Kitchen Saver

By the time we actually called, we'd had several quotes and already made the decision to have the job done. Kitchen Savers was higher priced than the other quotes we received, but the quality of their materials was superior. Our installer, Wayne, was outstanding. He arrived when he said he would and worked diligently all day (the job took 6 days). He even asked if he could come on Sunday for a few hours so he could be sure to get the job done without us having to take off more time from work. The result of the kitchen was outstanding, the quality of the materials and work was as I hoped, and the experience working with Kitchen Savers was stress-free.

Bitterly upset, however due to unforeseen family circumstances, we were not able to carry through with the project. Kitchen Saver was gracious and although we (as disclosed, and pointed out to us at the very outset) did forfeit our deposit, they worked with us to take the necessary steps to close out our agreement. This is the sign of a truly good company, that they continued to treat us with respect and in a wholly professional manner even though we had to close the agreement. At some point in the future I hope we are able to come back to Kitchen Saver, and work with them again. They live up to the reputation you see here on Angie's list. Thank you to Al, and the Kitchen Saver team - we appreciate all that you have done.

I'll break this review into my experience with the sales person/technique, the actual work performed, interaction with the company, quality and price. I'll just start by saying my kitchen is gorgeous and I am very happy with it. Initial contact: No one responded to my initial contact via Angie's List, so I called the company. When I mentioned that I didn't receive a response through Angie's List, the owner called me later and was very apologetic for the oversight. I was satisfied that they were genuinely concerned about their failure to respond, so I made an appointment with a "designer," Adam. I use that term in quotes because the designer is actually the hard sales person. After my experience with Adam, I can see why those who choose not to use Kitchen Saver would rate the company low. If you are going to consider using this company (and my recommendation is that you do), you need to be prepared for how they sell their product. Sales techniques: Adam came to the house with samples and photos and ideas. The majority of the experience with Adam was pleasant and he stayed for nearly three hours. Adam definitely had specific ideas on what types of cabinets/hardware I should choose, and steered me in a specific direction. I was (and am) happy with those decisions (though I chose my own hardware/sink fixtures). That said, I would suggest you have a very good idea about what you want in your kitchen before you call for a consultation, otherwise they will quickly steer you in a specific direction. It's probably necessary to avoid marathon consultations, but good to know in advance. Following the decisions about types/numbers of cabinet doors, replacement drawers, options, etc., the hard sell started. It was clear Adam had no intention of leaving without a sale. Adam provided a guaranteed price on the spot. Based on your choices, they will tell you exactly what it costs and honor that price. You need to know that they will start with the "all in" price and negotiate options. I had a bit of sticker shock with the original price (about 35K), but there are a number of things that are available to negotiate. First, make sure you have their Angie's List coupon - we had the $500 off, but I later saw one for $1000 off. >:( Next, determine what you are willing to compromise on. This includes solid wood panels vs. real wood veneer for sides of cabinets, who does the plumbing, letting them provide the hardware or you purchase it yourself ($5 credit per piece), cash discount, and "commitment today" discount. With these negotiations, we brought the price down to about $25K. Still high, I thought, but we were willing to pay for things we consider value-added, like made in America products (wood doors are made in PA). Knowing that the "consultation with a designer" will be a hard sell, I still recommend you consider Kitchen Saver, just make sure you know in advance the following: what you are willing to pay, what other companies charge (have other estimates), what things you are willing to compromise on, whether or not the quality is worth the increased price to you, and what discounts are available. Responsiveness: Once we made the decision to go with KS, I had some concerns about the choice of wood I selected. Adam sent a sample and I was concerned it was not what I had selected. Adam came back out with a manager (Mike?) and brought full-sized doors for me to look at. They wanted to make sure I was certain before starting the project (doors and drawers are made to order). I had some additional questions about timing and appliance delivery and found once the paperwork was signed, Adam was not very engaged. He was definitely not my go-to guy. Carole, the office manager, on the hand, is very responsive - and persistent! I do not recommend NOT calling her back. She WILL keep calling. :) Carole is pleasant and helpful and works to make sure you are satisfied. Work performed: Another guy came out to do all of the measurements (Sam?) and spent nearly two hours getting all of the numbers right. He was very polite and thorough. Patrick did the actual installation of the kitchen. Since the work was done in the winter, we had a couple "snow delays" and there were also some delays getting a few replacement pieces made (one door had a crack in the natural wood that I was afraid would compromise the drawer and one door was slightly too tight and needed to be corrected. The work was not done quickly, but was done well. Patrick is pleasant and thorough and was very helpful and communicative throughout the process. Still another guy came out to do the molding for the cabinets (Dwayne maybe?). All of the craftsman/installers were excellent and my kitchen (natural cherry shaker-style cabinets, no stain, 15% sheen, shaker molding, new solid-wood drawers, slow-close hinges/drawers) is gorgeous. Overall pros: Quality of product and installation, responsiveness of company and installers; love the upgraded solid wood drawers (worth the additional cost) A few cons: Hard sales process, lack of engagement from "designer" post-sale. There was no final walk-through when the job was finished, they just sort of stopped working; the cabinets were not cleaned/wiped out when the kitchen was done, so I had a lot of sawdust to clean up at the end. The complete process took longer than estimated, mostly for reasons mentioned above. Adam did call a couple months after the job was done to see if I was satisfied, but I'm like, "who?" It would have made more sense to get a follow-up call from the installer or a manger. A few quality cons: Some of the hinges didn't fit or have broken since the kitchen was completed (they have been fixed and are guaranteed). But I was told this is because our boxes (which we didn't replace) weren't "square". This is a little disappointing to me, since we were initially willing (and actually wanted) to replace the boxes. Adam told us the boxes were in great shape and didn't need to be replaced. The shaker edges on the cabinets are thin and when I bumped one with a pot, it dented. There is also a little space on the edging that catches crumbs, so that's a little annoying to clean. Even with the issues noted above, I am very pleased with my kitchen. With a big project like this, not everything is going to be perfect. I frequently get compliments on my kitchen, even by those who don't know that I had it refinished. If I had it to do again, I would go with Kitchen Saver.

They did a fantastic job, they did everything like clock work. They exceeded expectation and everything was done on time.

Very professional, good quality work, kept me informed at each step in the process. Ramy did the installation and did a great job. Friendly and responsive. After signing the contract, I made a small modification to the plan. This info did not reach the installer. When I raised the issue after the work was done, Ramy very politely contacted the office and remained an extra day to redo the work. His modifications were excellent and to my specifications.

From start to finish this company was THE most respectable and professional service I have dealt with during my condo renovation. The estimate was reasonable, everybody was punctual, and the job was done impeccably. Mike was the professional that did the laminating, hardware/door installation, and some of the cabinet mounting. He was efficient, neat, and detail oriented. The guys that came before him removed the upper cabinets and mounted the new ones. This was done efficiently and professionally as well. I live in an older building that tends to have crooked walls and ceilings. You could not tell this in the final product though. I will be recommending Kitchen Savers to all clients (I am an architect) and friends alike. Thanks!

Tim showed up on schedule and removed the old doors and drawers. The next day he began installing the new doors and drawers. Each installation was precisely installed included the cabinet pulls. The job took no more than 5 days to complete. A few weeks later, an adjustment to the laminate on one of the sides of the island had to be made. Rick came out and adjusted it beautifully. I am impressed with the labor that KS hires. The installers and adjusters are experienced professional carpenters who might have retired. They each have more than 25 years of carpentry and installation experience. KS is smart to scoop up this talented segment of the labor force.

A real estate client of mine asked me for a recommendation for someone to give their kitchen cabinets a face lift. I turned to Angie's List since I didn't have a trusted vendor, but I do now! I saw the end result and the transformation is remarkable! The builder-grade light oak cabinets now look and feel like high-end white cabinets with end panels and molding on the top. Wayne was the team member who provided the service and I was told he showed up even on the snowiest days this winter. He called if he was ever going to be late or if there was a schedule change. They put down drop cloths to protect the granite counters and hardwood floors, and cleaned up their mess and vacuumed every day. These are important attributes for me when recommending a contractor, and a very satisfied customer tops the list of reasons why I will be recommending Kitchen Saver again in the future!

After going thru all details about resurfacing what we had and cost we thought it was a good deal, so we signed contract and gave a large deposit down. My husband still wanted to do the other company since appointment was made, and they had a much better price for all new cabinets not just resurfacing so we cancelled our contracted by certified mail on Monday March 3rd and the company did sign on March 4th. Even their rep called on March 3 to reach out to see why we cancelled. Their contract stated refund by check within 10 days. No refund yet. On April 1st reviewing banking statements they never refunded check or called. I called company and left a message for accountant Carole. Haven't heard by noon the next day and called company back and spoke to Carol who informed me she sent messages to comptroller Susan, Owner of company and Dan the salesman, and they would give us a call no one called. When we called back and husband spoke to Susan the company comptroller she acted like she wasn't sure what was going on. She did check and told us the owner was coming by that evening to drop off check, he never came and never called. Will be contacting attorney since no one has had the curiosity to call last night or drop by as promised. BUYERS BEWARE!!

Everything went very well from setting up the initial appointment through installation. It was very easy to deal with the office staff by phone. Everyone was very responsive. Appointments were kept and always on time. Marty was the sales rep and he was great to work with. He did not try to oversell us on anything and his recommendations were spot on. The installation went equally well. Wayne was our installer and he was outstanding. It took over 5 days to complete (which is what they said it would take) so we got to know Wayne pretty well. He is a great guy whom we enjoyed having in our house. He's cares about quality and is a real craftsman. When he was finished, he was short one piece of molding. He had to move on to another job but said someone else would come out and put it in. Sure enough, someone came out to finish the last detail. Dealing with Kitchen Savers was as good as it gets. We are extremely pleased with the way it came out.

Installer arrived. Beautiful cabinet doors installed, quietly, and professionally. Cleaned up and vacuumed. Delightful experience.

They were excellent. It cost more than getting the cabinets, but it was worth it. The person who worked with me was very meticulous. I watched him do the work. The wood that they used was gorgeous. It was different from anything I have personally ever seen. The doors were delivered at different time.

Although projects such as this are always stressful, everything went smoothly from start to finish. From the office staff, to the salesman, to the installer, to the man who brought a replacement cabinet door, all were very professional. Al, the salesman, was patient with my slow decision making process, and was very responsive every time I called him with a new thought or question. Very helpful and pleasant. Craig, the installer, did a really nice job. He arrived every day at the appointed time and went right to work. Several issues came up with walls not being straight, or existing joints not being square. He took the time to consult with me, explain what the problem was, and what our options were. And, he was good at adjusting things to minimize the impact of the less than perfect existing construction. Very attentive to details. He did a nice job cleaning up and putting all the tools, etc. away so that I could use my kitchen each evening. One of my cabinet doors had a tiny bubble in the finish and it was replaced within a week. The gentleman who brought the new cabinet door and installed it, was also careful, with a lot of attention to detail and quickly did a perfect job. Everyone from the office was very responsive, as well. All were courteous, knowledgeable, and always helpful. I was most impressed with everyone's attention to detail, competence, and promptness of completing tasks. I thought the price might be a little on the high side, but also felt the quality of their materials was very good and the job comes with a 10 year warranty. I am very pleased with my "new" kitchen and would recommend them without reservation. s

There slogan is "Prepare to be impressed" I so was, my jaw dropped when I entered my kitchen. The cabinets are beautiful. The Carpenters name is Larry and he did such a good job, I was so blessed to have him as my carpenter. He refaced all of my kitchen cabinets and installed two roll-out shelves, two tilt out drawers and three pull out drawers. I wanted a shelf under my cook top and Rick and Derrick did such a good job at making it fit, Chris installed the metal space saving folding shelves that work so well and John was our project manager and I couldn't have gotten a better man for the job. He thought of everything and made sure we were taken care of, and Ms Carole she is the nicest secretary, I think she is the glue that keeps things going smoothly. I would highly recommend Kitchen Saver on south Dolfield road in Owing Mills Md. You will truly be impressed :)

I have to say that I was not ready for the appointment that I was about to have. All I simply wanted to do was find out if refacing my cabinets would be much cheaper than buying new cabinets. I already have new counter-tops, so I didn't want to pay for all new cabinets in my kitchen. I have an average to small sized kitchen, new cabinets would cost anywhere from 6,500 to 11,0000 depending on what we wanted to buy. I found Kitchen Savers and the MD home and garden show and figured what would it hurt to have someone come in and give me an estimate. What followed was ridiculous. Kitchen savers kept calling our home 3-4 times a week to schedule an appointment until we finally did. When we scheduled the appointment, they did not tell us that this would be an appraisal that had to be procured that same evening. This was not a true estimate at all. It's a sales tactic to push you into making a bad decision. When the salesman came, I would like to say that he did an excellent job of making us feel comfortable through the process. He did take measurements of the cabinets and showed us several different options that rainged in different costs. I think he did a fine job of representing Kitchen Savers and the product he was selling. He had many years of sales expertise, he was not a young trying to make a buck guy..... That being said, he didn't lead with the fact that we had to make a decision right there and then. If he had, it would have saved us both a 2 hour process. After my wife and I had picked out the cabinet door, and the hardware, and the finish, he then began to figure the price. I was suprised to find the cost was nearly the cost of a new cabinet. I was thinking it would be around half the price since the installation is MUCH MUCH simpler. The salesman was not too happy when I told him that I wanted some time to price this out and look at my options. He just kept saying how I may be able to find someone cheaper, but the quality would significantly go down. He kept pointing to the fact that his rating was so good on Angies List, that I would not find a better quality in the area. That being said, I told him that I had no experience with cabinet refacing, and I was never in a position to make a decision that night, whether I could afford it or not. I just don't spend money that way, and neither should any of you. If you go with Kitchen savers, just understand they are pushing you to make a quick decision to make a buck, not because they are sooo busy. That is just a lie. Do your homeowork first.

Our installer, Mike Lilli, did a great job. He was on time every day and worked very hard to be sure everything was done properly. He was very careful and definitely knew exactly what to do. He was pleasant and courteous. He checked with me several times a day to get my opinion on how I wanted things and went out of his way to do it to our specifications.

This project went very well. The estimator was professional and had some good ideas. In addition to replacing my drawer and cabinet fronts, I wanted the area over and around the refrigerator enlarged so it can accommodate a larger refrigerator in the future. My old fridge was a very tight fit, too tight to even move out to clean under. And my sofits are off square so our old trim was not well done. Doug was great. He was very careful and thorough, and had suggestions when we learned that my old, cool and fun knobs would not look right or fit properly on the new doors and drawers. He did a lot of careful detail around the sofit and cut strips to give the places where the cabinets meet the wall a more finished look. I was surprised that he was the only one who worked on the project, as it seemed a lot of work to me, but he came every day, finished on time and left things very neat.

We were completely satisfied with the price, installation and service we received from KitchenSaver. Specifically, we were extremely pleased with KitchenSaver installation technician, Tim Mitchell. He performed the resurfacing, door and drawer front installation in a very precise and professional manner. In addition, he is a very pleasant person whom we enjoyed having in our house. He was very neat worker.

The installer was Patrick and he did an excellent job. We had to stop the job for 2 weeks because of a death in the family. When I called them and said we were ready to get started again Patrick was there the Monday after Christmas.

Their sales approach is VERY HIGH pressure, so be careful and if you want them to price out the job make sure that you have other estimates before to compare their price. Here's how it works, when you set up the appointment, they want all decision makers there. In my case, I'm retired and my wife still works, so I met with the sales representative alone. He was not too pleased when he showed up realized that my wife wasn't there. I told him at this stage, her input was not really needed as I was in the process of gathering information and pricing to make an informed decision later on - not that day. He said that what I'm hearing is that you have the power to make a decision on the cabinets - the concern is price. He then told me he was here to save me money and not spend my money, that all pricing was computerized so that he could provide me the same price that everyone else gets. As he was figuring the price, he had me read a memo from his boss telling the employees that because they cover so much territory and because they want to keep their costs down which they can then pass on to the consumer, they don't want to have to come back a second time. They want a decision on the spot. After he handed me a hand written estimate on a piece of paper stating that if I went with wood doors, my costs would be $19,000 if I paid cash. That if I went with MDF, my costs would be $14,000. I told him that I wanted to think about it, discuss the cost with my wife and get back to him. When I said this, he got very angry with me and the next thing I know, I had this 20-30 year-old kid, younger than my own children, lecturing and challenging me whether or not I was the decision maker, and who is really in control in my house. At this time, I told him he was beginning to make me mad and there is no way I would be pressured into making a large purchase like this without at least getting another estimate. He then said is price the only thing that concerns me about the proposal? to which I said yes. He then said what if I increase the discount of the cabinets to $11,000. Will your sign today? I said no, and he said that his offer was final and that if he came back again, he would have to charge me the original price quoted. I never received a proposal other than a scribbled price on a piece of paper. Also, Kitchen Savers would have to come back no matter what as they still had to do the exact measurements. So, this idea of not wanting to come back a second time is pure nonsense. I contacted another highly rated Angie's List contractor and am getting the job in WOOD, for less than what Kitchen Saver was going to charge me for MDF, a much cheaper product.

We were very pleased with both the work done by Kitchen Saver and also with our interactions with all Kitchen Saver employees and contractors - office administration (Carol), design consultant (Dan Dziewanowski), measuring (John), and installation (Tim Mitchey) and follow up installer. Dan spent several hours with us designing the work we wanted to do and the options we needed to choose. He gave us good advice and when he couldn't answer our questions he made a phone call and got the right answer. He was very patient and did not make us feel rushed. We believe we got a good value as compared to the alternatives of replacing cabinets. Dan gave us good advice about our options, even when we could have spent more money (and they could have earned more) by replacing rather than refurbishing. They worked with us to match the granite top for the new cabinet so it matched the existing granite. They partnered with us to put together an upper spice cabinet which matches the other cabinetry and is highly functional. I also love the new mixer storage in my lower cabinet. We had a pantry closet with lots of shelves and deep space where you couldn't seen anything. We now have pullout trays and can fully utilize the space. We especially appreciated Tim Mitchey our primary installer. There was a lot of work to be done so Tim was working in our home for a week. He was highly professional and informative. When we needed to make some final installation decisions he was always good about asking and also with giving input when asked. He was very skilled and was careful to leave us a functional kitchen each evening and to clean up when he was done. He always let us know when he would arrive, if he was delayed by traffic, and how long he expected to the work to take. When 2 doors were damaged in transit, Tim immediately pointed them out and told us he had ordered replacements which were then installed about a week later as soon as they arrived. The second installer also did a very professional job and was very informative and accommodating regarding hinge stops and details. We highly recommend Kitchen Saver and would definitely use them again for similar work. They always followed through on time and kept us informed. All those we dealt with assured us that if we had any problems at all we could get in touch with them and they would follow through on the 10-year warranty. We absolutely believe them!

The work was done promptly and as scheduled. All of the work was well done and we are very satisfied. We thought the original quoted price was too high but they bargained a bit and suggested we could save more money by contracting for the granite counter-tops ourselves. They recommended a granite company (Pyramid granite in Springfield, VA) and worked well with them. Everyone we dealt with at Kitchen Savers was friendly and willing to take as much time as we needed to decide what we wanted.

I used wood and granite like counter tops. I have contacted them again, and I have another appointment with them today. They were great.

We wanted to retain our existing cabinet framework but update the look from 1980s builder's oak. Kitchen Saver responded promptly to our call and Dan came out to give us an estimate. We liked the quality of the cabinet doors and the selection of woods and stains, and decided to go ahead. The work was scheduled at the time of detailed measurements and everything was ready for installation on the date promised. The job was finished on time. The installer (Tim) was meticulous and professional in his work. He ensured that the installation was perfect and left no mess. He clearly takes pride in his craftsmanship. We are delighted with the new cabinet look and highly recommend Kitchen Saver for cabinet refacing.

We made an appoint with Kitchen Saver while at the Home Show. Adam Taylor came out and explained the process that KS uses to remake a kitchen area. We spent about two hours with him asking questions, reviewing previous work KS has done and input from Angies List reviews. We decided to go with KS for our kitchen renovation. We picked a date for them to begin and they agreed to start on that date. We opted to contrac wtih Pyramid Grante LLC ourselves to save some money for the countertops.. Pryramid Grante is the company KS normally uses for counter top work. KS sent out their measurement person who spent about 3 hours taking measurenments and making a computer drawing of the kitchen. The next step was ours - emptying out all of our cabinets and drawers. I had contacted KS and asked they coordintate with Pyramind Granite on the removal of the existing counter top and the installation of the new, which they did. Our installer (Bernie) arrived Monday morning to begin the job. The first step was to put cardboard down over the kitchen floor and over the hallway from the front door into the kitchen. Pyramid Granite arrived and began the removal of the countertop while Bernie began removing the garage and the wine rack. We ran into our first issue with the removal of the garage. The wall behind the garage was missing some drywall. This prevented Pyramid Granite from installing the backsplash. We agreed that once the wall was repaired, we would reschedule for the completion of the granite. After the counter top was installed, Bernie cut thicker cardboard and covered the counter tops. He had a wooden cover to put over the range to protect it. At the end of the day (and everyday) Bernie cleaned up the workarea and then took off the countertop covers so we could use the kitchen at night. We are very pleased with the work Bernie did for us. His attention to detail and craftmanship was top of the line. As with any remodel project, there is always things that come up that need to be handled. Bernie is a master at overcoming obstacles while keeping the end goal in focus. While we were expecting the work to take up to five days, we did end up need six full days. We are very pleased with the outcome of the finished product. We feel that the new look and design or our kitchen is first class. If you contract with KS, I highly recommend that you ask for Bernie to do your install.