American Craftsman & Refinishers

Very Unhappy. Was a case of too good to be true.
I bought a large beautiful, hand-​carved desk from goodwill that I wanted to have refinished. I called these guys and dropped off the desk one evening for the owner, Lindsey, to look at and give a quote on the next day. My mom and I went down there and he went over what was needed. I was SO impressed by his passion and enthusiasm for woodworking and my desk specifically. He took us around the desk and showed us all the intricate, what he described as top-​notch, carvings of excellent quality from the east coast.
He gave us a price, and I said it’s fine with me but I will have to wait until I can save up the money in about 6 months. He said OK and offered to store the desk as his warehouse which he boasted about having a mutli-​million dollar insurance for.
That was perfect for me because it was a large desk and would take up a lot of space for the 6 months of waiting, and not to mention it was large and hard to move. So I left it there.
About a week later he called me with a great idea he had come up with on how to save a little money for the fix up and I agreed. During that call he also said he was going to get started on it because he has some of his guys available, but that I don’t need to give him anything upfront. I said OK.
A couple weeks later he starts calling me because he wants an update on what we plan on doing. I didn’t get back to him because I was busy with a lot of different things. He called again and all of sudden his tone is different. He sounds like he’s getting anxious and says he needs to talk to me because he wants to make sure we are still on track and that he has guys working on this and I need to call him back.
I get around to calling him back and the very first thing he asked me was, «Are you still employed?» I was taken back by the question, because it was very odd, but figured he was just making conversation or something. So I said «Uh, yea» He then asked if our plans were still the same about the desk. I said «of course!» Then he goes into saying that he needs a $ 1000 down to start and he has already had guys working on it so he really needs that. I was shocked… I reminded him that he said he would be able to hold the desk for me until I had enough money saved up because I did not have it now. He said it’s already been a long time and I need the money. I was like… it’s been a few weeks… and you said you wouldn’t need anything upfront because it was convenient for you guys to work on it now. He said «I would never say that. Why would I say that?» I was like well you did say it, my mom and I were both standing right there when we went over it. He called me a liar and that he didn’t HAVE to do business with me and asked that I come pick up the desk, and said I owe him $ 300 for work already completed. I said I plan to pick up the desk and then he hung up on me before setting up a time.
He then had one of his employees call me and ask when I plan to pick it up. I said I’m not sure, it will depend on when I can get the money together. Then he informed me I do not owe anything. I said really? Lindsey said I owed $ 300… He said he’s not sure why he would say that, no one has done any work on it…
We go pick it up and bring it home, and that’s when I see there’s more damage to it!
So not only did this company lie and accuse me of lying, but they damaged my desk so it’s going to cost more to fix now by someone else!
Lesson Learned: If it’s too good to be true– GET IT IN WRITING!
Lesson Learned 2: Take pictures of anything you drop off anywhere because you never know what kind of «revenge» they’re going to take out on it.
Horrible experience all around. I will write another review of the place who actually refinishes it for comparison.
*Keep in mind I do not know the actual quality of work they do. It sounded like he is good at his craft… if you can ever get to that point.