Design Plus Granite

If I could give ZERO stars to this company I would. Be aware! Where do I even start? We had a LOT of issues with Design Plus, their sales person and part owner; Laurie, and their contractor. They are quick to demand payment, but offer poor service, absolutely no follow-up/communication and lack of quality in their work. We are doing a kitchen remodel and contracted them to provide cabinets, quartz and also used their contractor to do all installing, which included a backsplash and appliances. They like to say that their contractor; Andrew Baker, "is not affiliated" with them, but yet he's the one installing their cabinets for customers. And they never gave us a list of options for other contractors. Once the cabinets are delivered they don't care if the work is being done on time or correctly. Their contractor does a POOR job installing the cabinets, likes to half *** everything and cut corners. We had to ask him several times to redo the job, as cabinet doors and panels were bowed, bent and unlevelled. Not to mention that he cancelled several times and never cleaned up before he left. There were panels missing and several scratches and dents on many cabinets. Once they installed the quartz Laurie started demanding the final payment by sending us threatening text messages, even though the contract CLEARLY stated "final payment is due upon COMPLETION of the job" and NOT when quartz is delivered or installed. Did I mention the quartz was not measured correctly and there were large gaps? They blamed our walls, but in fact they did not cut precisely. And they won't even caulk between the gaps, they just leave it like that for the customer to handle it. Extremely unprofessional and she doesn't call the customer, she likes to cowardly send text messages. To top it all off, after the contractor finally finished installing the cabinets, he simply disappeared and never came back to finish the backsplash job and install the rest of the appliances. Our kitchen is still unfinished thanks to Design Plus and their contractor! The worst experience ever, we will NEVER use this company again let alone recommend it to anyone! Unprofessional, unreliable, and treat their customers with no respect.

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Laurie Dean and the staff and installers here are FANTASTIC. I was really nervous about having my kitchen done, but they handled everything. BTW, I had priced out other places (like Builder's Warehouse downtown) and Design Plus was right in there--and unlike Builder's WH (which does not guarantee their work, has their employees work off the books to install, and have cheaper, thinner granite), Design Plus does really, really good work. Here's an example. Instead of using a paper pattern to trace and cut their granite, they have a professional come out and do a LASER PATTERN of your countertops so that they cut the granite just right. Paper patterns can stretch and get distorted, so this is really important. They also guarantee their sealed granite for 15 years! I can't say enough about this place. They made the experience painless. I'd trust them with my house any time. Don't go with substandard places (which you'll complain about for decades later). Get real professionals at Design Plus do it and you won't be sorry. Thanks Design Plus!

The Best Staff; was friendly and professional and accommodating at every step. They have many slabs to choose from and were patient as we asked a lot of questions. The slab we wanted was not in stock. They told us a boat delivery was coming soon to Chicago and kept us up-to-date on its progress. They helped us pick out the sink and faucet. Installers were first rate. Installation week was thrown off by an ice storm. Our delivery was delayed, and in catching up, the installers agreed to work late - since I had already taken the day off work. Excellent price, service and responsiveness. Highly recommended

We recently purchased granite for our kitchen from Design Plus. While we love the granite, we did have some issues with the company. I've put a high level list of these so you don't have to read all my ranting,
Short story:
1. They didn't show up on the day they were supposed to - didn't call either. I had to call the next morning.
2. They gave away the slab they had said they would hold for us (and quot;soft holdand quot; - no down payment made).
3. Communication was pretty bad all around.
4. The final invoice did not take into account the $1,200 they had already charged my credit card as a down payment.
5. Granite was pretty, however!
Long story:
We both had the Friday before Labor Day off, so we went to two granite places - I had already been to or called all the others in the Peoria area by this point. Design Plus was our first stop of the day. We talked to Laurie about what we wanted, and she had a great suggestion for us. We have honey oak cabinets, but wanted light granite because we have a galley kitchen. I figured out early in our search that it would be hard to find light granite with warm tones.
We quickly found a slab that we really liked (White Spring), but held off on making any decisions until we made our other stop. We left, went to the other place (Rich Murray, he was great to talk to, but his price was higher than other quotes we'd received - though he was very helpful and experienced, so I think he'd be a great option for custom/detailed work) but ended up back at Design Plus that day. They let us have a and quot;soft holdand quot; on the granite slab that we wanted, meaning, we didn't have to put any money down but had 5 or 6 days to make a final decision.
The following Tuesday (day after Labor Day - 1 business day after we had originally picked our slab) I went back in after work, taking one of our cabinet doors to make sure it matched. It was perfect! This was it! Sign me up! But then..........they told me the slab had been sold. It literally had a sticker with my name on it, and they sold it to someone else (rather, it was on and quot;holdand quot; for her, in case she didn't like other slabs they were getting in). The other person had put a down payment on, so I suppose that trumped our soft hold. Luckily, they had another slab of the same granite that we liked.
A few weeks after we gave our down payment, they came out and measured. We were then scheduled to have the granite installed the next Wednesday. They couldn't tell me the exact time, but jotted down between 12 and 2 and told me to call the Monday before and verify. I called Monday, they again told me between 12 and 2. They called again Tuesday to verify a change we had made (changed our edge choice) and then said installation would most likely be after 1 PM (Wed). Wednesday comes, and I leave work at 11 and use vacation time so that I can be there when they install it, make sure it all looks good, answer any questions, and get the kitchen put back together by the evening. So I get home and wait.....and wait.....and wait. I haven't dealt with contractors much, so I was thinking maybe they were saving ours for last, since it was kind of a small job. Finally around 5:15 PM I called their office, and they are closed. I called again in the morning before they were open, and received a call back, with them apologizing. They said they would come between 11-1 that day. I went home over lunch and they arrived around 12:20 and got started. I made sure everything was as we ordered, then went back to work.
I was a little worried about getting home and seeing what it looked like, just because communication wasn't a strong point of theirs. However, the granite looks beautiful! We purchased an Elkay egranite sink on our own, which they installed even though they had to do some modifications to our existing cabinet. Installation was done cleanly, I didn't have too much to wipe up after. One last issue - the invoice was left for us and it did not take have the $1200 down payment they had already charged my credit - another communication fluke? Overall, happy with the job, just not super happy with the service.
Because of the issues with communication, and therefore, their professionalism, I probably wouldn't recommend them.

After choosing my granite and putting 50% down, I waited for Design Plus to deliver. Ms. Dean knew that I was on a budget and although she couldn't just offer me a discount, she did give me a standard stainless steel sink for free with the underlayment of the granite. She has been working with my contractor for some time. After working with my contractor, their installation team made a laser pattern of my countertops and went back to cut and ready the granite. Others in this industry use a wood or paper pattern which can tear or stretch during transit back to the shop, so laser is the way to go to get a good fit.
Unfortunately, my contractor was not on site when they installed my counters. Design Plus Granite retrieved a key, let themselves in, installed the counters, and left. I checked on the installation several hours later to find a crack that ran across the front of the stainless steel sink. It was not simply a vein--it was a crack in the granite itself that extended to (and wrapped around) the front of the granite. It was clear that during installation, the piece was not completely supported as it was put into place. I was pretty surprised that the installers did not report this to the owner(s) or manager at Design Plus. I called Ms. Dean and after talking to me a bit about granite and the risks of larger veins and quot;opening up,and quot; she had a staff person come to my house to inspect the crack. While I waited for their staff person to come out, I called my contractor's right hand man and asked him to be present. Because my contractor's team is much more experienced with granite and these kinds of installations, I thought that would be a good move. I was a bit scared that someone would try and persuade me that this crack wasn't a big deal and that they could just seal it. Because it was an actual crack and not a vein--and it was positioned right in front of one of the sink bowls, I really, really wanted them to replace it. As my contractor's right hand man and I waited, the staff person talked to Ms. Dean by phone. It was pretty stressful because it sounded as if they were going to force me to keep the cracked granite and not do anything about it. My contractor's man gave me a look like, and quot;Here we go,and quot; but by the time the staff person got off the phone, he informed us that Design Plus would be replacing that piece of granite.
I can't tell you how relieved I was. I'm not sure if it made a difference that my contractor's right hand man was there, but I suspect it might have helped.
One thing--At the time, I was really surprised (and later, kind of upset when I realized) that Design Plus Granite's installers did not admit to the owner(s) or manager(s) that they'd cracked the granite. I would have rated this supplier as an A + in each area. I mean, the owner(s) worked to meet my needs, they met my timeline, they treated me with respect... so what happened with their installers? It's not like when you work with Builder's Warehouse in downtown Peoria where you hire their staff and quot;off the clockand quot; at an hourly rate to install the granite and you're totally at risk with no guarantee that the job will be done right. Design Plus is a long time, family owned regional business that has a good reputation and is recommended by a good number of high-end contractors.
Anyway, that was the only problem. The granite looks great now and I'm glad that it's installed and we're moving on. I do recommend Design Plus Granite--IF you can take time off of work and be there when they install the granite. Otherwise, I have no reservations about this company.

We could not be happier with the service from Design Plus. They had a good selection of material to choose from and everyone I worked with there was very friendly and helpful. They planned the installation around our schedule. Have recommended them to family and friends.

My goal was to have beautiful, functional granite counter tops at a reasonable price. That goal was accomplished. There were 4 steps in this process. 1) the visit to Design Plus. We met with Laurie Dean, Vice President and daughter of the President. She showed us granite and explained the process. We actually visited the facility two more times to pick out and order the granite. 2) the original measure and drawing. This was done by Andy Collins who actually works for the cabinet part of the business. This involved him coming to my house and discussing ideas and details. Once the space was measured, the granite could be ordered. The granite came in on time to the day. I approved the slabs and then paid 50% of the job cost. 3) Then Dave came out to my house and did a laser shoot. This took 3+ hours. He was meticulous. 4) I went back to the shop and met with Josh (the computer guy who matches up all the previous measurements to be sure they are perfect.) and Laurie. By now, my granite counter tops were now templates (one wood and one vinyl). Laurie helped us place all the see through vinyl templates on the slabs right where we wanted them. This is the best part. No other place offered this interactive service. I really like the veins that can flow through the granite and wanted them to be in the most obvious part of my counter tops. 5) Installation!!!!! A crew came to my house and installed all the sinks and granite. This actually took them two visits because they had to do some back splashes that could only be measured once the tops were installed. This crew also sealed the tops. (I was worked up about this and didn't need to be. It is simply a spray and wipe; however, the crew did not seal the ogee bullnose edges.
My biggest complaint. Communication. I've been told by several different contractors that this is typical of the granite industry. They claim the granite companies are so busy no one has to provide good communication. My phone calls were always answered by a receptionist and she tried to answer my questions. (She told me Dave could laser shoot with the counter tops on. This resulted in a wasted trip by him and a lot of frustration on my part. Don't believe it, just take the things off.) When the receptionist couldn't answer my questions, she told me someone would call back. This never happened. I always had to call again. The day of installation, I had been told the crew would be here in the morning no later than 10.Finally, at 1130 a.m. I called the shop. Apparently the schedule had changed and there was no communication to the receptionist or me. They finally got to my house at 130 pm. I am highlighting this because if I were employed full-time, I have no idea how I would have handled this. Fortunately, I am retired and could be flexible.

After all this, I would still recommend this company with a few warnings. Be patient. Get cell phone numbers. Keep asking questions and talking. The granite is beautiful. They know what they are doing..... they just don't communicate it very well.

The job has not been done, yet.

We got very good quality cabinets. They're very reasonably priced. This place beat the prices of the other places we checked. Their craftsmanship was excellent.

Laurie came out to discuss options and do a rough measure for a quote. From there, it was a bit of a hassle getting her to respond to commmunication via email and phone. She seemed to lack some basic knowledge about her stones and the properties of the marble. After signing the contract, it took about 2 weeks to have someone come and template. It took about 2 1/2 hrs. for that and then he had to come back a few days later to remeasure due to some problems with his 1st measurements. When they came to install, the appt. time was for 10:00 am and no one showed up, called, or returned 3 calls until 4:30. By then, there would not have been enough time to finish the install. They rescheduled for 2 days later and arrived at the appt. time. The install took from 8:30 am to 2:00 pm. One seam is very obvious and looks horrible. They scratched up the cabinets and walls to the point where they need to be reprimed, sanded, and painted. The backsplash was to be installed 2-3 days after the countertops. We are now at 1 week past install and still waiting. We had an appt. today for 10:00 and after 3 calls, it is now 4:30 and I just received a call that they would not be coming today. I should be receiving a call from Laurie to set up a time for Tuesday, after the 3 day Memorial day weekend of work we had planned. Now, we cannot finish painting. The most aggravating thing is that if you have an appt. at 10:00 am, and you know you won't be able to get there, call and let the client know, so that they don't sit at home all day waiting for someone to show up. I will post a follow-up after the backsplash is installed.