Christopher's Kitchen & Bath

Thank you so much for sharing, Janet. We are very grateful to hear that you're pleased with your cabinetry and Jeremy instilled confidence and exceeded your expectations! We appreciate every opportunity to be of service and look forward to helping next year.
Austin Ardrey & The Christopher's Team

Steve,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback in working with Jeremy, we are so glad to hear you're please. And thank you for sharing pictures, it looks incredible.
We so look forward to being of service again in the future!
Thank you

Taylor, thank you so much for your review. We greatly appreciate your confidence in us for the duration of your project, even amidst the challenges that sometimes happen with remodeling. It was truly our pleasure to be of service and we greatly look forward to the opportunity to do so again!

Dr. Peterson,

While it’s a great disappointment, we appreciate you taking the time to share your experience with us. Unfortunately, it’s often harder to learn from a plan going smoothly than when it does not, which is why experiences such as yours are incredibly valuable to us.

The process of accurately planning and bidding a project of this size is always involved but should never be onerous, especially for our clients. Our first meeting was on 11/27 when Jeremy was at your home to measure and discuss the projects in more depth. From that meeting, Jeremy had a total of 7 meetings with you and/or your husband. While our design retainer accounted for 5, as is discussed at consultation. We continued to move forward with meetings, as well as attempted to schedule bid review meetings. Regrettably, we did have to reschedule more than once - something we do our best to avoid.

We did proceed in making initial plans based on the blueprints, which had to be modified. The reason they were modified was because the red iron support post wasn’t located as shown. The plans had several inaccuracies, which is why Jeremy was insistent we verify its location before proceeding to a complete bid. Admittedly, redesigning that area of the kitchen was cause for delay, but one that we would always prefer to incur before bidding, ordering materials and starting the job without being certain.

As you’ve stated, our market has been especially busy. Unfortunately, with a known shortage of skilled labor, many costs have risen over the last few years. That said, we operate completely transparently with all of our costs, from material to labor, and always with a complete breakdown and explanation of any charge being made.

Our complete bid, delivered on 4/3, was a total of $177,570.35. We always ask to review the bid in person with our clients, though you were adamant it be emailed. As detailed as our bids are, I am certain some confusion as to scope and itemized costs could have been avoided. We initially discussed a budget of $100,000.00, though we stated over several meetings that the scope of work and product selected would put the project well over. The $150,000.00 figure was then determined to be a reasonable target.

I would like to address some of the figures you’ve mentioned as I think those directly reflect a misunderstanding of your bid and what’s in the scope:

As your bid states: the $19,970.00 to “tile a small laundry room and refinish your floors” is inclusive of all of the tile work in the laundry room, sanding/refinishing over 1500 sq ft of Cherry hardwood, lacing in hardwood Cherry where necessary from moving walls, as well as all of the backsplash in the kitchen.

As your bid states: the $5,997.00 to “paint a ceiling and a couple walls” is inclusive of preparation for and painting all of the walls, ceilings and trim in the kitchen, laundry room, breakfast nook and bar area. This was for roll primer and two coats of Benjamin Moore’s highest grades.

As with all of our projects, we work very hard to deliver on as many of your desires as possible, while adhering to budget as closely as possible. Our business model is not to take advantage of any client, whether it’s a $177k project or a single faucet. While we don’t have a "sales pitch", we do have a high standard of providing quality and value. Simply put, we've been here a long time, and if we'd like to be here a long time more, we must continue making people happy. The world is more transparent every day, allowing discerning clients every advantage of making the right choices for their needs. We have a staff of highly trained designers, as well as some of the most experienced and capable contractors in the region – that said, we aren’t the cheapest bid you’ll receive and we can’t afford to be.

In no way is my intention to downplay your disappointment, or our own, with where we’ve landed on this project. We had and missed an opportunity to earn your business and show you what our reputation has been built on. I do believe, and offer no excuses, that the culprit in this case was our communication and management of the bidding process. I apologize we’ve failed your expectations and hope if nothing else we may have the opportunity to clear any misunderstanding of the proposed work and related costs.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly if we can be of service in any way.

Sincerely,
Austin Ardrey, GM
303-789-4362 ext. 106
Christopher’s Kitchen & Bath

Thank you for the kind words, TJ! We hope all is well with you and the family!

Steve & Sarah,
Thank you so much for such kind words. You were truly wonderful to work for, from the design process to having us into your home to complete the projects. We could not be more pleased to hear your satisfaction with the team and our work. Everyone who was on your project in one way or another felt tremendous gratitude to have the pleasure of working in your home.
We look forward to any opportunity to be of service again and hope you're enjoying the new spaces!
Thank you,
Everyone at Christopher's Kitchen & Bath