Summary: My perception is that Haggard is a company that has too much business for the capacity of its staff; its staff has little support from its owner, and they are used to dealing with people spending millions on their kitchens - not hard working folks who are trying to make a critical decision before making a $50k+ investment. Knowledgeable - yes. Detail oriented - definitely not. Responsive and customer oriented - inconsistent at best.
Here is a recounting of our experience:
- First design visit with April. Very thorough, very informative. I was extremely happy. My husband felt like he was discounted on that visit, but I asked him to keep an open mind.
- 2nd visit without an appointment - 2 associates helped us pull samples. They were both delightful, although we were fairly autonomous on this visit. We left with a very good impression.
- 3rd visit - Appt with April on a Sat. Very thorough and informative. April reiterated multiple times that we were far along in our design and that she would be happy to give us a price quote using our architect's design at no charge. April indicated that if we made design changes beyond that, she would charge us by the hour, or "half price or something".
- May 17th - I sent April an e-mail requesting a high level price, and clearly stated:
o "...we would like to move the sink and dishwasher to the LEFT of the glass window. This is going to make it much simpler from a plumbing standpoint.
o "... will you please price it with EVO natural bamboo on bottom and tall cabinets, and Melania white gloss on top cabinets (to save a little $)."
- We also requested estimates from 2 other cabinet companies. Neither of them charged a design fee.
- May 24th - I received the design, but it was incorrect. The sink hadn't been flipped to the other side of the window, nor had it been priced correctly - with Showplace on the bottom and Milania on the top.
- At this point, I start to question Haggard's attention to detail, but hey, everyone makes mistakes every now and then, right?
- May 31st - I sent a clarifying e-mail back to the associate who was responsible for our design, asking her to correct the errors, and send me a corrected estimate.
- June 1st - She responds. Very polite. Says she will correct and get it back to me.
- June 13th (2 weeks have passed, and I have received no word.) I sent an e-mail back to the associate with a cc to April, requesting an update.
- June 13th - Receive the following e-mail from the associate which I interpreted as meaning that we were going to be charged for an accurate estimate:
- "I will be sending your layout out to the vendor to price out the layout and send it back to you early this week. For a second revision including the renderings, elevations, and floor plans I will need to send an invoice for the design fee of $1000."
- At this point I feel as if there must be some misunderstanding, so I decide to call April and discuss live. As an owner, I imagine she will want to hear my feedback. All I am requesting is an assurance that we will not be charged a design fee for an estimate that was incorrect in the first place, and to feel heard about my experience up to this point.
- Our call did not go at all as I expected...April interrupted me multiple times. She made numerous excuses for the lack of attention to detail and lack of responsiveness from her staff. "Well when last we spoke, you wanted all Showplace cabinets." "I was on vacation so everyone was trying to catch up". "Well it was just an e-mail." I felt completely unheard. However, she did indicate that we would be receiving a corrected estimate at no charge - which is all I wanted, as that was what I was initially promised. I thought it was settled.
- April then sent me a follow up e-mail indicating that she was "shocked" that I was disappointed in the service thus far, noting several inaccuracies of the number of visits with Haggard and the amount of time spent.
- No thanks. I will go somewhere that values EVERY customer, is detail oriented, and more responsive. read more