Hutchison Cabinets Ltd

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/11/05) */
Contact Name and Title: Roseanna R[redacted], Admin
Contact Phone: [redacted]
Contact Email: [redacted]
On May 30, 2015 the customer confirmed that they would like to go through with the project that Jon H[redacted] provided...

them a quote for which included a full set of kitchen cabinets, back entry and flooring.
Following the initial confirmation of the project the flooring in the kitchen was changed from plank flooring to solid oak flooring to match their existing, then changed to marble and finally changed back again to plank flooring. The back entry was originally ordered as luxury tile, then changed to plank flooring after the original flooring was already ordered. This resulted in a 25% re-stocking fee that Hutchison Cabinets paid for. This was not charged to the customer even though it was the customers fault and the customer's decision to change the flooring after it was already ordered. Due to the customer's inability to decide on where to put the Island, it was built on casters to be able to put the floor underneath.
Their Contractor was first going with a Drywall Ceiling then changed to a suspended ceiling. Because of this we had to make adjustments and change the already made cabinets, so that they were shorter and adjust the Crown Moulding to accommodate the new "T" Bar Ceiling. This was not part of the original contract. No extra charge was given to the customer for these additional changes.

Due to the changes the customer made to the celling there was also a beam lower than celling level going through the kitchen that required additional finishing. It also required the cabinets to be modified yet again to make room for the beam that was not in the original plans. The customer was yet again not charged for the modifications to the cabinets that were required due to the customers reqest.

When we went to Install the Kitchen Cabinets, the Plumber had the pipes roughed in for the sink too far out from the wall and they had to be relocated further back which Larry completed in order to be able to install the cabinets. The customer yet again was not charged for this additional work provided by Hutchison Cabinets and this was not included in the customers quote.

The heat vent was placed in an incorrect spot by the contractor hired by the home owners, this had to be relocated in order to make it workable for the register to fit. The contractor also left the junction box for the electrical in an area that was contracted to have cabinets placed in it. Hutchison Cabinets therefore had to adjust their cabinet placement in order to leave him access to the bottom of the pantry. Extra labour for this was needed and once again we did not charge the customer for this even though this was due to their error.

The project was a Renovation (not a new build) and part of the wall was existing and the other part an addition. In many cases the plans have to change and be adjusted to fit properly. This is not due to Hutchison Cabinets but to the inconstancies in the existing house. The floor was also not level, the wall was crooked and the window was not level. In order to make everything look correct additional fitting is required. Because of this it created extra work for Hutchison Cabinets.
The Kitchen was installed on 27/07/15 and was invoiced on 04/08/15.
I was only to do the Kitchen Side of the wall as the Living Room side had a plastic cover over it. The panel had to be removed, repaired or replaced. Invoiced them for wall opening on 31/07/15. Invoiced for Finished Beam on 04/08/15.

In October they decided to change the Microwave Unit, they wanted it raised 3" (this unit is like a mantel with large brackets and a 4" shelf with cabinets above). We built this unit to fit 70" from the floor to the bottom shelf as this is standard, we removed the shelf and brackets to accommodate the 3" change which had now been tiled in on the wall. We cut and re-installed this on the evening of October 19th, 2015. The Customer was not charged yet again for this requested change.

Continuous changes were made by the customer and completed by Hutchison Cabinets at no charge to the customer. These changes were not our fault but due to the customer's ever-changing mind. Any concern or issue has always been addressed with this customer. The customer cannot make a firm decision and after changing her mind several times is then in a HURRY to get it done once she has made a decision. However we have to order supplies, build it and finish it, which all takes time. Then we have to schedule time to go out to her home approximately 1 hour away from our shop. As we work off a schedule and this client is not our only customer her changes to the contracted project cannot be done at a moment's notice as we have other clients who need us as well.

Larry has stopped in for changes, consulting on wiring, flooring and cabinets, bringing samples all in an attempt to help her make a decision. This is very time consuming for Larry and he does have other customers depending on him as well. This customer had the chance to make a decision and chosen to be indecisive and therefore needs to wait her turn again for Larry to be available.
The Counter Top on the right hand side of the stove (which is now the problem) is a little too high. I have been there many, many times and was not made aware of this until now. It is possible a screw was put in on too much of an angle causing it to be higher. I have no problem addressing any issue, [redacted] Have the customer send a complete list of problems and I will go over one last time to resolve this situation.

Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/11/16) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
The reason I do not accept this is because many of the things they have said aren't right. They were hired to do kitchen cabinets and nothing else. When the son arrived for the very first consultation he was insistent on doing everything to the point of being pushy. I had asked for estimates on the stairs and porch floor covering, I didnt commit to them doing it. I did order flooring from them on June 18/15 and it still wasn't in on September 10 so I decided to cancel the flooring and go with something else. To be honest I don't think he even ordered it. The cabinets were originally supposed to be here on July 10th but due to some delay they never delivered them until July 27 that was more than 2 weeks passed our promised date. They were aware of the beam in the ceiling right from the day he came for first consult, there had been a bearing wall and it had to be replaced with a beam. He was told exactly where it was going and how big it was. The ceiling was changed to drop down because the original ceiling was plaster and it was just much more easier to go with drop down. He was called about this immediately and told us thanks for letting us know as we can make the adjustments before the cabinets are started. The son came for a final measurement before the cabinets were started at that time he was told and showed where the stove fridge and microwave were going, he was also given the measurements of each of the appliances. I don't know where they get that they had to make changes when the window was in place and the new wall was up. The things that he says about fixing heat registers and plumbing he wasn't asked at anytime to do that, he took it upon himself to do so, if he had come when he told us he was coming " instead of after hours" the contractor would have been here to do it. As for the walls and windows being unlevel and out, sorry but that isn't true the floors are very level and the window is out by less than 1/10 of an inch. The island was NOT built on casters either like he says matter of fact it was put together but NEVER screwed together the contractor did that. The base was loose from the rest of it. It was placed on the plywood and when the time came for it to be moved we put it on dollies so the flooring could be put down. The microwave unit had to be redone because number one the door of the microwave wouldn't open because the cabinet stuck out way too far, the microwave bottom was too close to the stove top, I called the government office that looks after home regulations and was told there was no specific height just a suggested one that they went with, I was also told that they suggest people go 20-22 inches as it is much safer height. The cabinet has been put back in but it still has spaces on either side and wasn't done right. I never ask or expected these people to drop what they were doing and don't think my requests were unrealistic. They wouldn't answer texts for days and never showed up when they said they would. As for the invoices I was given my first invoice on June 1st at this time I gave them a bank draft from the [redacted] for $7631.20 on July 27th they were given 2 bank drafts from the [redacted] for $632.26 & $4578.72 around August 4th he gave me an invoice that said what I owed and told me it had to be paid in full when he came back on the 7th of August. He was given another bank draft from the [redacted] on August 7 for the balance owing &3593.00. They never had to wait at anytime for their money, we had every right to hold back some of the money until all deficiencies were looked after, and we didn't because he said he would be back to fix whatever needed fixing. On the 7th of August he was given a list of the 30 difficientcies which I still have he did about half and left. We never seen or heard from him again until I text him which was August 24, 2015.
Below are a list of the dates he was text to come and finish
things at our house.
August 24, 2015 text to find out where the cabinet handles were as we only had 10 handles put on.he had told us that he couldn't find them anywhere in Canada or the USA
August 25- he texts me telling me he can't talk
August 26- texts to say handles are in someone has to go to city and pick them up.
August 26- text to say he is coming and then doesn't show up
August 5 shows up with the wrong handles, says forgot to check them when he picked them up.
Sept 8- I text, he replies will call later and that flooring still isn't in
Sept 10- I text and recieve no reply, told him wasn't waiting for flooring any longer and was ordering from someone else. Asked about capping for pony wall as well.
Went to [redacted] and purchased cabinet handles that I had already paid him for, he never did get them or reimburse me. I was told by a person there that the handles I was looking for were usually I stock and if they didn't have them it usually took 7 days to get them in.
Sept 11- texts will let me know when capping is going to be done this was ordered on the 27th of June. Told me lumber he had wasn't any good and might be done next week.
Sept 17- text him as I haven't heard from him since the 11th I had by this time cancelled the capping as I got tired of waiting. Said he would get back to us and never did.
Oct 1 called he told us he would be out on Oct 2 once again he never showed up.
Oct 4-I texted about issues with the microwave.
Oct 5 he text that he can't talk
Oct 6 text that he would stop by Wednesday, no show again
Oct 14 got tired of waiting for some kind of response from these people text again. Asked what his plans were for the microwave cabinet and other deficiencies that he hasn't addressed yet. He replied that he would stop by on Monday
Oct 19 - he texts and says that the cabinet is placed in front of trailer and won't be able to stop by until later that evening, I asked about all the other stuff again that hasn't been looked after.
Oct 22- text that we had more issues when we put our fridge and stove in. Right side of counter is higher than stove. There is no way we would have ever noticed this unti the stove was put in.
Oct 23 my husband takes the morning off of work to be home and he texts and tells him that he won't be coming as he is running late to meet a client in Cold Lake. He had told us that he would be at our place first thing that morning. My husband doesn't get paid when he misses work. We ask if he could just stop by and look and were told no, he said if it wasn't to late he would try and stop by that night.
He has never bothered to answer our calls or texts after this date. I felt that he gave us no choice but to put a complaint into the Revdex.com. He constantly told us he was coming and never showed up.
All I am asking is that they come and fix the difficientcies here. I have a neighbour who had cabinets made by these people and she fought with them for along time they never did come back, she had to pay someone else to come fix their cabinets, I wish I would have known this. A good cabinet maker in my opinion would have come back and checked on his product to make sure that it was to the customers liking, he never did this once, didn't even call to see if we had any issues. It have always been use chasing after him, he doesn't seem to care. I hope other people report him as well if they have had the same issues. This isn't a way to run any business.
Some of the remaining problems are
1- stripping loose on the shelves on list both times he was here not fully addressed
2- arborite still uneven in places on list both times he was out
3- shelf worpt in cabinet by dish washer, can't believe he never saw it, so obvious
4- counter top needs to have something done to it by stove
5- want microwave cabinet fixed properly
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/11/30) */
Please provide Hutchison Cabinets Ltd with a detailed list of any and all deficiencies that you believe still exist. We would like to commit to having all of the listed deficiencies rectified within 30 days from the date we receive the list (due to holiday time constraints we are not able to guarantee their completion sooner). Any deficiencies not listed or not fully explained (eg. we would like microwave cabinet fixed properly) will not be able to be fixed within the commitment deadline. We require the list to include what the exact problem is and how the customer would like it fixed to their satisfaction (eg. if a cabinet is not at the correct height, to what exact height do you want it), as the customers' expectations and instructions have often been unclear. This will prevent further miscommunications on expectations and prevent Hutchison Cabinets Ltd from having to redo the work several more times. This ongoing and ever-changing list of information has created difficulties in addressing the customers concerns and we would like to have everything completed based on the information provided to us in the list. For this reason we require that the list be provided either though the Revdex.com website or directly to our HR Administrator by email at [redacted][email protected] and not by phone. Thank you.
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2015/12/10) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
In my last letter I thought I explained what needed to be done, I'm not sure what they are getting at. Had the deficiencies been done in the beginning when we first notified them instead of all the run around like we are still receiving we would not have reported them to the Revdex.com. I am beginning to think that they are hoping I'm going to give up and forget well I'm not, I want my cabinets finished to MY liking. So here in full detail is a list of the deficiencies that I would like fixed and hopefully there will be no more questions as to what I am asking to be done.
The shelf trim is coming off the majority of the shelves
Broom Closet - middle shelf stripping loose
Pantry - from bottom shelf to top
The 1, 2, and 4th shelves the stripping is loose.
Drawers- next to pantry
Stripping above and below the top drawer is loose
Cabinets - next to pantry
All 3 shelves in cabinet the stripping is loose
The centre shelf is warped been like that since
they were installed.
Cabinet Under the sink
Right side trim on lower cabinet is all loose
barley hanging on.
Drawer above bottom lazy susan to the right of the sink
stripping is coming off
Island me facing it
Right bank of drawers above the top drawer
the stripping is loose
Island - centre bank of drawers the stripping above the top
drawer is loose
Counter top- to the right of the stove. This counter top is 1/2
inch to 3/4 inch higher than the stove, the
other side of counter is level to stove.
Counter top - there are various places on the arborite that
need to be filed down or whatever it is they have
to do to make it level.
Mantle- I'm not asking for the mantle to be taken out and fixed,
The mantle is fine it's the 2 pieces of wood on
either side of the mantle I want done properly
There is a space on both sides between the
mantle and the pieces of of wood that he
installed.
I would like for the pieces of wood to be finished not
overlapping the bottom of the mantle.
They installed a frame around the entry into the living room that has come apart and sagged a second time, I had them fix it once already and it started to sag again so I had our contractor fix it, reason being that I don't know if these people are going to come back and address any of the deficiencies that I have asked to be looked after. There isn't a lot that needs to be done I just don't understand why they can't come and look after this, it's over 6 months since these cabinets were first installed and as far as I'm concerned it isn't acceptable, it's sad that they choose to drag their feet like this. I really hope this isn't how they continue to run their business, I know I will never recommend these people to anyone not after what we have had to deal with trying to get things done. I will be waiting to see if they really come and repair or if they leave us high and dry. I hope this letter has outlined things that I want to be done to their liking, because I'm not impressed having to say the samethings all over again. Thanks