To Whom It May Concern, I am writing to report a deeply disturbing and traumatic incident that occurred at an establishment I recently visited. I hope this account will be taken seriously, as it involves harassment, a hate-fueled verbal attack, and a clear attempt to intimidate and endanger me physically. While riding my bike, I mistakenly entered what appeared to be the establishment's parking lot. Realizing it may have been private property, I apologized and continued to the front of the building. I was greeted politely at the entrance and briefly looked around to confirm that the place was open to the public. I then proceeded to leave without incident--at least so I thought. As I exited, two men near the side of the building began yelling that the property was private and demanding I leave. Then, without warning, an individual--apparently an employee--drove to the end of the nearby bike path in a black Ford Taurus or Focus. He positioned himself in a way that seemed intentionally threatening. As I approached, he aggressively attempted to force me off the road and shouted a homophobic slur--specifically calling me a "faggot"--along with other demeaning remarks targeting my perceived sexuality. I was horrified. This was more than just harassment--it was a hate-driven act meant to shame, humiliate, and intimidate me. I felt physically unsafe, emotionally violated, and completely shocked by how quickly things escalated from a simple mistake into a hateful encounter. Seeking justice and accountability, I went to the Brussels location shortly after to file a complaint. To my dismay, the police were already present. Rather than listening to my account, I was told a completely different version of the events had been reported--one that attempted to downplay or outright deny what had happened. I was made to feel like my voice didn't matter and that the truth was being erased. This experience left me traumatized, disrespected, and deeply concerned for others who might face similar treatment. Hate speech and intimidation have no place in our community, and I urge a full investigation into this matter. No one should be treated with such cruelty, especially when trying to peacefully correct an innocent mistake. I ask that this complaint be taken seriously and that proper steps be taken to ensure accountability and prevent this from happening to anyone else. Sincerely, A Concerned Citizen read more

I needed to look at cabinetry for a project that is probably too far from Madison to have Brunsell do the project. I told them this up-front. A sales person named Allison showed me the lines they normally sell, prices, advantages of each as well as pricing. I've dealt with a number of cabinet makers over the years with results ranging from so- so to excellent and have picked up on when they answer questions fully and honestly and when it's not as dependable.All I know is that if I ever have a cabinetry project in this area, even if it costs a bit more than with competitors, I can't imagine working with anyone else. I wish I could tell you about the finished product, but I'm confident it would meet or exceed my expectations. read more

Awful customer service. Extremely rude CEO of Finance - called us names among other things! We went off the few positive reviews for Brunsells and ignored the negative reviews - never again! Madison area is big - try someone else if you want to avoid HUGE issues. read more

They should not even get 1 star. Some of customer service people behind the counter really need customer service training. We ordered 2 hollow slab door with bore and motice done. We ordered them on February 8, 2022 and they said the doors would be ready the next Wednesday. As of today March 5 we still don't have our doors. I made several calls and they kept saying next week but still don't have them. I called last Thursday to see if the doors were ready yet, they said they were and we could pick them up at 10:00. We took time off work and drove 60 miles to get them to finish our remodel and sure enough they were not ready. The yard crew did their best to find them, after searching several buildings it was determined that we would not be taking doors home that day. They were very apologetic. We went back to customer service and explained what was happening and the Doors were not ready. He just looked at us and shrugged his shoulders not saying a word. We asked for them to be delivered now that we waisted time and money trying to pick them up ourselves. I felt because we did not order $50,000 worth of cabinets or the like that our order of two doors was only worth a shrug. read more

Walked in for advice on a small project. Had planned to buy a small amount of lumber and stain. Was completely ignored for 10 mins when finally one of the service people who was chatting to someone gestured me to someone on the phone who ignored me too. I left and won't be back. read more

I have most previous visits to this Brunsell Lumber location and been extremely pleased with the service. I've seen mostly negative leaning words about them. But because my experiences were positive I wrote good things. It seems that the previous time I wrote and posted good things I discovered that the earlier previous words weren't ever posted. Today I again find that they weren't ever added. So I have to start over, only this time I am writing bad things about the place. But the one caveat in there favor is that corona virus is in full swing and I arrived 10 minutes before closing. But even though I made the yard kid have to work an extra 20 minutes I am certain he'll get a little OT when he gets his check. His lousy attitude won't help when the decision about layoffs is made in coming days I'm thinking. As I was attempting to secure my load he just walked away without so much as a goodbye. Moments later I encountered another yard man who came out and secured a red flag to the dangling wooden tail I am now sporting, and said have a good day and take care. Now that's what I'm talking about. I told the Mgr dude type up at the front who I paid my bill exactly this: "if either of those guys is worth keeping, if layoffs are coming, dump the white kid, his mama didn't teach him good manners. I hope he's not your son, but his manners and attitude suck." Adding that I understand it's the end of the day. I'm a paying customer and I always spend hundreds when I visit, true not thousands, but buying Makita Tools and all my wood products does add up and I'm certain this place isn't the only game. read more

I recently tried to purchase an Anderson Storm door through this company. Everything went fine at first. The person who came to do the quote was friendly and professional. Then I got a quote for the job which was a single line item. No breakdown of cost at all. When I asked for clarification, I got back a rude reply saying, they would not itemize the quote. Just to be thorough, I went to the store to talk to the manager. I asked him if he thought the quote and email reply was professional. Frankly, he could have cared less and dismissed my Inquiry. Don't shop here! They truly don't want your business. read more

Worst. Service. Ever. Over the course of three different visits and several phone calls, I was astonished at the poor service we received. We will be buying everything to build our new house at any location other than Brunsell. read more

The specialized, high quality, service they provide at Brunsell is a valued addition to this community. That being said, however, their service is atrocious and their business could improve measurably with a few very simple improvements. For instance, why not have a price list available for things like Knit bowls and knobs? Instead, they require you to go and ask the surly, rude, "why are you bothering me" sales people at the customer service desk. At the very least, they should rename the desk. As the owner of an old home in an historic neighborhood, I will continue to come back here, but I know they could probably make my life a lot easier Anselmi many more products than they are, if they took the time to bother to find out my needs. I will continue to buy salvage antique trims or stock from Home Depot and Menard's, just to avoid having to talk to these people again. read more

We visited the Brunsell showroom in summer of 2020 to explore replacing our kitchen countertop and adding a cabinet on the floor, with the new countertop to cover both the existing and new cabinets, increasing our counter space. We chose to go with them because of their apparent reputation for custom cabinetry, but it took three attempts for them to get the cabinet built right, customer service was atrocious, and it turned out to take over six months to complete this rather simple project. In summary, we put down the deposit on 9/10/20, being told the estimated lead time was about six weeks for the cabinet, with countertop to be done afterwards. In fact, the cabinet was not delivered until 1/11/21, and even after that long delay it did not fit the space due to incorrect measurements. (We were told that the delay was due to staff being off for COVID quarantine, but despite this, the subcontractor who came to install it refused to wear a mask.). The second version of the cabinet arrived on 2/2/21, but was obviously a quick fix and did not match our existing cabinets or other specifications we had agreed on. The final version arrived on 3/5/21, installed on 3/8/21. Color was not quite what we expected and there were obvious dents on the underside of one shelf (clearly hit hard with a hammer several times), but we accepted this since it was not visible in use and we did not want to delay this process even further. There were multiple other issues along the way, but these were the main problems with the cabinet. The countertop subcontractor then came for measurements on 3/11/21, with installation on 3/26/21. Installation was complicated by a bulge in the drywall in the wall. The Brunsell "Kitchen/Bath Designer" with whom we worked throughout this process had initially advised us that the countertop fabrication would take into account anything of this nature, but this was clearly not the case. As a result, there were some significant gaps and defects in caulking between the wall and countertop backsplash, in addition to needing to cut out part of the drywall. Throughout this six month process, the Brunsell staff person with whom we worked made very little effort to keep in touch. Even when she told us she would check on things and get back to us, she usually failed to do so. Almost every single contact was initiated by us. Throughout this we never received an apology, and certainly there was no adjustment of the bill as many companies would have done. The Designer did say at one point that that she was mad at herself for measuring incorrectly for the cabinet, and at another point said it had been a "real learning experience" for her, but she said little or nothing about the aggravation we had been through. Based on the poor service, we cannot possibly recommend Brunsell. read more

I've gone to Brunsell several times over the years for a wide variety of projects (kitchen remodel, cedar deck). I've found their staff to be courteous, helpful and possessing deep knowledge of the product lines they carry. On a recent order, I was even offered free delivery despite the small size of my mill work order. You just can't get this kind of service at a big box store. read more

I was surprised to see so many negative reviews as I recently had several pleasant experiences here. I'm not sure people understand the type of place this is. This is a professional lumberyard catering more to contractors than homeowners. This is not the hometown hardware store where someone's grandpa will answer questions, make suggestions, tell stories about when he was your age, and hand our Werthers Original candies while he walks you to the aisle where the sandpaper is located. While I thought they were also quite friendly, this place is down to business. You are expected to know what you want and be prepared to place your order. I was amazed at the selection of specialty products. I was able to chose from several grades of cedar in various sizes. They even had identical replacement cedar shake shingles which are likely from the same manufacture as the original 90 years ago since this place has been here forever. Special shout out to Amanda, who's impressive knowledge suggests she's been there forever, when she has only been there 2.5 years. I'll be back the next time I have a large scale project. read more

if you are looking for samples of items, or displays this is a great place. they have a fantastic selection of remodel goodies. everything you could imagine from hardware to countertops, to front doors. however, i worked with a sales rep to order an Anderson window and it took him 1 full week and 3 phone calls for him to call me back...annoying. That being said, the installer for brunsell; Tim, much more efficient and timely. read more

First time my husband and I went in to get information on replacement windows and doors, we waited for 15 min. to get a sales person to talk to us. No one ever did. Not even a hello. It was a Sat. and there was one other couple also looking so we thought we would come back on a weekday. We stopped back on a Fri afternoon and it was the same scenario. A woman who worked there was on her cell phone in the kitchen area, a man was in the rear making copies and both men at the back service desk were sitting down, one was on the phone. To the best of my knowledge, we were the only customers in the place and yet, after 10 minutes of waiting, not one person even acknowledged we were there. Do they not want to deal with the general public? I am finished with Brunsell but will follow up with a call to the store manager who was not in when I called right after leaving. He should know that his employees are woefully lacking in customer service. read more