Express Kitchens: Torrington — Local services in Torrington

We went to Express Kitchens to buy cabinets for our dry bar. They had done my mother's kitchen a couple of years ago and it was a way better experience. Sadly, Express has grown way too big for their own good. Just look at the Better Business Bureau reviews. Their quality has gone down hill. Sara was great in the design and it's no fault of hers that the people who "make" the cabinets( the claim they are made in Hartford is questionable, I'll explain in a little bit). We ordered two 15" base cabinets and two uppers, wine cube, and wine rack for wine glasses. When we picked up the cabinets and unpacked them, the quality was so cheap. There were knicks, gaps, scrapes, dents, and misaligned shelves causing them to be slanted. The wine cube had gaps in the corners of the X. They also forgot to give us the wine rack which was annoying, so I picked it up from Torrington. When our carpenter went to install it, it doesn't fit under the cube so we paid for a wine rack that we can't use. We were missing the toe kicks and our carpenter just made some out of our trim. The fun part (NOT) was reaching out to Express Kitchens to resolve the poor quality in the cabinets. It was a nightmare. There was miscommunication all around, if you ever have to reach Express Kitchens when you have a problem here are some tips: be persistent, take detailed notes of times and who you spoke to and the details of the discussion and get it in writing. Do not take the "they aren't taking calls right now" They all need to take a class in Customer Service in Hartford because they are awful. Karen reached out once after I somehow found the name of her superior and that was it, she never returned any of my voicemails after that interaction. After that mess was resolved, our carpenter drilled the wrong holes for our handle. The one time he had to screw up, it had to be on these cabinets. So I needed a new face panel. I knew it would be a hassle. I reached out to Sara and asked for a new face panel who then said Sudha told her I would need a whole new 15" cabinet. Makes no sense. So I investigated myself by calling Express Kitchens asking for a replacement panel for my mothers kitchen which is the same style due to her dog scratching one. I was told it was no problem that they have them in the warehouse. I confirmed what he just told me, I was indeed able to get a face panel. I called Karen and informed her I'm not buying a whole new cabinet because I just called and was told I can buy a face panel only. Next thing I know, I get a call for a face panel payment. I drove to Hartford to pick it up and it seemed like everything was fine. I was just so happy it looked like the Belfast face panel until my carpenter told me it the measurement on the new panel is incorrect. Yup, that's right they measured wrong. There are only so many times you can blame COVID. I was told different stories, "We don't make the cabinets here" "They come already assembled" "We didn't make the face panel" Anybody can use a level to make sure a shelf is straight or that there aren't gaps in the wine cube or if you see gashed and scrapes, then it's not satisfactory to give to a customer. In the end I got the correct panel because I was persistent, even after being questioned that it's "not possible" for measurements to be off. Proof is in pictures and I sent plenty of those. I will not recommend Express Kitchens to anybody ever and we won't use them for any rehabbing projects in the future. We already found another company to do...

Buying a vanity from express kitchens was a completely HORRENDOUS experience. They had us pay someone to come out to measure, after we gave them the measurements for the vanity size. Then when we went to our appointment to pay for the vanity and the entire order had to be redone multiple times... we were also asked to get the measurements AGAIN. Then why did we pay to have someone come out and measure?! The woman from Torrington express kitchens.. Meg, the one putting our order together.. had absolutely no idea what she was doing. She kept putting incorrect measurements in and if we weren't there checking what she was doing the entire vanity would have been completely screwed up!! Not only did our order not get put through when they told us it would.. (Which we paid for it fully so theres no reason why they shouldn't have put the order in.) It kept getting pushed back further and further. We have been told multiple times the vanity was finished and ready for pick up. Then when we went to pick it up each time... IT WASN'T READY. WEEKS later after we did finally get the vanity... THEY MADE IT WRONG. WHY DID WE PAY EXTRA TO HAVE IT MODIFIED WHEN THEY DIDN'T PUT IT TOGETHER THE RIGHT WAY THAT WE DISCUSSED AND PAID FOR!!! These people have zero respect for their customers. I couldn't even order another piece of stone without multiple issues, Bob (in hartford) made it more difficult than it had to be. Andrea (in hartford) was very rude and unaccommodating about the situation with picking the vanity up. I have no idea how they are still in business. *I would NEVER EVER recommend anyone going to express kitchens for anything! You will only have problems, delays, and poor customer service with anything you need. So unprofessional. We are completely disgusted with this...

I tried to have these guys make a countertop for a family member and they completely dropped the ball. I called them last monday, and asked laurie 5-6 questions, she didnt know any answers, had to call someone else and would email me every other day and only answer 1 or 2 questions each email or phone call. After a week of trying to get answers im giving up and went with leos out of new brittan! After a 10 min phone call with leos they answered every question i had and they are starting the counter build!! Express kitchens was a total waste of my time and made me look bad when i couldnt get answers! Save yourself the time/energy and reputation. They dont know any answers like turn around time, if the guys come and template, or if they leave a scribe if they arent coming to template, i asked for a high end laminate estimate and low end, they sent one price. They have to call another company and ask them aka torrington express kitchen is just middle men that dont know anything. I can not speak on the quality of their actual work as we didnt even get that far.. 0/5 star...