Wednesday, May 23, 2012

How Hard It is to Get Your Dream Kitchen

I think kitchen remodelling is a tricky business. Since I didn't have a fortune to use a high-end professional kitchen contractor, I preferred to hire a local contractor instead. The price is much cheaper of course. And in the beginning, the contractor said that he would do his best to make his customer happily satisfied (well, don't they always say the same?).

After some discussion about design and cost, we decided to proceed. We've already made comparison with some other local contractors, and he's the most expensive. But, I think he's the one who can exactly read what I have in mind. And, it's hard to find that kind of contractor. So, after paying the half of his fee, he promised that he would finish the remodelling in just 3 weeks, and would installed the cabinets, sink, electricity, etc to our satisfaction. In other word, he agreed to do the making and the installation as well.

But, in week 2, he suddenly went under the radar. No words. I had the feeling that he hid something or else. So, we tried to reach out several times, and finally he answered the phone. He said his workshop just moved, because the landlord wanted to sell the place. Along with this notification, he also told us that he couldn't meet the previous deadlines, and...he asked us to pay a third of the rest of the payment. Well, I didn't see it coming, but we paid it anyway.

Briefly, after waiting another 3 weeks, the kitchen set was ready. It took almost 5 days to install the cabinets, etc, and we have to make some adjustments that we didn't predict before. He also asked us to buy some more stuffs to complete the installation, which, again, we didn't see it coming either. But, we agreed to do that since it didn't cost a lot of money. During the work, one of his men broke our washing machine pipe. My husband said that the cost would be deducted from the fee, and he seemed not too happy about it.

After all set, here comes the payment day. Since he couldn't come himself (he said he had work to do. Don't we all?), he sent his brother to pick up the rest of the payment. But...after we gave him the money, suddenly he held out another bill. What???? It turned out to be all the charges of his 'other' works, such as the removal of our old cabinets, the sink placement, . Okay, we could agree on that one, but the rest? He didn't say a word about it. He never discussed  with us about the additional charges. This really made us upset. Moreover, the finishing touch didn't meet our satisfaction. We've complained about this and all, and he didn't say much to his defense. However, we decided to still pay the bill. But, in last minute, he said we just had to pay the removal fee. Well, okay, it did ease us a little. But still the disappointment is still there, and we don't think we can hire that person again in the future. So, right now, we decide to do what he left for, the detailed finishing touch. Not really a happy ending for kitchen remodelling experience, but I'm still happy with my new kitchen, moreover I have a new stove and oven. I hope many more delicious cooking will come from this as well.

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