Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/20/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Every step of the process of sealing and painting our new pickleball court using products from SportMaster was met with error after error! First, their “new” calculator miscalculated on the amount of buckets of resurfacer we needed so we ran out before even finishing half of the court. The second time, we received too many buckets. The added buckets and extra shipping ballooned the estimate from $1600 to $2700. Next, the colors we received were way off from the colors we chose in their court designer tool online and their online paint chips. We picked a navy blue and got a bright pool blue color. The rep we worked with admitted that the blue did not match the chip we selected from their site. He also said the company had recently made changes to their online court designer and could now see the colors were not represented well in the new tool. After many calls, Sportsmaster refused to take any responsibility in the misrepresentations of their colors online. At no time did a salesperson say that paint chips should be mailed out to aid in choosing a correct color. There is a disclaimer stating they may be slight variations. Believe me, this is way more than slightly off. The salesperson said he would reach out to their Ohio office to set a meeting up because he said it was over head. That was days ago and now he does not return phone calls, texts and his voicemail is full. Their only offer was for us to drive 2 hours to a New Jersey location to return the wrong paint and buy new paint at a discounted rate. Although I believe they are completely at fault, I suggested that we meet in the middle and they return some of our money to us since we did not get what we paid for and were forced to put many extra hours towards this project getting the materials and dealing with the many emails and phone calls to fix the numerous problems. That’s when they stopped responding. I would not one anyone else to spend their money using this company.

  Business Response

  Date: 09/05/2024

  In response to the complaint, we disagree with a few of the assertions made by the customer.
  
  We acknowledge there was a calculation error made in the initial estimation. In order to make the installation process better for DIY clients, we have begun offering more ready to use products. This helps to avoid the mixing typically associated with these materials. As a result, the coverage rates that we use for calculating material needs were updated. Once we were informed of the mistake, we apologized and offered to absorb some of the shipping costs. The initial estimate was incorrect, but the total amount of material would have been needed to complete the project in any event. The total cost for the 4 additional pails was only 600.00. At this point, the customer was still satisfied.
  
  As far as the color match issue, the products look exactly as they should on the court. Not only is there a disclaimer on our website, but common life experience tells you that a 1 x 1 digital sample on a computer will not match 2000 square feet of actual material in full sunlight. Carpet, paint samples for your home etc., you just cannot realistically expect a match. We make physical color samples available, all the customer had to do was request one and it would have been mailed the same day. They failed to do so and have to accept responsibility for their choices.
  
  The last issue is our response to the situation. We were very agreeable to trying to help them to correct their color choice. Once they realized they did not like the color they selected, our representative came up with a simple solution of changing the tints out for them which would have rectified the situation. He arranged for the products to be moved to our closest location to them and all the customer had to do was drive there to swap out their tints and the problem would have been solved. They declined to do so.
  
  Mr. and Mrs. ******* took turns calling our staff and demanding action, ignoring our practical suggestions and asking for solutions outside of our capabilities. We still wanted to find a solution right up until they began threatening to cancel their credit card payments on material they already had applied and were using. At that point we decided it was best to stop communicating with them.
  
  We are all disappointed that they are not happy, but will not allow our staff to be bullied.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/13/2024

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  We disagree with several of SportMasters assertions.
  
  First, we were not satisfied with SportMaster’s solution to the miscalculations of needed product and misquote of the total project.  SportMaster should not consider us satisfied simply because we did not become irate or rude when the error occurred. We realize mistakes can happen and while it is disappointing, we tried to show some grace. I have attached invoices to show that the initial quote was 1794.56 + 204.40 for freight.  Their miscalculation required us to spend an additional 791.46. That is an increase of almost 40%. Of course we now needed this product, but it is a huge increase that we did not count on spending. We were not satisfied. We were stuck! Stuck prepping the surface a second time and taking the time to do phase 1 again. Stuck spending a significant more amount of money to complete the project.  In addition, much time was given to emails and calls as the rep tried to figure out what went wrong. (see attached emails.) Yet we remained respectful and understanding.
  Secondly, the color issues. I have attached statements from their website directing consumers to use their court builder tool to design and choose colors. I have also attached the small disclaimer that says colors may vary SLIGHTLY. It does not direct the consumer to have physical color chips mailed to them.  Nor did their rep suggest that we should have chips mailed out to choose colors correctly. I’m not sure why the consumer would need to decipher that for themselves. Then their “simple” suggestion for us to drive a total of 4 hours to another state to switch out tints was given. We certainly did not consider this to be a simple task, nor fair.  Especially given all of the extra time and money that was already spent on their first admitted mistake. Even at this point, the rep did not direct us to have physical chips sent so that we could correctly choose the desired color on the second attempt.
  Thirdly, their response. I think you will see from the attached exchange of emails that my husband was courteous while discussing his disappointment with the products and the final outcome. Finally, my husband stated in an email he was considering disputing the charge since the company was not willing to take any blame. He was ready to give up. At this point I called and spoke to our rep to say that I could not believe the position his company was taking and had to hear it for myself.  We had a calm, respectful conversation. He admitted that he had never gone to the website to see the color choices there or the court designer feature.  He admitted to me that the colors were not represented well there and had just found out that the court designer was a newly added feature.  He was accustomed to going to big job sites and bringing all of his color choice materials to the site.  He definitely did not offer to come to our home and bring his materials to help guide us in choosing the correct materials. I could tell he felt badly about our outcome.  He said he would reach out to his Ohio offices and set up a three way call between us all to see if we could come to an agreement.  I was hoping to get a partial refund for our trouble and dissatisfaction.  That is when SportMaster disappeared.  The rep no longer answered calls or texts.  The office no longer could get ahold of anyone to speak to me about the possible meeting.  That is when I said I was contacting the BBB.
  Lastly, I am a teacher and my husband is a firefighter.  We are definitely DIYers.  Informing a company that you are considering using a credit card feature to protect yourself, the consumer, from fraudulent companies is not being a bully. Our credit card company would have cancelled the charge, but we did not choose that route.  We felt it would be more fair for them to just refund some of the cost for our hardship.
  As they stated, they are not accustomed to servicing DIY clients.  This became very evident to us and may explain why they fail to see the hardship caused by their error and its impact to myself and my family. I believe they were not fully prepared to make the leap from large entities to the lucrative consumer group of DIYers.  They want us to take the blame for their lack of sorting out all of the logistics of having the regular person at home choosing their products without the help of a physical rep to guide the way. I believe it would be fair for SportMaster to refund us $279.  That is a mere 10% refund.  There may be a bully in this scenario, but it is definitely not these DIYers!
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ******** *******