Fairway Kitchens

Sent to the Better Business Bureau:

On June 14, 2009, we signed a contract for the purchase, delivery, measurement and installation of custom kitchen cabinetry, complete with all necessary hardware, gables, doors, paneling, etc. with Fairway Kitchens. The total was $8200… $3300 cash deposit with $4100 to be paid on delivery of ALL materials, and $800 upon completion due Aug. 5- 14. It was falsely explained to us that ALL manufacturing is done onsite.

On Aug. 21, an installer (Dan) determined that Fairway’s measurements were incorrect and several boxes would need to be re-cut. Later that day, some cabinets were delivered. Several days went by with no correspondence so we went to Fairway in person. Guy, (acting mgr.) assured us everything would be resolved. He explained that all doors were produced by an off-site company. Temporary doors, together with the re-cut boxes and ALL remaining materials were to be delivered Sept. 1.

On Sept. 1, we received what was described to be ALL remaining materials and we paid our second installment of $4100. The cheque was cashed the next day.

On Sept. 5, the installer explained that complete installation would NOT be possible. Several boxes, gables, the wine rack, temporary doors, frosted glass, panels, and ALL kitchen hardware were missing. Several of the boxes were the wrong size, and others were not stained properly. He also warned that part of Fairway’s design could not work and would render the cabinet structurally unsound. From what WAS installed, we were unhappy with the quality of the product we received as well as the lack of customer service. Cuts were poorly made, corners were nicked and some edge-banding was already peeling off. All cabinets were hung at the wrong height. We asked to speak to the owner several times but were flat out refused. On Sept. 26, we emailed, faxed, and personally delivered a letter to the owner explaining our experience. We were later told that our letter had been received, but remained deliberately unread. Futhermore, we asked for a written response but never received one. One further letter produced the same result.

To summarize our experience over the next 3 months, we called or visited Fairway every other day. We were given the run around with promises un-kept, phone calls unreturned and work not initiated. We scheduled many install dates which never occurred. Installers didn’t show up and no phone call would be received. We missed several days of work awaiting Fairway personelle.

Once, while sitting in front of Guy, he went so far as to fake a call to a vendor, giving us the impression that he had made our order. We later called that vendor and discovered that no order had been placed. We feel betrayed, hurt, let down and very angry at having been <told> repeatedly. After all these months, the replacement doors still haven’t been ordered.

We’ve met other dissatisfied customers and learnt that there are 27 unfinished Fairway kitchens. Fairway has tens of thousands of dollars in deposits. It pains us to think how many people are suffering as a result of their business practices.

To date, we’ve had Fairway at our house for 13 measures and 6 installation attempts. No permanent solution has been found and we’re tired of living without a kitchen. We’ve been awaiting a kitchen for 7 months and paid $7400+int. We’ve been forced to eat out and take on higher food costs. We’ve wasted many phone minutes and gas, not to mention our time and negative emotion. We’re tired of waking up to face yet another day without a place to prepare a meal.

We want to inform the BBB and the public of our experience in hope that no more families will be affected by Fairway Kitchens. We see no value in continuing our business with them for we’ve tried everything. We have given them ample time and patience to complete their contract. They’ve failed us completely and it's time to move on. We need to focus on getting our money back and choosing a more competent company to get a kitchen.