Have you done a search on BBB (Better Business Bureau)?

This won't say everything but it can help a bit with info.
And what about Angie's list? I think you have to be a
member but you can try this too.

On BBB, Met Cabs got a grade of B- not sure what this
means but it might be worth it to check them out.
Here is the link.

http://www.bbb.org/boston/business-reviews/cabinet-manufacturer/metropolitan-cabinets-in-natick-ma-114355/

~boxerpups

I got a quote from them but they were really high - higher than Crown point. They quoted me Showhouse Frameless cabinetry in cherry with plywood boxes. I'm going with Cabico.

Please check out Country Craftsmen in Uxbridge. They did my butlers pantry and it came out fabulously!! (See link)
They are also very reputable, fair priced and very honest folks - Hard to find these days. Ask for Billy or Patti (husband and wife owners) Tell them you heard about them via Willow's Butlers Pantry! Here is the phone number (508) 278-2307

Here is a link that might be useful: Butlers Pantry

Thank you all for your input. I cannot believe it's 1:30am and I cannot sleep because of all this. We have a meeting at 10am with Metropolitan cabinet tomorrow and we still have kitchen design issues (I want large island but if the design goes over 117 inches, than I need to have a seam and/or do bilevel to hide seam). Also, I really like the kitchen designer I am working with Metro Cab but I am still very uneasy about the quality of their work and if they will stand behind it. They have a 5 yr. limited warranty on cabinets, lifetime on drawer glides and door hinges, and one year on paint finishes. We are having our doors stained so I don't think this applies.

Meanwhile, I still have the original cabinet maker I thought I would be using from my research 5 months ago. Honest, old time framed cabinet maker in the area, factory been in place for about 25 years (they make the box and buy the doors like Met Cabinet) but he is very weak on design, doesn't have showroom to show me options, doesn't email and forget about CAD drawings - all hand drawn. I also think I like the frameless cabinet look better for my kitchen and he does 98% framed cabinet projects.

Boxerpups, thanks for the link to BBB. It looks like the B- rating is due to BBB not having sufficient info to rate the company.

I did become a member of Angie's list this week so I could check this Met Cab out. Four reports with ratings all over the place - (2) A's, one C and one D. Some rate quality poor over time and others liked. I plan on bringing all these reports with me to my meeting tomorrow to see what they say. This will be my 3rd meeting with the designer. I do like her but I still am not comfy about the quality.

Bostonspam, is Cabico a brand or company? If brand, what company are you buying them from in the Boston area?Metropolitan is quoting me on the same type of cabinet they quoted you on. I will know some pricing tomorrow.

Willowdecor, thanks for the Country Craftsman referral. I have now looked extensively and gotten quotes from 7 cabinet people, I don't know if hubby will be up for an 8th, but we will see.

Like many of you, I don't know what I would have done without this forum. I am like an addict checking it daily. Even with all this planning (since August and very intensely since November), I feel like I am taking a big backstep at this time. I do have all my appliances picked, sink, faucet, and hood but I wanted all things selected by now since I am a tax professional and I go back to the office next week for tax season. This renovation is planned for April 16th, or at least I hope so.

Thanks again for letting me do some middle of the night venting.

I have heard fabulous things about Met. I got a quote and was impressed with the quality of the materials and the price. I also got a quote from Brookhaven and it was so much more expensive and had cheaper materials.

I am not going with that kitchen design (scrapped it to start anew) but when I have the new design I will go again to Met.

Contrary to BostonPams quote, mine from Met was 10K less then Crown Point.

It also helps that my neighbor, a contractor, does 100K worth of cabinet business with them each year. No he isn't putting the high quality lines into his spaces that I am looking at, but it is reassuring to know he stands behind them to this great extent. (I suspect his name helped me get the really good price!)

That said, as I shop my new kitchen design around to contractors, almost all seem to want me to use their cabinet maker, instead of a place like Met.

Cabico is a brand out of Canada. I worked with a rep in Wayland. He has a very small showroom. I did not use him for the design - I had an architect and mainly the people on this forum who designed my kitchen. Crown Point was really trying for my business and greatly reduced their prices. We added on other items in our renovation (like rewire the entire house) so a few things had to give. If you want more info just email me.

Ok, we just came back from our meeting with Metropolitan Cabinet - this was third meeting with design woman and first time hubby was involved. I think we made some good advances on the design work. My husband, who is an engineer and has done very extensive renovations and woodwork over the past 15 years, said he thought Metropolitan Cabinet made a decent cabinet.

I also brought the 4 Angie's list reviews and the BBB review and showed them to the owner. Not sure he felt too comfortable as two of the reviews were very bad and he remembered them. Didn't say much except that over the past 5 years he has sold 80,000 cabinets (I interpreted this as cabinet units, not kitchens) and there would always be some customers he cannot make happy, although he always tries. He did seem defensive and I can understand his feeling that way, although I told him that this was part of my due diligence as I have no personal references from my own resources. They did give me one reference and will be getting me a few more. Even in the bad review, the customer said Metro Cab did replaced and fixed all the issues. They have a 5 yr limited warranty on the cabinets, lifetime on gliders and he gave me his word that he would stand behind their product. By his outward demeanor, the owner doesn't instill 100% confidence in me that he would be easy to work with if something went wrong. In evaluating his product, the cabinet box looks likes it's built similar to Adelphi cabinets, they have sold 80,000 units in the past 4 years and I would think if they were really shoddy, I would have come across a lot more people writing negative comments about them.

I also got a quote based on the design today, to which we made some changes to, and it seemed very reasonable to the previous cabinet maker I was planning on using - and anywhere from 20-60% less than any of the other 6 "middlemen" cabinet showrooms I had gotten previous quotes from. I think we will end up using Metropolitan Cabinet. They will recommend a few cabinet installers that they have worked with in the past, since they do not do the installation. Any experience with good frameless cabinet installers in the Boston, Metrowest area is greatly appreciated. Will keep you posted and thanks to all for such great information - it has been VERY helpful.

We also checked them out (in Natick, MA). We ended up going with Bertch Marketplace cabinets from Koopman's Lumber in Northbridge. Ironically the installer who put our cabinets in was going between a job where they were installing Met Cab's, and he said we had all the same features (and some that they didn't have -- e.g. a better reveal on the sides) and ours were about 1/4 the price of theirs (we'd spent 7K, they'd spent 35K). I'd recommend stopping and talking to Koopmans Lumber in Northbridge (ask for Brian). They'll travel about anywhere, and offer some great (green) products, too.

Kris

kris_ma, could you share the name and contact info of your installer? Did you like the job he did? I still am considering Metropolitan cabinet but will look at Koopman's, too. Thanks!

Call Rob at Superior Kitchens (their website isn't up to date - don't judge by that.) They're in Gardner but opening up a satellite office in Needham.

Here is a link that might be useful: Superior Kitchens

techmom, we got a quote from Superior back in October. They are big on melamine (which my girlfriend got and it looks nice in her kitchen) and if we wanted wood, their costs were much higher than some other cabinet makers.

Still not sure what we will do at this point. Am waiting for Metropolitan Cab to get back to me and for additional references. The one reference I called hasn't called me back yet.

Kleekai,

I know that it has been a while since this posting, but I was wondering what ended up happening with your kitchen project? Did you end up using Metropolitan and how was the experience?

The work not yet completed... there is no option for this We ordered a Kemper Kitchen from Metropolitan. This is the worst Kitchen company. Compared to other places that we designed the same Kitchen this was one of the most expensive but since they promised a 4 weeks turn around for semi-custom all wood cabinets we went with them. It is almost 6 months now and they have not yet resolved the issues. The issues included: warped pantry door, misplaced drawers, doors and racks that do not open or close well, all the doors are random sizes and some of the doors do not even open without hitting the microwave (there is already damage to the door!), unfinshed areas where the glass was cut and placed, etc. In some areas the distance between the two cabinets is less than 4 mm which does not allow the door to open. Susan the sales person from Kemper in response to the random sizes of the doors and drawers says "people ususally do not care how their kitchen looks like". And then she claims "average people in their life time only design 1 and 1/2 kitchens so they don't know better". Well we know better and we do care and you should not be in a business that you don't care about the quality of the work that you provide. And then Jim, the person Kemper sends to correct issues! He does not respect the customers time, he started a fight with my contractor that I almost called the police on him. While Ron the designer tried to work with Kemper and get the problems resolved, he too kept saying "I am just the middle man". Jim claimed that the contractor and the designer were wrong for not putting spacer in between every cabinet! Ron correctly says that a spacer in between all cabinets will provide ugly seams and lines everywhere. Ron should not be selling a product that is so full of problems. Instead of 4 weeks we are now almost 6 month into this with no resolution about the major issues with this kitchen. Will be contacting attorney general's office and BBB as well as the credit card company. The problem is that with this kitchen if we want to redo it now the quartz and all the appliances are in place and it will cost double the cost of the kitchen itself to get another kitchen put in. Please think twice and do not go to Metropolitan and do not get a Kemper Kitchen from any other dealer. I hope I can add photos to this to show you how bad they are with their product.

Did you end up using Metropolitan Cabinet? I have seen so many mixed reviews. I would love to hear an update!

Bless you, Houzz! I am so glad I saw this thread. I saw a beautiful vanity at Metropolitan and could not get Ron to call me back to order it, so that was good luck. I want a glossy finish and I guess they can be tricky in a steamy bathroom. For their prices, they should back up their product. I would love an update too on people who have used them in the last few years. Thank you.