Most likely they're not interested in your job for whatever reason. Find ohters who are.

I'd say forget them. Our first kitchen person the builder sent us to took 4 MONTHS to get back to us w/ a number that was $50,000 over our budget (and yes, he knew the budget!) The kitchen person we are going w/ to make our cabinets took less then 24 hours for the initial quote after I sent him the designs (and, is doing the whole house of cabinets for $2000 less than the first guy's bid- but that's another story)

If they are non-responsive now, I would say that is a very bad sign for the future!

When we started our project last summer I talked to several kitchen designers that never got back to me. It was so frustrating. Even when I would email or call them again I got no response. Even the lady at Lowe's who I spent 3 hours with putting together a kitchen plan never would get back to me. I finally went with the cabinet maker my GC uses because he was the only one I could get a quote from.
One kitchen designer admitted that he dropped the ball and wished me luck when I sent him my final email telling him not to bother with the quote. I figured I waited 2 months and he never responded, so I moved on.
The economy is not that great so I don't understand why GC's & KD's are so unresponsive.I thought maybe it was me, but I have heard the same story from others.

Maybe it's because I look too young, and they think I can't afford it. One guy asked me point blank if I could afford a kitchen remodel. The weird thing is that the two who are dragging their feet are so nice in person and on the phone...
There aren't a ton of kitchen and bath companies or GCs who specialize in kitchens in my area, so I'm a bit limited. Oh well.. at least you guys talk to me. :o)

It can take a while to work up a quote, however, this is not a "busy" season and the snow has give a bunch of days "off" from job sites.
If they can't get back to you during the wooing process, imagine what working with them would be like! Keep interviewing. You have not met Mr. (or Mrs.) Right yet.

My experience with Designers/GC's has certainly included people who walk away if they think you are in over your head.

For instance, if you sound like you don't really have your head screwed on straight (read that as crazy!) or you don't have the money (or if you have money but your requests are way off the charts for the money) or etc they may decide to just cut their losses right from the start.

I am definitely not implying that is the case here. Just putting it out there.

If someone is acting like that before hiring them for a job, consider that they would be totally unreliable to actually hire.

As far as the guy goes that had the audacity to ask you if you could afford to pay for the kitchen work, well, he is totally unprofessional.

Where does anyone get off walking away because they perceive someone is in over their head? Who are they to assume such a thing. People like that are unprofessional as well, and not worth YOUR time to even talk to them.

Consider that these people actually are doing you a favor by showing their true colors before investing a dime of your money. Keep looking. You'll eventually find the right person.

Sandy, You say who are they to assume such a thing? You just made the statement that we can't ASK if the numbers we are talking about are reasonable for you so all we are left with is to assume.

As to where we get off walking away when we percieve that an upcoming job is unrealistic, painfull or a total money pit? The same place you do. Every time you have dumped a boyfriend, boycotted a restaurant or opted not to buy the SUV because the miles per gallon was too high you have made that same choice.

To assume that because you walk in the door of our business that 1) we can not ask pertinent questions about a job because it's none of our business 2) we cannot make assumptions because it's none of our business and 3) we must want/beg/plead for you business might make us unprofessional in your eyes. In our eyes it makes us lucky to have walked away from you.

Now, me, if I walk away from a possible client because it's a poor fit I am very straight forward and actually tell them that's what is happening. I will actually say "I simply don't like you very much" or "you smell" or "I don't think that a major remodel in your life right now is the right choice because you have a lot of other things going on. I can refer you to other designers but I myself don't want to be involved in a remodel that I think is beginning behind the eight ball." And I say it to them in that way because you know what? I'm a jerk, and beyond being a jerk total honesty is what you are paying me for.

But most professionals who have made that choice don't want to hurt your feelings or cause trouble. So they can put off replying to an email or put off working on the job. And after a week of good intentions of sending a break up email then it becomes a long time between emails... then it gets harder to write.

However, even though I think we disagree on the some major points I agree with you completely on the one thing: If you haven't recieved a response in a couple of weeks move on. The choices for whats really going are is pretty limited. Either they don't want you, in which case you should walk away before they take you on for the wrong reasons, or they want you but are too behind, too unorganized, too whatever to handle things timely.

Personally, I want to add that I find immediate turn around times suspicious as well. On a designer level I don't want to "whip" it out in a day or so. I like to obsess over it for a few days, say three, then put it away for a couple of days and take another stab at it. It's the same for construction pricing. I like to do it, and then take a break. It cuts down on missed items, duplicated items, etc. A second run is almost always a good idea.

I think that some designers and GC's are not reliable and it is better that you realize this fact before you hire them. If they start out bad then it will only get worse.

If you want a reliable kitchen design firm you may want to check out "Best Cabinets". They sell direct and have award winning designs.

Here is a link that might be useful: Reliable Kitchen Designers and Builders

We had the same experience of people not calling back or showing up for appointments when they said they would or not giving us a quote even though they said they would. That showed me that I did not want them to be involved in our project, but I also figured that for whatever reason they didn't want our job either.
When we finally did decide on the GC and KD to do our reno (it was a whole house job so we were going to be very involved with each other for several months) I point-blank asked them if they thought they would be able to work with me. We had had several starter meetings deciding on the scope of the job, our likes/dislikes, who makes the final decisions, who the main go-to person would be (me and not DH who has little interest in this sort of thing) etc and I needed to make sure that they were comfortable with that.
They said yes and so we signed.

I think it weird that they wouldn't want to make money. It's not marriage, it's a dang kitchen remodel. They don't have to love me - sheesh, they just have to be professional, do the work, get paid, and that's it. :o)
I have already decided on a specific cabinet manufacturer, which limits me even further, because of all the GCs I talked with, only three sell that brand (and one is Home Depot).
Morgne, do you actually tell people that they smell badly? Or that you don't like them? Why would you not liking them prevent you from working with them? I don't like a lot of people, but I still cooperate and work with them when I need to. It's not as if I'm going to be friends with them - a working relationship is different than a personal relationship. I'm sure you have your reasons. Perhaps you own your own business and don't want to deal with people who annoy you. I can understand not wanting to deal with annoying people. I just would never tell them they smell.

I have experienced this and it is so frustrating. All things being equal, I just drop them and move on. If someone comes with great recommendations from people you trust, however, it may pay to follow-up a bit more doggedly.

Everyone has a strong suit, and some of the best quality contractors and subs have trouble prioritizing paperwork and bids. They also are in highest demand and may be very busy working on somebody else's job. But once they are on your job, they produce quality work, are detail-oriented, and are very productive.

Think of it this way. If you like to work with your hands, are you likely to be a detail oriented paperwork person as well? Yes, there are definitely exceptions, but remember, some people are great salesmen, but then can't deliver the goods. One skill-set (sales) does NOT correlate strongly with the other (construction).

OTOH, kitchen designers are a different story. They should be able to follow-up relatively quickly (week or so).

Good luck!

PS I'm not in the building trades, just a not-too-handy homeowner, so I don't have a dog in this race.

I share the frustration, and it is not limited to GCs or designers, but it seems to be across the home improvement industry.

We are doing a major remodel on a house that we just bought. Every GC we spoke with told us that this is a great job for our area right now, and the fact that we are doing it in the middle of the winter when they are slow in general was appealing to them. We had GCs practically beg for the job and then not come back with a quote. Maybe they got new work in the meantime? Fine, but just let us know. Frankly, if someone didn't like me or didn't want to do the job or thinks I smell, fine. Just let me know. A vague excuse like, "I can't do this job at this time" is much better than no response at all. If you feel funny saying this to my face, email me. If you need more time to prepare the quote, just tell me that instead of disappearing.

We went to a tile store and spent most of the afternoon there selecting tiles for our bathrooms. The sales person was very helpful and showed us some possibilities that we loved. She also volunteered that she was eager to help us with light fixtures, and promised to work with their lighting designer and show us some options. Ultimately, she never even got back to us with a quote for the tiles. At another tile store, the same thing. We chose an (expensive) tile and never even received a quote, despite my calling a few times to follow up.

I really don't understand the attitude, but I do take the lack of responsiveness as a sign. We ended up doing business across the board with those who were professional and responsive, and so far, so good.

Adrienne,

First I wanted to put in a mini-apology because when I reread my post this morning it read as more "attackish" then I wanted it to. My only excuse is that I had a longer day then I had thought and this is a sore point with me.

It is SO true that I don't want to deal with annoying people. Lol!

I am an independant contractor so in essence I am my own business. I don't sell cabinets, or make a profit off of someone else's time like a GC does. I rent my time on an hourly basis. When we talk about the making money side of things (why don't they want to make the money) it's not that we don't want the money, or even that we won't make the money, it's that we think our time is better spent making the money somewhere else. I only have a certain amount of hours in a day. If my goal is to work/charge for 8 hours in a day and I have two jobs available to me for that same time frame I'll take the job I'm more interested in and people are definitely a deciding factor. With something like an appliance salesmen the question may be why doesn't he want the money because it doesn't require anything more of him to get that second sale while with someone who sells their time it means late nights and working weekends. If I size up a situation and think that for whatever reason the job will end up costing me more than I'd get paid for (or would be frustrating or would take forever or etc) then I'll just take the second project. I can only sell my time once!

I don't know if I've ever actually said "you smell" to a client, but I have definitely had things like unsanitary conditions play a role in if I want to move forward with a job. It's helpfull to know that I specialize in working with small budgets and often work giving advice to DIY. That's what I enjoy doing. And that entails spending a lot of time with the clients and often at their home. If I go to the home and they are heavy smokers so the house reeks and they have three big dogs that they can't keep off me and they keep talking about the neighborhood going to hell because of a mexican family moving in next door (true stories) I say things like "I don't feel like we are a good match. I don't particularly like dogs, the lingering smoke smell is bothering my allergies and I don't know what to say about the Mexicans. With these things in mind I would certainly give you a referral to another designer if you like and of course, I won't charge you for this visit." Something like that. I do try and be polite but I also want to be honest. Maybe when the next designer comes over they will put away the dogs and air the house out.

I DO work with people I don't particularly like. As long as I feel like we have similar goals and values that's where I am at. But often, the reasons you might not like someone are reasons that seriously affect working together on something as intense as a full kitchen remodel. For instance, someone who is disorganized to a fault but still wants to be their own GC, someone with no construction understanding or background who demonstrates an unwillingness to listen to the GC, someone who complains at the quotation of your pricing (not a bill but the up front quote of amount per hour). None of these things make someone a bad person and if the job is interesting and we agree on other levels we may still move forward. But if you combine them together you get a project that is going to take forever, be painfull to execute, and I'll be stiffed somewhere along the way for my fee.

In the same way you don't want your remodel to be a horrible process where everything that can go wrong, does go wrong, I don't want that either. I get very invested in the jobs I do. You don't want to start a job with a weirdo designer or a nut job GC and I don't want to start one with a nut job GC and a crazy person for a client. Somewhere a GC is thinking "that dang weirdo designer and crazy person client". A good remodel is a team effort! A bunch of us stuck in a life raft together until the thing is over.

In sum, when you panic at 6:15 in the morning because you had second thoughts about your faucet and the guy is unloading the tools to start drilling your counter holes I want to laugh and say good morning! Not think to myself, why did I get into this mess!

Someone planning to spend 15K on a kitchen remodel in a neighborhood of 2 million dollar homes sends up as big a red flag to professionals as someone planning on spending 75K in a neighborhood of 200K homes. There's a thread on the Remodeling forum about "buying your own products" that is very applicable as well.

You may not mean to, but you're ringing lots of warning bells for most contractors/designers.

Here is a link that might be useful: Buying my own stuff

I plan to spend about 16k for cabinets, I already spent 5k for appliances, 4 to 5k for wood floors (for most of the main level, not just the kitchen), a thousand or less for floor and backsplash tile, 2 thousand for the sink, 4k for counters, and the rest of the materials will add up to about a thousand or so. That's 34 thousand, not including whatever they plan to charge for labor. I guess maybe 50 thousand total? What kind of warning bells for that?

You have so many more options here. Call the managers/owners and ask them when someone will get back to you. Tell them the approximate dollar amount of the work you plan and that you are ready to go forward. Let them know that you are concerned their staff is not taking your project seriously. Every customer should at least get an answer as to whether the company wants their business or not. Request that another designer/sales person be assigned to your project.

Be matter of fact and professional, but also be very firm in getting answers. With all the research you have done, you would be a pretty easy client.

You may have to make some more calls and assess why several didn't call you back, but you can find someone that's right for the job. The fact that people haven't gotten back with you after several weeks is disconcerting, especially if they are giving excuses. Just imagine once work commenced!

Remodeling or even building a house is not rocket science; you just need to make sure you are educated and use professional people with good reputations--even then, something is bound to go wrong but if you have professional people that stand behind their work you should be okay.

So many people I know have had wonderful remodels using their own subs; with the internet and information we have now, unless you're wanting to save time and aggravation you can do so much now that only contractors and designers used to do.

Good luck with your project!

I had that same problem and it puzzled me. After selecting a KD and GC I asked the GC why some contractors/ designers never call back or respond. He said that's easy, most want to do new construction only because its much easier. Most only take on remodels if business is slow.

We interviewed a lot of GC's. A few of them never bid. I wasnt about to chase them. I know what a nightmare chasing contractors are on the job, if they are unresponsive from the start- forget it!

If they are really busy or indisposed they would contact you and ask for some extra time, we had some do that too.

If you are really interested in a particular group, I might send one email to make sure they hadnt mis-sent the proposal but otherwise dont bother chasing them.

The GC we picked AND LOVED was always right back to us with each mod before the final signing. And he is here without fail. We've not once waited on him or chased him.

I had a similar problem when I was planning my kitchen remodel; one GC was great about scheduling his initial visit and also bringing out his cabinet maker, but then I could not get an estimate out of either one. I moved on, and then 3 MONTHS later he contacted me and said they were ready. I told him after he didn't respond to my last inquiry I thought he had given me the brush off--he said, no, his cabinet person was just really backed up and couldn't get to my job until now. Too late.

I live in a semi-rural area which makes things even more difficult as I do not have many choices to begin with. I might find 5 people willing to come out, and then if three do not even get me an estimate I am down to hoping one of the two will be okay.

Kitchen done--now looking into improving our insulation and adding a HVAC system. Four insulation guys came out to give an estimate. It has been 3 weeks and I have only heard from 1 of them, even with a follow-up phone call or email at the 2 week mark. No response. Of 3 HVAC companies, again only one has gotten a number to me, though I did get through to the other two and they promised an estimate this week. We'll see.

It is obviously very frustrating. Do I just assume at this point the non-responders are not interested (it is a big job on an old house) or do I keep pursuing the matter? I guess if I want to proceed with this project my choices have been made for me if only one person is willing to do the job!

Usually, if they have several potential jobs, they will choose to pursue projects that are the easiest, make them the most money, and do not have high-maintenance homeowners. (I speak as having been a high maintenance HO!)

Anne