Well, the time has come. Efiwym, my wife and I have been discussing installing LVP flooring on the second floor since I decided to retire. That would be a project to keep me busy for months. No rush. I will have all day. No need to wait until a weekend. No hurry to get it done. DIY meets putzing around.
After much research, we decided to go with the Lifeproof® product. It got good reviews for durability and DIY capability. No underlayment needed. So that made our selection process easy. One store but many colors to pick from. That difficult part was deciding what color. We took several samples from the store and ordered 2 samples online. Weeks went by and I was 2 weeks from starting the project. We needed to make a decision.
We laid out the samples by the front door where there was plenty outside light. We eliminated 3 light brown ones immediately. We moved to the kitchen and placed the remaining samples on the floor. The lighting in this room was bright. We whittled it down to two colors. One was oak and the other was hickory. I wanted to stay with oak because the grain matches the woodwork and cabinets, but I did like the color of the hickory. Efiwym and I were at an impasse.
We, two old folks, asked AI to help us make the decision. We both type in the Lifeproof™ Flint River Oak versus Lifeproof™ Butler Hickory LVP flooring. Until I provided AI with additional information about our “Early American” stained woodwork and cabinets, AI gave us information to decide. “If you want a luxurious seamless look install the Flint River Oak, otherwise the Butler Hickory will give you a more of a rustic lodge vibe.” We certainly were not going with the cabin feel, so Flint River Oak was the choice.
I loaded our selection of 47 boxes into the app and we were ready to check out. I already had in my cart: the LVP installation kit, molding for the tub and shower, screws for the squeaky floors, blades for my oscillating tool and for me: a Ryobi™ cordless jig saw and a brad nailer.
That is when all the fun began. I applied for a new credit card to get a $100 discount plus zero percent financing for 6 months. Unfortunately, the promo code did not work. I called the credit card department, and they straightened it out and I finalized the order. $3500 later, my Christmas came early. Time to wait for everything to be delivered.
As I was waiting for the multiple deliveries from multiple vendors, I received an email from the store that the Ryobi® tools could not be delivered. I checked my order online and I discovered I provided the wrong address. I fixed the address, but it was too late. Every item was going to be delivered to a location down my street that did not exist.
I was able to fix the address for the tools, but I needed to call to get the others to the right address. The flooring was coming via a truck, and that was an easy fix. However, the other 5 items were coming by UPS® or FedEx®. UPS® worked it out with the store, and I got 2 of the items. The other 3 from FedEx®, well, that was a challenge.
I called customer service four times to get the address changed. During the first call, the agent told me we needed to cancel the whole order to fix it. With credit card issues and items already in transit, unwinding this order would not be the best option, so I waited to see if things would get fixed. The second call I made was that I got an email that FedEx delivered a package. I rushed home to get it off the porch. (Not that anyone was going to steal a flooring installation kit.) When I got home, there was no package. Nothing. Now I was concerned that the driver had made an executive decision and picked an address on the street that closely matched my address. I decided I would become a porch pirate and snatch my package off someone’s porch. I drove up and down my street. No packages on anyone’s porch. Where did they deliver it?
I called customer service once more. I told them my package was “delivered.” The address is a location between 2 houses on the block. Plus, I did not want the other packages to be delivered too. The agent told me I needed to contact FedEx and get the address changed. In my experience, the recipient cannot (in most cases) get an address changed. He refused to contact his vendors. “We can’t do that,” was his response. More likely, “I do not want to do that; that would be great customer service,” was what he was thinking. I gave up on him.
Surprisingly, I was able to file a claim with FedEx® for the 2 packages that were already “delivered.” They called to let me know that the driver “retrieved the packages.” I would like to know where he put them. Nonetheless they would be delivered. The other one was still a mystery.
I contacted customer service one last time. Finally, this nice gentleman offered to refund my money for this item as a return, even though there was no returned item. Finally, great customer service. I took the offer and went to the store to buy an installation kit.
The next day, the installation kit was sitting on my porch. Now I have two. I returned the one I bought and if they find out I received the other kit, maybe, just maybe, they will charge me. But I am not telling.
