Kobi Blocks

With the help of Andy Jaeger of Upright Interiors, Croton-on-Hudson, NY, who installed the countertop (see separate review on Andy's company), we identified several wood countertop companies in four states (California, Illinois, Michigan, New York), to find the right one from which to purchase our butcher block countertop. (We decided on maple butcher block because (1) it is a renewable resource, unlike granite or quartz and (2) it is less costly than the non-renewable resource of stone and the renewable resource of recycled glass.)
My criteria for the butcher block company included: 
o solid wood with no or minimal wood filler
o the right color/species of maple (to coordinate with our natural maple hardwood floors
o company with good reputation
o friendly, courteous, responsive and professional staff
o cost
After weeks of online research and speaking with several companies, we decided on Kobi Blocks of Chicago because it alone of all the companies researched met all of my criteria. In addition to the high quality of the wood, the company's reputation, the good vibes I got from Tom and Jared (we dealt with Jerry when we were further along), the cost (which was in line with the other companies' costs), free shipping and a two week turnaround including shipping, we also learned that:
(1) Kobi Blocks has been featured on the "Today Show": http://www.kobiblocks.com/today-show.
(2) The company specializes in butcher block for the kitchen; thus they are food safe -- unlike other companies that make butcher block counters for other places that don't require food safe butcher block, such as the workshop, playroom, etc., and contain wood filler. 
As we progressed with the purchase, we confirmed that in addition to providing a top notch and beautiful product, the people at Kobi Blocks with whom we dealt -- Tom, Jared and Jerry -- were warm and friendly, helpful and informative, and accommodating and reassuring. 
Feb 17: We first contacted Kobi Blocks. 
Feb 25: Received samples sent by Jared. The samples were of good quality and beautiful butcher block. Andy submitted two sets of measurements for different configurations and we decided to go with the diagonal cut where the countertop pieces meet (rather than the straight cut) because it is more attractive and only slightly more expensive. And my husband and I chose the "hard brown maple" over the "white maple" and "walnut" samples.
Feb 26 - Mar 3: Andy and I had discussions via email and phone with Jared and Tom at Kobi regarding the details, such as the measurements and configuration (Andy sent the Kobi folks a drawing), whether we wanted "rounded" or "eased" edges, the mineral oil treatment (wood has to be "sealed" with mineral oil and/or a butcher block conditioner), how to finish the edges that would be exposed once Andy cut the pieces to fit together in the proper configuration, etc. Once everything was settled I ordered the countertop.
Mar 3 - Ordered and paid Kobi for butcher-block countertop
Mar 13 - First promised delivery date. Scheduled installation on Tue., March 17.
Issues and Delays: As with most projects of this type, there are bound to be issues that crop up that can cause delays. With this project it was delay in shipping by Kobi; a miscommunication between Kobi and its shipping company, YRC; and Kobi shipping the wrong wood. First, there was a delay on Kobi's end because they hadn't received Andy's sketch for guidance in finishing the edges (we decided on "eased"); and although they could not reach Andy, they failed to contact me to resolve the issue and prevent the delay. As a result, the countertops were not finished and did not ship when expected. 
Mar 19 - Second promised delivery date. Jared told me that he paid extra to ensure that the countertop pieces would arrive by Thursday, Mar 19, so that the countertop could be installed on the rescheduled date of Wed., Mar 25.
(Rescheduling is time consuming as it involves my schedule, Andy's and our plumber's schedule -- Hooks Plumbing, see separate review. In addition, the wood must sit in the room where it is to be installed for a minimum of three days so it can acclimate to the environment. Finally, I had to coordinate with Andy to ensure that he could be there when the countertops
arrived to inspect them and carry them into our house.)
Mar 20 - Shipping company YRC advised me that the countertops would not arrive until after 7:00 pm on March 19 and, therefore, would be delivered to me on Friday, March 20, between 10 am - 2 pm. But on Friday morning a YRC representative called to say that the countertop still had not arrived at their facility and would not be delivered on Fri. Because of the shipping company's misinformation provided to me, it offered to deliver the countertops on Saturday, even though the company does not delivery on the weekend.
Mar 21 - Actual delivery due to aforementioned delay. The countertop arrived in three pieces, which was correct, and had been expertly packed. The driver said that he had never seen such a beautiful packing job. That was the good news. The bad news was that two out of the three pieces (the medium and small sections) were the wrong wood -- white maple instead of the
hard brown maple that we ordered. After some back and forth with Kobi for a few days -- I sent photos to show that we received the wrong maple -- Jared apologized and agreed to replace the wrong pieces, and Tom said that we should keep the wrong pieces because it would be too costly to have them shipped back and they were custom cut for our countertop.
April 2 - New delivery date for the replacement countertop pieces - being shipped via FedEx. 
April 3 - Actual delivery date of the replacement pieces by FedEx. They arrived mid-morning and the FedEx driver carried them right into our kitchen, saying something to the effect of ?FedEx wants you to have a great day so we'll do what it takes." Wow! 
The replacement pieces correctly were the hard brown maple that we had originally ordered and matched the larger piece that we had received previously. All pieces had been treated with mineral oil and wrapped in plastic, perfectly packed and were gorgeous. 
April 8 - Andy installed the countertop and it is stunning!
Despite the errors that were made, which cost us a few weeks of delays, we would deal with Kobi Blocks again and would not hesitate to recommend this company. Kobi Block's product is first rate, but just as important Jared, Tom and Jerry are professional, polite, helpful, ethical and reasonable to deal with. Mistakes happen; the nightmare comes in when companies
do not correct their mistakes promptly and cheerfully. The folks at Kobi Blocks did and the result was that it was a dream working with them and we now have a countertop that is a dream! 
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