Kitchen and Bath Expo — Attraction in Lakeside

UPDATE: Read all the reviews carefully. Read between the lines, many of the 4.9 reviews are from contractors/or investors who do not actually use the cheap products on a daily basis. As a matter of fact, the sub-contactor who installed our cabinets recently remodeled his own kitchen and didn't use the Panda products. When we asked why, he stated...no comment! There you go!

As for the comparison of my son's bat. Obviously, it's over the owner's head. Yes, hitting a baseball with bat is an aggressive action. The fact that he can do that and the bat remains intact with minor cosmetic defects, while in comparison slightly hitting your cabinets with a chair and there's a noticeable dent is the comparison I'm making here.

Also, 5 months of inordinate wear/tear, is a stretch! We're a family of 6. If you believe that your "high-quality"' expensive products should look like this in that short of time I don't know what to tell you!

Again, think twice before using this company!

Where to begin. I first reached out to Panda Kitchen while researching contractors to perform a remodel of my dated kitchen. Based on Google reviews, I decided to pursue a design session and met with a representative of the company. Initially, I was impressed by the responsiveness and assistance provided and decided to move forward with them. Panada wasn’t the cheapest contactor I interviewed. In hindsight, I wish I would’ve went with another company.

First off, the quality of the products used is CHEAP! Any investment you make towards a home remodel is significant. You should not have to treat your kitchen like a museum! If you bump these “wood” cabinets, they will be damaged and I’m being totally serious! For perspective, the wood baseball bat my son uses to hit 60-70 MPH pitches withstands impact better than these cabinets, they’re that cheap! When the contractors finish the job, they provide a jar of color-matching putty to use in the event of damage to the cabinets…which is everyday! For reference, I’ve had my cabinets for 5 months and have already used half a jar…it’s that bad! If you express concern to the company, their answer is to use the putty! Conversely, the quality of workmanship is shoddy!

To my knowledge, and from the word of others, Panda has only one crew. They are spread way too thin for the amount of projects they supposedly have and cannot properly take the time needed to do things right which leads to cutting corners, poor workmanship and rushed installations. Coupled with the fact there’s a language barrier with crew, questions cannot be asked on the spot, you have to wait until the foreman arrives and oh by the way, he’s useless! Finally, if you enjoy picking up other people’s trash, Panda is for you! They left daily messes everywhere; lunch wrappers, drinks, tools, screws, etc. We had to clean up their messes for the entire installation!

Unless there is an extreme need to use this company, I’d look elsewhere. Don’t be fooled by the 5-star GOOGLE reviews, they’re BS! If they see this review and respond, they’ll probably reference the document I signed two minutes after they completed the job. Sure, at that moment, I was blinded by my “new” kitchen. However, it didn’t take long to notice things wrong.

With that, I have two recommendations if you decided to move forward with Panda. First, DO NOT pay your remaining balance for at least two weeks, if not longer. They’ll call you two minutes after the crew leaves seeking the balance payment. I found that odd, but now I know why. They know their work is garbage and if you’ve paid in full, they’re less than responsive to rectify any issues. They tout their warranty, but anything that needs to be fixed will be on their time (remember…1 Crew), not yours. We had two damaged doors and had to call them for an update. If we hadn’t, those doors would still be at their warehouse! Secondly, when inspecting their work, whatever your definition of “thorough” is, multiply that by 100, that’s how thorough you need to be!

DO NOT use...

Panda Kitchen & Bath, my experience was awesome. I started looking for countertops the earlier part of this year. I visited 2 other companies before I called Panda Kitchen & Bath. The phone service was welcoming. The phone was answered by “ May”, she was very polite, knowledgeable and patient. She answered all questions I asked and was very forthcoming with information I hadn’t even thought of. For me, when I make a major purchase, I want to enjoy the ENTIRE experience. That’s what I received. I arrived promptly 1:00pm via appointment and she was waiting. Pleasantly, she addressed me, by my name, and introduced herself. You could see her genuine smile, through her mask.. yes Covid-19 was here. She asked what type stone am I looking for and I “ thought” I knew. By the time she showed me around the store, which by the way was very quaint, organized and very clean, I realized I had beautiful options, without being overwhelmed. She patiently answered my many questions about the stones. She was quite knowledgeable and confident about her products. I chose a beautiful natural stone “quartzite”. To ensure I receive the exact cut from the stone I wanted, May highly suggested I visit the warehouse in Norfolk. There I chose the slab and they outlined the pieces, of the stone, I wanted. When you’re purchasing natural stone, no two pieces are identical, so it’s important to pick it yourself ( if you can) so you will not have any surprises. See, this is what I mean by the experience. I love detail! Even the gentlemen, at the warehouse, were kind, helpful and patient. I’m telling you, they have an amazing team! I chose the Superwhite Quartzite. IT IS BEAUTIFUL!! Also, May followed up with emails!! She outlined every time and detail, so we all were on the same page. Everybody was ON TIME.. ( that’s VERY important) She was so professional!! The entire team was professional!! The finish product was spot-on. I am very pleased! Oh, did I mention? I did my bathrooms vanities as well!! Yes! I ran the same quartzite through out my home! Another choice I’m glad I made! If you’re looking for great quality, professionalism, on time service, good price and cleanliness! Panda Kitchen & Bath is the place for you! Ask for...

We have used Panda Kitchen &Bath on three different houses. In each case the work was excellent. In each case, May was our primary contact and she helped us develop a detailed plan for the cabinets and counter tops as well as help locate the appliances. She was ALWAYS available, extremely attentive, most helpful, and very easy to communicate with. I cannot imagine using anyone else!!

The measurements were taken on site with Jay. His attention to detail made everything fit perfectly in all three houses. The actual install crew was very fast, very focused on the task and very detail oriented. It was amazing how efficient the crew was to assemble the cabinets, install the cabinets and install the counter tops.

We shopped many different kitchen vendors and the prices were ALL significantly more than Panda. In some cases, DOUBLE the Panda fees. We also shopped counter top granite. Quartz was the countertop material for the most recent install. Again, the Panda estimate was significantly less than other companies.

The quality of the cabinets is remarkable. The pressed board found in most cabinets is not used. The cabinets exterior is solid wood and the interior, plywood. We found that to be unusual as most other companies with higher estimates used the pressed/engineered product. As a durability point, our first Panda kitchen was installed over 15 yrs ago. Its a rather large kitchen with center Island, center Island Wolf overhead exhaust, granite countertops, and a "ton" of cabinets. The exhaust was a very precise install as it had to center perfectly over the center Island Wolf gas stove. Panda's crew did a perfect job. We have had ZERO problems and we expect to have zero problems with the Panda new install/ product. One house was a new first time install and two were remodel of older kitchens. We were extremely pleased with all three designs, all three installs and of course VERY pleased with the cabinets and countertops! Anyone considering kitchen cabinets and countertops for either a remodel or first time new installation MUST consider Panda Kitchen & Bath. They are simply "most...