Integrity and kitchen cabinets

I finally finished my new kitchen.

Three years of planning, designing, and ordering and nearly nine months of construction. Finally, it's done. So, then, why am I writing about it on LinkedIn and what does my kitchen have to do with integrity? Let me explain...

The design and planning process started around 2018 although we'd been talking about remodeling the kitchen forever. We had a design in mind and were ready to start ordering cabinets in early 2020, just before the COVID lockdowns. Naturally, everything ground to a halt and didn't start back up in earnest for a couple of years.

Flash forward to mid-2022 when we started working with a small company called Walcraft Cabinetry . Their design team was far better than the four we engaged previously. Together we tinkered with the design to accommodate a few novel features that would require some custom work. No problem.

One wall of the kitchen was reserved for pantry cabinets and a refrigerator. We needed the pantry cabinets to be custom built with a greater depth than standard and, according to the cabinet manufacturer's brochure, this wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, our designer advised us that the additional depth wouldn't be available because of supply chain problems. We accepted the design with the shallower pantry cabinets. I didn't like it, but it's what was necessary to complete the project.

Over the course of a year we received the cabinets and our contractor did the demolition and rebuild. Everything was perfect... except that one wall...

About a month after we finished the kitchen, I contacted the cabinet manufacturer directly to purchase some additional trim pieces. During that conversation, I mentioned the pantry cabinets. Can you guess where this is going? Three different layers of management at the manufacturer told me that the deeper custom cabinets were, indeed, available at the time of my order and weren't impacted by supply line issues.

I called Walcraft and had some conversations with a few folks there about the situation. One of the founders, Brian Nightingale , contacted me soon afterward. He investigated the emails and calls between the designer and me. He verified that the cabinets I wanted were, indeed, available when I placed the order. He admitted that Walcraft provided me with incorrect information and he asked a simple question, "What do you want to do."

After so many months of not having a kitchen, not to mention the additional expense, I wasn't enthusiastic about the prospect of tearing out a wall of cabinets that we had only just completed. My wife and I talked about it over several days and decided we would be happier in the long run if the pantry wall was done the way we had originally envisioned.

Brian and I talked again. Here's the integrity part: he acknowledged the error and offered to send us the pantry cabinets and trim at no cost. That was unexpected. Brian even offered to send a contractor to do the work for us, but didn't have anyone local. We agreed that Walcraft would pay for the cabinets and I would pay for the contractor to redo the work. I offered to pay at least the difference in the price of the cabinets, but he wouldn't hear of it.

It's not unusual for people to make mistakes. It is unusual for a mistake to be this costly. Brian acknowledged the mistake, owned up to it, and made it right. I've worked with many businesses that made mistakes and never encountered this level of honesty and integrity. Because of this, I've introduced a real estate developer, contractors, and neighbors to Walcraft. Brian earned my business and goodwill for life.

Many thanks to Brian and the team at Walcraft. The kitchen is perfect.