JMHO, with the caveat that I know nothing about refrig repair, much less a sealed system repair, whatever that is, which sounds serious since the regular service techie isn't qualified to fix. I would send it back and either accept the GE Monogram in exchange or buy something else full price. The last thing I would want to do is start out with a frig with a problem that may or may not reoccur that needs service directly from the manufacturer. It's a refrig- an appliance you would want immediate repair down the road if another problem occured. I wouldn't want to have the worry and aggravation when you can get something that works right now and start out fresh.

I met Tommy Schlitzberger at a Home Improvement show and also happened to run into him once when we were at a granite yard. Both times he impressed me as really knowing his stuff, plus very friendly and nice. I would have definitely hired him if I'd been doing the hiring. What I did though, was hire a general contractor who did all the work A to Z. He hired Hollywood Builders to do our granite. The did a great job and in fact I hired them to do a couple of other smaller granite jobs in my house later. So I can recommend them as well. I can't really say how they compare in price because I never got any pricing from Schlitzberger. But I considered Hollywood's price on the things they did directly for me to be reasonable.

For what you are planning, even $40 a foot is IMHO lower end pricing with most likely average results. Some shops might be desperate in the current economy, but even so, I doubt you would find an excellent one at those rates. You have a custom cut kitchen with laminated and profiled edges, an undermount sink and multiple seams (unless, of course, you have outsized materials, which I doubt. Indian slabs could be fairly big, but largest I have seen would be around 12 feet max) If you want a great looking job, be prepared to pay for it. Ask the stone guys for references and actually go and look at previous installs. Talk to the people (clients) and see how they feel about the performance of the stone company. It is very easy for a bad fabricator to screw up a perfect piece of stone. Speaking of which: Will your outdoor kitchen be subject to direct sunlight at all? Juperanas as a rule, come resined and the resin is not UV stable enough to fare good in a sunlit environment. Untreated Juperanas - if you could still find any - are extremely porous and would need either a very good sealer or repeated applications of sealer, because an outdoor environment is very harsh and would degrade sealers at a much faster rate than found in indoor applications.

We purchased our stone from Mont Granite. They have an excellent selection but they do not fabricate. Due to contractor 'preference' (or kickback), our fabricator was O'Brien Cut Stone. Their fabrication was very good although granite selection not as extensive as at Mont Granite. We had no difficulty getting them to come out a month after installation to fill 3 small chips we found during the course of using our new kitchen. Good luck!