KITCHENS PLUS DESIGN & RMDLNG

Kitchens Plus is a separate, but connected business with MCM Natural Stone, both of which work out of the same building on Linden Avenue in East Rochester.The appeal of using the two companies was the coordindation of preparing the kitchen cabinets for the installation of the granite.  We were advised from another granite company that our cabinets would either have to be raised higher on the wall, or built up about an inch because the tile floor we were going to install would prohibit the dishwasher from being removed unless this was done.  The first granite company we visited did not offer this service and advised us to go out and find a carpenter.  When we visited MCM Stone to look at granite, we were introduced at the same time to Kitchens Plus Design and remodeling.  We decided to go with both companies because we had a Direct Buy discount through them and the convenience of the carpentry work and installation of porcelain tile floor to complete the job we wanted to do.
After our initial meeting with owner Mike Valle, a date was scheduled for work to begin.  Deposits were given to him for both companies, as a downpayment on the granite and a downpayment on the carpentry/tile floor work.  Things up to this point were fine.  Once the work started, we saw a completely different side of Mike.  He has a very brusque attitude, to the point of being extremely rude at times. What we thought was going to be a convenience in working with the 2 companies together ended up being the most dysfunctional relationship in business I've witnessed.  Buzzi Valle, the owner of MCM Natural Stone, is a lovely woman who I believe tries hard to run a nice business, but the communication between MCM Stone and Kitchens Plus Design is almost non-existent and made for a most frustrating experience.  Kitchens Plus used all subcontractors.  When one hurt his back, work stopped for over a week as there was no replacement.  Once the tear out person's back was better and he returned, another subcontractor was brought in to help with the tile floor because they were very behind schedule with the job.  They only worked together 2 days, then the first subcontractor was abruptly pulled off the job with no explanation.  Mike has a habit of saying one thing and doing another.  Many times he would say he was coming for something and either never showed up or was several hours late. 

As well, there were other frustrating errors:  We had purchased a sink from VP supply, which was taken to MCM Stone so the hole to be cut in the granite would be accurate.  The sink stayed at their warehouse for weeks.  When they pulled it out of the box, it was the wrong sink.  Our sink had been given to another customer, even though my husband had written our name all over the box.  Buzzi felt so bad about the mixup, she discounted our bill in an amount equal to the price of the sink, which I very much appreciated.  The shape of the sink was the same, it was the finish of the sink that was not right.

The person he subconracted to do the plumbing; i,e., install garbage disposal, re-install dishwasher was, I believe, not a licensed plumber.  He was distracted and always in a hurry, and did a very poor job with the plumbing.  After re-installing the dishwasher, he left in a hurry to get to another job. Minutes later my husband discovered he had not put the screws in the sides of the dishwasher to hold it in place.  We called and asked him to return, to which he replied "you have a Philiips Head screwdriver, don't you?"  "Your husband can do it".  The first time we ran the dishwasher after that, we never realized that no water had run at all through the entire cycle, because the "plumber" had not turned the water supply to it back on.  After turning the water on and running it again, water flowed out from underneath it, the pipes under the sink also leaked.  At this point, I was so upset and frustrated I called and got the assistant at MCM Stone and insisted the plumbing be fixed and never to send that subcontractor back to my house.  She did her best to get a plumber to us (the Valle's were in California at the time), and subsequent to that, Mike had another individual come back to check the work.  He told us that he had to re-plumb 3 different jobs that day that the first guy had screwed up.
There was also problems with custom marbel thresholds breaking.  All in all, a very frustrating company to work with.  I love my floor and counters, but I would not do business with him again.