This review is long overdue, but the message needs to be delivered. I would avoid Total Kitchen and Bath at all costs. Something was off with these people from the start. Questions we asked were answered in a very vague and condescending way. The salesperson was nice but maybe didn't know everything there was to know about kitchen design. The owner, Caroline is the worst. Once she got our money, she could not care less about service.
We ordered our cabinets in late November 2020. While we waited for our kitchen cabinets and countertops, we gave them even more business ordering bathroom vanities and vanity tops as well as some additional quartz for our shower. So, with the $40,000+ in business that we gave them, one would expect a certain level of customer service.
When the cabinets finally came in, the corner upper cabinet was the wrong size. When I reached out to TKB, they advised the cabinet could be replaced within two weeks. When I inquired on whose mistake it was, the manufacturer or hers, she said "It's a Warranty Cabinet, so you are covered." Never addressed that fact that she ordered the wrong cabinet. Not only was this cabinet deeper than the others, but it was also short 5" in width. When I inquired on this aspect, she advised that we should put a 3" filler in the middle of the cabinets. Who orders custom cabinets and puts a filler in the middle of a row of cabinets? Why not just order a bigger cabinet?
The replacement cabinet took more than 4 weeks, and my carpenter would not come back out for 2 weeks after that due to his schedule. So, this costed us 6 weeks. When I complained about the delay and her lack of accountability she countered with, "My countertop installer was there this weekend and said there is still a lot of work to do." So again, no accountability and now we are to blame for our delay.
We also ordered a range hood cover. This was not the right thing for us. We had to have a small soffit for plumbing that couldn't be re-routed. When we tried to install the hood cabinet, the bottom of the cabinet was at our eye level. When we inquired on this, Caroline said "oh, you have a soffit, that's the problem." When they came for final measurements, the soffit was there. How could that not be accounted for? They advised us to modify the cabinet to fit. When I asked to return this cabinet for a refund, I was advised this is a custom cabinet, it cannot be returned. So, we had to modify a "custom" cabinet which costs us more money.
They sold my wife a light rail to hide the under-cabinet lighting. But once again, with a soffit and 44" cabinets, the light rail would have created even less space between the lower cabinet and the countertop. So that was not functional. When we tried to return the light rail boards, we were denied.
A finished board was sold for us to bridge the gap between the wall and dishwasher. When we changed the location of the dishwasher from the wall to the other side of the sink, they forgot to remove this piece from the order. When I tried to return this, I was told by the Salesman, "that's just how we order it, it's not refundable." Even though they made the mistake. They also forgot to order the glass inserts for two upper cabinets which costs another two-week delay on the backend.
When they finally finished, they said we had a $2300 balance due. I was not expecting after all of the missteps that they would even try to collect this, but they did and even hired a lawyer to threaten putting a lien on our house. When I asked for a breakdown of the bill, the lawyer said they didn't need to provide us with that. When I complained about the delays, the lawyer said the contract does not specify delivery of the product has to be timely. I asked for the breakdown because we had about 30 finished trim pieces leftover that I wanted to return for a credit toward what I owed. So, without a breakdown, I could not see how much I was charged for all the extra material, and they would not allow us to return.
At the end they sent another bill for the glass that was not ordered in the first place, additional footage for the countertops that they measured incorrectly, and they wanted to charge me for the incorrect corner cabinet that they said I never returned. How can I be held accountable for them ordering the wrong cabinet? My guess is they wanted to beef up the amount owned to justify the attorney fee if I decided not to pay, and the mechanics lien issued.
In all, TKB showed zero accountability, zero customer service and unethical business practice by selling us materials we didn't need and hiring an attorney to squeeze us after putting us through the ringer on our project. Not to mention just being horrible at their craft. read more
