CLOSET INNOVATIONS

You probably don't want to know the entire story, so here's the shorthand: This firm - CLOSET INNOVATORS - came to the house to walk through the designs. I guess they were good, I didn't get a chance to see them: Their rep refused to leave the designs with my wife to for comparison without a signed contract AND an $800 per closet "downpayment" - required on the spot - said pricing and availability was good for "one day only" decision had to made the following day. The general lack of professionalism combined with an antagonistic demeanor ("It takes me a lot of time to come up here - your husband should really be here as well to review this.") caused my wife to send a short note to the company declining their services. (See below). We would've left it that. But the rep felt the need to not only email my wife a response browbeating her decision (see below for her email in its entirety) she researched me (I never met her) and sent a copy of that email to our company's general mailbox! If my assistant hadn't received from the marketing folks (some confusion there) I would never have seen it. But really? This is strange stuff... read for yourself - and if a serious "better than thou" demeanor combined with a stalker attitude is a problem for you, do NOT let these people into your homes... Here's the email from CLOSET INNOVATIONS Begin forwarded message: From: MALKA Sabroe-JoHanson <malkainthecloset@gmail.com> Subject: Re: Date for installation in Dec. Date: October 27, 2011 1:34:06 PM PDT To: <email redacted> Forgive me, but I explained this protocol with you twice, as well as was stipulated by my office in your initial call for our consultation. It takes a great deal of time to meet with a client twice and draft a design clearly for a client's consideration. Meeting at the client's home makes it easier for both the client's parties to be present. That was in your better interest for your connivence. This has not been a problem with 99% of clientele. Some clients such as your self just wish to have plans for their own use, and I am therefore not in the business to design and draft for free. I would have appreciated you informing me at the onset that you had no intention of honoring our professional practices of serving our client's in excellence throughout the process rather just throw quick designs at them or you. It really is not necessary to live with the designs or keep them for awhile if you have an experienced designer advice you in what is best for your space and for your usage. You are making a grand mistake to do your self again or with one who does not have my experience or education in construction and space planning. Malka K. Malka Sabroe-JoHanson cell 707.688.2791 Here's the email from my wife to the CLOSET INNOVATIONS rep, from the bottom of their email, declining their service. On Oct 27, 2011, at 1:07 PM, <email redacted> wrote: Dear Malka: Do not hold the December date. We will not be using your company. The plans were nice, the price was good, but your inability to leave the plans for us to ?live with? and discuss is unreasonable and not good business. That being said, please take me off of your sales follow-up list. Sincerely, <name redacted>

The design was nice. However, the execution of the design was disappointing. The principals are poor communicators (fail to return emails for a week or 10 days), they don't understand customer service (doing what is promised when it is promised), and seem to be more interested in being paid than in providing beautiful, quality closets. At one point, one of the owners encouraged me to use a subcontractor (for tile and lighting that were part of the dressing room remodel) who was unlicensed. This is a flawed organization by most any measure. Buyer beware.

I called for an estimate and the receptionist was very friendly and professional. She actually scheduled Hamish, the company owner, to do our design/estimate - not sure if it's because he lives near us or because of my Scottish surname. Hamish arrived on time, spent some time getting to know us, measured both closet spaces, and discussed options in detail with us. He's very energetic and entertaining, but he also really listened in depth to our needs and how we needed the two separate spaces to function. He also has kids, and had some good suggestions for the kids' room (we are expecting our first). The office called about a week later to set up another appointment. Hamish showed us his designs in detail and provided a total price, which was very competitive with the other bids we got. We also liked the details of his design the best; of the 4 companies we interviewed, he really seemed to "get" what we needed and incorporate it into his design. We had to delay ordering the closets for a few months, but when we called again, they were able to find our design/estimate and kept the same price. They let us know about how long the fabrication would take, and called in that time frame to set up the installation. The installers arrived on time, and were very friendly and professional. They took off the sliding closet doors, tore out the existing closet fixtures and shelves, and installed the new closet systems. Apparently Hamish had made a small measurement error in the office, so they had to cut down several pieces to get it to fit, but they had all the equipment they needed and handled this glitch very smoothly. However, one of the long-hang doors was too large, so they re-measured and ordered a new door. They had also forgotten a couple of pieces of hardware, and said they'd bring those with the new door. In a couple of weeks, they called to schedule installation of the new door. Again, the installer arrived on time, had what he needed, including the new hardware, and completed the job promptly. After he left, I noticed that the new door was a little off-center; the gap between the new door and the next section on one side was 3/8 inch, but was almost 3/4 inch on the other side. - it looked really odd because all the other gaps in the system were perfectly even. I called the office and they said it could be adjusted, and set up another appointment for that. The tech arrived on time and centered the door as well as he could, but it wasn't quite big enough. We both looked at it carefully and re-measured, and he said he'd get a replacement door ordered. We waited a few weeks, got busy with summer, and then I realized it had been a LONG time since his visit. I called the fabrication plant and spoke to Roberta, another of the owners. She found my paperwork and was extremely apologetic for the delay; she said the order for the new door had gotten misplaced. She sais she would order another one right away and have it expedited, and set up an appointment about a week later to get it installed. I was a little worried that they were balking at re-making a door for a 1/4 inch difference, but that wasn't it at all - they wanted it to be right, and were very apologetic for the mix-up. Again, the installer arrived on time and was very professional. He installed the new door and we both measured it, and it was perfect. The office is a legal bedroom, but it's pretty small for a bedroom - a full-size bed and a chest of drawers would fill it up. Now the closet has a built-in chest of drawers with closed shelves above, with a double-hang section on one side and a long-hang section on the other. The doors, hardware, and facing are beautiful and very professional-looking. In the kids' room, we have two completely symmetrical sections (planning on two kids), with a variety of shelves, drawers, and rods. The attic access is also in this room, and the original installer showed me how easy it is to pop out the top section of shelving to allow access to the attic trap. In both rooms, almost every shelf and rod is completely adjustable, so we can configure them the way we need them, and the next homeowner can do the same. In a townhome where storage is at a premium, the great work by Closet Innovations has really added value to our home.

I work at home & this office has changed my life. Tons of space & storage. Malka was the designer. She is a little quirky, but she totally GOT it. Wonderful ideas. Ask for her! Installation guys were friendly, professional, & left the place immaculate (they even came back without complaint when I realized they forgot to cut a hole & called them to come back on a Friday during rush hour). My only 2 complaints were: 1. The cabinet with the CPU gets too hot (so I advise you to cut a big hole for air if you are using a desk computer- I put in a fan but it is noisy), 2. I had to wait awhile (8-10 weeks?). They are busy. I understand why.

THIS COMPANY ASKS LOTS OF QUESTIONS THAT THEY USE TO BUILD THE CLOSET TO YOUR NEEDS. THEY WORKED FAST AND DID A GREAT JOB. I WILL BE DOING THE REST OF THE CLOSETS OVER TIME.