J
Phoenix,#2Consumer Suggestion
Tue, May 10, 2005
Your 1st mistake was thinking that a small contractor could not handel your remodel. 2nd one is that home centers sub contract out all their installations to basicly who ever will do work for them. I have been a Kraftmaid dealer for almost 2 years now. Our average job is $15,000 and we only have 1000 sqft. showroom it is the personlized service you get with the small guys. We design,install, and cater to the consumer for about 10% less than the home centers. They are not always the best way to go when making a $15,000 purchase. I have been in the cabinet business for 25 years. I still build custom cabinets and sell the Kraftmaid line it is the only line of cabinets I carry. Kraftmaid is probably the best value for your dollar. I try to convey to my coustomers if you want custom you will have to pay the price. This year we will excede $500,000.00 in Kraftmaid sales. EXPLORE YOUR OPTIONS !!!
Deb
Leesburg,#3Consumer Comment
Tue, August 31, 2004
Andrew, I come from a family owned Architechtural Millwork Company that also had a complete line of custom made cabinets for kitchens and baths. We let others do our installations of the cabinets. We did NOT carry Kraft Maid as it was a low end cabinet, as to customs go. Our brand for customs were WoodMode Cabinetry. I can tell you from personal experience that what you went through is number one way to long to have a custom kitchen installed let alone all the problems you had with the cabinets. Your designer did not do their job either, if cabinets had to be reordered. When we closed down our family business in 1994 all of our designers went to smaller firms, not one of them went to Home Depot, they were overqualified for the positions there at Home Depot!!! When designing a kitchen it would take approx. 1 month from design to measurements to getting order to factory. Depending on type of cabinet, delivery of cabinets could take from 8 to 16 weeks. 8-10 weeks for the less expensive end of Woodmode to 14-16 weeks for the higher end. Upon arrival these cabinets are delivered to your home one day BEFORE installation begins. Installation takes no longer than 3 days, then counter tops are finalized, delivered within about 3 more days and kitchen is then finished in about 2 to 3 more days after that. During all of this time, your appliances are delivered and installed. If you have ordered "skins" to go on the appliances they are also applied. Yes it may take approximately 2 1/2 weeks from start to finish on installation but that is it. Done over with. That also usually includes new flooring also if that is included. Andrew, we delt with customers that wanted small kitchens redone to very large additions put on with brand new kitchens added. This is something that was known in the industry, if you did not do it right, you lost customers very fast. The only reason we closed down is that my father retired and I did not want to continue with the business, I regret that decision today because of the reputation Home Depot has. There are very few design firms out there that has the ability to do what is right for a fair price. No doubt, Home Depot is less expensive than anywhere else but that does not mean you get a half done job, or one that goes on and on. Home Depot has had the reputation, at least in our area, to leave off major details, like what sides to finish on cabinets, which side the doors are to be hinged, etc. That is plain laziness on the designers because their so called designes are computer programmed! All the information is stored right there, they just need to make sure they are reading it correctly. We also had at least 2 people go over a cabinet order prior to sending it into the factory because of these types of issues. Once it goes it goes. We only "ate" one cabinet in 35 years of being in business! You need to see an attorney, 2500.00 is not even close to what you deserve, Home Depot needs to have qualified individuals from start to finish in thier employment.