Closets by Design - Chicago North — Local services in Hanover Township

I ordered a pantry back in March with Kathy. The install was scheduled almost exactly 2 months later. The pantry looks great except for the chips AND what looks like either a defect or patch job on one shelf and the mistake in one area. The measurements were wrong and where the wall goes deeper, the boards were rough cut on the spot, not custom made which made it look like I did it myself eith a hand saw. They told me they would be back to fix the mistake. I talked to Kathy the sales rep about all the issues. She came back to look at it it. I ordered backing for the wall that went deeper in the top third of the shelving so they would not have to hand cut the boards to fit the curve. This is the area that was measued wrong so thepy had to replace it anyway. I was making their job easier. I paid extra for the custom cutting to fit that change in depth and now they dont have to do it because a backboard would create a flat back. (I thought it cost more and took a long time to prepare for install because it is custom built at the shop with the pieces prepared to fit. No, they come with the board and a saw, not like a carpenter to fit the curve precisely either. Just a cut to accomodate the change in depth where the wall went deeper. Cuts were at least 1/2 inch from the wall, not finished in any way so you can see the rough cut. Not like the pics on the website or catalog where everything looks finished. So I ordered the backboard with Kathy which I found out later cost another $140 to avoid the ugly cutting. Kathy told me it was $30 and wrote it up that way. They did not call or email me so I called to ask for status. They filed my account as complete. 2 months later they came out to fix the mistake and they did not have the backboard. 2 botched days off for this little $1800 parially complete pantry. After the last appointment I said get this done as soon as possible, 4 months is too long, 2 months is too long to fic a mistake! We are coming to 5 months since I placed my order and I am still waiting for install to be completed. After many conversations with Yvette the so called "customer service" manager, I still have not gotten any confirmation that they will replace the damaged parts. She obviously doesnt vare that it was their mistake or that they have made many mistakes or that they are using damaged parts, or that it was 4 months after the last error and that I requested over and over again for them to complete as soon as possible. I have 2 walk in closet organizers iny master, 3 children's closet organizers and 1 linen closet organizer that were installed 4 years ago in 1 day. After daily use, there are no chips in any of them. I would have used them again but they dont do pantries. The material Closets by Design uses for shelving must to be really poor quality considering that 3 different pieces had damage at install. Their customer service rep seems to be the defender of the company rather than for the customer. She has not accommodated any of my requests, including whether they will replace damaged parts or having a reasonable time, their mistake or not. She is very good at denying "customer service" requests. From what I have read in the other reviews, it seems that being able to say no or avoid saying yes is a practice. I have requested they remove the parts and give me a refund if they don't want to replace the chipped and defective parts or give a deep discount if they expect me to keep it. I should not be paying first quality prices for damaged goods. I also requested they refund me $200 a day for the days I have to take off. It has been 2 attempts at installation, 4 months, 27 days, 3 mistakes, many, many phone calls, texts and emails since my order in March. I have no confirmation that I will ever get a perfect $1800 little pantry from them. I own and manage many properties and work with service providers all the time. This is by far the worst customer service I have ever...

*UPDATE: after posting my review, I was immediately contacted by the company's owner - Jamie Trewartha. He took the time to listen, offer solutions to make my experience better, and let me know that the company is currently moving locations, which might have impacted some of the inconsistencies in my customer experience. He seemed genuinely concerned and dedicated to make things right. Very much appreciate this level of customer care and am looking forward to work with this company again. Thank you.

HIGH-LEVEL REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS: good design experience great install experience inconsistent punctuality outdated design process inconsistent customer service experience not a customer-friendly add-on ordering experience overall it seems like processes and internal communications are not streamlined to allow for maximized accuracy, clarity, and efficiency

PROS: I am truly happy with how my closet turned out good design expertise great install experience

CONS: INCONSISTENT PUNCTUALITY (the designer was late by about an hour to our first appointment, sounded like an internal communication issue. Mistakes happen to the best of us, however no one offered to compensate me for my wasted time - it would have been professional to offer some sort of a discount in return. The install, however was on time, done well, and faster than expected).

OUTDATED DESIGN PROCESS (designs were done by hand instead of using design software, this is an acceptable initial step, but my expectation would be to have the final design generated digitally for maximized accuracy and clarity. Because of that a mistake was made, which I caught while reviewing the drawings. If it was done using software, that mistake most likely would have been prevented from happening - the top and side view of the closet layout did not match.)

INCONSISTENT CUSTOMER SERVICE EXPERIENCE (when my designer was late for his first appointment, it took me multiple phone calls to finally get someone on the phone who could give me helpful information. When I had an issue with some add-on shelves being cut to a wrong size, again it took me multiple phone calls to finally speak to someone who could assist me in a helpful way. I was redirected multiple times to a manager's voice mail, which was not set up, so I couldn't even leave a message. Yet to be fair, there were times when customer service was responsive and helpful.)

NOT A CUSTOMER-FRIENDLY ADD-ON ORDERING EXPERIENCE (after my closet was installed I realized that I needed a few extra shelves. During the initial design meeting, my designer told me that ordering add-ons in the future is possible and easy. I reached out to him to ask for the standard process of ordering extra shelves. He told me to email him with details and that he will take care of it. After I emailed him, he informed me that actually I should just call the office to place an order, so I did. While on the phone, I asked for them to verify the shelves measurements against the design, so we would get the precise measurements. My designer was very kind to pick up the shelves from the office and drop them off at my place at no extra cost (otherwise the shipping cost would have been $70). Well, 2 out of 4 shelves were the wrong size. Turns out, the order forms are filled out by hand, so again - the human error was an issue (someone put down 21" instead of 24"). They were quick to make things right, and I was able to pick the correctly sized shelves up from their office shortly after.

If you know what to pay attention to in this company's process inconsistencies, this might be a good fit for you. The final result for me was great, I just wish the experience...

Going with CBD was the biggest headache. They are disorganized, don’t communicate, take a long time to resolve issues related to any problems in their build outs and their product is at best mediocre. I had to file a dispute with my credit card to get CBD to actually fix and finish the closet. My mistake was choosing CBD over a competitive bid from a local closet company ($1700 at Closetworks). I even asked the company why their Yelp ratings were so low, and their answer was: We do 5,000 closets a year, so you are only seeing reviews for the ones that go badly. Here’s a recap of my experience.

Late March I pay first $1100 half, get scheduled for installation in May Days before the installation I get an email from the designer saying the closet won’t fit and they need to change the design, measurements are off. The designer can’t get the computer programmer to send her the electronic drawings. Due to this, the closet can not be installed, installation date is changed to weeks later on May 24th. Mid May a person from CBD comes to remeasure the closet, original measurements made by CBD are off by up to 17 inches May 24th: NOBODY SHOWS UP TO INSTALL THE CLOSET. CBD has no explanations. They send me $100 gift card for the inconvenience and reschedule for June 1st. June 1st: Closet is incompletely installed with missing and damaged shelves, several shelves are wrongly measured and caulked/drilled into place; I am charged remaining $1100 without my consent or signing off on the completed project. I contact Mike the manager requesting closets be fixed with a price match with Closetworks due to installation errors and excessive delays or CDB refund me and remove the shelves entirely and go with Closetworks. Mike says he will follow up with boss, but never gets back to me. I begin credit card dispute process for payment to CBD with my bank requesting refund/closet removal due to incomplete contract and inability to resolve outstanding issues in a timely manner. Once the credit card dispute is started, Mike agrees to June 8th to have closet finished/fixed. June 8th: NOBODY COMES TO FINISH THE CLOSET, call CBD and told that I was never added to the schedule June 10th: Call CBD and speak to Jennifer Janikus manager who tells me I am scheduled for June 13th. I ask for refund and closet removal, she refuses. I ask for price adjustment due to ongoing difficulties, contract not completed, multiple missed installation dates; she refuses ultimately gives $100 credit. I contact bank and tell them to continue to process dispute and my request for refund/closet removal. June 18th: Various closet shelves are replaced, holes have to be patched, closet is not as “designed” but at this point I can’t deal with CBD anymore. Overall product is poorer quality than if I had gone with an Ikea closet. I get a letter from my bank showing that CBD is upset about the dispute and alleges that I committed fraud. Unfortunately, CBD only finished my closet build out once I started the dispute (and after CBD charged me without my consent). Even then, the closet is substandard, and not what I had agreed to structurally and in terms of...