les_sm_1__1273522592 I was running around in the California rain today.  The technicians are out in Livermore, Pleasanton, Oakland and San Francisco.

The client in San Francisco, a long time customer of ours who lives in Pacific Heights, called because the sealer was so stinky she was afraid she was going to get a headache.  This is our solvent-based 15-year sealer.that we’ve used before at her home.  We had to remind her that the 15-year sealer is solvent based and the solvent will evaporate and the smell will go away within 15-20 minutes.  Some of our clients want a less potent sealer and we have several other options for them.

Our SF client ended up being happy (we sent her favorite techs) and wants me to call her about some spots on her travertine.  I better get on the phone before she calls Mark!

I was in Oakland to see some caulking that developed some voids.  This happens when water is present between the tile and pan of the shower and I applied another bead of caulking to fix those very fine voids.  It is now fixed and the client is happy.  Remember: Appleby always comes back if something like this develops.  We pride ourselves on doing superior work and being conscientious regarding callbacks.  We respond as quickly as possible to all problems—sometime we didn’t even cause them.

Daniel, our senior-most tech, was in Pleasanton finishing up a very large home, both Travertine and hardwood.  This was a large job that spanned over a two-week period as we worked between the homeowner’s move-in schedule.  That client has used us before and understands that we do good work.  The entry grout lines between the travertine (we honed the entire entry) appeared to have been stained or painted, and Mark spoke with the homeowner about options to resolve this problem.  We also worked on their large stainless steel fridge.  We finished and the client is almost done moving in.

While in Oakland, I dropped by to see two techs in Piedmont, working at a Spanish/Classic California home in Wildwood Gardens.  The Satillo and limestone there were extremely dirty, but John and Andrew had it looking amazing by the time I showed up.  They were sealing with our 1-3 year sealer and were on track to getting done early.  I’d been in this house a couple of years ago to do an estimate, and the client finally decided to do the work.

Lesson for the Day-Consistency is rewarded with repeat business.  Here comes the sun!