Complaint Review: Lowe's Home Improvement - Tilton New Hampshire

Back in June, we purchased kitchen cabinets, Quartz counters, installation, as well as other necessary items from the Tilton New Hampshire Lowe's. We then purchased a Bosch dishwasher online (through Lowes) to also be installed as part of out kitchen remodel. Our cabinets and dishwasher were delivered in early July and sat in our living room. Installation was scheduled to start in late July. For some reason, they delayed it and it finally began in early August (a long time when your house is full of cabinets and appliances). When we began the project, they assured us that they hired local contractors. The day the project started (August 4th), they were 1 hour late and the contractor stated that he was driving two hours from Vermont (not local, as they stated when we made the purchase). From that date on, he never arrived on time. My husband I would rearrange our schedules, take days off of work (sometimes without pay), to accommodate the installers schedule. Our contractor would tell us he would be at our house at 9am, but not arrive until 11am, 2pm, 4pm, one day not arriving until 6:30pm. Then stay until 8:30 or 9:pm. I'm not sure whey we were taking time off of work when he was clearly arriving after the work day ended. Some days the contractor would send his employees, who would only stay for two hours then leave. We would go weeks with no one coming at all.

On Friday, September 22, after all of our cabinets and counters were installed, he installed our dishwasher. He made the statement "Bosch dishwashers are the best, I install hundreds of these a year". He left at 8:30pm (again, he arrived at 4:45pm) after completing the installation. Approximately 25 minutes later, my husband went into our basement and found it flooded, with water continuing to pour into it. We called the contractor and told him we needed him to come back immediately. He returned, told us we needed to "turn off the water" (which we obviously had) and told us he would be back on Tuesday to do clean up and complete our kitchen. He stated "it's after 9pm and I have a two hour ride. Just don't use the dishwasher and I'll work on it next week". We did tell him that we wanted it pulled out that night to see what the damage was and all the wet insulation pulled out of our basement as well as the water cleaned up. He found that he failed to put in the gasket or tighten the connection on the back of the dishwasher. He then stated "just put the dishwasher back in and when you run it, the heat from it will dry your floors".

Needless to say, over the weekend, my husband spent almost two hours and talked to almost twenty people between managers at Lowes, Tilton NH and the Production Office as he was transferred from one person to another. He was finally told to hire a clean-up company and bill the contractor. For five days, we had a large blower and dehumidifier in our kitchen and had to keep all windows and doors closed. Not too pleasant when it's already hot out. On Wednesday, September 27, the contractor returned (again, late) to continue his work. When he left, there was saw dust everywhere. He was working on crown molding and light rails. All of the corners are uneven and nails are showing. When he left, he stated "I'm going to make you happy before I'm done". His final day here was Saturday, September 30. He completed the crown molding while I was at work. I returned home and was disgusted. There are gaps in the molding where light shines through. There are gaps in my valance over my kitchen sink, again light shines through. You can see every nail that he placed in the crown molding and light rail. Not one corner is lined up even. One cabinet was installed upside down and the door opens backwards (towards my stove).

If this was the type of workmanship I wanted, I would have saved a lot of money and had my husband install everything. I have called Lowes Tilton NH and spoke with Mike in kitchens, who was very nice. He took all the information (including the pictures I sent him) and forwarded it to Kelly in the Production Office. I explained that my husband would not be available and all phone calls should go through me. Kelly called me and stated "I called your husband, but got his voicemail". I explained the entire situation to Kelly and told him that we do not want the contractor (Steve) to return to our house. His first question was "did you have a confrontation with him?" No, we didn't have a confrontation, but due to his unprofessionalism, lack of respect for our time and inability to do the work correctly throughout the entire project we do not want him to return. He informed me that we must either allow him to return or pay for another contractor. I told him that, in no uncertain terms, do we want Steve to return. If his employees thought they could correct the issue, they could return, but if not, Lowes could find another way to correct it. I again reiterated that we did not want Steve to return and wanted no further contact from Steve. Kelly was supposed to speak with Steve and call me back either last Wednesday or Friday (10/4 or 10/7). He didn't call on either day.

Yesterday, my husband received a text from Steve, requesting his email. My husband did not respond. I have since emailed the CEO of Lowe's (Robert Niblock). I don't actually expect a response, but I thought I'd give it a try. I'm just looking for a reasonable resolution.