My mother uses a walker and the step into the tub was increasingly
difficult. She prefers a shower to a bath, but also loves to soak her feet,
which meant that an accessible, low and open shower bed would not do the trick.
As I looked into safety showers, Seabridge's seemed to fit the bill.

As we went through the tubs available, it was clear that my mother didn't
want the feature-heavy enclosures: no jets, no seats, etc. Finally, the
salesman said a door fitted over her own bathtub might be best. It was a
cheaper alternative and allowed her to keep the setup she liked and was familiar
with. He said the door cost about $2000, the full shower enclosure about
$10,000-$16,000.

After the Seabridge employee doing the estimates missed three consecutive
appointments, the sales manager, Brandon Alexander, said they would find a new
employee, ship all three sizes to make sure the measurements and installation
could be done at once, to make up for lost time. But the cost would be $2500.
When I asked why the jump from $2000 in an e-mail, I got a long, rambling "answer" that
didn't directly answer the question until the end, and he said the extra $500
was for shipping and installation.

I knew tub doors were available elsewhere. I looked at several online, of
various costs, greater and lesser, but usually, I had to find my own installer
and that made me nervous.

I went with Seabridge. Their installer came, a nice Irishman named John,
capable, fast, neat. At the end of the job, he gave me the warranty
information, which shocked me. The door wasn't a Seabridge product at all,
although that's what was checked off on the contract as the EZ Access Door.
Instead, the warranty was for a Safeway Safety Tub Door, and John was that
company's top installer that Seabridge had subcontracted.

I wrote the Safeway Safety Co. and asked for the all-in cost of the door plus
installation. They referred me to another authorized installer in my mother's area
and I was given a figure of $1000.00, fully installed, in writing.

So for the exact same door, costing $1000 fully installed, Seabridge
charged me $2500. When I went to Brandon to comment on the 150% markup, he got
his full queen on and said he'd like to give me the door for free but couldn't
and got pretty angry (and nasty) when I said I'd be sure to give feedback on Yelp
and YouTube.

For a company that deals mostly with the elderly, this willingness to price
gouge is worrisome. While I pursue my options with the Better Business Bureau
and Consumer Affairs, I wanted to get this warning out ASAP. This is not a nice
or honest company and I would strongly suggest that you deal with others if you
need accessible bath tubs and showers. Were their actions illegal? That's what
I'll find out -- but without a doubt, they were unethical.