Sorry that happened to you; what a disappointment, especially since you've probably waited a while for your order. I'd give them a chance to make it right...you might not need any advice at all. Good luck and let us know what happens.

I was on a project last week where I'd actually just finished putting up polished marble shower walls. That morning, the GC had brought the homeowner through. I was about 3/4 of the way done. They talked about how impressive it looked, and seemed to pretty excited about it getting finished. That afternoon, I got a call from the GC as we were cleaning up-- they'd gone back and forth over it all day long, but couldn't accept it. It was the wrong stone. They HATE polished marble (it was supposed to be..... and WILL be.... tumbled 12x12 travertine). No questions asked-- from either the GC OR me-- the stone came down before I left. If it's not right, it's not right. End of story. If you're not getting what you paid for, don't let them install it-- send it back.

lizb,

A very similar thing happened to us. When the tile setter opened up the boxes, (with crew, ready to get going) the floor tile was very, very different from the mock-up sample in the tile showroom. I was so disappointed, and almost wanted to say, "use it anyway" because I didn't want to hold up the project.

I decided to choose something else, as whatever was in stock was probably also going to be different from the samples. I found a different, but similar-looking floor tile (a Carrera basketweave) and they called around and found stock in the next state over. It held the project up by two days but I AM SO GLAD I DID NOT USE THAT ORIGINAL UGLY TILE. It was peach-colored and would have clashed horribly with our green cabinetry.

The salesperson happily exchanged it, and even said, "Our mock-up sample is almost three years old, so it is probably from a completely different quarry. This happens all the time--I personally never sell that particular tile to anyone because of this problem."

Only install a tile you love! Check the stock against the samples. The store shouldn't have any problem exchanging it for you.

Thanks all! Problem solved!

The lady at the tile store took one look at my boxed tile beside the store sample, and readily agreed the two were not even close. She said something about my boxes being the end of a dye lot (thought that was a term used only for fabric, but whatever.) The tile company rep came by the store and began calling warehouses in search of the correct tile. The tile store says this tile company is great about returns and making sure the customer is satisfied.

It almost seems that the guys who pack tile into boxes for shipping just put the wrong tile in my box. This is more than a matter of expected color variation.

I am so relieved! Still haven't located the tile yet, but I have high hopes.

So, onward and upward with this bathroom project!

Thanks for letting us know it was resolved to your satisfaction, and good luck getting the new tile.
Renee

Good to hear. Hope you find your tile!