Hey everyone. I've been doing this for about 10 years now, but don't post much on here, I'm a lurker, haha. I have very few complaints, 99.9% of customers are thrilled with my work.
Today I did a Tile and grout job, porcelain, easy. The customer has a pretty nice home, and had me do her carpets and tile and grout in kitchen/ dining area. The grout at the edges and under rug looked to be a very light gray, close to white. In traffic areas, it appeared darker grey. I could immediately tell there was very little dirt, as the house was very clean. I hit it with some Viper Renew, which I rarely use, but I knew I just needed to unveil the new grout underneath since it started out so stinking clean, I don't think I have ever even done a job that was already so clean. I did notice that most of the grout looked to actually be darker after cleaning, rather than lighter, and not sure if the grout is just stained throughout, splotchy, or has some sort of efflorescence or something.
Overall it looked fine to me, and figured it would brighten up after drying completely. She sent me a txt, absolutely pissed, telling me the grout looks dark and that she paid me cause she thought I was going to make it new again (I thought I could, I usually do). She also sent a picture asking me why there is a hole in her grout. It was a tiny tiny hole, note even a full grout line width, I'm talking like 3mm x 3mm. I told her I could probably repair it for her if she would like. I didn't charge much for the job, actually gave her a special deal, and was there WAY too long, already losing money. She also told me that now the grout feels "rough" and was asking me if I can explain to her why her grout feels so rough now. I'm thinking "ummm that's a first...rough...grout? It's grout. It's rough" Now I have to go back and see what's going on or what I can do. I cleaned with both acid and alkaline. Also she says that her tile isn't shiny anymore and she is mad about that. This tile was not shiny to begin with, maybe just a tiny bit from oils or mopping or something, no sealers or polish or wax or anything like that.
Have you ever had a job where you thought "eh i guess it turned out pretty good" to only have your customer act like the world is literally ending and you are the worst person in the world? This lady knows a ton of people and I'm really wanting to keep her as a client and make her happy, as I always do. But I just don't know on this one. Is there any reason why the grout would be darker after cleaning that I am not thinking of? I plan on going back, testing in an area that I did not clean last time, and watching closely what happens and speed drying to see what's up. I'm also going to reclean and buff incase there is any sealer haze that got left on tile that is "dulling" it like she said.
Today I did a Tile and grout job, porcelain, easy. The customer has a pretty nice home, and had me do her carpets and tile and grout in kitchen/ dining area. The grout at the edges and under rug looked to be a very light gray, close to white. In traffic areas, it appeared darker grey. I could immediately tell there was very little dirt, as the house was very clean. I hit it with some Viper Renew, which I rarely use, but I knew I just needed to unveil the new grout underneath since it started out so stinking clean, I don't think I have ever even done a job that was already so clean. I did notice that most of the grout looked to actually be darker after cleaning, rather than lighter, and not sure if the grout is just stained throughout, splotchy, or has some sort of efflorescence or something.
Overall it looked fine to me, and figured it would brighten up after drying completely. She sent me a txt, absolutely pissed, telling me the grout looks dark and that she paid me cause she thought I was going to make it new again (I thought I could, I usually do). She also sent a picture asking me why there is a hole in her grout. It was a tiny tiny hole, note even a full grout line width, I'm talking like 3mm x 3mm. I told her I could probably repair it for her if she would like. I didn't charge much for the job, actually gave her a special deal, and was there WAY too long, already losing money. She also told me that now the grout feels "rough" and was asking me if I can explain to her why her grout feels so rough now. I'm thinking "ummm that's a first...rough...grout? It's grout. It's rough" Now I have to go back and see what's going on or what I can do. I cleaned with both acid and alkaline. Also she says that her tile isn't shiny anymore and she is mad about that. This tile was not shiny to begin with, maybe just a tiny bit from oils or mopping or something, no sealers or polish or wax or anything like that.
Have you ever had a job where you thought "eh i guess it turned out pretty good" to only have your customer act like the world is literally ending and you are the worst person in the world? This lady knows a ton of people and I'm really wanting to keep her as a client and make her happy, as I always do. But I just don't know on this one. Is there any reason why the grout would be darker after cleaning that I am not thinking of? I plan on going back, testing in an area that I did not clean last time, and watching closely what happens and speed drying to see what's up. I'm also going to reclean and buff incase there is any sealer haze that got left on tile that is "dulling" it like she said.
