the situation better. The stone is beautiful, and yes, we have a countertop, although it is and will always be disappointing as we see the fit compared to what it could have been. The depth is noticeably greater than it should be with a farmhouse sink.

Just be informed with this company as you pay for everything up front, which gives you no leverage. You may think you are getting a custom countertop, but if they make an error, they will have “industry standards” to fall back on.

It’s unfortunate, as we feel they missed the opportunity to have a truly satisfied customer. We were originally going to also order a countertop for our kitchen island; however, we now will be taking our additional...

It appears that our experience is not unique with Global Natural Stones. The company’s responses to negative reviews on Google and Yelp are consistent with our conversations with Panna and Kevin. Essentially, unsatisfactory results are the responsibility of the customer. After several unsuccessful attempts to resolve the issue with Panna and Kevin, we’re sharing our experience with potential customers. Readers, enjoy both sides of story and decide for yourselves.

Great news: We have counters! The company delivered a beautiful product and they were on-time.

Less-than-great news: The dimensions of our island top are significantly wrong. We followed the company’s process and here's what happened:

1. We shared our initial size estimate with Kevin and paid a deposit

2. The official measurement occurred while we were out of town, and we asked for a 12 inch overhang on two sides of the island for stools (this measurement should have been 8 inches less than our original estimate).

3. We contacted the company several times confirming that they had no questions--12 inch overhang on two sides (as we relied on their official measurement). They confirmed that their measurements matched our requirements. Note: if the overhang is larger than this amount, it needs additional support that is installed before the counters are installed. We didn't install this support as we planned for a 12 inch overhang.

4. The company delivered and installed material with the dimensions of our original estimate without any support (see picture). As we have an active toddler and an infant, this installation posed a significant safety risk to our family.

5. The company charged us for the extra material and is not willing to cover the cost of support installation. Panna informed us that it was our error because of the original estimate and that he sent those dimensions to us in an email. After all, their expertise and measurements aren't at fault.

6. Oh, and there are multiple leaks from the sink that the company mounted—from the space between the countertop and sink. We notified Panna and he committed to sealing the sink. It’s been a week since his promise and they’ve stopped returning our calls.

Unfortunately, after several unsuccessful attempts to resolve this we’ve lost hope in Panna and his company and are unable to recommend Global Natural Stones to our friends and other...