We filed a Better Business Bureau complaint against CabinetLab, summarized below. As indicated on the BBB website, CabinetLab "responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it." Indeed, they have refused to complete cabinet installation or honor their warranty.
We hired CabinetLab (CL) to manufacture and install our kitchen cabinets. On the first day of the installation, the installer accidentally punctured a water pipe and called out for us to help him turn the water off. When we turned the water off, the water kept coming out of the punctured pipe, and we then all realized it was our neighbour's pipe, not ours. Fortunately, our neighbour was home and able to turn off his water. When we inquired as to what the installer's plan was to get the pipe fixed (as cabinet installation on the affected wall could not continue while the pipe was damaged, and it was unacceptable for our neighbour to live with their water turned off), the installer became defensive, claiming it wasn't his fault and taking absolutely no responsibility for getting it fixed. Fortunately, our general contractor was able to leave another job site and fix the pipe within hours. The installer and CL have not taken any responsibility for puncturing or fixing the pipe and the invoice sent by our general contractor to CL for fixing the pipe remains unpaid after 60 days.
The day after the installer indicated his work was complete and he left the premises, CL emailed us a bill indicating that final payment was expected that same day. Together with our designer and our general contractor, we reviewed the work that had been done and compared it with the agreed upon designs and plans. Several components were not delivered as ordered and several components were not installed correctly. Our designer explained these deficiencies in an email (with photos and other back-up documentation) that we approved and that was sent the next day to CL with a request that they respond with a plan for addressing them. Within 3 minutes of receiving the email (in other words, without taking the time to actually review the contents of the email), the principal of CL responded with an expletive laden voicemail to us indicating he would not be responding to the email. Within 15 minutes of receiving the voicemail, we responded with a text that suggested that he come over to personally inspect the cabinets and discuss with us the issues raised in our designer's email. We have not received any further communication from CL. Since they gave us no indication that they would complete installation of our kitchen cabinets or even give us the courtesy of an inspection of the issues raised -- and subsequent work on our kitchen remodel was on hold until the cabinet installation was complete --- we made arrangements to have the work completed by others. This has been difficult and expensive.
In choosing CL, we thought we had found a reputable cabinet maker that would work with us throughout the process to craft custom cabinetry that looks and functions beautifully. We were surprised by their abrupt and abrasive voicemail ending our relationship. We had assumed we would receive a professional response to our concerns and were disappointed with their decision to behave otherwise.
Given the manner in which we were treated and CL's refusal to complete the installation, we would advise any designer or client who is considering working with CL to refuse terms that require 100% payment before installation. We paid 50% up-front. One week before installation, CL sent us a bill for the remaining 50%, indicating that having the work paid for prior to installation is the only way they do business. This was the first we had been informed about these payment expectations. None of the other custom cabinetmakers we received quotes from expected full payment prior to installation. We subsequently negotiated a payment plan in which we would pay CL the final 10% upon installation. This was our only leverage with them, and indeed it did not prove to be a sufficient incentive for them to complete the installation.
There are many high quality custom cabinetmakers in the GTA to choose from who are trustworthy and treat their customers professionally and with respect. Unfortunately, in our experience, CabinetLab is not one of them.
