When my mom did her update, she told the KD she had a $35K budget. "No Problem." The KD came back with a $65K price. "You can afford it, you're retired."

Guy does not even know his product!

The new electrolux does NOT have that stainless band between the controls and burners.

This was purchased end of Dec and delivered end of Jan and installed about two weeks ago -

We love the unit and I would NOT have bought it had Electrolux decided to keep that metal strip. I was so happy when I saw the new model without it.

Cathy

salesman at (supposedly) very reputable stone yard showed me a slab of honey onyx and told me it was granite.

GC tells me (daily) that "kirby" (he means KERDI) is "cr@p" and no one uses it; the plumber hates it and the plumbing inspector doesn't like it either and NOTHING beats a shower pan.

architect told me hardi was the way to go; that nichiha doesn't compare. when i asked him to tell me why he said he "never heard of it" before.

it's amazing we've gotten this far!

An appliance salesman at my local, reputable "mom and pop" appliance store recently told me that it would be "no problem" to use a 6" duct on a vent hood that clearly specified that it required an 8" duct, adding "you won't notice a difference." (He did not mention that his recommendation to install the vent with a smaller diameter duct than the manual recommended would void the product's warantee.) Thank goodness for the advice on GW -- I might otherwise have believed him.

Not an appliance salesman, but equally ill-informed: at Crate and Barrel last week a salesperson and I were standing right next to a gorgeous new kitchen island called the "French Kitchen Island" which stated clearly on the label that it was topped with "natural Carrara marble." When I asked the salesman if the marble was sealed he said, "I don't think that is marble -- it is some other kind of material." (Just to be clear, there was no mistaking the island's top for any material other than Carrara marble.)

- At Home Depot, where they are no longer selling frameless cabinets, but only framed, they told me that frameless cabinets will "fall off the wall" if you put heavy things in them.

- My contractor had never seen a batch feed disposal, though he'd installed hundreds of continuous feed disposals. When I gave him the batch feed disposal to install, still packed in its box from UPS, he unpacked it, and sadly told me they sent me "a defective one with no switch", and I would need to return it. I explained how the batch feed style disposal works, and after he installed it, he told me he'd recommend it to his future clients.

My GC, who was wonderful in every way, had never heard of a push-button air switch for the garbage disposal. The electrician and I looked at him: huh? He'd just never installed anything other than wall switches, I guess. So, we ended up with two of them (main and prep sinks) and he thought they were so cool. Our KD talked him into plugmold, too, rather than outlets in the subway tile backsplash. So, I feel responsible now for a little of his education. He was such a perfectionist in all ways, so I am glad that he took those ideas to heart. So many of the ideas we used I found here, thanks to all of you.

Our granite fabricator told us *no one* does 15" overhangs on an island, it is *always* 12". I said well that is what I want, so I guess I will be your first. LOL.

Many people probably do 11-12" overhangs with stone because that is about the outer limit of cantilever you can have with stone without additional support brackets, to my knowledge. (Taking into accoun t other factors).

One thing that an app liance salesman told me that was counter to everything that I have heard is that Fisher and Paykel r efrigerators are very reliable because "in Australia and New Zealand, your nearest dealer or authorized repair provider may be hundreds of miles away".

From what I have heard F&P fr idges are problematic. This appli ance store sells everything, including Subzero/Wolf and Miele---so he didn't have a vested interest in selling F&P in particular. So, I don't know why he thought they were so great.

A salesman at Sears tried to convince me once that the only reason front loading washers were more efficient was because "they use less detergent".

I very often have experienced salesmen trying to tell me that something that I know has been in daily use throughout Europe for several decades just won't work. Frameless cabinets; under-counter ovens; electric kettles; the list goes on and on. I sharpen up my accent and politely express surprise that one continent should have so much difficulty with something another considers normal.

Sometimes I don't feel quite so polite . . .

I had a local Bray & Scarff rep tell me that Miele was "garbage." Yeah. Naturally, they didn't carry Miele then. Needless to say, I didn't buy any of my appliances from them. They're very reputable around here, and that's fine. DH is a GC and many of his clients use them. But I got the moron sales rep and that was it for Bray & Scarff.

The KD who sold me my cabinets said I would never use my warming drawer. (I use it every night.)

This is almost as good as browsing Crags List ads. :)

Our cabinet consultant suggesting installing cup pulls upside down because "it makes a really great place for change, sponges, etc." I waited for him to laugh but it never came...

I was told at Lowe's that microwave drawers cannot go within 12 feet of another appliance because they will "microwave the metal and cause an explosion. But 12 feet is enough for the waves to filter out."

First time poster here :) While buying my Electrolux appliances from Lowes, they asked if we needed a Washer/Dryer (we are first time home owners in need of just about everything). I explained to the salesman that we do need them eventually, but don't have the additional 2-3k for them right now (we had just bought an oven, MW, DW, and Fridge). When I told him we were just going to buy a cheapie used pair from CL for now and buy them when we saved up, the salesman told me "That isn't sanitary. Every time you do a load of laundry, it will be like washing your clothes with the previous owners underwear." Niiiice!

Independent kitchen designer who told me Sub Zero was the only company that made a 24-inch fridge/freezer.

It's about $7,000 "but worth every penny," this person assured me.

The facts: There are about a dozen brands that look great, work great and use less energy, for about $300 and up. And if you love the Sub Zero, choose it because you love it, not because it's your only option! Everyone should have choices!)

I had one salesman tell me that if I tried to use a non-metallic pan on my induction cooktop, it would short out all the circuits and it would cost me more than the cooktop was worth to repair and it would not be warranty because I misused it.

He told me if I was sure I wanted induction, I'd better throw out all my non-metallic pans first, just to be safe. He knew a woman in town that had her unit shorted out TWICE by friends accidentally putting an aluminum pan on the element and turning it on.

Yesterday an appliance salesman told me that he could have a custom trim kit made for a KitchenAid microwave ($420 for the microwave, $129 for the trim kit) but couldn't have the trim kit made for a cheaper Sharp microwave. Huh? I asked him to call the custom shop again on that one. They said "no problem". I saved $150 and ended up with a bigger, more powerful microwave, as the Sharp was 2.0 cubic feet and the KA was 1.6.

I probably could have found a cheaper place to fabricate the trim kit, but at this point I'm in appliance overload.

This may be my favorite thread ever.

I was talking to my architect about putting in heated floors and he asked me why I would do that. I told him it was because my feet were always cold (duh). He looked me up and down and said, "You don't need heated floors, you need a pork chop." (I'm skinny.)

I actually laughed out loud when I read Sally123's post. =D

Dannie, I must admit that I laughed out loud when he said it. My contractor, however, was absolutely mortified.

We are DIY'ers but I work with numbers in the construction industry so I've got some quotes.

I had the designer/owner of a very successfull design/build firm in downtown portland tell me

1) that induction was cool because it meant I didn't need a hood or vent...

2) that I shouldn't spend anymore than about 8,000 dollars on cabinets or I was surely being ripped off...

3) and then after I bought 35 plus recycled cabinets (almost entirely drawer bases, 42" uppers, etc) of a beautifuly cherry design for 3500 dollars he told me I'd spent too much.

I could go on about that guy for ever....

Since we're in the building/selection process, I get a few of these every week it seems. We went to look at the place our builder prefers for appliances. I told the appliance rep (who was wearing a pin boasting she was a "certified appliancetologist") I was debating between a double wall oven *here*, and the microwave *there*, or a raised single wall oven with the microwave above it.

Putting the microwave *there* would have it on its own, to the side of the cooktop, most likely in the bottom of a lower with just a half door above.

She told me that beyond a doubt, my ONLY option for putting a microwave into any kind of framework would be a built in, and that because of fire code we would not be able to purchase "any" microwave and put it on a shelf. And that those restrictions would limit my choices to ONLY GE or a tiny Frigidaire (as she walks past the KA built in micro).

Then she told us we should think about putting it about 24" from the floor in the island because that's "trendy and will help with resale". I mean, trendy is always a smart design decision, especially for long-term value, right? Despite the obvious absurdity, I'll add that I'm about 5'11 and DH is about 6'4.

avesmor I'm cracking up about the "certified appliancetologist"! DH and I are the same heights as you and yours. I'm trying to picture a MW 24" off the floor! She's certifiable, all right.

This thread is a laugh!

Appliance salesman - "I'll deliver it next week, you have my word."
Following week - "I'll deliver it next week, you have my word."
Following week - "I'll deliver it next week, you have my word."
I'm not sure you want to know my response.

i'm still laughing about the pork chop!

The sad thing about all of these funny posts is that they show that we have to know more about these things than the so-called experts do.

Okay, let's see:

At one place, when I went in with the model number of the Whirlpool dishwasher that I wanted to buy, I was told 'oh you don't want that' and she led me to a Bosch. Well, I'm sure Bosch dishwashers are nice, but in my last house I had had an Asko which died and never cleaned all that well, replaced it with a Whirlpool Gold costing less than half and it was just as quiet and did a better job!

This same woman who, when I rang her with the model number of the KitchenAid smoothtop electric range that I wanted told me that I wanted a Bosch range with a gas top and an electric oven. When I explained that due to respiratory issues we did NOT have open gas flames in the house she said 'oh well this doesn't let that much gas out!'

Then there was the guy in Sears who told me that the refrigerator that I wanted (an Amanda freezer underneath) didn't exist, until I walked him over to the one on the floor.

Then, when I needed to REPLACE my convection microwave this guy somewhere else tells me they don't exist.

Then, at home depot/lowes someone tells me that I did NOT want a front loading washing machine with an internal water heater because they weren't reliable. When I explained that I had a European model which could heat water up to 203 F he changed his tune.

Good lord these people make money misleading the uninformed public.

It's awful.

I too am still laughing about the pork chop! BTW have you ever been tested for Celiac?

Here's kind of an opposite story that cracks me up. A friend of mine was shopping for a DW and we went to Home Depot together to see what they had. When a saleswoman approached us to ask if she could help, I was all set to grit my teeth for an encounter like the stories on this thread. To my surprise, she started quoting all kinds of specifications, comparisons, pros and cons of various brands (including many not carried by HD), installation issues to look out for, noise levels, disposal vs. no disposal, various drying mechanisms of different brands, etc. etc. I complimented her on her knowledge, so unusual these days. She said, "Oh, have you ever heard of the Gardenweb website? They have a Kitchens chat room and an Appliances chat room, and I've learned everything there. I check in daily".

We had a good laugh together, and I asked her what her Gardenweb name is. She said she never posts, only lurks. Perhaps she's reading this thread right now and laughing.

ak, that is too funny, and, I would guess, quite unusual! Every once in a while you find a gem - looks like you got lucky!

Yep, "pork chop" LOL!

I told my first KD that one of the main reasons I was doing my remodel was to gain more counter space. Since I'm tall (5'11"), he insisted that I needed a raised dishwasher. When I replied that having a raised dishwasher would reduce my counter space instead of increasing it and that bending over to load and unload the dishwasher had never seemed like a chore to me, he insisted that it would be worth it and that I should just trust him. I didn't.

I told my second KD that my budget for the entire remodel was $40,000 for everything but appliances (countertops, floors, carpentry, lighting, hardware, etc.), and he came back with a quote of $38,000 for just the cabinets. Yep, I'm sure I could have done the rest on $2,000.

I was doing a very plain, simple Shaker style, and he had included some ornate dividers between my pantry cabinets in his design. They looked completely out of place. I told him to take them off the plans, and he replied "That's a good idea! If we take out those fillers, we can use standard size cabinets and save you a lot of money!" He had added ugly, inappropriate fillers that made the design need custom-sized cabinets!

This guy is also the same one who told me I didn't want soapstone because it was so porous that everything stained it.

Needless to say, we didn't use either of these KDs.

A guy at Lowe's also told me that the F&P DW drawers held much less than a standard DW. When I explained that each drawer held about 60% of a standard DW, so together the two drawers actually held more, he didn't believe me and said that was impossible. I had to show him how much lower the bottom of the bottom drawer was to the ground than the standard DWs. He was shocked.

Oh, and avesmor and chicagoans, my MW is less than 24" off the floor, and it's wonderful, even for this tall person!

I asked the salesman at a local family-owned appliance store about the reliability of a fridge that I was considering. He told me that they had never had any trouble with that model fridge, ever. I went home to research online more and found out that the company had problems with their fridges in the past with reliability, but this one was a brand new model and there were no stats or reviews on it yet! I think that is called lying by omission. I guess he assumed that I would take his word for it. Little did he know that it took me a long time to decide and I checked multiple resources before making my decisions. I did end up going back to the store, but dealt with another salesperson.

I was in the appliance store the other day, explained to the salesmen sitting as his desk that I was looking at the bottom freezer model fridges with the regular door vs. the pull out door. He exclaimed that they don't even make those old regular door ones anymore. I said well, I have a pretty new one like "that" (as I point to the one on the page he is staring at in his open GE catalog) and I really like it. He just looked at it strangely for a second, and said, oh, I guess they do still make them. Duh--1st rule of sales--know your product!

holligator: I'm laughing at myself because I think I misunderstood the MW thing... I just looked at my own MW which I really like (it's a drawer MW directly under the counter top) and realized that the bottom of it is probably about 24" off the ground (counters are 39"). I was picturing the TOP of the MW being 24" off the ground, which would put the bottom about at the floor.

Our local independent appliance store only sells cooktops in the builder division (go figure), so I was in HD looking at the induction cooktops they sell, and the salesman came over and kindly explained to me that those are just for people who are "pretentious," and if you aren't there's no point in wasting money on one.

I'm still laughing about the porkchop, too.

Conate, I am 4 weeks in on a gluten-free diet. So far it hasn't helped but my doctor said give it a full 3 months.

Between the porkchop and the strangers' dirty underwear (!! welcome ariel!), this is a great thread.

Doing most of my kitchen DIY has meant dealing with lots of builder supply types who are sometimes less than well-disposed towards working with women homeowners. When I was buying the copper barstock to make my countertops, the copper warehouse dude on the phone wanted to know exactly why I was ordering it. I explained my plans, and he flatly said it couldn't be done and refused to sell me the copper. I had to cajole him until he finally exclaimed "OK lady, it's your funeral!" and wrote up the order. Jerk. I wish there had been any other option for getting the materials in my far-flung area.

I've always wanted to send Mr. Charm some photos of my gorgeous counters accompanied by a big bronx cheer. :^)

I don't want to defend too much, but sometimes I think cabinet manufacturers are all on different planets as far as how they lay their specs books out. And their naming conventions; some call things roll trays, some call them sliding shelves. None of them have an index that's worth a pot to...
Sometimes I can find stuff in the spec book, sometimes I can't and find it instead in the computer design program. Other times I give up and call the manufacturers with a "Look, I know you make this freaking thing. What do you call it and where do I find it?"
This ruckus is all multiplied by how many manufacturers the retailer carries.

cabinfo, I have to agree with you completely. I am having a dickens of a time finding the actual "specs" on cabinet manufacturers' web sites.

conate, fwiw, I *love* my Whirlpool Gold dishwasher!

I had an encounter that wasn't really a "crazy" statement by the KD, but one that I had to wonder if the KD was sincere or was intentionally glossing over the details. A KD told me that the building code would not allow my existing 30" free-standing electric range to be within a certain distance of combustible wall material--and named the distance. However, I had had a conversation a year ago with our town's building inspector precisely on that topic, and he had referred to the range manufacturer's install guide. The install guide (which I have) shows an illustration of the side of the range smack up against a combustible wall. It even has a label "combustible wall" in the illustration! I called him again, and he said the same thing.

Now, there is some factual basis for the KD thinking there is a minimum distance--the building inspector said if it was gas (due to flames extending to the wall). I do wish that the KD had said something like "it depends on your local building code" instead of a blanket statement. Whenever an 'expert' makes a blanket statement and then I find out later that it isn't 100% true, it makes me question all of the other things they said.

No one needs a hood unless they have a Wolf, Viking or DCS range. BTU's makes no difference.
You can't do uppers with a corner and not have glass inserts! This became an argument and the KD lost our job.

Had a similar experience as la koala. The KD at Lowes told me I had to have 24" clearance from the gas range top to bottom of my microwave.(Im 5' 3"...not!) He also said (depending on which county I lived in) I have to have a minimum of 42" from L counter to Island counter) or any other wall....apparently all "fire codes". I contacted the "inspector" that will actually come to my house and it's not factual. Onto KD #2.

How I remember the frustrations of my appliance research! My favourite was when I wanted to see a particular Electrolux fridge and freezer. I had seen Electrolux ICON appliances at a well-known Canadian retailerÂs flagship store in Toronto so I went there to see if they had the models I was interested in. Not finding them, I asked a salesman for help.

Oh, he tells me, Electrolux doesnÂt make appliances.

Odd, I say, since you have some Electrolux cooktops right over there.

Oh no, he says, those are ICON.

Yes, I say, Electrolux ICON Â it says so right on them.

So he proceeds to scour his Electrolux materials for information about the fridge and freezer, with no success. Finally I tell him I will email him the model numbers and perhaps he can then give me his price. So I email him the model numbers for the units IÂm interested in and I send him the direct link to the fridge and freezer on the Electrolux website. And he sends me a reply email telling me that Electrolux doesnÂt make refrigerators or freezers!!

I'm loving the stories! My KD actually thanked me at one point for informing her. I will continue to do so.

Her latest comment was that LED lights can't be put on a dimmer. She even showed me her notes from a meeting with their electrician that said that. I suggested she check again, that just maybe there have been new LED products introduced.

When refrigerator shopping at Sears Outlet

Me: I wish I could talk dh into that electrolux all ref.
Salesperson: That's a freezer.
Me: Really? Most freezers don't have crisper drawers.

A walked into a high-end appliance store ready to write up an order for a 36" rangetop with grill. He wouldn't sell it to me, said I'd never grill. I told him I grill all the time and in rainy Seattle would rather grill indoors year round. He told me I'd never grill and I'd hate it because it always looks dirty (the one I'm ordering has a cover and the grates go in the dishwasher). He just kept telling me I didn't want it. I asked him if he grilled and he said no, not much of a griller. So I told him I'd better head to a different store to find a salesman that was and left.

The first KD I contacted wouldn't touch our project. Said you can't really remodel a kitchen for under $85k. I asked her why she cared since she'd only be doing the design, not the remodel and she said she didn't want her name on a kitchen undero $85k. What's weird is that there were lots of small kitchens feature on her web site.

Britt

Hi brittu, I also had salesmen in two different high-end appliance stores tell me that I "didn't want" the grill on the Wolf or GE monogram ranges I was looking at. I didn't buy from either of those stores!

Me, at high end appliance store which carries Vent-a-Hood: "Do you carry Modern Aire?"
Him: "No. We believe they are an inferior product."
Me (very politely): "Oh. I think I would prefer baffles. I've read so many disappointing things about the performance of Vent-a-Hood."
Him (indignantly!): "I've NEVER heard ANYTHING bad about Vent-a-Hood."

Sheesh!

Me, at Sears: "How are these 2 vacuums different?
Man in vacuum dept at Sears: "this one has dual fans."
Me: "and that means......??"
Him: "It has 2 fans."

Oh! So THAT'S what 'dual' means.

An interior decorator told me that Obama was trying to make it illegal for homeowners to sell houses unless all of the windows were retrofitted for energy efficiency.

I tol her I thought his political base was made to a large extent of folks with older homes so I doubted that was what he was trying to do. She stayed firm, so I checked on Google: what's happening is that the administration is hoping to get an INCENTIVE program through Congress for folks who retrofit their windows. Unlikely to happen in this economy, but there's a big difference between incentivizing change and denying folks the right to sell their homes.

Apparently she watches too much Fox News.

Well my story isn't nearly as entertaining, but the "kitchen designer" girl (looked like she was barely 18) at Menard's looked at me like i was from Mars when I said I planned to mismatch my cabinets. Does anyone know if they have extra training or anything to work in the kitchen department??

Bumping as this thread is too good to fade away.

I didn't have a KD, but here is what one designer said when I was interviewing her. She kept saying how much she listens to her clients. So I told her that phase 1 is that I needed someone to help me with choices of materials and kitchen plans. Phase 2 would be the actual decoration or design of the apartment IF necessary. She kept selling the phase 2 to me instead of phase 1. Anyway, she sent me a proposal that included ONLY phase 2 for a $10,000 upfront fee! So much for listening to clients... needless to say I told her that phase 2 was not priority # 1, and that her fees were beyond my budget. Even in a recession such "designers" are in business.

Another one told me "you should have an entertainment system such that you can turn music on from every room", and here I was going to demolish my apartment and needed actual floor plans, and people were selling stupid stuff that I had no time to think about. He never sent me a proposal.