Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  03/23/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  March 23,2023 I purchased a fireplace in May of 2022 from CBennett. My salesman was *****. I was told at that time that everything I needed was in stock and ready to go. I was given a name of a contractor,Pegasi Construction, to do framing etc. I scheduled the project with Pegasi Construction for Oct. and gave my deposit. After this I was notified ( by the contractor) that my project wouldn’t be able to start until Dec. 19. On Dec. 18th I was notified that he couldn’t start until the 27th. On the 27th the project was started. After 4 weeks my fireplace was still not completed. The contractor would work only 2-4 hrs a day and missed several days of working on it.Finally fireplace was installed in Feb. and there were several electrical issues. Both the contractor and service from * ******* were involved in fixing. To no avail. After a month of a few service calls the electrical issue was resolved but my blower and lights to the fireplace still are not working. Update to present, CBennett determined that I had a bad module and needed a plug for the electrical. Parts are on order and have been for a few weeks now. Still waiting. I’m beyond frustrated with this whole project. I honestly regret my purchase of my fireplace through CBennett and their referral for contractor. It’s coming up to 4 months and my fireplace is still not working properly. I’m so upset with everyone involved. CBennets service dept is atrocious and I’m so tired of getting no where with all of them at CBennett. Please help * ***** ***

  

  Business response

  03/23/2023

  I am acknowledging that I have received Ms. ****s complaint and that I will interview the ** ******* employee he mentions in his letter as well as our operations manager to find out what has happened with this.  Once I have gathered the facts I will respond to Ms. *** via the BBB.  ** ******* is a well respected building matterials supply company that has been in business since 1980.  We have sold and installed thousands and thousands of hearth products over those 40+ years.  I can assure anyone reading this letter that there is more than meets the eye in regards to this complaint.  We will be glad to work with Ms. *** to resolve this issue equitably.  

  There is one item I can address immediately.  In regards to the contractor, ****** ***********n.  ** ******t does not endorse or recommend any contractors.  As a courtsey to our customers we will provide contact information for one or more contractors we are familiar with.  This is in no way to be construed as an endorsement of said contractor(s).  ** ******* is not affiliated with Pegasi Construction in any way nor does ** ******* receive compensation of any kind from any contractor whose contact information we may provide to our customers.  Ms. *** was free to select any contractor she liked. 

  ******** ***** ** ****

  Sales Manager

  C. Bennett Premium Building Supplies

  

  Business response

  03/27/2023

  March 27, 2023
  
  To Whom it May Concern,

  Over the past couple days I was able to speak with the people involved with this job and gathered the information necessary to knowledgably address Ms. ****s complaint.

  First, I’d like to reiterate the fact that Ms. *** was free to hire any contractor she wanted.  She was under no obligation to hire Pegasi Construction.  ** ******* *****) does not endorse any contractor, nor do we receive any payment of any kind from any contractor for referrals.  When a customer selects one of our products that requires installation, they will often ask if we can recommend a contractor.  When this happens the salesperson will explain that he/she cannot endorse or recommend any contractors but will offer the name(s) of a contractor(s) who other CBBS customers have used.  It is understood that it is the customer’s responsibility to vet any company they decide to use.  Given that fact, the portion of Ms. ****s complaint concerning Pegasi Construction should be addressed in a separate complaint as CBBS had nothing to do Pegasi delaying her job, the amount of time the contractor worked each day, etc.

  Regarding ** ********s involvement in this project.  Given the number of sales and installations we do every week, the people involved cannot be expected to remember every detail of every job, especially one that goes back months.  While we have the installers, schedulers and salespeople notes as well as their emails threads, I don’t have every minute of every call, every trip, every action taken.  The best I can do is to provide what I believe to be an accurate description of the events that took place.  This is a good faith attempt to provide an accurate description of CBBS’ involvement on this job.

  Up front I’d like to say I appreciate the frustration Ms. *** has experienced over the past several months.  But she is conflating the issues she has experienced between two different companies.  The contractor, Pegasi Construction, runs the job.  ** ******* is, in effect, a sub-contractor.  We perform our work at the direction of the contractor.  Pegasi notified us when they were ready for us to run the gas line, install the fireplace and when to return to do the “fire up”.  As I addressed earlier, CBBS didn’t get involved in this project until Pegasi Construction completed the framing and called us to schedule an install date for the fireplace.  Our records indicate that our first trip to the jobsite was on December 21, 2022 to install the unit.  We were called back to run the gas line (normally something that is done prior to installing the fireplace, but not terribly unusual) and the work was scheduled to be done on January 16, 2023, approximately one week after we received the call.  Once the fireplace has been set and the gas had been run, we didn’t return to the job to fire it up until, ostensibly, the other trades had completed their work (or at least the majority of their work – every job is different).  When CBBS was notified the fireplace was ready to be “fired up” our service department scheduled an appointment with Ms. *** for March 1, 2023, about a week after we received the call.  During the fire up our technician realized the electrician (who is not under our supervision nor has any affiliation with CBBS) had failed to run power to both sides of the receptacle located inside the fireplace.  This is how the ignition system, the blower and lights get their power.  Instead of having to wait to get the electrician back to the job and causing further delay, our technician installed a “Y” cord so that the ignition system, blower, and lights can be powered.  (I believe this is what Ms. *** is referencing when she writes “needed a plug”.)  Ms. *** mentions a “bad module” in her complaint.  No one I spoke with could recall anything about a bad module.  (The tech may have referenced “a bad module” when he was attempting to fire up the unit before realizing the power problem?  But I can’t confirm that.)  The only issue we had that caused a delay in completing this job was due to the glass deflector shattering.  The deflector is a narrow strip of tempered glass that sits just in front of the burner.  It helps keep the flame upright.  Without it the flame will lay flat and not look right.  During the fire up the deflector shattered due to a (presumably) defect in the glass.  The following day our service department ordered the replacement part.  We were told the part is on backorder and that it will not ship for several weeks.  The manufacturer of the fireplace, Innovative Hearth Products (IHP), explains the company who makes the glass deflector for them has the part scheduled to go into production the week of March 27, 2023 and won’t ship for a few weeks after that.  This is the first-time anything that falls under our responsibility caused a delay and the reason for the delay was beyond our control.  The fireplace cannot be operated without this part.  When Ms. *** was notified of this development she was understandably angry and frustrated.  But this was the first and, as far as I can determine, the only instance that CBBS was involved in any delay regarding this job.

  At this point there is nothing more we can do until the part arrives.  As soon as it does we will contact Ms. *** and complete the fire up.  From ** ********* perspective our portion of the job will be delayed about 6 weeks.  This is not to minimize her complaint, but that’s a far cry from the October to March timeframe Ms. *** is reporting.  That delay needs to be addressed with Pegasi Construction.  It should be noted that we are simply reporting what we are being told by IHP.  I know people are tired of hearing “due to supply chain issues” but that doesn’t change the fact that many, many manufacturers are still seeing major supply chain issues and delays.  All I can do is assure Ms. *** that we have been doing everything we can to get the part in as soon as possible.  The unfortunate reality is we are at the mercy of the company that makes the part.  It should also be noted that before Ms. *** filed her complaint, we had already contacted IHP and asked that they ship the replacement part directly to CBBS.  (Under normal circumstances IHP - and every other manufacturer - would wait until our next truckload is processed to save the cost to ship it direct.  Shipping direct will save us one to two weeks on the lead time.) 

  It is our sincere belief that ** ******* has acted in good faith and that including us in this complaint is a case of “guilt by association” as well as a misunderstanding of our role in this project.  Her complaint should be filed against her contractor alone and should not have included ** ********  In the hope of resolving this matter, ** ******* will discount Ms. ****s cost of the fireplace $100.00 as a goodwill gesture.
  

  ********** ***** ** **** ***** ******* ** ******* ******* ******** ********

  Customer response

  03/27/2023

  ********** ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  I had from the start of my project contacted only the salesman ***** about the issues. I have texts to prove it. And on several occasions he sent a tech out to try to determine the cause of the no fire issue and also blower and lights not working. It took 3 times at least for a tech solve the fire not coming on. Then I thought it was all taken care of. Then realized blower and lights were not working. Another tech came out 1&1/2 weeks later and he told me that the module was bad, the one that runs the blower and lights. And that it didn’t have the plug that’s needed also. He told me he would have the parts ordered and they would call me when they were in. That’s been several weeks. If things would have been checked with ***** he told me that he ordered the module and the plug and the piece of glass that you mentioned, that exploded after about 5 minutes of running the fireplace. I will be extremely angry if those parts are not ordered. For the amount of time it has taken I put a deposit down on my fireplace in May of 2022. Had my fireplace delivered it Dec. 2022 and here it is almost April of 2023 and my fireplace is still not functioning properly. It never has and this process has been so long and convoluted and frustrating for me. I regret this whole project and wish I could take the fireplace, which is currently built into my wall, out and bring it back to C Bennett. I wish I never stepped into ********. Extremely dissatisfied!
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ***

  Customer response

  03/29/2023

  My fireplace is installed has been installed since beginning of Feb. 2023. My complaint isn’t regarding install of the product. It’s regarding my fireplace is not working properly and has never worked properly. The blower on the fireplace and lighting built into the fireplace doesn’t work. I have had several techs out to diagnose the issue. These techs were sent out by ***** ** * *******. No one could get the issue resolved. The last tech that came out and told me the module was bad and it also didn’t have the plug that should have been sent with the unit. I was told by ***** ** * ******* that it was on order from the manufacturer. It’s been 2 months now and I’m still waiting on these parts. The service dept has told me they have no idea when the parts will be in. The letter from * ******* that they wrote to you claimed it was a matter of a broken glass panel in the fireplace. The glass panel exploded In Feb. and I still have fire only no blower or lighting. I’m beyond frustrated with this issue and want only for my blower and lights and fireplace to work the way it’s supposed to. I want ******** to get the correct parts and do whatever it takes to get my fireplace working ASAP. It’s a matter of standing behind their product and customer service. I want this project completed.

  Thank you,

  ***** ***

  

  Business response

  03/31/2023

  To Whom It May Concern,

  Ms. *** seems to be overly concerned with the "module".  The unit in question has two modules that control different functions of the fireplace.  One is the ignition module that starts the fire.  The second is an accessory module that operates the blower and lights.  I double checked with the technician today and he told me there is nothing wrong with either module, but the accessory module is not connected due to the fact that the fireplace is still under repair.  Once the glass deflector is received and we install it, the technician with restart the unit and confirm everything is operating properly.  As I stated in my previous correspondence, the technician, while trying to diagnose the problem, may have said something to the effect that “It could be the accessory module.”  Is it possible Ms. *** is mistaken?  Again, as I stated in my previous correspondence, during his diagnosis the technician discovered the electrician (not an employee of C. Bennett) failed to connect power to both side of the receptacle in the unit.  Instead of Ms. *** having to wait even longer to get her fireplace repaired by waiting on the electrician to return to the job, C. Bennett’s tech installed a “Y” cord so that he could get power to the entire fireplace immediately.  The only thing that is holding our portion of this project from being completed is the glass deflector.  I'm sorry if Ms. *** confused but there is no "bad module".   

  I’m having trouble understanding if Ms. *** is saying she is using the fireplace currently and that the lights and blower don’t work or if she is saying the lights and blower have never worked.  If Ms. *** is operating the fireplace while it is waiting on a part, I would recommend that she stop doing so.  While the fire will ignite without the glass deflector in place, the flame may lay over and not burn properly, possibly causing the burner soot.   
  

  ********** ***** ****** ***** ******* ** ******* ******* ******** ********

  

  Business response

  03/31/2023

  To Whom It May Concern,

  Please forgive me but I forgot to ask a question.  I'm confused as to what Ms. *** is rejecting.  Is she rejecting my offer to refund her $100 as a gesture of good will?  Does she want more money?  Is she rejecting my explanation of the long lead time for the replacement part (glass deflector)?  If so, I don't have the ability to force the manufacturer to provide the replacement any sooner.  C. Bennett doesn't make these fireplace or the parts that go in them.  We just install and service them.  I can assure Ms. *** that we want that part to arrive just as much as she does. 

  Regards,

  ***** ** **** ***** ******* ** ******* ******* ******** ********

  Customer response

  03/31/2023

  ********** ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  My reply to why I am rejecting the response. The last tech came out the beginning of Feb. and it’s now April. He never told me that he didn’t need the module and plug. He told me the parts would be ordered and I would be notified when they were in. And at that time I would need to schedule another tech to install everything and fire it up again. The first I heard about not needing a module was when you mentioned it. I was never told not to run the fireplace although I haven’t needed to because winter is over and has been for a while. I was also rejecting the fact about the time frame and amount of techs and trips out here to get things right. There have been at least 7or 8 times of me having a tech come out to determine the problem. Not the one time you referred to. I’m not mistaken. All this time I have been understanding that a module was to be put in, so in turn I haven’t been able to have the top to my fireplace installed. That has been delayed. And the final complaint is you have already received my money several months ago, why make me continue waiting on a part that can easily be taken from another in stock fireplace. And get me taken care of. I feel like I’ve been extremely patient with this whole project. But about a month ago my patience has been very thin. I just want this project finished and resolved. As for the gesture of good faith and extra money, Ive only ever wanted the job finished. Keep your good faith money. I want the nightmare to end.

  
  ********** ***** ***

  Customer response

  11/30/2023

  This is my 2nd filing from my 1st complaint #********. Im writing you to update on 1st attempt to resolve my dispute with C Bennett. ( that was left unresolved) On 8-23-23 C Bennett sent out yet another service tech to determine the issue with my new fireplace purchased from the company back in 2022. At this time this was the 3rd attempt. The tech came told me that the old exploded glass could be making the new glass susceptible to exploding yet again. He vacuumed up the old glass and had to make another appointment to come at a later date to install. On 9-7-23 C Bennett sent out another *************, who has been here before at least one other time. He installed the glass partition and the glass media. I was certain after this trip that the issue had been resolved. However on 9-11-23 the glass partition exploded yet again. At this point I was livid. This had been several months and numerous calls to C Bennett to no avail. I decided to take matters into my own hands and contact a local reputable fireplace dealer. I told them of my situation and they referred me to ******** Heating and Air. The soonest tech appointment was 11-16-23. At that time ***** came out. In the matter of 1/2 hr. He seen what this issue was. All along the techs from C Bennett never put in the clips to mount the glass partition. They had been laying the partition in the groove right in the flames. Not one time had it been installed correctly. I had went through several techs and several months of extreme frustration. And it was all in incompetence.

  

  Business response

  12/07/2023

  December 7,2023
  
  To Whom It May ****************** response to ************ addendum dated November 30, 2023 to her original complaint filed with the BBB on March 23, 2023. 
  
  I want to state that C. Bennett stands by our responses to the original complaint (#********)from earlier this year.  Most of that complaint concerned issues C.Bennett had nothing to do with regarding her contractor and the manufacturer of the fireplace she purchased from C. Bennett.  As I stated in my response at that time, I believe this was guilt by association to a large degree. 
  
  With that said,Id like to address ************ follow up letter to the BBB.  When I read the letter and learned that the deflector in question had failed again, my first thought was that it is very unusual for the same component to fail multiple times.  Especially one that is static like a glass deflector.  This part has no electrical or gas connection.  It does not move, and it does not service any other purpose than to deflect air away from the flame.  The deflector helps keep the flame standing up and visible.  Without it a slight breeze or even simple convection will push the flame over and ruin the appearance of the fire.  Given how unusual these failures are, I spoke with our Operation Manager, *************************, and asked him to review the notes to see if there is something we may have missed.  ***** spoke with the technicians who installed the replacement defector(s) for their input.  He discovered that during the original installation, which was not done by C. Bennett, the clips ********** references in her follow-up letter were never installed by whoever originally install the fireplace.  (My delayed reply is due to the time taken to review the notes and interview the technicians.) 
  
  Unfortunately, it is at this point that C. Bennetts culpability starts.  During his conversations with the service techs, ***** discovered the tech dispatched to replace the first deflector assumed it had been installed correctly by the original installer.  When he installed the replacement deflector,he installed it the way he found it, with no clips.  Then to add insult to injury, when that deflector failed the next tech also assumed it had been installed correctly and didnt install the clips either.  This created a cascade of failed deflectors.  They would remove the broken glass and then install the new deflector in same place where the previous deflector had been without the clips. 
  
  As a result of this complaint all installers and technicians have been instructed to review all installation procedures to be certain we dont see this problem again.  Im happy to say that up to this point we had not seen a single deflector fail and, outside of this event, have not seen one fail since. This fact undoubtedly contributed to our belief that the failures were due to either defective glass or remnants of the glass shards that were missed when cleaning out the broken glass from prior failures.  (Given the amount of time that has passed and the fact one of the techs who visited the home is no longer with our company, I should say that this is a good faith recreation of events that took place and its possible that I dont have every detail germane to this story.)   
  
  C. Bennett agrees to reimburse ********** for the $300 invoice she received from ******** Heating & Air.  In addition, we will add an additional $200 for any inconvenience we have caused her as well as offer our sincerest apologies.  As soon as I have confirmation that ********** accepts this settlement, I will mail a check in the amount of $500 to the address we have on file.   

  Regards,

  ******************

  Sales Manager

  C. Bennett Premium Building Supplies

  Customer response

  12/07/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************

• Initial Complaint

  11/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I paid over 4,000.00 to redo the logs in my fireplace. They installed them and they worked 1 time. The installation was around the first of September. I called and made a service appointment which they were running hours behind so I had to reschedule. Had to wait weeks for new appointment. Then I get a phone call morning off appointment and they said they had to reschedule again. So the next appointment can't be until 3 weeks! This is ridiculous. And it could just be the gas

  

  Business response

  12/01/2022

  C. Bennett gas log sales are a seasonal business much like snow removal or lawn services.  As such we cannot afford to hire enough technicians to keep up with demand during the peak season (September - December) and continue to pay them when there is no work.  I realize that longer lead times on service appointments is not ideal but when the number of warranty calls (which this case was) is approximately 3% of our service work, we cannot justify hiring 8-10 service technicians to keep lead times low.  If we did that, we would have to lay off 75% of them every spring and then try to re-hire them in the fall.  Unlike the HVAC business where their technicians simply switch from summer air condition to winter furnace repairs, C. Bennett doesn’t have a summer season to keep our technicians working.

  
  As I understand this situation, on October 21, 2022, the customer’s appointment was set for an arrival time between 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm. (Given the nature of our business we can only provide an approximate arrival time.)  When the technician called to let the customer know he wasn’t going to be able to arrive until approximately 4:00 pm she stated she was called into work and would have to reschedule.  The appointment was rescheduled for November 29, 2022.  Our technician arrived at the home on time, was able to inspect the log set and burner to be sure it was functioning properly and relit the pilot.  His notes indicate the log set functioned properly and that the customer was pleased when he left the home.

  
  It is important to note that as appointments go later into the day it gets hard and harder to be prompt as we never know exactly what we are going to run into at each appointment.  This is true for most service and/or installation oriented businesses.  We give the customer a timeframe as to when we will arrive.  (i.e. 8:00 - 9:30,  9:00 - 12:00, etc.).  But if we set an appointment for the 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm time slot and appointments earlier in the day run long, there is not a lot we can do.  Generally speaking, this isn’t a problem, but it does happen occasionally.  We strive to provide the high level of service our customer’s demand.  And that includes staying as long as we need in order to make the repair on the first trip.  I’m proud to say that we maintain a high level of customer satisfaction despite challenges we (and most businesses) are encountering nowadays.

  
  Finally, while it is true this was a new log set under warranty and as such we are obligated to see that the unit operates properly, in C. Bennett’s defense, we keep several time slots open to handle emergencies and warranty repairs.  In this case the unfortunate reality was the first available time slot was November 29.  We were booked solid due to one of our technicians who became ill and missed several days of work making lead times even longer.  In order to get to the customer any sooner we would have had to cancel another customer’s appointment.  We were in a no-win situation.  No matter what we did we were going to make someone mad.

  
  I apologize for the inconvenience and if given the chance to work with the customer again, I will be happy to provide an annual service checkup trip free charge.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩