Stone Connection apparently doesn't want to learn from its own mistakes

I reluctantly give one star to Stone Connection because there was initially some effort to sort out my problem. I selected a particular marble for the kitchen counters in my new home. When it was installed, and it cracked, there was talk of replacing the piece but I was then told that due to the intrinsic cracks in this particular marble, evident in all the pieces in their showroom, that it would most likely crack again even if replaced. Not wanting to cause unnecessary wastage and cost, I accepted this.

However, within two weeks I also had some spots in various places on the countertops where the seal had degraded completely. I had been very careful using lemon juice because I had been told that you have to be careful with acids when you have marble. Despite emails to the company and attempts by various parties in the project team to get in touch with higher management, there was no way this could happen as everyone was blocked and had to speak to the same person, in sales.

I did some homework and found out the names of the directors and I found one's Twitter account, I believe, and attempted to reach him that way. To no avail.

The issue is this. Stone Connection is now saying they would never recommend marble for a kitchen, although the sales person I dealt with merely said one has to treat marble carefully and reseal from time to time. However, on their website they talk about marble in kitchens. It is a well known fact that marble is used widely in kitchens in Europe.

So, here's the thing. Forget about the crack. Remember the lemon juice stains (I've done some tests and experiments on sample pieces and it appears that the spots must have been caused by lemons - despite my careful attempts some juice must have squirted in different directions without me noticing and eaten through the seal.

And this happened within two weeks of moving in - it's not a case of being careful with acids - it's a case of not using lemon anywhere near marble.

Anyway, here's the thing. We have found a sealant that works on marble and done tests and it is impervious to everything - lemon, vinegar, red and white wine, cleaning agents, bleach etc etc. We wanted to share this info with SC and see if they would come to the party to provide new marble sealed in this way. But the only offer was to choose something other than marble and to have this supp**** at cost.

Don't get me wrong. This would be a reasonable offer if the problem was years in the making. But what's upsetting here is Stone Connection is marketing marble and not accepting that their sealant is up to standard. How can it be that we have managed to find an alternative that does not degrade and they don't want to find out more. This would save headaches for all future marble purchasers and enable SC to market their marble with confidence for kitchens as well.

All they need to do is discuss it with us and provide us with some new slabs. But no, obviously the sales guy doesn't have the authority and we can't get any further than him.

Contrast this with Hirsch's - who I've also just reviewed. There one of the family is more than happy to liaise with customers. Kudos to them.

Very disappointing outcome, given all the circumstances.