Tom,

I have the Bertch Marketplace, Legacy,and custom lines as well as the JSI line including the new Craftsman series. I used to have Richmaid - a sister company with your CWP under different reps - but I could not sell that high end stuff and needed showroom space so I closed my account with them and gave my display to habitat.

I am in the old hair salon space. It is not really an ideal space as the traffic moves too fast by the plaza and pople have tunnel vision. I have been here 2 years now and people are still asking me when I moved in like it was last week. Plus the pizzahouse has turned into more bar than pizzahouse and is surrounding me on 3 sides. I have had to install security camera's recently to stop the b.s. that happens at night when I am not here. Too many rednecks here in Andover. I can say that because I grew up here.

I'm surprised you have both Marketplace and Legacy. I thought they tried to avoid that. Do you get them through RAB still, or has Bertch gone direct?

I have sold a total of one kitchen and two baths with CWP. I went to their facilities and sat through the training and was very impressed with the operations, but as you said, the cabs are too danged expensive for a business like ours.

I'm not so much a kitchen dealer as a guy who knows design and sells some cabinets. I'd like to expand similar to what you do, and I have ideas on how to do it, but it is a step I don't think I'm quite ready for.

I have sold a lot of kitchens, but usually through remodelers that know I am a quality kind of shop and buy tops from here anyway.

RAB set me up with Marketplace at first but I could not get some of the options customers were looking for so they then set me up with Legacy after. With JSI and Marketplace I had 2 low end lines and that didn't make sense so I needed Legacy.

RAB got released as reps from Bertch and now I have another rep who has not bothered visiting me yet.

I actually sell more cabinets to contractors then to homeowners myself too. As well I have installed the same amount of cabinets from H.D. that customers realized they were over their heads when the cabinets arrived. Last year I only put in 2 complete design, sell, and install kitchens where I was the only supplier and installer for cabinets and granite. I was hoping to do more full kitchens than that but most people already have their cabinets when they come ot me not knowing I do the whole thing.

One of the H.D. cabinet installs I did last year was already under contract for the granite tops so I got to see their job. What a mess they made of the stone. The granite was Ivory coast and not a stable lot either. Several poorly fixed fissures, a chunk out of the edge profile that looked like they put silly putty in, and a slab factory swirl near the sink hole. The customer thought that was part of having granite and would have gotten buffaloed into accepting it. He only got some of it fixed in the end. The guy was way too passive with them and let them walk all over him. I felt sorry for him but not sorry enough to fix their mess for nothing.

Hi there,

Welcome, nssthan, or Than, if you will.

It's always good to see new reader/posters on thh FabNet.

Dave, when you get the HD design to install, how often do you find errors and how do you handle them?

I ask, because I did a top for customers that ordered from "A big Box" that was set up so badly that they waited eight extra weeks to get it done.

When we finished the job on time at cost the Mrs. actually wept because our part of the job was nothing like the other part. It was a great feeling.

H.D. has become reliably terrible at estimating the required amounts of moldings. When designing a kitchen on 2020 I always calculate my own linear ft. of molding - H.D. does not. When I get a list of cabinets or layout to look at I figure it myself and tell the cyustomer to get the right amount if there is an error - always is. Not my fault if i am just the installer and the customer has to deal with them to get it right.

I do know that H.D. always under estimates the sq. footage of granite in a top and zings the customer later for the difference. I have no idea how they are getting around charging full price for tops up front. Dept of consumer protection giudelines only allow us to get 50% at most. My mom's cousin got an estimate from them for stone before she realized I was in the business - they are not charging sales tax. It is all on the bill as labor - no materials.

Funny thing is that there are 2 kitchen designers over there that send people to me some times. Both if the job is less than the $1500 minimum and one of the others sends me customers that are her family members or others that ask her off the job. I have also installed granite in 3 other employees homes. One of those is the #2 guy in charge over there. All from the Manchester store. It makes me laugh every time I think about it. The employees know best.

The sales tax really smokes my muffin. The fabricator is supposed to cover the tax and HD shold be a value added. How they get away with it is beyond me.

What happens when you get to an install and find the order wrong? Do you have a return trip charge? Or do you visit the site first to check the math?

HD can charge 100% because they carry a bond with the state.  You could do the same, but you wouldn't be able to afford the bond.

Sales tax doesn't have to be paid on a custom countertop, because it is custom.

Sales tax doesn't have to be paid on a custom countertop, because it is custom.

I am not so sure that applies to CT state sales tax. I was told I had to charge sales tax on the tops themselves but if there is labor in the home no tax on labor. We could seperate template and installation labor from the price of the stone but then the invoices and estimates get confusing especially to the customers. Most people don't notice the difference but some times a customer will go with another contractor over a nickel. Not my kind of customer anyway but it hurts to see a customer walk out the door without giving you some money.

Tom, I usually do a measure and check the jobsite when I estimate a job or install. I even do a measure for the homeowners when selling cabinets with or without an install at least before placing the cabinet order. I don't trust anyones tape measure other than my own and even I miss here or there.

Hello and season’s greetings to the Fabricator Network! My name is Dave Duguay, and since February of this year I’ve been providing customer support for Integra Adhesives. I wanted to share my appreciation for the entire FabNet; I’ve enjoyed reading all the posts here, and I admire the quality of craftsmanship displayed by many of you. Please, keep it coming!

On that note, I’d like to wish all of the Fabnet a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year; should there be anything that I or the rest of the Integra team can do to assist you, please feel free to call anytime!

Warm regards to you and yours this holiday season,

Dave Duguay
Integra Adhesives
www.integra-adhesives.com
Toll Free (Can & US): 1-888-862-6665

Welcome to the FabNet Dave.

I'm not so new to Fabnet, but I am certainly new to having an online presence.  I now have a websit.  It is not fancy and needs some tweeking but one step at a time, right?  At least I have a website.

Website: http://www.solidsurfacetechinc.com



Facebook at:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Solid...5104555236

The Facebook page has the video that I have used in my online directory landing page and also in the website.

Feel free to take a look and "like" it if you care to.

Thanks,

Johnny C

Thanks to those who visited my new Facebook page.  Because enough of you "liked" it, I am now entitled to a shorter URL. 
http://www.facebook.com/SolidSurfac...chnologies

Thanks for your comments.

Johnny C

Hey Friends!

Something strange happened to my account that has prevented me from posting for many months now. I talked to Andy about it and we decided it was best to just create a new account. So, I'm back. I have still be reading ALL of your posts even though I haven't been able to post, and keeping up with your discussions. I'm always interested in what you have to say.

And for those of you who may not know me, I am the Communications Director with ISFA and publisher/editor of Countertops & Architectural Surfaces magazine. I live/work near Chicagoland vs. the ISFA HQ in Utah. Formerly I was the Editor & Associate Publisher of Cygnus' Surface Fabrication magazine and before that SolidSurface magazine.

Let me know if there is anything I can do for anyone and I will try my best to help. And I'm always interested in hearing if you have ideas or suggestions for the magazine.

Kevin Cole

Welcome back Kevin, or, well since you have always been here, nice to see you posting.

Thanks, Norm! It is kind of strange to see it say I only have 1 post, when I have been a member since 2006, but at least I can post.