We made a commitment for a significant purchase of cabinetry from MD in July 2015, and were promised flawless customer service, which given the cost anybody should expect. What was received, on the other hand, was a very disappointing experience.
The salesperson, Jim, was nice enough and spent time with us to explain the different options, styles, and costs involved. He did his due diligence in making sure all measurements were accurate. We were given an ETA on the cabinets to arrive at MD between 8.24-8.28. The cabinets were delivered to MD on 8.28.
I spoke to MD Monday 8.28 and was told the cabinets could be delivered to our home anytime I wanted. My contractor and the warehouse were to arrange the date for Thursday, 9.1, or Friday 9.2. When my contractor spoke to MD he was told the cabinets would not be able to be delivered until the following Wednesday, 9.9. The cabinets were needed so we could move on with other parts of renovation (water hookup, counters, moving things from storage to the cabinets, etc).
When the cabinets were finally delivered on 9.9, my contractor called to tell me there were some issues:
1. We were supposed to receive an upper corner cabinet with an appliance garage. We received a standard wall cabinet and the appliance door opened sideways, not up and down (basically making it useless).
2. We were supposed to receive an end cabinet with a double-hinged door. which was recommended for our particular set-up. Problem: we received a standard cabinet with a small drawer on top and a door on the bottom,making it unnecessarily difficult to access anything in the back of the cabinet. I was told of this change after it had been delivered and was never informed that a different piece was ordered.
3. We purchased an island from MD: there were supposed to be 3 pieces to the island but only 2 were delivered.
4. One whole cabinet, "inspected" by a Melissa, was missing all the trim.
5. The replacement cabinet for the end piece (the one I was told would have a hinged door) had no moldings on the doors
7. Another cabinet had a door that opened the wrong way.
Ultimately, all the correct pieces were delivered, but the end result, aside from the aggravation and stress generated, was that the renovation of my house was delayed by a month due to the incompetence of MD/Yorktowne. To be fair, it was hard to fully determine who was at fault for each issue. MD blamed the manufacturer, Yorktowne, and Yorktowne blamed MD.
What was equally frustrating was my attempt to get a resolution from MD. When I expressed my disappointment to the owner, Mr. Smith, I was given the canned response that my satisfaction was of the utmost importance and he would do everything to satisfy me. When I requested a credit back, he referred it to Yorktowne and took no responsibility on his end. Ultimately, Yorktowne's response (or lack of a response) reflected the nature of the whole process.
The response from the New England Yorktowne rep, a Mr. Moffitt,to Mr. Smith at MD follows. He did not even find it necessary or important enough to reach out to me directly.
"We spoke about this the other week and I didn't believe I needed to do anything to follow up. It was my understanding that we sent what was ordered and acknowledged. Our policy is to repair and replace any damaged or defective cabinetry, and I believe we did this when requested for Mr. Curcio. We don't compensate financially for "hardship" and I don't see how it would be appropriate in this case either."
Clearly Mr. Moffitt never took Customer Service 101. He doesn't seem to realize that his very generous policy of replacing damaged or defective cabinetry is the base level of customer service and problem resolution for any company. His complete apathy crystallized the general attitude of Yorktowne. I tried to get in contact with a Mr. Carraway, who was Mr. Moffitt's manager, and was assured he would be in contact...never happened.
My recommendation would be to find a local manufacturer, which allows for both you and the cabinet-maker to address any issues directly and expediently. You can find competitive pricing and receive direct answers for your questions.
I would definitely not recommend using MD. If you do decide to use a company such as MD Cabinetry, be wary if one of its suppliers is Yorktowne. They are equally bad. read more