Arbutus Closets Ltd

I visited the Arbutus Furniture and Closets showroom in December 2016, to look at closet organizers (entry, laundry, and the master and guest bedroom walk-in closets) and a wall bed with storage for the guest room. I mentioned that we were moving on January 14th, 2017, and asked whether the closet organizers/ wall bed could be installed prior to our move in date. I was told they would not be ready in that timeframe and it was more likely it would be the end of January or beginning of February. I was reluctant to order given that time frame, but after making some inquiries, realized every company had a similar time frame. Subsequently, my order was placed on December 6, 2016. What ensued was nothing short of frustration, which is why I am writing this review. I hope that my experience can inform other potential customers about some of the issues we faced.
On January 18th, I emailed to ask about the status of my order; 3 days later I received a reply, which was an “I know nothing” response and I was told “I’ll get back to you next week.” On February 3rd, 2017, I emailed a second time asking about the status…again, no reply…and emailed AGAIN on February 7th. I finally received a response on February 8th, with the same “we’re behind schedule” story and was told the earliest the install could happen was February 27th and 28th. Not only was this one month after I was initially told the installation would occur, but we were living in a 1050 sq ft condo that was surrounded in moving boxes (we didn’t want to unpack and put things into closets without the organizers and couldn’t set up our office/ guest room without the wall bed and storage). I emailed back on Feb 8th, expressing my frustration and disappointment about the delay and that I felt very misled about the length of time it would take for the installation to occur. Had I known, I very likely would NOT have ordered from this company. However, since they also had my deposit, I went ahead with booking the installation for February 27th and 28th.
The morning of February 27th (after hearing nothing about what time the installers would be coming), I called the company to ask when I could expect the installation. I got an answering machine. I then emailed the staff person I had been working with. No email reply. By this time, I was livid; not only was it apparent I was not getting the organizers, but my husband had taken the day off to help me move boxes and be here for the installation. It was late morning before someone from the company had the decency to call to let me know they weren’t coming. A rant ensued and at that point, it was all I could do to not cancel my order. What they agreed to do was install whatever was finished later in the week – which ended up being bits and pieces in every closet. The installers then came back several days later to complete the closets, but no word on the wall bed/ storage. On March 8th, a full THREE MONTHS after placing the initial order, I emailed again, at my wits end. I was told it would be another 6 days before the wall bed would be installed. The job was finally completed on March 15th.
Of course, it took no time for me to get a call asking for the balance of my payment. When I received the invoice, I was very disappointed that no financial compensation for the delay had been offered. When I sent this feedback in an email, I requested the name and contact information of the owner/ manager so I could discuss my entire experience with him. I was told on March 23rd he would contact me directly…I’m still waiting.
While we are satisfied with the product (hence the one star), I would NEVER recommend this company. The extreme delay, misleading information, lack of communication and the fact that the owner/ manager did not have the decency to follow up with me speaks volumes about this company’s character and lack of integrity.