Cabinet Discounters

I came to Cabinet Discounters on a Saturday morning to browse and discuss a potential built-in bookcase I wanted to install in my home. The woman working there told me that they prefer appointments and Saturday is their busy time. There was one other couple in the store working with a different sales associate, and this woman had been sitting on her computer. We told her we understood and were just getting ideas, and would be happy to leave or browse on or own if/when any scheduled appointments came in. She then asked our budget. We stated that we hadn't narrowed down a budget but were flexible and really looking for ideas and estimates. After giving approximate measurements, she told us that bookshelves are "uneconomical" and we were looking at a minimum of $10,000 before delivery, installation, or upgrades. She rushed us through the store, pointing out the bottom of the line displays and adding in that the upgrades were expensive. Given that I didn't specify a budget, I found her attitude to be incredibly dismissive and inappropriate. She acted as if I were a burden for asking questions in her store and I left feeling unwelcome and as if my money wasn't good enough in the store. I opted to have a carpenter custom-build my bookshelf rather than giving my money to a business who clearly did not care to have me as a customer.

Awful. Salesman not only did not order the cabinets once but twice after I paid for them. Took about 8 months to finish the job from these idiots. The floor removal was part of the contract as well as removing the old cabinets. They tested the floors and told me there was no asbestos; later said there was but would not tell me why they messed up the results. In removing layers of the floor, they sawed thru the sub floor with the circular saw. Awful electricians--would not call, just show up, seemed to think they were cool (dad owned the business) and could not cut sheetrock without making huge cuts. I had to fix the messes. Had to constantly watch what was done and report incompetence back to the company because these guys were subcontractors. Very bad experience with this Columbia MD company. Such a lack of remorse for their actions.

The estimate is made from pictures. There was only one design option. The price was made on the design. For us, we did not like the design. I also did not like that you would pay 80% of the cost before the work is complete (30% at contract and 50% at the start of work). We decided to go with another company.

I was very happy with the way the job went, especially the end result. Just love my home now! Highlights: Dave Humerick at the Olney store is top notch. Professional, extremely knowledgeable, helpful with design ideas, and responsive. A first-rate businessman/sales professional who has installed enough cabinets himself to also fully understand the construction details. Importantly, Dave was also just a very pleasant guy to work with. Dave made the sale and then got involved in the work on an as-needed basis to see how things were going and to arrange to correct various issues. I never had trouble reaching Dave or getting a satisfactory response to any concerns that I had. He did not hesitate to come out to my house when needed. I am 100% happy with all of the products that I purchased directly from C.D. I bought light fixtures on my own, and I wanted to buy certain plumbing fixtures on my own too, and they were okay with that. But otherwise, everything was supplied by C.D. I positively love the Brighton Cabinets. They are beautiful and as nice as anything I had seen in any kitchen store. Very happy with Cambria and LG quartz counters that I purchased for kitchen and bathrooms. Totally in love with all of the tiles that I chose at C.D. for backsplash and bathrooms. The shower doors that C.D.'s contractor supplied and medicine cabinets, sinks, etc. supplied by C.D. are top notch. C.D.'s work process was a highlight in my view. They do use an array of sub-contractors. Some people might view this as a negative. But frankly, so long as C.D. takes responsibility for them, I don't care who does what and am glad that each craftsman knew his craft well. C.D.'s installation department was great. Before the job started, I got a full schedule of pretty much what would happen every day for 6 weeks (with some exception for the carpenters, who had the most work to do and who were in and out more often). And, importantly for me, everything happened pretty much on the scheduled day and the job was completed on time. There was some down time, and arguably the job could have been done a bit faster, but I didn't mind this so long as I knew what was happening when, and honestly the "off" days were in some ways welcome to me, as the process was tiring and I appreciated at times having the privacy and quiet. One other highlight - I will give a shout-out to the tile contractor that C.D. sent to my home for all of the tile work in the kitchen (backsplash) and two bathrooms (floors and shower/tub areas). His name is Benito Perez. The tile work was done perfectly, with great precision. I had thought that all tiles in a box were identical. Not so! Some patterns come with an array of somewhat different but coordinating tiles. Benito took great care to install these in a way as to make them look spectacularly beautiful and interesting. I did not have one issue or see one imperfection in the tile work. Positively love it all. Also, Benito was just a very pleasant guy to have working in the house. Was the entire C.D. job done perfectly? No. There were a fair number of concerns along the way that I got nervous about and might have even lost sleep over! Some of the subcontractors would get only a "B" for attention to detail. All were well qualified. But some just didn't pay enough attention or stay long enough to see problems, and would have to come back to fix them. But the way I look at this, it is probably unreasonable to expect that anyone doing a job this size could do it all perfectly on the first try. And the important thing is that problems were fixed, and fixed to my satisfaction. I think that's really what's important, and all one can ask for. And this is not necessarily negative but cautionary: I did not have the "footprint" of any rooms changed, no walls knocked down or built. Additionally, I was home almost all of the time when anyone was working in my home. I was able in some cases to stop incorrect work from being done before it happened. I really can't say how C.D. would do with a larger job that involves architectural work. Perhaps fine, but I don't know. And I would suggest that anyone who isn't going to be home while the work is being done would want to push the C.D. folks to review things by phone more carefully before coming out the next day, or leave written instructions, or something. There were details I didn't think about in advance and was just glad I was home to address them as they arose. Minimally, you would want to be available by phone. Here is the bottom line. I found C.D.'s prices to be mid-range. I suspect that had I hired a do-it-all one-man-show contractor and bought my own materials, I could have saved a lot of money. But I didn't trust myself to make these purchases on my own, and I was not interested in paying large sums of money to a sole contractor who could get ill or worse and leave me high-and-dry. I wanted a decent-sized operation to stand behind the product and workmanship, and to be around a month or six months later if something goes wrong. Now, there are definitely also much higher-priced operations than C.D. I found their product prices to be good, and their labor prices not unreasonable. Would the "issues" that I had have been fewer in number with a very high-end and much more expensive outfit? Perhaps. But I now have beautiful rooms, and am glad I didn't pay those prices. The bottom line is that some ten years ago I got an estimate from one of the high-end Chevy Chase outfits to do my kitchen only -- which I didn't end up doing at the time. Ten years later, with the same money they quoted for that job 10 years ago, I was able to not only do my kitchen but also two bathrooms (all by C.D.) and new flooring (by another contractor) throughout my home. It all worked out just perfectly. I definitely recommend Cabinet Discounters.

I liked what I saw during the estimate process and the way they said they would come in and how long it would take and what they would do, the process that they use. They have a wide selection and they are very accommodating and work with you.

Wendy Ames at the Olney Cabinet Discounters facility guided us through the process from start to completion pictures. She was wonderful to work with - very patient with all my questions and her suggestions were spot on. Everyone from there was very good - from the young man who did the countertop measurements to Bryant and his helpers: Alex, John and Carlos who did the install of the counters. We have a huge island which required a seam - Bryant did such a fine job with that - it's almost invisible. Craig who did the tear out of the existing back-splashes and wall prep for the new was a very good worker and left the areas neat and clean. Jeff who did the tile work was also top notch and the back-splashes look great. We couldn't be happier with the fresh, new look of our 32 year old kitchen. It's fantastic! We highly recommend Wendy and the entire Cabinet Discounter team.

Everything went well, and the process was smooth from start to finish. The staff was friendly, attentive, and knowledgeable. Furthermore, we're quite satisfied with the new cabinets.