Wallpaper Saga.

After 4 days of sun and warm, warm weather, it started to rain, AGAIN, last night! Now we're in for 4 days of rainy weather. At least Mother Nature is generous and gives equal amounts of both the good and the bad! I'd prefer more good.

The "wallpaper saga" that begin almost 2 years ago is almost done. And it looks like it will turn out in our favor, thankfully. Here is our story: after years of having just painted walls, we decided that we wanted to wallpaper one room in our new home and we chose the 1/2 bath on the main floor. Small room with super tall ceilings, and it seemed too echoey and not warm and welcoming ~ if a bathroom can be considered welcoming! We spent quite a bit of time finding THE PERFECT pattern, then headed to the store with our measurements in hand. Dh had for a time in our early years worked for said shop, so he knew how to measure for wallpaper and even gave a generous amount of space for the matching process. We were told at the local store to head in to the Big City as they were "not comfortable" ordering themselves and wanted the "wallpaper expert" at the one location to take this on. Fair enough. Feeling confident all would be well with the "wallpaper expert" we headed in to town. He worked on the measurements, gave us the results and I asked for more just to be sure. That was my gut speaking. However, he insisted he knew exactly how much we needed with the match and we'd still have some left over. After a bit discussion, we agreed. I was still hesitant but hey, he's the "wallpaper expert." We headed home to wait for our order.

Two weeks later and the call came. We picked up our order on the way home from an event and the next day, I happily started to wallpaper. All was well until we realized as we were half way done the 3rd wall that we were going to be short. I knew it! Always, always trust your gut!! So we phoned the "wallpaper expert" and he was not as friendly the 2nd time around. We drove in to the Big City to meet him and he was gruff and blamed us for providing him with inaccurate measurements. In fact, we had inflated the measurements so we'd end up with more than enough and also had asked to order another double roll and he refused, so now we're short! And the wallpaper sale (50% off) was over. I expected to be able to order at the sale price, without the additional shipping cost, as it was his error, not ours. But he argued and argued and argued, so we left. The next day, I called the main office, who called him and then we had to go in to order what we needed. They arranged a time to meet with him and we were promised not only the 50% sale but also no additional shipping and the same lot number so the paper matches. We arrived at designated time, only to find out the the "wallpaper expert" had "stepped away" for the afternoon. Hmmm. Thankfully he had left very detailed instructions for his staff and in a short time, we were done and on our way home. End of the dilemma, right? Nope!

Two weeks later, said paper comes in. I start to finish up the last bits as I had now joined a "6 week room makeover" and was running out of time! A short time later, I called out to my dh to come and see what I thought I was seeing. The pattern was correct, matching was going really well BUT the paper was darker than the original. He suggested it was too wet to make a call just yet and to give it a few days to dry. We did but days later, it was still too dark. Called back the store and got the "wallpaper expert" who claimed he did order the same lot number and blamed me for my hanging skills. I hung up! The next day, I called the head office and they asked me to send in my concerns via email. I received a note that a "ticket" had been opened and my dilemma would soon be solved. For months, there was a note here and there but nothing. It seemed to have gotten passed from individual to individual, department to department. I sent in photos as requested, invited them to our home, did everything we could think of. Last week, I had had enough of apologizing to guests for the unfinished bathroom. And wrote a strong letter, with a sentence at the end stating that my only recourse at this point was to share our wallpaper sage on Social Media. That was the trick. The next morning, I had a flurry of emails from the company and then a very lovely call from the new store manager, who was not there when this all occurred the first time. She was horrified that this had gone on for this long. She shared with me in her second call that the "wallpaper expert" had been let go for his lack of "expertise" and that the lot number he promised was the same was in fact a different number. I was so worried that the paper we took so long to find would no longer be available but she found it in the States and promptly ordered what we needed plus an extra double row for good measure. And she assured me the lot number was identical for all the rolls. No charge to use, with an estimated arrival of about 2 weeks. I am beyond relieved we will finally have the paper we wanted, with more than we needed for matching, all the same lot  number, with no additional charges. Soon our wallpaper saga will be done and we can finally enjoy this tiny room in the little house in the big woods. I'm glad we didn't have to use Social Media as I really never want to be "that guy" but glad in the end it worked to get this saga done and over with. I'll post pics once the room is completed ~ before and after. 

Have you ever had a saga like this?

How did you get it resolved?

~ Chy