Dear Member, Thank you for your long letter and feedback. We want to first say we are very sorry you had a bad experience with our company. We always strive to provide the best customer service and experience we can for all of our customers! We would like to address your comments/concerns: In regard to samples in your home: We can bring samples out to your home if you prefer, which I later did for you. On initial meetings, we like to survey what our customers are wanting done and talk about all the options that are available. You are right in saying most companies bring out a box of samples, and say here you go... here are your options and it ends there. We try to provide a better level of service and offer additional time and help to our customers. For refacingit is a totally different process than the new cabinet option. For that reason, I always invite our customers to our cabinet shop so we can review everything together in person. This obviously includes all our color samples, but more importantly gives our customers the chance to look at our displays of actual refaced cabinets. Most people have never seen a refaced cabinet, so to ensure they are getting what they want, we feel it is vital to show them ALL the options and what the end result will look like... not just show you color samples. This includes showing you the "before and after" example of our refaced cabinets in our showroom so you can see for yourself what the veneer looks like, how it is covered, the drawer options, hinges we use, etc.This second meeting is to protect our customers... we feel this provides more security and comfort in regard to the refacing options moving forward. In regard to a deposit, it is standard procedure to ask for a deposit if you want to officially get on our schedule. We can't put a customer into production and order materials without a signed contract and deposit For our second meeting, you noted I was 15 minutes late. I apologize for this, but this was outside of my control. I have back to back appointments all day, and we have no control over how long they last. We try to block out 2 hours of time per appt, and sometimes they are over quickly and other times they run over. I try to provide the best customer service I can, so I always stay with my customers until we have reviewed all their questions and concerns and our meeting comes to an end. When I was late to our meeting, I was coming straight from another appt and I got there as soon as I could. I hate being late, but I extend the same courtesy to all my customers. I would stay with you until our meeting is done, and then call my next appt and update them as to my ETA. In regard to colors: You were looking for a very specific, dark color. The colors you viewed in our showroom were our custom colors, and we have tons of stain options. You were wanting a specific type of "Java" color, and we had 4 dark stain colors in maple that matched your criteria...not only 4 samples to choose from overall. I never expressed most of our colors were on loan, only a couple other maple colors were missing. When you talk about an additional cost, that was only referring to the Cherry wood option. Cherry wood is ALWAYS more expensive, no matter what cabinet line you look at. At that meeting you selected the maple color you said you liked and when you got home you called and said you didn't like that color anymore. I wanted to help you as much as I could so I collected every dark color from every species of wood to see if we could find something you liked. I called our manufacturer and had them send me dark samples of all wood types for you, again trying to go above and beyond to get the color you wanted. We looked at cherry, walnut, hickory, oak, etc. As soon as my manufacturer sent me ALL the dark color options, I contacted you right away. For scheduling a re-measure, we ALWAYS do this. Of course I measure and assess your job when I come for initial meetings... No matter what job it is (if it's a smaller $8,000.00 job or larger $80,000.00 job) we ALWAYS schedule a second measure, called a re-measure, where our Production Manager comes back out to double check all measurements. This is to protect our customers. We always want to double check measurements before we order any materials; especially with refacing because the measurements have to be so precise. This provides a HUGE value... if you would order thousands of dollars of materials based off of one initial measure, that's not good business practice. I don't know a reputable company that wouldn't do a re-measure with their head carpenter before a final material order...this is standard procedure. In regard to my children and second visit to your home: We are a family company and we pride ourselves on being family owned and ran, and feel that our entire company is a family unit (including all our carpenters and employees). My dad used to bring us kids on his appointments when we were little, and I grew up playing in the cabinet shop and around my dad's carpenters and customers. We feel this family atmosphere is what sets us apart, and what gives our company the "heart" we have. I have never brought my children to a first or second meeting with my customers when we are doing all the initial detail work. Once our customers are officially working with us and I have met with them several times, most of the time they meet my children at some point. When customers sign with us, we always tell them "Welcome to the Elite Family!". Our goal is to earn your trust for one project, and then you love the end result and we will become your contractors for life... we look at our relationships with our customers as long lasting, meaningful relationships... not just a contractual, business relationship. For that reason, I was trying to help you out and go above and beyond and drive an hour from my home to yours to drop off all the dark samples I had ordered for you. Yes, I had my children with me, but again this was the 3rd time I had met with you... not the first. I was coming over to drop off samples at your home... not go through a long meeting. I drove to your home to help you out and save you a trip from coming into my showroom, and I brought my children inside with me to make the quick drop off. I kept them with me the whole time, and they were well behaved. I have to say this is the first time that I have ever had any customer get offended because I brought my children to their home or to a meeting... especially to drop off samples to help them out. I am sorry this offended you, but we find most customers love the feel and closeness of our family company. When you said none of the samples were close to what you needed, I must say this is also a first. I have never had a customer not find a color they like among all of our samples. I am sorry you weren't able to find a color you like, as that was my goal... but it is beyond our control if all our samples don't fit with the specifics a customer needs. For this reason, I offered to do a custom stain match for free for you.I have always had positive experiences with this in the past when our customers need a custom match. We told you we would waive the $250.00 fee and do this for free for you, again trying to offer exceptional customer service. I am truly sorry it took so long to get the custom stain match sample back to you. To be honest, it was miscommunication on our end that caused the delay, and then another delay from the manufacturer. We kept you updated as to when we were expecting the sample in, and apologized several times for the delay. When you say I disappeared, this is not true. I stay involved with all my customers.I had done nothing of which I should be embarrassed. I had been nothing but professional and respectful to you, and tried my best to help you every way I could. Once a job gets on our schedule, it is considered "In Production" and then Janet and Rod (our head production manager) typically moves forward with communication regarding administrative info. I was not a part of the shipping/delivery process for your sample which is why Janet was communicating with you via e-mail. She was the one who was handling the shipment and thus staying on top of that with you. If we were talking about design, materials selection, etc. then I would be the one corresponding with you. We all have roles in our company which again is why Janet was corresponding with you. I am sorry if this was confusing for you. For your final sample, I am sorry this color was still not what you were looking for...this was outside of our control. I thought the custom stain match would be the best option for you, and this is the first time I have had a customer say it didn't work for them. I would only suggest something I was confident would work for you... and I am sorry it did not. I wish the color was what you wanted as that was our goal from the start! For your refund, we did give you back the fair amount. Per your contract you signed, you were legally obligated to pay us much more then we requested from you for all the man hours and admin time spent on your job. We wanted to be fair to you and felt bad you didn't find the color you wanted, so we gave you the majority of your deposit back and waived our legal right to obtain a larger fee for our services... again, trying to give the best service we can! In sum, we are very sorry you have the feelings you do for our company. we tried our best to be professional and help you every way we could. Like my dad always says, you can't make 100% of people happy 100% of the time, but all we can do is our best! We put a lot of heart into our work, and we truly do care... so we are very sorry it didn't work out with our company. Thank you again for your feedback, and we wish you luck with your project! Sincerely, Amber & The Elite Team