Having your kitchen redone is an inconvenience and a pain. I know. That was my summer. I had my kitchen redone this summer....and...four words... I LOVE my kitchen. I purposely scheduled it for my six week summer break, as I'm a teacher and I knew I would be around. However, our designer came out in April or so. Virgel was great....he kind of let us dream and go with what we wanted. The next weekend we met Virgel in Pleasanton and we chose our floor, tile, counter, cabinets, etc. It was so fun!! Then we had the "blueprint guy", Tim, come out with Virgel, and they started doing the nitty gritty...what actually could be done. We have a terribly designed, small kitchen, so anything they could do to give me space, I'd take. Tim worked his magic. He told us, realistically, what we could, or couldn't do. Once Tim and Virgel left, the project was on! They warned us...we won't hear from them until we get closer, and we didn't....until June hit.
One thing you have to understand about Kitchen Experts is that they are not a HUGE company. And they have other customers. If you want exclusive service, then pay more and get a private contractor. I, however, could not afford that. And, I doubt a private contractor could have done a better job.
So June arrived, and I was introduced to Sarai....our project manager. She called weekly or more, and kept me totally up to date with what would happen and when. We talked on the phone, and we emailed. Sarai always got back to me. And then the demo team arrived. It was Christian and his team. They had the kitchen gutted in a day. Then they came back and put in the basic cupboards....I thought we were so close to being done...wrong!! There are so many details to tend to!! The floor went in. The counter template got measured, and then we waited about a week before the counter came in. Then the tile. And so on and so on. Every person involved took pride in their part of the job, and they were considerate, friendly, and they got the job done.
The entire project took less than a month.....actual days working, way less than that. Christian was our contractor, and he is a talented genius. Demo, wiring, cabinets....he did it all. Our kitchen has so many angles, yet he made it work. And he spent way more hours on our kitchen than was planned, without being negative. He and his guys did a fabulous job, and they worked hard every day! The farther along we got, the better it all looked. If there was anything I questioned, like a dimmer switch...Christian checked, and it was included. The team took so much pride in their project. I even got hanging lights installed, along with a switch. No problem.
Now here's the part everyone wonders about. We had squeaky hinges. We had a few gaps in the tile, due to the line up of the cabinets. Minor things. But Travis came out and fixed all of those issues, and he was pleasant and accommodating. Yes, it took a few weeks, but we had an excellent kitchen to use, in the mean time!! It got done!! And we never felt like we were bothering them. Travis accommodated us and came out when we were done from work. Yes, he got to us later than "planned"....but he was working somewhere else and there was traffic. He stayed until he was done! Way past when he should have been home with his family. Thank you, Travis! Jobs don't always go as planned or as scheduled.
I love my kitchen now. We spend so much time in our kitchen....or at least I do....and it's the center of our home. Kitchen Experts was amazing. I enjoyed working with every one of the people involved. I'm not sure what the issues have been with the people who have given bad reviews. All I know is we did not experience anything negative at all...and I'll admit....after reading the reviews I wondered if I'd have a bad experience, but I went with my gut. I did not, and we are very pleased with the whole experience, as well as the final result.
Thank you to Virgel, Tim, Sarai, Christian, and your guys, the amazing tile guy, the equally amazing counter guy (he does amazing things with granite!!), and Travis. I'm so sorry I forget all of your names, but you are all appreciated for the work you've done.
I highly recommend Kitchen Experts of California. read more