If you've kept up with these "State of the Kitchen" posts, you may feel as if you're stuck in something similar to the "Groundhog" movie. We are now in Week 3 of nothing being done. My cabinets have been sitting on my kitchen floor for 28 days.
28 days, y'all.
Last Thursday, I showed CH the cabinet that CG (cabinet guy) said I could start loading up. Then I showed him a cabinet next to it that needs to wait because the utility cabinet is going to be next to it. This is what he noticed (you may have to click on the picture for a better view):
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| Glue holding the bottom of the shelf together |
I started checking the other cabinets & found another one that is the same:
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| Another cabinet where glue is holding the bottom of the shelf together |
And in 1, they didn't even try to fix:
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| At least they tried to fix the other 2 |
This is what it should look like:
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| This one is as it should be |
I was so upset. I put the pictures on Facebook, tagging Thomasville Cabinetry and Home Depot. (I also sent an email to the Rep and designer including the pictures.) Thomasville responded, requesting that I pm them with my information. I did, and the Supervisor of Consumer Affairs from the corporate office called me on Friday. I went through the whole thing: This house is 55 years old, we've been here for almost 13 years, the kitchen is the last thing that has to be updated inside, this is a once in a lifetime thing for me, all of the problems we've had, etc. First she asked if I wanted to get somebody to come out and scrape the glue off. Uh...no. She asked if I wanted the cabinets replaced. (DUUUUH!) I told her yes, because I'm afraid that in a few years the cabinets will fall apart. As it turns out, the Rep immediately ordered replacements upon receiving my email. I told the supervisor that my father was a woodworker, not by trade but by hobby, and he would have never let this fly. He would have torn them apart and would have redone them. I received a follow-up email assuring me that the quality manager will look over everything before they ship out. I'm very skeptical, but hopeful.
I received a couple of calls from Home Depot on Monday. 1 was from an assistant manager to let me know about delivery of the replacements. My new (and larger) utility cabinet is scheduled to be delivered to the store on Monday. How it's going to get from the store to my house is still in question. I asked her, and all she said was that she has contacted the installer. I made it clear that we were not going to come and get it. So, we'll see. The replacement doors, drawers, drawer face, and wall cabinets will be delivered to the house the following week.
The other call was to ask me when I was going to come by and pick up the undercabinet lighting. Ummmm....I picked that up last week. She had to check to see what they were holding (I could have told her it was the tile, but wanted to make sure that's what they had.), then confirmed it was the tile. I told her it is staying there until we need it, which may be about 3 weeks. Without getting into everything, I just told her that we were not happy, and it is staying there where it has less of a chance of being broken than in our basement. She said she will make a note of it staying there for 3 more weeks.
As far as the contractor is concerned: He was supposed to have called last Wed. after he talked to CG to see if he was going to be able to come out this week. I ended up calling him on Thursday evening and got the same story: They will start back on the 11th (next Tuesday) unless I wanted CG to come in and do something this week. I told him absolutely; whatever we could get done would be great. I told him about the 3 wall cabinets that will be replaced, but told him that if we could get the base cabinets in so I could get the countertop measured it would be good. He said he would talk to CG and get back with me on Friday. I finally received a call from him on Wed. This makes the 3rd time he has said he was going to call me and didn't. This does not make me happy. It's my expectation that when someone tells me they will call, they actually call. Even if it was to tell me that CG is taking a few days off or he wasn't able to get in touch with him.
He said that he texted me but didn't get a response. I told him that I never received a text & that I always return texts when I get them. Then he said that the CG was going to come tomorrow to get started. Uh, no he isn't. I told him from day 1 that I was leaving for a conference on the 6th. He said he didn't know how he got mixed up. He said that he will get with CG & talk about next week. I wish I had thought about this when I was on the phone with him: He should have already discussed this with CG since the contractor told me they would get started on the 11th. If CG has to work at the fire station on that day, does that mean that they won't get started then? UGH. Somebody had better be at the house on the 11th doing something.
CH went down to Home Depot on Monday and talked with the store manager. He took him our timeline, documented calls to the contractor, and the notes from the in-store and home meetings. He said he will look into it and call him on Wed. He ended up calling me on Tues. We keep getting apologies of promises that it will "be looked in to", but that's about it. The manager said that he has a call in to the contractor, but didn't think he was working on the 4th. I totally understand that construction people work hard & need time off, but we things should have already cranked back up. I asked the designer on 06/25 if they could go ahead and do something...anything. In fact, the contractor told me (on 06/16) that there may be something the electrician could come in and do. He was supposed to get back with me on that, but he didn't. I don't know if the designer talked to him about doing anything after our conversation on the 25th.
I'm sick of looking at these cabinets on the floor. I'm sick of looking at that strip on the floor and the ceiling. I'm sick of having the contents of my kitchen all over my dining room table and spare bedroom. I'm tired of going down to my parents' house if I want to cook something for supper. Last week, I cleaned out our sink in our laundry area so I could use it to wash dishes instead of going down to my parents'. It's slightly more convenient, but I still have to lug the dishes up and down the stairs. It's really a pain in the rear.
If it were up to CH, we would send everything back and start all over, but then I wouldn't get the kitchen I want. This is the kitchen I want. For this house, this is my dream kitchen. Right now, though, I feel like it's hell's kitchen.
