This is an honest, no nonsense review of SBS.
My relationship with SBS began with my wife and I finding stone at one of the local distributors who only sells to fabricators. We had fabricators lined up through our contractor, but due to availability, we chose SBS to purchase the stone on our behalf and we agreed to pay a fair mark-up for their contribution. Initially, we were very impressed with the service we received from Maria, who hopped in our car and went with us to the distributor to look at the stone, and encouraged us to purchase it.
Unfortunately, that was the last acceptable service we received. Maria stated she would call us when the stone became available, and that did not happen. The reviews of SBS that claim they do not answer their phone, return voicemails, or respond to emails are accurate. I ended up calling the distributor that the stone was purchased from to learn that the stone had become available. After several days of no communication, it required me to drive to SBS to talk to Maria and discover that they did indeed have my stone. This was early in the relationship and so I gave them the benefit of the doubt... I should not have.
The big mistake that I made was to purchase cabinets from SBS. Maria, at that time stated she would call me on Monday (it was Saturday) to confirm the availability of my cabinets. Of course, she didn't. After many, many attempts at calling over 10 days, I got Maria on the phone, who stated that they had my cabinets and they would be ready for me on the following Saturday. On Saturday, I arrived to pick them up, and only the vanity was assembled and it was pretty dinged up and unacceptable in it's condition. 2 other cabinets were assembled but damaged, and 2 other cabinets were not there at all. We left frustrated with nothing. We were assured that the problem would be rectified on Monday.
Monday came and went and after a dozen phone calls, I got someone on the phone and I stated that I wanted a refund and to cancel the order. It had been three weeks and every other company promised the cabinets in 1-3 days. This prompted Maria to take my phone call. She offered up a slough of excuses, but I did my best to remain calm and friendly but insisted they cancel the order. She stated that she could not cancel the order and I responded that I would simply contest the charges with my credit card company. That was enough for her to promise that my cabinets were ready and that I could pick them up at any time. On Saturday morning, I rented a U-Haul and drove down to Georgetown from Edmonds for the forth and final time to get my cabinets. Halfway there, Robert the owner called me and stated that my cabinets were not ready!
I remained calm while I pulled off the freeway in my rented truck and explained how unacceptable this was. I again requested a refund. Robert, a business man offered a discount, to which I explained this wasn't an issue of money, it was an issue of completing a remodel. Robert, then offered a sizable refund along with delivery of the cabinets to my door on Tuesday. I agreed because at that point, I had the word of the owner and I needed my cabinets, plain and simple.
Tuesday my cabinets were delivered! But they were missing all their doors and shelves. In addition, I never received any refund. Not $1 for the truck rentals or the 4 Saturdays I spent driving from Edmonds to Georgetown for nothing. In addition, I had to spend another Saturday driving down there to pick up the doors and shelves! Want more? They still failed to give me all the shelves and I still have two cabinets without shelves. More? 2 of the glass shelves I received had broken corners. Still more? 2 of the cabinets for my island were white on the inside, whereas the other 2 are brown. This matters because 2 have glass doors allowing you to see the inside, and 2 are used as open bookshelves. I had to paint the cabinets, which had to be done anyways, because of the shape that I received them in!
This was, bar-none, the most ridiculous experience I have ever encountered with any business.