Elly reached out to Buffalo Bath Pros shortly after purchasing her first home in Amherst, New York. Like many first-time buyers, she was eager to move in but quickly found herself overwhelmed by the sheer amount of work required. The home needed major renovations, and unfortunately, Elly didn’t have a contractor or inspector guide her through the purchase process. That lack of due diligence would come back to haunt her.
Major Issues Discovered
The house presented challenges on multiple fronts. The existing HVAC system had completely failed—her lowest quote came in around $25,000. On top of that, the basement had significant water intrusion due to poor drainage and a lack of proper flood mapping review. Both bathrooms in the home were not just outdated—they were unusable. Mold, rot, water damage, and shoddy DIY repairs by a previous handyman had rendered them completely dysfunctional.
When our owner, Tom Wolff, arrived for the site visit, it quickly became clear that this was one of the most challenging residential bathroom remodels we’d ever seen. The request was ambitious: a full renovation of two bathrooms with structural damage, while trying to stay within a modest budget and complete the work on a compressed timeline.
A One-Hour Window to Plan a Full Remodel
Elly was only available for a one-hour meeting, as she was juggling work and renovation plans. While we try to be as flexible as possible with scheduling, a project of this magnitude simply can’t be condensed into a one-hour crash course. At Bath Pros, we pride ourselves on transparency and detailed job planning. Our contracts clearly define what is included—and what isn’t—to protect both the homeowner and the contractor.
That structure ensures accountability on both sides. Homeowners can point to the agreement to ensure we deliver what we promised, and we rely on the same document to keep requests for “extras” from spiraling out of control.
Discounted Rates and Unforeseen Complications
We agreed to take on the job at a heavily discounted rate, genuinely wanting to help Elly in a difficult situation. Looking back, we probably shouldn’t have. The job ended up costing us more in time, labor, and materials than anticipated. Still, we made a good faith effort.
Our Buffalo team was already booked out more than 10 weeks, so we brought in a crew from our Pittsburgh office to help fast-track the timeline. We even covered their hotel accommodations during the project—at no additional cost to the homeowner.
Brody, one of our most skilled install techs, led the charge. The first issue he encountered? Layers of improper repairs hidden behind tile and drywall. In both bathrooms, every time we opened a wall, we found more water damage, rot, or electrical hazards.
Scope Creep and Budget Limits
Unfortunately, Elly was not in a financial position to cover any overages, no matter how necessary the additional repairs were. That created a difficult situation: we could either leave the job incomplete or absorb the costs ourselves. We chose to finish it to our standards, even if that meant we might be up-side down in the end.
From ceiling replacements to foundation problems, we tackled issue after issue. Elly had also accumulated dozens of accessories—towel bars, toilet paper holders, shelving, a bidet, lighting fixtures—and asked that they all be installed. Many of these were explicitly not included in the agreement.
We replaced a vent fan that was not part of the contract and even paid $1,500 out of pocket to have a drywall specialist re-float a ceiling that had suffered severe water damage. Painting was not included, as the homeowner opted to handle this herself. Additionally, we ended up installing five separate shower doors across the two bathrooms due to back-and-forth changes and the customer continually expressing dissatisfaction with the way it looked.
Attempting to Please a Dissatisfied Customer
Despite our best efforts, Elly remained unsatisfied. All contracted work was completed before a service call was made to address minor issues with trim and silicone. After those touch-ups were finished, a completion certificate was signed. However, prior to the certificate being signed, she had already begun making additional requests: updated outlets, additional plumbing for an aftermarket bidet, hardwired lighting fixtures, and eventually, a request for a sixth door.
Even after the completion certificate, and after installing five doors already, we offered to return and install that sixth door as a final gesture of goodwill, but asked that we mutually agree to end our working relationship. We really value customer service and customer satisfaction, but we learned on this job that there are limits to that sentiment. Elly declined our offer and instead submitted a formal complaint to the Better Business Bureau, which we responded to promptly and professionally. If you’d like to read our full response, you can find it HERE.
The Lessons We Learned
Judge the photos for yourself: The finished bathrooms were beautiful—far better than what we walked into—and we’re still proud of the results. But this job taught us a valuable lesson: even good intentions can lead to bad outcomes if expectations aren’t aligned.
Moving forward, all Bath Pros technicians are instructed to not perform any additional work not explicitly written in the signed agreement. Not only does this protect us, it also shields the homeowner from surprise costs, delays, and liability.
Why We Still Shared This
We debated whether to write up this project at all. But ultimately, we believe it’s important to be transparent—not just when jobs go perfectly, but when they go sideways too. Customers deserve to see how we handle difficult situations.
If you’re a homeowner in Amherst or the surrounding Buffalo suburbs, and you’re looking for a remodeling company that’s honest—even when it’s uncomfortable—give Buffalo Bath Pros a call at (716) 216-5794. We won’t over-promise. We won’t cut corners. We’ll simply do the work right and treat your home with the care it deserves.