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November 2004 - January 2005 (and beyond)
Fixing the Kitchen: The good, the bad, and the just plain stupid Go grab yourself a beverage, pull up a chair, and put your feet up if you can do that at your keyboard. This is one of my longer narratives.  |
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Better is a relative term, in many ways. The fact is, this kitchen
could not possibly have been worse to start with. A very good friend
actually commented recently that he is astounded by the level of
deprivation that I have endured during my tenure in this house. He, of
course, was very fortunate to be able to 'fix' his amazing 6-bedroom
1935 Tudor (rented for years, and covered in orange shag carpet and
orange and silver foil wallpaper) in one fell swoop - all before he
even moved in.
The kitchen deprivation was really more about heights of ugliness than functional issues though. The only modern convenience that was missing was a working dishwasher (the one I inherited bit the dust about 3 months after closing and I flatly refused to put any money into the kitchen until I was ready to fix it for good). Oh, and the drawers were mostly falling apart and inoperable, and a number of cabinet doors didn't actually close. Over the course of the last three years, I spent hours and hours fantasizing about nuking the whole thing right down to the studs, planning and visualizing gleaming new appliances and nifty designer lighting - maybe a 6-burner range, with a built-in microwave... But when it came right down to it, the cost was more than I could justify anytime in the next couple of years, and the overwhelming ugliness finally wore me down. In September, as I was despairing of ever being able to finance a complete overhaul, a friend suggested that I look into having the cabinets refaced. Now, I recognized from the beginning that that would be a stopgap solution, but given the cost differential and the fact that the whole thing could be done in under a week, I decided to look seriously at going in that direction. My research revealed that refacing would include replacing all cabinet doors and drawers, and since the existing sink and faucet would have to be disconnected anyhow, the contractors would happily install new ones as part of the project. |
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The Bad: Since refacing isn't generally a high-end kitchen solution, the contractors that do this type of work aren't of the same flavor as my usual choices - they come with all the negatives that I usually associate with vinyl siding and cheap replacement windows - most noticeably the high-pressure sales tactics. My initial "consultation" with the sales guy for the company I ended up using (more about them once I start to name names later) was actually pretty entertaining as he seemed to think that he had to fall all over himself to convince me to sign on the dotted line on the spot, when all I wanted to do was write him a check and get him out of my house. As soon as he started offering discounts if I would sign his contract on the spot, I hemmed and hawed a bit and he knocked his price down several thousand dollars.  From
that point, it took about six weeks to have all the materials
fabricated and installation was scheduled for the first half of
November, with the sales folks swearing up and down and right and left
that it would be done before Thanksgiving. Woo Hoo.Nothing ever works quite that smoothly, and the first problem surfaced on day two when the Installer (can't call him a Contractor, as he just didn't live up to anything that grand) discovered that the new countertop had been fabricated in a completely incorrect shape. The remedy was to have a new countertop fabricated, delaying everything a week. Oh, well. Stuff happens, but an extra week still should have gotten us done before the holiday. New countertop arrives, Installer comes back to finish up (showing up at 4pm rather than 9am as agreed), and at 9pm on a Friday night informs me that he's done and that I need to pay him. A quick inspection shows that there are a couple of details not done, and although I point that out, he requires me to write him a check anyhow. Uh-oh. This rapidly gets uncomfortable as I hesitate. After all, not only is the job not finished, I haven't had any chance to do things like make sure they reconnected the dishwasher correctly. As I'm pointing out these minor concerns, all of a sudden I find that Installer and his buddy/assistant have taken a giant step closer to me and are looking rather unhappy. Hmmmm..... This is not good... Very uncomfortable. Single woman, alone in the house, I write them a check to get them out, and haul myself off to bed figuring I'll deal with it in the morning. In addition to the incomplete details (cove molding not yet replaced, one missing set of door pulls) The next morning I discover:
 Needless to say, I was on the phone in very short order making my displeasure known. Second call was to the bank to stop payment on the check. And here is where I start to name names. I'll preface this with my standard disclaimer: YMMV. Sears Home Central / Mark Four Enterprises / The Home Remodelers Group: Oh, God! Never Again Knowing that the whole refacing game is one step away from vinyl siding, I had made a decision to deal with Sears/Mark Four, figuring if all else failed, Sears would stand behind the work. And while they may still do that, if you're reading this from New Jersey, I must sadly report that the local Mark Four folks have utterly failed me. After my initial round of concerns were raised, the Production Manager responsible for my kitchen failed to keep a scheduled appointment to look at the problems. When he didn't show, I called his office and went through several layers of call center to find that he had been called into a meeting. Once I got him on the phone, he was all apologies, and finally showed up about an hour and a half later.  He
did agree with me on the issues and we had a fairly lengthy
conversation about resolving them, involving replacement of the bad
backsplash and remedying most of the other issues, but then I got a
6:30 am call from the Installer about two weeks later asking if he
could come out that day to install the cove molding; Installer knew
nothing about the conversation I'd had with his boss.Back and forth over several weeks and we finally agreed that Installer would come out today, to finish the job and correct the problems. And sure enough, the phone call came at 8:30: "I'm sorry. My schedule is really messed up. I'll call you later and maybe we can reschedule." Maybe? Why does this not surprise me at all? My only consolation is that I stopped payment on the check very early in the game. Interestingly, Sears just sent me their silly feedback form.... Perfect timing! Hey, Sears! Take a look at what's being done in your name! Text of Letter to Sears Round Two: Having had no response whatsoever from Mark Four, I finally hunted down a gentleman by the name of Caleb at Sears National Customer Service. After explaining the situation, he called Mark Four on my behalf, and presto! The Project Coordinator starts calling and leaving frantic messages at all my phone numbers. I have to think that she's a fairly confused soul as she simultaneously demands immediate payment for the work because "the job is finished" and insists that her Installer come out that Saturday to finish the job. Huh? Text of Letter to Mark Four (coming as soon as I retrieve it from my PDA) Round Three: It took about 10 days, but I have to assume that my letter to Mark Four hit somebody's inbox. Out of the blue, Caleb at Sears called me back to say that he had Bob on the other line and he wanted to conference him in so that we could resolve things. Hmmm... funny that Bob never bothered to return my call from two weeks earlier. It boggles the mind just how much extra work these people have made for themselves by not addressing problems at the outset... So Bob swears up and down and right and left that the only way to do this is to have his Installer (the same one who caused all the problems in the first place) come back and fix the work. He 'personally guarantees' that the Installer will keep the scheduled appointment, everything will be done correctly and that I will be happy with the work, or his Installer's '... job will be on the line.' Round Four (January 29th, 2005): Note the date, folks and bear in mind that we're now FOUR MONTHS into a five-day job. Installer arrives as scheduled. Woo hoo! I am cordial, pleasant and going to great lengths to get this off on the right foot. I bear no ill will towards the Installer personally - I just want this over with: Me: "Good morning, Francisco." Francisco: "Good morning." Francisco unloads tools and stuff from truck. Me: "Francisco, could we just make sure that Bob explained everything that needs to be done?" Francisco: "OK" And out comes a piece of paper with notes. Francisco proceeds to look it over, reading out loud as though he's never seen it before. He reads, then looks at the applicable areas of the kitchen and starts shaking his head. This is not good. Francisco: "I'll replace this piece, but not that one." (points to section of backsplash near the sink that has been chipped, measured incorrectly, taken apart, put together incorrectly, filled in with caulk in some spots and not sealed at all in others) "It's too hard." Did he really say that? I am stunned. I am also quite clear now that this is not going to be the end of this nightmare. Other choice tidbits: Francisco refuses to mitre the corners on the new backsplash. Francisco debates whether there is a problem with the faucet spray. Francisco insists that my original backsplash was the same height as the one he installed Francisco further insists that he installed the new backsplash exactly the way the old one was installed (recessed into the wall) Francisco is shocked at the gouge in my kitchen table and attempts to take the position that I am lying and that he had nothing to do with it Francisco informs me that the only cove molding he will install is that immediately along the runs of cabinets. Never mind what my contract says. I call Bob's cell phone. Repeatedly. Nothing. Called Mark Four. Sorry, we can't do anything on a Saturday. Called Sears National Customer Service. Denise was very pleasant, even talked to her manager, but ultimately got the same response: Sorry, it's Saturday. Well, there's one very clear lesson here: NEVER agree to let them do work on a Saturday. My bad. I can't wait til Monday. In the meantime, it's time to start crossposting. Update: 11:00am Bob finally returns my calls. At his request, I hand the phone to Francisco. And magically, the only disagreement that remains is the cove molding. Bob, Sears, Anybody? If nothing else, you really need to do something about Francisco. Other Sears Home Central Horror Stories: consumeraffairs.com searsscrewscustomers.com complaints.com my3cents.com |
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| The Good: Now, shoddy workmanship, and deplorable customer service aside (do they even want my money?), I do have to show off the new kitchen (not yet painted, thanks to the heel-dragging at Mark Four). Just squint a little bit and all the badly mitred corners magically disappear:       |
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This page last updated on January 29, 2005. © 2005 PGE, Ltd., All Rights Reserved. |