Originally Posted by
peter gagliardi
For me, it is part of the job. I simply cannot, and will not trust somebody that only has experience putting in lumberyard cabinets.
When the job is done, and somebody asks, they aren't going to name your installer, what they see, and how it fits, is squarely on your name.
I price with install only- one stop shopping, nothing is left out. If that isn't what they want, they can call anybody around me.
I also supervise and direct the electrician and plumber on what they are allowed to do to my cabinets.
There is no such thing as an outlet cut into the middle of a panel...... anymore!
That happened once, about 25 years ago,and I realized that some people really are not very bright.
I get paid at least my hourly rate to install, but with custom cabinets it rarely takes more than 2 days to complete, as I have usually the entire bank of cabinetry built as one, so an L shaped kitchen is only 5-6 pieces total.
If people want a custom kitchen, at least some part of it needs to be custom.
Someone told me long ago, that if I wanted to survive, I had to "divorce myself from the emotion of pricing" The numbers are the numbers.
If people ask me how my prices compare, I tell them simply, I do not know of a COMPARABLY built kitchen FOR LESS MONEY.
There are a LOT of cabinetmakers within an hour to an hour and a half of me. Some of them do pretty nice work. But none of them to my knowledge do it for what I charge. They could, but they are better businessmen than I am.