Crack in brand new Toto

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Kat1

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I bought a Toto Soiree and inspected it thoroughly before our plumber installed it. About a week after it was installed and filled with water, we noticed that a thin crack had appeared all the way through the tank about two inches below the handle. The plumber was baffled. I contacted the store I bought it from and they put me in touch with Toto USA about "manufacturing defects." Toto wanted a photo which I emailed immediately but they have never gotten back to me. The toilet leaks continuously and I am going to have to replace it. I am very frustrated. There was no visible crack when we took it out of the box so it is not shipping damage and the plumber swears he saw nothing when he installed it. I tend to believe him as we didn't notice anything either and we were all looking at our beautiful new toilet a lot. Does anyone have any ideas here? Also, has anyone had better luck dealing with Toto on issues? I need some advice.
 

Jadnashua

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I'd give them a call...I've only had to deal with them a couple of times, and they were fairly speedy.
 

Gary Swart

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I've not had to deal with Toto, but I have had problems with some companies and their email. It appears that sometimes there is no one in charge of regularly looking at and responding to email. A phone call might be the best way to reach someone quickly.
 

Peanut9199

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The only manufacturing defect i have seen on Toto was on a batch of Ultimate one peice toilets and it was where the bowl was attached to the tank (which on most 1piece toilets you can see a seem).
On the Soiree the seem is a leat 5-6 inches below the trip lever.
I seen crack at the trip lever on toilet why a impact has cause the trip lever to crack the tank but never 2 inches below the lever and circles the tank.
Call or e-mail Derek Garretson at Toto he should be able to help you just let him know who you spoke with or sent the e-mail to.
dgarretson@totousa.com
 

Terry

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I sell thousands a year and to have any kind of crack is so rare.
Maybe one in one thousand.

However, when I was shipping them, it was common.
I hear about broken toilets all the time that have been shipped by frieght lines and by UPS. It was about one in five.
When I was shipping Gerber, they were packed so poorly that I was asked to quit shipping by my supplier. They were losing too much money trying.
 
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Kat1

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Cracked Toto

Here's the question. If the toilet was damaged in shipping but the crack wasn't visible till the toilet was operating, do I have any recourse? Neither the shipper (Toilet Warehouse) nor Toto is responding to me. Do I just have to go buy a another toilet at this point? Even if I go through a "local" store it will be shipped. I am in New York City so everything comes from somewhere else. I am so frustrated. I am tempted to go with someone other than Toto at this point. I have never had a broken toilet in my whole life. I paid a fortune for this one too!
 

Terry

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Maybe one in one thousand will have a problem when they come in a semi packed to the roof.
There is no room for anything to move.

When you buy them and ship across the country individually, they can and do break, I was breaking one in five that way. Look at the math.
The shippers that are moving one'is and two'ies are breaking them.

One time, I shipped five toilets going to three places in Washington State, the farthest was 200 miles away.
They broke all five toilets.
And I had to pay for the replacements.
When you order toilets online, "you" have to go after the shipper.
The shipper pays.
But if the shipper says it wasn't inspected before they closed the box, you can't prove it in court.
That's why I don't recommend anyone buying toilets over the Internet, and then complaining that they didn't win in Vegas.
If you want to gamble, then don't complain.
You wanted the gamble, you took the gamble, now just get over it.
Next time, don't have a toilet shipped to you.
By the way, I've been selling toilets in Brooklyn and Mt Vernon New York.
I've never had a problem with the ones I've been selling in New York.

By the way, one time I accidentally shipped a toilet across the country to myself. I forgot to click the customers address on the purchase order.
A big semi showed up with one toilet in the back.
I installed it, and water was seeping from the seam where the tank had been joined. It just couldn't take all the bouncing from New York to Seattle. Another reason I quit shipping toilets.
Toto was the easiest to ship, some of the other brands were packed terribly.
So don't think changing brands is going to make a difference to the bouncing truck and truck driver.
There shouldn't be any warranty on a toilet that has been shipped. It should be inspected at the wholesaler, packed in a box, then shipped.
If it's broken when it gets to the customer, then the customer has the right to try to get it from the trucker.

I do ship washlets and bidet seats. They ship very well.
I do warranty bidet seats and washlets that have been shipped.
You can bounce them up the walkway and they are okay.
 
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Kat1

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Cracked Toto

Terry: OK. I will just pay for another toilet. It sounds like you had the same problem which was that you didn't see any damage before installation. That's the most frustrating part of all this. Toilet Warehouse will not talk to me and Toto has never responded after I sent the photo they asked for. So much for customer service. Do you have any suggestions as to who I should contact in New York City to get me a Soiree that hasn't been trucked anywhere? The toilet I bought from Toilet Warehouse was no great bargain and plumbing over and over will cost much more than the toilet itself. My plumber couldn't locate a Soiree locally to install. That's how I ended up at Toilet Warehouse in the first place. Thanks so much for your help on all this. It is a fabulous toilet. You were definitely right about that!
 

SamC

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The Totousa web site has a dealer locator by zip code. Maybe that will help.
 

Kat1

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Cracked Toto

One in Cotton White would be great. Can I get an install too?
 

Kat1

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Cracked Toto

Toto says they are going to ship me another one. Looks like their customer service may actually be as good as their wonderful products. Toilet Warehouse was impossible...don't even consider them.
 

h.hyneman

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Hey Kat1-

If you will give me a call [404.446.1730 x46], I will make sure that this situation is fully addressed.

Thanks,

H.Hyneman
Owner
Toilet Warehouse
 
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Kat1

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Cracked Toto

Thanks, Toilet Warehouse, but Toto has sent me a new toilet. I have been away for the Thanksgiving holiday so I didn't see your post or I would have called you directly. I did contact your customer service folks four different times in the last six weeks and each time they said it was not their problem...that I would have to work things out with Toto. You might want to rethink your procedure in the future but thanks for sharing your phone number.
 
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