We're doing a high-end, custom kitchen, and I contacted several marble fabricators and requested…read morequotes. One of those quote requests went out to A American Granite and Marble, thankfully.
A American Granite, before they quoted, insisted on seeing the actual kitchen. It was a bit of a trek for him, (Juan, the owner of the company) but he felt it was very important. I was surprised because no one else even inquired about seeing the site before quoting.
I received several quotes back eventually, but as I mentioned, none of the other companies even cared enough to come out and all of their quotes were "subject to site inspection", so very loosey goosey at best.
Juan, however, came in with a quote that was a bit less than the others, and it was based on the actual site visit so I knew it was accurate. More importantly, he schooled my "high-end" subs that happened to be on site when he arrived, on the level of perfection that he needed for the base of his countertops while he was here. He pointed out inaccuracies in square, height, etc. - subtleties, that he could see with his eye alone. He then gave them a to-do list. At this point, I knew he was the right guy for the job even if his bid had much been higher.
And Juan delivered, in an over-the-top way. My countertop edges were super difficult, and it was a really long run for one slab in particular. I wanted honed marble, and the only thing out there honed and long enough, was few and far between. He found the slabs, and Juan was so careful, so detail oriented, and he operated with such precision and finesse it was unbelievable.
On the day of installation, he found remaining flaws in the precision of my "high-end" carpenters, and fixed them on site. He then installed what I can only describe as the most beautifully cut, mastered, slabs of marble. Difficult edges, angles, etc. - no problem for Juan.
He is intense in his level of detail, but I will say, his precision, attention to detail, and pride in the level of quality of his work, definitely set a super high bar, that I have yet to see with the other so-called masters working in our kitchen. I dare say, he taught them a thing or two in the process.
I will never recommend anyone other than Juan and A American Granite. He is a true master in his craft and out of this world quality oriented - A true artisan in the trade.
So bottom line...The best quality at a competitive price? How can you go wrong?