Factory Builder Stores

Jamie McConnell did an amazing job of helping me select the perfect cabinets for my kitchen remodel. They look fantastic and were "budget friendly". The installers did a beautiful job--fast, efficient, and highly professional. They installed both lower and upper cabinets as well as a new floor to ceiling pantry. The installation included adding the cabinet pulls (purchased from another source). Also, they were kind enough to install floating shelves while they were here and to fix a hinge on another cabinet in my house. I can't begin to describe the difference the new cabinets made in the appearance of the kitchen--best move I made in getting my house ready for sale. This is such a great company with a wonderful selection of cabinets. I would recommend them to anyone who is considering a change.

They sold me a stove. My sales rep did not know his product and did not have any skills in costumer service. I had to have my contractor step in and threaten to never buy another thing from them. We also had a microwave sold to us from them. They did not order an important part for my stove. When the microwave came we found that he had ordered the wrong size for him twice. Another person had to step in and order it. I would send him emails and get no response. The manager found that he wasn't responding to emails and was very upset but he never contacted us.

If you know *exactly* what appliances you want to buy and have the means to have them properly installed, then you should definitely consider doing business with Factory Builder Stores (FBS). When we were shopping for our new appliances, their prices were moderately lower than all other stores we visited. However, if you are like my wife and I and have no clue as to how to go about upgrading your 30+ year old kitchen appliances, you may want to consider other, more retail/consumer-oriented companies. IMHO, FBS is simply not ready for retail. As their name implies, I'm sure they do a great job of dealing with builders and others who know what they want and how to install it! Working with the FBS salesman, we selected all GE Profile appliances for our kitchen upgrade. For a very reasonable up-front fee, FBS sent an installer to our home to measure our custom-built microwave/oven cabinet and countertop. That's when we found out that our microwave/oven cabinet -- with modifications -- could only accommodate 27" appliances, versus the 30" GE Profile models we had originally selected. We also learned that our microwave/oven cabinet was designed for a single "combo" unit, instead of the separate microwave/oven Profile units we had chosen. So we had to change our order from the standard/popular 30" Profile models to the non-standard/not-so-popular 27" combo model. Of course, the 27" combo model was a "special order" item and actually cost more than the more popular Profile model (so much for the anticipated cost savings!). We also learned that the countertop cut-out would have to be enlarged to fit the new cooktop. When the FBS salesman changed our order from the separate Profile microwave/oven units we had originally ordered to a combo unit, he mistakenly ordered a 30" model. While correcting this mistake (which I discovered over the weekend before shipment), he also changed our cooktop and hood order from Profile models to "standard" (more costly) models -- without checking with us first! Now for the most important part of this review. In spite of all the surprises, mistakes and disappointments we had to deal with up to this point, the primary reason for our low rating of FBS was the installation of our new kitchen appliances -- it was a disaster!! When enlarging the cut-outs in our custom-built microwave/oven cabinet and countertop, the installer should have cut out half of the needed enlargement on each side of the cut-out. Instead, he enlarged both cut-outs only on the left side. In a hurry, just simply lazy? I don't know -- but I do know that our custom-built microwave/oven cabinet and countertop are now permanently damaged! Later, we also found that the installer had left piles of debris in the bottom of the microwave/oven cabinet and countertop. When the installer and his assistant installed our new refrigerator, they didn't level it, align the doors or even bother to remove all the protective plastic. They didn't adjust the leveling feet to keep it from sliding across our tile floor when the doors were opened. When asked, they had no idea where the shelves/compartments were supposed to go. We still don't have an original owner's manual, just a PDF file I downloaded from the GE website. When I called the salesman to complain about the refrigerator installation, he told me that there were no leveling adjustments on "modern" refrigerators. In fact, nobody in the store, including the manager, knew that our new "modern" refrigerator had levelers that -- at a minimum -- were supposed to be lowered to prevent it from sliding! After a lot of tenacious, and sometimes aggressive, prodding on my part, the manager of the FBS store in Grapevine, TX, did do his very best to address all of our concerns. He even swapped out our new cooktop for a less expensive model, when my wife decided she was not comfortable cooking on the new ceramic cooktop -- and refunded the cost difference. This $6,000 upgrade to our 30 year old kitchen was supposed to be a pleasurable experience. Instead, it was extremely upsetting and stressful -- thanks, primarily, to the FBS installer. Could we have avoided all this stress and disappointment by choosing a slightly more expensive, retail/consumer-oriented company? I don't know for sure, but I think the answer is yes.

I worked with a guy named John, and he was excellent. I shopped around and the same appliance they were asking $10300 in another store, I got it for $8400 at Factory Builder Stores.

From the initial phone call through the installation, we had a fabulous experience. We had (stupidly) purchased a built-in double oven from Sears the weekend before Thanksgiving (ours went kaput) based on their promise of delivery Monday. They did deliver, but the oven was defective - they find out after 2.5 hours of installing. Installers were unprofessional and incompetent, oven was bad, but the worst part was the nightmare of trying to get service from Sears. After countless hours on hold, lies and broken promises of next day delivery, we finally find out Sears canceled the order (after they PROMISED delivery of a new oven Tuesday). As of this writing, Sears has yet to refund our money even though THEY mistakenly canceled the order after guaranteeing delivery for the next day. So, in the middle of fighting the hugely incompetent bureaucracy of Sears, I call Factory Builder Stores. A sincerely nice woman answers. I briefly explain issue, she sympathizes, finds oven in stock that we want, tells me they will install the next day, but then calls installer directly and says, "He can be there today." I buy the oven (at a significantly lower price than Sears, by the way) over the phone. She emails a receipt to me. The oven installation is completed within an hour of my phone call and it is perfect. No hassle. No runaround. No excuses or transfers to multiple departments. Professional, knowledgeable installers. She listened, knew what I needed, and made it happen immediately. EXCELLENT experience. I will never buy appliances anywhere else. THANK YOU!!!