California Closets

Closet & Storage Solutions
ON M6B 4N4
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HomeStars  >  Cabinetry & Millwork in Toronto  >  California Closets  >  Custom Mudroom Unit
fitness_fiend - King & Bathurst
fitness_fiend - King & Bathurst
12 reviews Toronto, ON
8/10

Custom Mudroom Unit

I worked with Emily, the designer, who was amazing. The installer showed up exactly on time the day of the install to put in our new mudroom unit. Up until then we had given C.C. a 10 star rating.

The intall was almost finished when the installer told me he had made a mistake. I told him to leave it as is and we would see if it was liveable. Once he was gone I noticed a few more mistakes including a mistake in the width of one of the unit pieces (which is probably why the installer made that particular mistake in the first place!)

I communicated this with Emily immediately. She contacted me back and told me C.C. offered to give us a 10% discount on the unit (before taxes) or a 10% discount on a future unit or to re-install the unit (which is the preferred approach).

We made a decision that the unit was liveable and not worth our time or energy for them to come in and re-do it (due to it being in an area with a cable box where many things could go wrong, the elevator fee the condo charges to book the elevator, and having two children under the age of 3 at home). I communicated that I felt a 20% compensation would be more appropriate since we DID NOT WANT a reinstallation and there was more than one mistake made with the unit.

The next day I received a phone call from the Sales Manager whom I had never spoken to or met. I reiterated that I thought a 20% discount would be the best solution for us considering the stress, time, inconvenience and various issues with reinstalling the unit. She told me that what I was asking for was "unreasonable". She interrupted me on many occasions and continually questioned why we wouldn't want a re-installation. The 20-minute conversation was extremely unpleasant. I found her approach to be aggressive and more company-oriented than customer-oriented. When I asked if there was someone I could speak to other than her, I was told that the owner of the company, Adam Shearer, would be that person but was unavailable to discuss matters further. We got off the phone with the mutual understanding that we would be getting a 10% discount on the unit and I was walking away an unhappy customer.

I ended up emailing Adam Shearer. He contacted me back almost immediately and after we spoke over the phone he did end up offering us the 20% discount. He apologized for the Sales Manager's miscommunication regarding his willingness to correspond with a customer. He explained that he is always willing to communicate with a customer. He also assured me that the installation problem is a rare occurrance and that the preferred way to correct the issue is a reinstallation but he would respect our decision to forego that option.

At the end of the day, I am giving C.C. an 8 star rating because:

1. I loved working with Emily who designed the unit and I would most certainly work with her again.

2. The installation happened on the Thursday and the issue was finally resolved on the following Friday - which I consider to be a relatively short time line in this case.

3. The quality of the unit and it's system is wonderful.

4. California Closets is a well-run company that is willing to do what they can, within reason, to make sure their customer walks away happy.

At the end of all of this, I would consider working with C.C. again.

Approximate cost of services:
$950.00
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fitness_fiend - King & Bathurst
fitness_fiend - King & Bathurst
12 reviews Toronto, ON
2/10

Custom Mudroom Unit

I worked with Emily, the designer, who was amazing. The installer showed up exactly on time the day of the install to put in our new mudroom unit. Up until then we had given C.C. a 10 star rating.

The intall was almost finished when the installer told me he had made a mistake. I told him to leave it as is and we would see if it was liveable. Once he was gone I noticed a few more mistakes including a mistake in the width of one of the unit pieces (which is probably why the installer made the mistake in the first place!) I communicated this with Emily. She contacted me back and told me C.C. offered to give us a 10% discount on the unit (before taxes) or a 10% discount on a future unit or to re-install the unit. Re-installing the unit is not an option for us (due to personal reasons, lack of trust that it would be reinstalled properly - it is an area with a cable box and many things could go wrong and the elevator fee the condo charges to book the elevator). I communicated that I felt a 20% compensation would be more appropriate. The next day I received a phone call from the Sales Manager whom I had never spoken to or met. I didn't want to get into the personal stuff but I did reiterate that I thought that a 20% discount would be more appropriate considering the stress, time, inconvenience and various issues with the unit. They would not budge. I am walking away an unhappy customer and regret not originally going with another company who also gave us a comparable quote. The unit looks good enough and in essence it is a good product which is why I gave the "2 star rating" but I was unimpressed with the Sales Manager's approach to our phone conversation - she interrupted me many times, didn't seem to understand or acknowledge the extent of the various problems with the install and the implications of having it reinstalled. At the end of the day, I feel there was a lack of adequate compensation. When we are financially ready to do custom work again in our home again, it will not be with California Closets. I urge anyone looking to do work with C.C. to also get a quote from other companies as I was fooled into thinking California Closets provided a superior service but realized this was, in many ways, not the case.

Approximate cost of services:
$950.00