Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My husband and I have just purchased a home in Charlotte that's 10 yrs old and needs some TLC. The original kitchen is not very big, but needs new appliances, the cabinets a white foil that is peeling in some spots and is just all around tired.
I've been pricing my kitchen out to several and we usually hit a minimum of 10 in cabinets with 3.5K in granite easy. But then I found Panda Kitchen and Bath. Chinese import company, decent quality wood, if you use the plain cabinent without some of the "plastical looking stuff" or the over the top (IMHO) columns etc.. They have two stores in Charlotte, one on Park (below Johnston) and one on WT Harris. I went to the one on Park.
I went to order after finetuning my configuration, hemming and hawing and asked the Owner/Partner how much I needed to put down to order. They will only order if you pay 100% of your total order ! Now it wasn't a money thing - it was a what recourse would you have for them to fix anything, correct order mistakes etc??? He just said calmly, they have a warranty for 1 year.
Has anyone hear heard of them, worked with them, had a friend that had a good or bad experience with them? I haven't found much online about them at all -the store that I went to opened in October 2006 and has had no complaints with the BBB, the others (they are located in FL, GA, NC, SC) had a total of 8 with all of them resolved....
What would you do? In someways I have my heart set on this kitchen, but no way no how do I want to have absolutely no recourse because they already got their money.
I'm still in Fl, looking to move to NC and have heard and seen nightmares from Panda. The only thing that they offer is a low price........nothing else. If you are looking for good quality, reliable installation, five year warranty, NO MONEY DOWN! Payment upon you being satisfied upon completion, and they finance, some times one year no payments. They are not the cheapest but they are the most reliable..........SEARS. They offer in home free quotes. Not an estimate but an actual exact price. I have been very happy with what they did for me.
Another great company you may want to see in Charlotte is Southern Comfort Kitchen and Baths.The owner William is very sincere and asks for half down. I believe his prices are the same as Panda.You may want to check it out. He is a no frills just granite and kitchen cabinets that are all price good.
Before I did business with them, I asked them if they were a member of the Better Business Bureau. The lady assured me they were. I then paid them $30 to come out and do an estimate. I later found out that they were not a member of the BBB and I decided to ask for my money back. They were quite rude and basically told me to take a hike. I guess this is why they ask for payment upfront.
By the way, I found a different granite installer who only asked for half upfront and was able to beat Panda's price. You can do much better than Panda if you just call around a little bit.
By the way, I found a different granite installer who only asked for half upfront and was able to beat Panda's price. You can do much better than Panda if you just call around a little bit.
Ahparker - I tried to respond to you via PM, but you are not set up to receive them. I did not use Panda afterall - there was a great sale at Home Depot which included the granite so I used them. I expect it to be installed later this month -
To be honest, I just could not get comfortable with paying 100% of the purchase price upfront before they would order and install....I like to have a little leverage with my vendors and used Visa with HD, so if it isn't right I just call Visa and dispute the charges . But I have to say so far, they've been great
I'm sure that no two Home Depots are alike and I hope that you have great luck with the one in NC............here in Fl. my friend used Home Depot......
took 1 yr 6 months for the installation to be complete, cabinets were installed
that were not level, pass through window was cut with a huge gap that they had problems filling, granite was not level. Electrical people never came.
It was a nightmare, and after all was said and done, she brought a list of everything that was still wrong and Home Depot gave her back ALL her money. Didn't cost her a dime to get a new kitchen, then she put house up for sale and new owners are realizing that the kitchen is not up to par.
Home Depot is only as good as the subcontractors that they hire, I would make sure that they are lincensed and keep on top of the project every step of the way. Good Luck
Well HD provided me a list of installation subs and I was able to check them out and pick the one I wanted to use. I am handling all the subs (electrician, plumber, appliances) and the granite co got top notch ratings independently....of course nothing is perfect so we'll see how it goes
The good thing about using HD is that they back their products and if you're not happy with their service you can get your money back. For example, I once used them to have carpet installed in an apartment. The sub came in to do the job and after a few weeks, I noticed that the seams were really obvious. I called home depot to complain and they sent the sub back to review the carpet. He took a 29 cent black plastic comb out of his pocket and started combing the seams to re-adjust them. I nearly flipped out. I said to the guy "do you expect me to COMB my friggin' carpet every day with that?!"
I promptly called HD, and I ranted about the ridiculousness of the plastic comb incident. They agreed with me and promptly refunded the entire cost of the carpet back to me. I respect them for having done that, and I simply used a tiny portion of the money to hire a carpet guy to come and repair a few seams properly. My uderstanding is that they never used that sub again.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
! Now it wasn't a money thing - it was a what recourse would you have for them to fix anything, correct order mistakes etc??? He just said calmly, they have a warranty for 1 year. 
Bad Experience
. But I have to say so far, they've been great 
