I'm not in Dallas/Fort Worth, so I can only tell you my experience here in Chicago. That is, that I could see as many slabs as I wanted. I went to several stone yards in my area. The place where I ended up buying my granite (and marble for my hearth surround), the guy loved showing me all the different slabs! He enjoyed showing me the differences among them, and even caressed a few of them LOL! In any case, a granite may differ significantly from slab to slab, or have an occlusion in a few of them that you may really want, or not want at all, but that occlusion won't run through the entire group of slabs (an analogy is to think of a loaf of bread with an air hole, and how that air hole changes in size from bread slice to slice). I went to several granite yards, and while some found it easier to show me lots of slabs than others (depending on space issues and whether it was busy or not), they all accommodated me, no question.

Maybe your granite yard really doesn't have the manpower though. It is very time-consuming to pull out slabs. Why not make an appointment for when they're not busy, so they can spare the manpower more easily? Talk to the manager or owner, not the woman giving you the hard time. Or, you are lucky enough to be in a major metropolitan area. Take your business elsewhere. Another stone yard may be nicer, and may have more of a selection for you to boot.

Yes, what ak said. We worked with a granite yard here in Florida for over a year that had employees that were just thrilled to show us different types of stone. When we got to the point where we narrowed it down to the last few finalists we must have looked at 10 sequential numbered slabs of each. They were totally with us in helping to find the ones that we thought fit what we wanted. This was before the building downturn so it's even more surprising to me that a stoneyard would want to be snarky in this environment. Because of the natural variations in stone I think it is entirely reasonable for you to want to see a range of slabs before you choose the ones that suit you.

Somedays I thought I should get my mail forwarded I was at the granite place so often. I bought 4, yep, 4 slabs of soapstone in the end and wanted to see every piece of soapstone they had on hand. 35? different slabs? And the people looked at me funny but quickly went to get a lift.

There was no question about them doing it or not. I would never have bought it if I couldn't see it. (in fact, that's why I didn't buy from M. Teixeira in the end. I couldn't see it in person and am WAY too nuts for that).

I'd find another granite yard.

I'm in the Boston area and I've been to MANY stone yards. They all were willing to take the time for me to look at any slab that I so desired. I even had one stone yard from NH deliver a couple of slabs to my fabricator for me inspect with no obligation to use them. I thought that was standard. You want to see what you are buying.

"Stone Guy....move that stone"

You should get to pick the actual slab that you are paying for. If you like the 2 they are showing fine, but if you have any reservations, they need to move the slabs--the customer is always right.

Go somewhere else if you have to, and make sure they know you went somewhere else afterwards. It's not like you are buying a $20 can of paint, it's granite and it's expensive.

"...move....that.....stone"

Go somewhere else. Plenty of places will let you see all you want.... it's not like this a hundred dollar purchase after all you will be paying this granite yard a lot of money!!!

I hit upon a granite supplier that tried to give me the same song and dance. I was going to drive 75 miles to their yard because I had heard such good things about their installation ability. They wanted me to tell them "up to 3 types of stone" that I wanted to see and they would only get those out where I could see them.

I came to the conclusion that this yard was wanting to deal with contractors building spec homes who didn't have a personal interest in the home. I went elsewhere and got great service from the two other yards that I toured including the one that I eventually purchased from.

I like the everyone thinks here! I would love to find another granite yard. My internet searches aren't giving me many other local options though. It seems only fabricators come up. There's 2 other places that sell to fabricators, but I don't think they carry the stone that I want. I will call them anyway though.

I originally shopped fabricator estimates, and the price differences were huge. The fabricator that I'm working with seems good...but considering they are siding with the Granite Yard on the 2 slabs viewing policy, then it's also making me question if they don't buy into the "Make the Customer Happy Mentality."

I can't believe business today. So many don't care to accomodate you at all.

To add to the snarkiness of the Granite Yard, they told me that they won't schedule viewings on Saturdays. Despite the fact they are open then. DH can not take off work for every house decision. Someone in the family has to work to pay for this stuff!! After a call to the fabricator, Granite Yard changed their tune and said that they "would accomodate us this time, but it's not really their standard practice." Nice that they make us feel so great about all the problems we create by giving them business.
Oh...how I would love to find some where else with my product.

Thanks to everyone on this board. I just love to go to bed at night, with some re-assurance that I'm not crazy!

Michigan here, and all of the yards moved as many slabs as we needed them too...Dallas/Ft. Worth has a lot of granite places, I'd be willing to bet that "common practice" is only their common practice. Regardless of what their practice is, granite sales aren't what they used to be anywhere in the country, just tell them if they want the sale, they'll accommodate you. And if they refuse, move on.

In DFW you should have lots of places to choose from. You might have to use a different fabricator.
The fabricator that I chose had three yards that they purchased from that I could have toured and also had stone at their own shop that they had already purchased. I went to two of the yards and then decided that I like a stone that the fabricator already had at their shop.... I'm in the Baton Rouge area and it's WAY smaller than DFW!!

I'm in East TN and looked through 2 entire lots...they just hooked the clamp to each slab and moved them, over and over and over. Actually, they did it on two seperate occasions. The first was when we picked our stone. The second was when we went back to pick another slab after our fabricator cut one of them wrong...

I lived in the granite yards and they showed me so many I can't tell you what the number was. In addition when we wanted exotic onyx they not only showed me each slab, but they worked with a fabricator in CA who sent me pics of every slab they had (there were a lot!!) And offered to pay my ticket to view in person (let me explain that this was mongo expensive stone so they could build that into the price....and I had no idea how expensive LOL So i passed on that offer). But still....I never experienced that "2 slabs" issue.

I did find a great fabricator originally...lovely family, they would pick the stones for me or go with me to see a few (but not the selection I wanted). I originally went with them....they stole about eight thousand dollars from me.

If it feels funky....yours does....than get out before you toss money down the drain after mine please????

The only thing I can think of is that they're short of tractor operators they trust and the guy who can shuffle the slabs doesn't work on Saturdays. If so...what's with this place that they went from the nice lady to the cranky lady?

Every yard I've been in (and it's a lot since I've consulted with others besides shopping for myself), allows people to walk around and will move anything. Some will only show you the first or last slab off of each cut because they only sell in series (i.e., not one out of the middle), but they'll show you as many different ones as you need to see.

There's one that only sells to the trade and isn't particularly set up to show to the public where I just walked in off the street at almost closing time (they close earlier than others) and got the best demonstration of the different slabs and best tour of a yard ever. When I went back with my GC and a recommendation from the fabricator, they were extremely helpful, too, and I ended up buying my soapstone from them. And they moved all the slabs for me.

I agree with Igloochic. Get out!

If they have to bring the slaps to you (THEY ARE HEAVY) then I can see why they don't want to do it.

However, and I got to believe there are yards in your area where basically YOU ARE where they store the stuff, and so yeah, they don't want you to move the stuff 'cuz u can hurt yourself and they become liable, but sum1 will help flip through the slaps which routinely are stored vertically. Now they wont pull the WHOLE slaps out until u have made a decision.

Call the fabricators you are finding and explain the scope of your project. Ask which yards they deal with. A few calls should give you the information you need.

My fabricator didn't let me see the rest of the lot I was reserving. I think it was due to lack of manpower. The only slabs I saw being moved were on their way to being cut. I did get to see the other 2 slabs when I went to see how the templates were laid out and they were fine. I do think my fabricator bought better quality serial lots.

My experience is the same as almost everyone's here. I made an appointment, went to the distributor, and they were willing to show me anything I wanted. Slabs can vary *a lot.*

We have 3 major distributors in the area and all treated me the same.

Can I just confirm that you all are seeing all of the "sisters" within the same lot? That seems to be their hangup. They think I am not entitled to view all the slabs within the same lot, because they claim they are the same!

They have accomodated a Sat. morning appt now, and I will not fight them on the phone anymore. If we need more views once we get there, and if they don't accomodate us, we'll walk. In the meantime, I'm still going to look for other yards.

I went to a showing last week in which 3 slabs of the same lot were available for viewing. My husband had stopped at the yard earlier in the week, but the slabs of Yellow river were to hard to see so they offered us a showing. The other yard I went to was also accomodating and moved one slab across an entire warehouse while I was there so I could compare two slabs. Your fabricator should be working on your behalf if the yard are unwilling to accomodate your viewing request.

Yep. We saw any slab we wanted to see. Absolutely. Lot or no. In fact, we actually bought slabs that skipped a couple of numbers (we bought say a #6 and then 8,9,10 or something like that) because there was funkiness in the skipped piece.

Yep. They would happily flip through a whole stack of the same granite or marble. They are similar, but you never know when a particular color or pattern will show up or disappear.

This doesn't sound right to me at all.

You should be able to see all the slabs of the granite you want, so as to chose the pieces you like.

I would really have trouble buying from these people.

I visited the huge granite yards in Anaheim (yes, you can see the Matterhorn from them) where they have several hundreds of slabs. (The most beautiful stones you have ever, ever seen!). The people there were unfailingly polite and eager to show me anything I wanted to see.

I went to a place where they were "stingy" about how many slabs they would show you even with an appointment and even when they were all in the same lot. Fortunately, I only needed one slab and found the one I wanted just before they were about to shut me down. If I hadn't I would have gone elsewhere - for the amount you're paying you need to pick all of your slabs. Even within a given lot and with a fairly consistent granite, there is still variation from slab to slab. Hold your ground - you're the customer and if they can't meet your needs, someone else will.

How can they say the slabs will be all the same when granite is a natural product that varies?!

Oh, yes!! Of course they show all the slabs one is buying!! As I said, they show you the first and the last one in the stack, then once you choose that, they show you the ones next to your choice. And if you don't like one of them, they put them back and show you the ones next to the one you didn't choose. If they have room, they'll even spread them all out so you can see both ends, but most don't. They do expect you to remember what you didn't like about the one you rejected so if you don't like the second one after all you can make a choice without them moving them all again, but they'll even do that if you need them to.

I'm glad you got the Saturday appointment, and you have a good attitude going in. The tractor operator might be a lot nicer than the cranky lady. Best of luck to you with your selection.

Who are you working with? I'm in the area and have looked at IMC, Arizona Tile and SDL (smaller warehouse). Arizona said they would not move slabs unless I had a fabricator (which I didn't). I wasn't at the stage to seek out particular slabs but it seemed like the others would have moved them if I'd asked.

That is just plain not right. When we bought our granite, from Arizona tile in Arizona, we, went there more than once and they were more than happy to move what ever we ask. They would bring three or four slabs at once and let us pick from them. Also at IMC, they were more than helpful. Tell that lady, if she, is going to be paying for your granite, she can pick them. Doesn't she know women, have to look at them all, before they decide. Lol. sharaz

BTW, what is the name of the stone you liked? Your OP said "Chocolate Brown", but is that the color, or the name of the granite? I have never heard of a granite of that name, and it does not appear on Findstone.com. Ask the granite yard if there is another name for it.

One thing we've seen a couple times on this forum is that some of the less reputable stone yards don't give the real name of the granite for fear you will price-shop it. So, I have a second concern, in addition to the one about the fact they won't show you more than two slabs - that is that you may be paying too much for the "Chocolate Brown" granite. Perhaps it's a commonly found granite that you can find at another yard where'll they'll treat you better. Do you have a pic?

"My internet searches aren't giving me many other local options though. It seems only fabricators come up."

Hard to believe.

In your Web search engine, enter "dallas yellow pages"

From the results, select the results from "yellowpages.com" That should be the #1 result.

In the search window of the yellow pages enter "granite" - by the time you've entered the letters "gran" the word "granite" will come up.

Click on the word "granite." You will be presented with 148 results in the Dallas area. In each result, you will see a line that says "what." This will tell you whether they sell products or install or both.

Or, click on the link I've provided...

Get your telephone, start with number 1 and work your way down the list.

Here is a link that might be useful: Granite results

I'm glad you have found a way to work with these people, but do have to point out that it's odd the granite business is that way in DFW and the total opposite in Houston and San Antonio. In both areas I have been treated like the customer and not an imposition. Especially in the current business climate I would not accept the treatment you described. There have to be other places eager for your business.

Also, if you can post more info on your granite we can help you identify it. I recently found a granite I liked that had been given a special name by the granite yard and the good folks here provided the real name so I can compare prices.

Just picked up on our comment about the fabricator siding with the granite yard. That would be a red flag to me. You are paying the bills here and the fabricator should be willing to work with you. They do depend on recommendations from the granite distributors, but should also focus on making sure the customer is happy.

Our final granite yard encouraged us to let them pull out as many slabs as we wanted to see. After installation there was a problem seam and the slab on our peninsula had to be replaced.

We were worried about getting a new slab that was close to our original slab (#8 & 9) 3 months later. Our fabricator said that the slices are not necessarily numbered as they are cut from the mountain, but rather how they are pulled for polishing, etc., so be sure to look at as many in the lot as possible. We were lucky they still had some slabs and #19 was actually the closest to the original. Again, the granite yard let us look at as many slabs as we wanted.

We were also lucky that we had a piece of the original slabs to take with us the 2nd time around for matching. Also, because choosing slabs will probably take place before templating, be sure to look for pits and fissures and what will be cut out for sinks, stoves, etc.

One guy picked up 2 slabs at a time to show us.

Saturdays are busy -- That's when all the Looky-Loos come out to play and window shop. So moving lots of slabs around on Saturday not only takes salespeople off the selling floor, it creates dangerous conditions in the slab yard, increasing the odds that someone might be injured... So that's their side. But that said, if they want your business, they need to be a bit more accommodating!

If you can reschedule your visit for a non-Saturday, that would help them, and I'd imagine they would be more accommodating in return.

But that said, if they only show you two slabs, and you don't LOVE them, I'd be tempted to say something along the lines of "I'm just not sure. I think I'd better see some more slabs before making a firm commitment. If I can't do that here, then I guess I'll have to shop elsewhere..."

Thanks to everyone for the help!!

I think we will take sweeby's approach to our Saturday visit. I did find another place that is a yard AND fabricator in Dallas with the Chocolate Brown in a polished and leather finish. They are working me up a prelim price quote, before we make the hike to that side of town, since that will involve a different fabricator. We love the leather finish, and haven't seen many stones in that finish. I have inquired about the fabricator finishing it that way. It's possible, but I've been told way more costly.

Here's a pic of a slab, when the nice lady worked there. This was early in our selection process when she showed us three different "brown" colored slabs. We really like the honed, antiqued, or leather finish. That's because I wanted soapstone at first, but I couldn't commit to a more delicate stone...and I love the brown.

The Dallas yard that is working up a prelim quote has another interesting stone that I've yet to see. Also in Leather. I'm not sure how the price compares. I don't think we can splurge for even more expensive than the Chocolate Brown Leather.Syrah Leather Link

It's totally reasonable to want to see additional slabs. I'm in the Chicago area, and once I'd settled on my granite (labrador antique) and got to the slab selection part, the granite people pulled out literally every slab they had (probably 15) and talked with me about layout, where the irregular splotches would be, etc. It's a big decision and a lot of $$ and if you're the kind of person who cares enough to go to the granite yard yourself, you'll also care enough about the final result to want to see multiple slabs and have something to choose from. Good luck!

You'd think they'd get it that when stone purchasers are happy about the experience and the outcome they tell all their friends. Few people buy granite counters more than occasionally so there's a greater chance that a positive peer-to-peer recommendation will result in further sales.

And conversely, for a product/service that is highly local like the purchase of heavy stones, you'd thinlk they'd have figured out how damaging a "no can do" attitude might be to their bottom line when local buyers are in a position to tell other prospects who to avoid.

Happy customers spread the good news, but studies show that unhappy customers tell many times more people how they feel. And natural risk avoidance within social groups is highly attuned to "learning" from others' mistakes.

Just a follow-up to what happened on our visit. They had two slabs ready for us to view from the same lot. Fortunately, we didn't have to deal with snarky lady. After being left alone for awhile, we found the other lot elsewhere in the warehouse. DH asked the salesguy if we could see a slab from a different lot, and he agreed. No arguing nothing. They were busy, with only 2 salespeople, but still he didn't make a big deal out of it. We agreed that lot had a cleaner top area with less chaulkiness, and that we wanted to reserve the remaining 3 slabs in that lot. The sales guy even offered to have the another slab lifted up for a quick view.

We also had to see some Rojo Alicante. The front slab was already reserved by someone else. The sales guy didn't have the slabs lifted, but did accomodate our request to at least tilt the 2cm slabs so we could peek in at the actual slabs we wanted to reserve.

All went well! We're done with granite....at least for now.

I guess the other sales lady was just trying to scare us so we wouldn't ask for 20 slabs to be viewed!