STA Granite Countertops

Greeeaattt AAA+

Milissa contacted me after I had put in a contractor request through
for a kitchen/​home remodel. Seeing that Milissa worked for STA Granite/​Elgin Countertops, I replied to her that we were looking for a complete kitchen remodel, not just countertops. She replied «Elgin’s Countertop Installation/​STA Granite started as a granite counter fabricator 15-​years ago but due to customer demand we do all phases of kitchen remodeling including counters, custom cabinets, drywall, painting, tile, wood flooring, plumbing and electrical. Please let me know if there is a good time that we could get together so I could provide you with a free estimate.»
She persisted and impressively came out the same evening to bid the job and had a quote back to us quickly. We were initially impressed with her response time, attention to detail, knowledge and professionalism.
We selected Milissa’s company after reading online reviews for STA Granite (parent company) through Unilocal and
reviews. After our initial hesitation to hire her «countertop company,» due to the lack of remodeling reviews, we requested that Milissa provide us with references from previous customers that had specifically received remodel work from STA Granite. Everything seemed great.
Once we selected Milissa and her company, we met on the project site with Milissa and her foreman, Carlos. We paid a 50% deposit and were promised a revised quote and project start date the following day.
Through email, she did send a revised invoice, but no start date and nothing on the revised quote indicated the kitchen cabinet painting add-​on. Since she seemed to have a two day turnaround time on requests, we waited patiently for her reply. Nothing Ever came.
As a friendly reminder, I called Milissa (voicemail #1) the following week and left a message telling her that I knew she was «aware and on it,» but that we were still waiting for an official remodel start date and additional cabinet painting quote. Nothing came.
After not hearing from Milissa, I left her voicemail #2, the following day stating we were getting «antsy» after paying her money and not hearing from her for a number of days, still with no start date or quote add-​on. I asked that she please return my call that evening. No call came.
The next day, I left voicemail #3 stating that we were getting «wary» and asked that she please return my call. No call came.
Since my first three phone messages had failed to produce a return call from Milissa, I took to Unilocal to look for an alternate number at STA Granite to call. Strangely, all numbers forwarded to Milissa’s unanswered phone. If that wasn’t another red flag, we investigated their online presence and found nothing dating back further than February 2015 even though they claim to have been around for 15 years. There’s no history of them dating back very far. Another red flag.
Upon further investigation of Milissa, we discovered a number of negative reviews under her alias, (omitted by Unilocal guidelines), attached to her previous employers and/​or affiliates: Austin Granite Express, MJ Home Improvement, STA Granite, Elgin Countertops and MJ Remodel.
Most reviews on Unilocal (filtered and showing) and the reviews on BBB referred to her as a «scam artist» who was flaky with phone calls, and provided shoddy work. Immediately, we called our credit card company to file a fraud report. After the report filing, I called Milissa, received her voicemail (again) and left my #4 voicemail telling her that our credit card company would be calling her shortly to discuss our claim. I also mentioned finding her alias and all her previous companies and those negative reviews.
Coincidently, after that voice message, Milissa called me back within 10 minutes. She apologized, claimed to have been out of town, claimed she didn’t even hear my 4^th voicemail and wanted to get our start date on the calendar.
I told her that we would no longer be requiring her services after we paid her almost $ 6,000 and she fell off the face of the Earth for a week. I also told her that her alias and previous employer’s reviews had shed a lot of light on her work ethic, and true character and that we would take our business elsewhere.
She assured us she’d work with our credit card company to reverse the charges but our refund never came from them. Oscar, the owner, contacted us after receiving a letter from our credit card company. He said the letter was the first he had heard of our issue.
After a call to
, I was reassured that Elgin’s Countertops/​STA Granite had been terminated and would no longer be used by them.
Please do extensive research before considering this company. Never pay in cash/​check.

Will start out by saying that our finished countertops are BEAUTIFUL! We couldn’t be happier with the look. Oscar and his team did a wonderful job fabricating our L4 granite. They worked carefully to make sure the beauty of the slab was maximized on our huge island and matched pieces to ensure a seamless look on the counters. The crew worked carefully and professionally from the initial measurement to old countertop removal to the granite install. And the whole process took just over 2 weeks.
So why not five stars? Well the job did have a few hiccups that prevent me from giving STA a flawless review.
1. While Milissa did a great job in winning our business (she went WITH us to pick out the granite vs. what other companies do in just telling you where to go). She was wonderful working with the granite yard (go ONLY to Shenoy — can’t say enough about how great they were!) and in agreeing to a couple of minor requests. BUT, once the contract was signed she essentially disappeared. I had to follow up with the office person to schedule the templates (measurement) and us driving out from NW Austin to Elgin to make sure the slabs would be cut the way we wanted.
2. We were going to reinstall our own plumbing. The workers showed up with the new sink but not all of the parts needed to reconnect. Thus we had no sink or water for 24+ hrs.
NOTE: Save time, energy and probably $$ and use the plumber they have ready to do reinstalls. We ended up going to him after having to call another plumber that couldn’t reconnect everything due to the thickness of the granite. Their handyman is fast, efficient and reasonably priced.
3. While ultimately not a huge deal, we got a different sink configuration than what I requested.
Again, nothing above was a deal breaker and the end certainly justified the means. I would not hesitate to send anyone to STA as the fabrication and install is second to none. In fact, the owner of Shenoy said STA/​Oscar is the only company he would use for his own home. That says something! So just make sure to stay on top of things and you will be thrilled with the transformation of your home!

I found STA Granite through Home Advisor. Unfortunately what should have taken a week or less to replace granite countertops with quartz countertops/​blacksplashes has not yet been completed. The installers came on Saturday, 8÷15÷15, and it took them all day to remove the old backsplashes, granite countertops, and install the quartz countertops; but NOT the backsplashes! I am still waiting for STA Granite to complete the quartz backsplash that I paid for. As for Milissa yes she is a very nice person, but failed miserably to communicate about the backsplash not being available for the installers when they were here on 8÷15÷15 nor has she communicated when they will be done. At this point, I’m waiting to see if the owner, Oscar, contacts me. So far no communication has been forthcoming.
Update: 8÷26÷15 — just tried to call the company and for at least an hour the message of «not accepting calls» was all I could get;even for Milissa. So obviously this company doesn’t seem to appreciate their customers.

I feel that STA is a worthy choice and their people truly strive to satisfy. They had not done a slab costing over $ 100 a SF, so were a little freaked, and Quartz is a different material. For most kitchen counter projects, they will surpass expectations. My kitchen was not square, so a real challenge from the start. I am more anal than most, so it’s difficult to meet or surpass expectations.

My new counters are beautiful. I would highly recommend this company, however I do not share everyone else’s praise of Milissa. The crew disappeared for 4 days, she would not return my calls. She is good about showing up on time to collect my check but I still have broken tile apparently no one is going to repair. Melissa picked out the paint color for my cabinets, it is so ugly, it was never approved by me. I texted her on Saturday, she said she would call later that evening, still no phone call. I would never give Melissa my personal recommendation, but STA Granite did a great job.

I found STA Granite through the Elegant Living magazine. I am so impressed with the quality of work and the quick delivery. Milissa Jones is wonderful to work with and I look forward to more projects for her and the company. I would highly recommend STA Granite as well as Milissa.
Tami