ComplaintsforGainesville Kitchen & Bath

• Initial Complaint

  03/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We shared our plans with the kitchen designer at Gainesville Kitchen & Bath (GKB) and she asked what our budget was. After advising her that our budget amount was $50,000.00, she reviewed the plans and the information gathered during our initial meeting and emailed me that they were able to do it for about $51,900.00 and we thought that was reasonable and accepted. We delivered to them the $1500.00 deposit required and they proceeded to refine the design along the lines discussed. After a few further meetings, the designer handed us a price sheet and said there had been some price increases and the number presented was about $88,000; and their “new” number had absolutely no itemization. Later, after asking for itemization, we received none, but they lowered the price to about $78,000. Another kitchen & bath professional we spoke with later told us she heard that was a common practice at GKB. Basically, it’s a fraud. After asking again for itemization justifying the increase, I received an email telling me they were no longer willing to do the job. I emailed them, copying all parties at GKB, including the business owner, requesting the refund of our deposit and received no reply from any of them and of course, no refund. Basically, they refuse to do the job, but will not refund the deposit paid; which is highly unethical. Please find attached, 1) Final Proposal showing the $1500.00 deposit being applied to the purchase price; and 2) groups of emails from and to GKB documenting the above.

  

  Business response

  03/13/2023

  This person came in to see us after being denied business from other kitchen and bath companies.  He wanted a kitchen installed for 50,000 with the promise our company would be in the ****** ** *****.  I thought this would be a great boost for our business and proceeded turning him over to one of our designers.  We let him know that if he needed us to design his ****** ** ***** kitchen we charge a 1500. retainer fee to cover  the designers time spent with the design and design options.  Our design retainer agreement states that if the customer moves forward with the project that the 1500. retainer will come of the price of the job.  If the customer does not go forward with the project then we will give the customer the drawings including options and full renderings of their project.  After the initial proposal was given, the customer added a considerable amount of items and custom fixtures to the project.  These custom alterations obviously changed the price.  The initial quote was discounted by over 15% plus i was giving him our counter tops at cost as a gesture for allowing us to be in the ****** ** *****.  Nothing was enough for this customer, he demanded to see our cost on everything we were supplying not wanting us, as a for profit business to cover our overhead.  The straw that broke the camels back was when he wanted us to give up our designers potential commission.  After looking at his companies 1 star reviews and hearing about some of his shady business dealings, i had decided to pull the plug on the project and return his retainer.  The retainer was returned to the client.  The retainer agreement and other items will follow
  

  Customer response

  03/13/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

   Complaint: ********

  I am rejecting this response because:

  **** *******, owner of GKB called me this morning after reading the complaint and told me that he mailed the deposit back this past Friday and it took so long because they pay their subcontractors every two weeks and put it in with the payable. Later, he emailed me that he was sending another check since the one from Friday was with his office person, ********, who happened to go on vacation and took it with her. We’ll see if it ever shows up. 
  Now, as to his response, it is utterly nothing but a fabrication in an attempt to not make his company look so underhanded. None of this nonsense is true. I found GKR online and made an appointment with the designer, **** *****. I never spoke with **** *******, or even knew who he was prior to a later meeting with **** *****, when she introduced us. I received one other quote for the job prior, but was not “denied” doing the job by anyone.
  I did offer him the opportunity to be showcased during the **** **** ****** ** ***** in exchange for a discount on the job; something that is a common practice in the construction business. He was excited to have the opportunity and had not been offered that in the past.
  Before paying the $1500 retainer requested, I asked for a ballpark price. The designer asked what our budget was and I replied, $50,000. She replied that to include the hidden pantry door we wanted the price would be $51,900; to which I replied that the price was fine and sent the retainer. There were two 24” cabinet towers added later for the home office and we were anticipating an adjustment accordingly.
  There was, at no time, any request to lower the price until we met with **** *****, and she handed me a contract with the sum $88,000+ on the bottom; but no breakdown whatsoever. She simply said there had been price increases, That Another company charged $5500 for the added cabinets, so the price legitimately should have been about $57,000 - $58,000. If the adjustment was even up to $60,000, there would have been no questions asked. At $88,000 that remained totally unexplained; it was obviously a fraud, just getting the job at a lower price, then demanding a much higher price and refusing to provide any cost numbers to show what had changed. They did offer to reduce it to $77,000+; again with no explanation as to any costs or what was included when I inquired about whether certain features they “talked about” were included in that price.
  Further, at no time did I ever ask for or even consider asking for him to reduce the commission to his designer. There were some cryptic notes on something **** ******* emailed me and one notation at the bottom was a note to **** about a $5000 commission reduction. Maybe he was planning to skin his designers fee by $5000, but it certainly was not something I would have ever even thought of suggesting.
  He states that nothing was ever good enough for me and that is a total lie. I didn’t ask for anything beyond what they initially quoted, which was $51,900. I felt it was fair. I was pleased with the pricing and looking forward to working with them. It was not until they pulled the old ‘bait and switch’ routine with the new price of $88,000+ that there was ANY discussion of pricing and where are the numbers to justify the change.
  I have no idea what he is referring to as 1 star reviews. I have been a well-known and respected real estate developer and investor for the past 48 years. I see in the ********** ** ******** *** ************ ********** that GKB’s contractor’s license was only issued about 6 months ago. I also filed a complaint with ****, as such financial gaming is definitely frowned upon and felt the state of ******* needed to be aware of what they are doing, so appropriate action can be taken to protect the public, especially if more complaints of the same nature are filed.
  As I mentioned before, he claims the retainer was returned; so, we’ll see if it actually arrives. If it has been sent it has only been sent as a response to my complaint and not because he felt it was right to do so, since HE decided not to do the cabinet job, not me. It is appalling to think you can take a retainer deposit, notify the customer that you decided NOT to do the job and think you have any right, whatsoever to keep the deposit.
  Their business practices, simply scream…. SCAM!

  Regards,

  ******* *********

  

  Business response

  03/17/2023

  See response and retainer agreement attached- thank you

  Customer response

  03/21/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

   Complaint: ********

  I am rejecting this response because: Please see attached statement

  Regards,

  ******* *********

  

  Business response

  03/23/2023

  This is nothing but a deflection from the truth.  The mere fact that Mr ********* is still pressing forward after his check was returned and cashed again shows his true colors.  Mr *********, i have attached my previous response for you to refer to incase you forgot what really transpired.  I am truly sorry you feel so bitter towards us, we always strive to help our clients realize their remodeling goals in an ethical, fair and professional manner.  We have hundreds of satisfied clients that consistently refer us to their friends and family.  We are a family business and consider our clients customers for life!  We are active within the BBB, ******** ******* * **** *********** and involved in local government as well as the *****  licensed and insured.  We cannot satisfy everyone, that is just a common place with all businesses but we try our best.  Not all customers are a fit for all businesses such as in this case.  I had to pull the plug on Mr ********* because he did not want GKB to make an honest profit or allow our designer who put countless hours into this project to make a commission.  He clearly had his own agenda.  In my opinion there red flags everywhere throughout the process with the *********s.  Greed and bitterness are the sole reasons we are still in this conversation.  We were approached with many promises of endless business and exposure if we gave him free material and labor at cost. We agreed to give Mr ********* a 15% Discount but that was not enough. We do not need to give up all of our profit and do not need to show our line by line cost, profit, margin etc. to anyone.  We are a for profit business and create a beautiful product at a fair price.  Mr ********* had an unrealistic budget and will not be able to find another company what he wants for that dollar amount.   Line items (1-9) below are not a fabrication, they were added by the *********s after the initial proposal was reviewed at an IN person meeting with **** ***** our designer.  The original proposal which was from the initial basic ideas provided by the homeowner.  This was 51,900.  At the meeting with **** the *********s added an array of custom items which were listed in my previous response.  This is where we ended up with the add-ons 1-9 below which brought the quote to 88,000.  Then at the *********s request we scaled the quote back to 77,000. Please see attachments.

  
  

  Mr ********* sent a floor plan over to my designer **** ***** on 12/22. The plans did not come with
  pertinent details such as ceiling heights or elevations. Mr. ********* told us he wanted us to price the
  kitchen, master bath, laundry, guest bath and mud room cabinets. Our initial proposal was based on a
  basic white shaker kitchen, level one quartz counter tops and a pantry door covering a walk-in pantry
  based on standard 8’ ceilings. It is our company policy to charge a 1500. Retainer fee. The fee covers a
  portion of the designers time spent designing the client’s project. A full set of working drawings
  including elevations and a 3-D visual design is provided to the customer. Our design agreement was
  explained to and given to Mr ********* to sign and return with a check for 1500. He agreed and asked if
  he could send the 1500. via online portal and we agreed. The agreement is attached to this reply, which
  states that the agreement is non-refundable and that if you move forward to contract, that the 1500.
  Would come off your final invoice. If you decided not to use GKB you would have a full set of working
  drawings to use. At this point in time, he was quoted a price of $51,900. At the next meeting to review
  the proposal the following changes were made by the *********’s:
  1. Luxury quartz counter tops
  2. Cabinet uppers changed to stained hard wood.
  3. Blue stained base cabinets in Laundry
  4. Added upper cabinets in laundry.
  5. Tall vanity pantry in Laundry
  6. A second row of upper kitchen cabinets with custom finished interiors all open plus trim to
  ceiling and crown similar to the uploaded picture supplied by the *********s. Picture shown to
  **** on 1/23.
  7. Custom made pantry entry door with false drawers and doors to resemble a pantry but like a
  hidden room effect.
  8. Half bath cabinets and tops added.
  9. Office cabinets added.
  The *********s were given the new updated proposal but was surprised that the cost changed. He
  “assumed” that *******, the quartz supplier was giving him the counter tops for free. We initially told
  him that we would ask our ******* rep if she could help us out since this customer was in the parade of
  homes. That was quickly denied because Mr ********* is just a customer having the house built by a
  builder. If he was the builder, we could have gotten certain slabs for free, but we would still have to pay
  for fabrication, sink cut-outs and installation.
  I had given Mr ********* a 15% discount on the project from the start because he was going to let us set
  up a display in his clubhouse for an open house which would be good local exposure. He kept pushing
  us to lower his price and demanded our cost on his project. We did give him a cost breakdown but that
  still was not good enough. I let him know that there is minimal profit at this point except for our
  designer’s commission of $5000. At this point he started to become almost abusive to my designer to
  the point of manipulating numbers around and demanding discounts and telling us to apply my
  designers commission to his project…….. The final straw was at that point where he would actually take
  the commission out of ****’s pocket to get his project done. **** had been working with him for 12
  weeks, put countless hours into meeting, designing, quoting, doing several renderings, estimating and
  helping the *********s pick materials and options. Several weeks ago **** came to me that she cannot
  handle the endless calls, emails, demands of breaking every item down etcetera. This is where I decided
  to pull the plug. Since he had paid for a retainer has I instructed **** to send him all his selections,
  drawings, elevations etc. that we were done with him. When I called Mr. *********, he seemed shocked
  and could not understand why I didn’t want to work with him. I told him the truth that we were not a
  good fit for each other. He asked for his retainer back and I hesitantly agreed because he now has our
  property. I had sent a check request to my payroll company to issue him a check on our next payroll
  period which is every other week. The checks were dropped off last Wednesday to our office and our
  receptionist normally mails checks out on Fridays after 4:00. Unfortunately, ******** was not in on
  Friday but took the checks with her to mail. When I saw this post, I immediately called Mr ********* and
  explained that we already sent him a refund. He received the check on Tuesday and still did not cash
  the check. I had asked Mr ********* to please remove this post and I hope he does what’s right. –
  Regards

   

   

   

   

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