Has Anyone Done Business with Panda Kitchen and Bath (Charlotte: for sale, appliances)

[Loves Saddlebreds]

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.

[halrms]

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.

[Charlottean]

I personally know several individuals who have used them with great results.

[Mvn2nc]

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.

[fishingtime]

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.

[lisaf]

Originally Posted by fishingtime

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.

And who is this installer, please!?

[nschklair]

In a sense, I have done business with them for over 3 years. I used to supply their computer software for their stores and I was in the main store frequently. I know the owners and they are extremely honest people.

The quality of their product is excellent and their installers were both independent granite intsallers as well as those working directly for the company. I used to live in Miami and granite is very big business there.

Their main store was located in the center of the 'granite' district. You could drive by many of the other granite stores where there was a show room and there would be few, if any, cars in the parking lot. However, when you arrived at Panda Kitchen, the lot was always full. The traffic in there was incredible. The sales staff was pretty well trainied.

When I used to live in Miami (6 months ago), I had granite counter tops. I paid about $55/sq foot over 15 years ago. Panda was not in business then. Their prices for blue pearl (that's what I had) is probably 20-30% lower than what I paid 15 years previous!

They are growing by leaps and bounds in this market. Granite is a commodity and differences are almost non-existent., therefore, as long as you have a good installer, why go anywhere else? If you went to Sears to buy it, you'll wind up dealing with an outside contractor. Buying from a large retailer only brings higher prices. You'll have relatively little leverage, anyway, if something goes wrong.

[Loves Saddlebreds]

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

[Songbird42]

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

[Loves Saddlebreds]

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