did you pay with a credit card? sometimes you can get some satisfaction via filing a complaint with them, protesting the charges.

Your post title is pretty misleading. And sad, if you believed it. Lowes does not have anything to do with ”custom” anything, or any kitchen ”remodeling”. They only have cabinet sellers, who sell you cabinets, and subcontractors who basic install them.

That is only 1/3 of an actual real world kitchen remodel. There is 2/3 of a kitchen remodel that they do not handle, at all, and are not responsible for coordinating and addressing.

There is no one there who designs and organizes the *whole*, or controls the parts integration into a whole. That is your role, as the legal general contractor and designer of your whole project.

And YOU chose to rip apart your kitchen before all products were received. Thats a big error. And it is not on Lowes. It is on you. You didn’t know to never do that. Just one of the many things you will discover that you don’t know that you didn’t know. That is not Lowe’s issue. There will be many more in your learnng curve here as self GC of a complex and interdependent project.

If you hired an actual kitchen designer, they would have explained the major risks of choosing a box store as your supplier. Especially in the age of 26 week lead times for cabinets and other products. Especially in light of the 0 training that they give their cabinet sellers, and the move to central virtual designers, who have no real monitored skills and training either.

There is no such thing as custom from a big box store . As for parts and other items you have to understand no one not even Ikea can supply like they used to. Covid has had a huge inpact on product availability and unfortunately it has impacted everything. I hate to say it but even in good times 4 months is not a huge deal for a kitchen renovation. BTW LOwes is a big box store nothing custom about it.

That is your role, as the legal general contractor and designer of your whole project.

There is no such thing as a legal general contractor, stop adding adjectives in an attempt to add weight. You don't assume the duties of a G.C. when you decide not to hire one, that is ridiculous. Saying that "you are the G.C." when you don't hire one is a shorthand way of saying that someone needs to coordinate the subs when there is no G.C., but you don't actually become the G.C. You especially don't become the "legal" G.C.

A G.C. provides a significant amount of redundancy for duties, this means that you have two people to go to when there is a problem instead of one. Many of the duties a G.C. has are also provided by the subcontractors or suppliers, some of their duties will not exist even if some of their jobs do.

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The supply chain shortage and pandemic are no excuse for cabinet companies doing business the way they are and we should not excuse it using the pandemic. Many other manufacturers have had to adjust their business model in response to the supply chain issues. A remake or replacement cabinet should be put at the front of the line rather than going to the back of the queue. They do have the capacity to reserve materials for replacement orders rather than new orders and choose not to.

What do you think would happen if you waited six months for a new automobile from a manufacturer and it came with a defective part, so the manufacturer said, "You shouldn't have sold your old car, it will be six more months before we get you the part for your new car."? Attorneys would actually have a race to file a class action suit.

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@abwrona - Lowes is responsible for ordering, delivering, and installing your order properly. They do get some leeway for the delay in their original order and some consideration for timely replacement of items that were damaged before installation. Who is responsible for inspecting the order depends on who took delivery of the order. Who is responsible for your removing your old kitchen depends on the particular actions of the parties. If you removed your kitchen in response to a communication from them about removing your kitchen, then they are responsible as they should know when you need to remove your old kitchen.

Having said that, Lowes has terms and conditions on their sales, read that for a start at your recourse. Once you have read that, you can start speaking to Lowes about a reasonable discount. Try to keep it reasonable, you want to be a bother but not a troublemaker. You will probably have more luck being a consistent bother than you will looking at any type of legal action.

In terms of recourse, you need to take a look at the contract you signed to see what rights and remedies you have.

If you paid with a credit card, you should contact your credit card company and file a dispute.

What do YOU want to happen. Do you want them to take everything away and for you to start over again with a new company? Do you want a discount of some kind?

I think you have received some tough love which isn't necessarily warranted. I think most home remodelers (myself included) don't have much experience with remodeling and there is an assumption that Lowes is a major company and therefore is going provide a "safer" experience than an independent company. I also think Lowes disguises its business model and so homeowners don't realize that it is merely providing services of installers and since Lowes pays less than they could make by working directly often the quality of the labor isn't the highest.

And Lowes doesn't replace an experienced GC at all. Unless a person is experienced in remodeling and has the time and ability to coordinate, hire and evaluate the work being done as well as make decisions regarding issues and changes, one needs a GC and they more than earn their fee because the process and the end result will be better than if an amateur attempts to fill those shoes - at least in my experience.

I am posting not to recriminate the OP who I think made assumptions that most non-professionals make regarding Lowes but hopefully someone starting their own process will find this thread and proceed differently or at least with eyes open wide.

A remake or replacement cabinet should be put at the front of the line rather than going to the back of the queue.

This might be what you think should happen, but it's not reality. I had a cabinet order that was short one piece of trim and was told by my high-end custom cabinet line that it would be 6-8 weeks to get it. And I am a DEALER. (I did complain and was able to get it sooner, but only because of a previous issue I had to deal with.). Operating under the false assumptions of how you think things should work will get you nowhere. The reality is that everything is taking longer, no matter what line you are working with or if it is a replacement part. These days, it's important to do your due diligence up front whenever possible to mitigate possible disasters...work with an advocate (GC, designer, architect, etc.), do not demo until everything is on site, choose a reputable line and contractor and make sure everyone involved in the project offers excellent communication.

Who rips apart their kitchen before everything is on site? Isn’t anyone paying attention to the huge product availability issues? Some people have been waiting 2 years for a refrigerator!

This might be what you think should happen, but it's not reality. I had a cabinet order that was short one piece of trim and was told by my high-end custom cabinet line that it would be 6-8 weeks to get it. And I am a DEALER. (I did complain and was able to get it sooner, but only because of a previous issue I had to deal with.). Operating under the false assumptions of how you think things should work will get you nowhere.

Nothing in my post disagrees with your statement nor is it a false assumption. My response was largely just addressing the assertion that this is a pandemic problem... It isn't a pandemic problem, the pandemic is an excuse when it comes to long lead times on replacement cabinets. Nothing in my advice is predicated on the cabinet manufacturer acting reasonably but that doesn't mean they couldn't...

Companies get away with exactly what they can get away with, the reason that a car manufacturer would never attempt this is because there is a long line of litigators who are eager to pursue car manufacturers and none who are willing to bother with cabinet manufacturers.

Lowes chose not to lean on cabinet manufacturers, which they could do, so Lowes should be responsible for that choice and you shouldn't let them pass the buck. To pretend that Lowes is powerless and therefore is not culpable or responsible is ridiculous. Cabinet manufacturers and large retailers made a choice to do business the way they are, so you should not pretend they are powerless to change... even if you may be powerless to make them change.

They are not the good guys here. This is not a pandemic problem. This is crappy companies acting like crappy companies always act.

I actually ripped out my kitchen before everything is even ordered - most appliances are ordered but certainly not all. I'm ok with the fact that my kitchen will be non-functional for the better part of a year, possibly longer.

There are quite a few reasons why we did this project this way, but I'm also ok with the extended lead times. Our home is 100 years old, and that may be enough to say. Plenty to fix and upgrade when tearing out a kitchen that was last "upgraded" over 50 years ago by the second owner (we're the third owner). Residential inspections are very backed up here.

Cabinet brand?

It isn't a pandemic problem, the pandemic is an excuse when it comes to long lead times on replacement cabinets.

When the majority of a company's workforce is out sick during a time of unprecedented demand, then yes, it is a pandemic problem. You need employees to build and finish cabinets, even replacement cabinets. You need drivers to deliver cabinets, even replacement cabinets. And when orders get backed up, everyone has to wait. Outrage will get you nowhere. If you sold cabinets, especially from multiple manufacturers, you would understand this.

My advice to the OP is to call Lowe's daily for updates on the status of the replacement cabinet. If they were told it has been ordered, ask for a written confirmation. If they are told it has shipped, ask for tracking information. Minor damage can be repaired on site. Damaged door and drawer fronts can be replaced later. Get everything installed so that you can have a functioning kitchen. It will all come together eventually. Patience and flexibility are required these days when starting a remodel.

I think the homeowner used the wrong terminology. Lowes cabinets are not custom...that is true. But they probably thought they were custom because they were not in STOCK....they are "built to order". In our industry, custom cabinets, mean HIGHER quality cabinets that are also built to order. Most cabinets today ARE built to order. So the distinction between stock, semi-custom and custom refer to the quality of the brand.

For instance: Aristokraft, KraftMaid and Plain & Fancy. ALL are built to order. But AK is builder grade, entry level (whatever you want to call it). KM is semi-custom (mid-grade). And P&F is high end, luxury...high quality custom.

Hope that helps.

When the majority of a company's workforce is out sick during a time of unprecedented demand, then yes, it is a pandemic problem. You need employees to build and finish cabinets, even replacement cabinets. You need drivers to deliver cabinets, even replacement cabinets. And when orders get backed up, everyone has to wait. Outrage will get you nowhere. If you sold cabinets, especially from multiple manufacturers, you would understand this.

I think you are misunderstanding what I wrote because that is not a response to my point.

Customer: My cabinet order arrived but was incorrect.

Cabinetmaker: It will be six months for a replacement.

Customer: Wow, why so long.

Cabinetmaker: We are in a global pandemic and it takes people to make cabinets.

Customer: OK, so you will not be making cabinets for the next few months?

Cabinetmaker: No, we are still making new cabinet orders.

Customer: If you have people to make new cabinets why can't those people make replacement cabinets for orders you got wrong?

Cabinetmaker: We are in a global pandemic and it takes people to make cabinets.

Does that make any sense? NO. If a cabinetmaker has the people to make new cabinets then they have the people to do remakes.

My issue is not with the slowdown, it is with prioritizing new orders over remakes. Specifically, it is charging customers more money and increasing profits by protecting the batching process that the price increases were meant to defer.

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If you sold cabinets, especially from multiple manufacturers, you would understand this.

While I respect your view as a cabinet salesperson, mine comes from that of a cost accountant with significant experience in coatings who understood the cabinet batching process you would understand that the company is protecting profit by refusing to manufacture outside the coatings run because it is marginally more expensive to do so.

Ordinarily this doesn't make that big a difference because we are not in a supply chain meltdown, however, when we are having supply chain issues adhering to the same activities based costing model developed when there were no supply chain issues is shady AF. Especially given that companies have increased their gross profit during the pandemic ostensibly to absorb these costs.

This is why we have senators grilling the Fed chair over consumer cost increases without any increase in SG&A and resulting in record profits.

I beg to differ Covid has a huge impact on all items and if you think suppliers are playing some game you are wrong. Theey want nothing better than to be back to normal and make money. Custom cabinets are built to fit your space in what ever wood or finish you want so not 3" increments only etc that is custom all else is just we have the boxes you pick the doors.

I beg to differ Covid has a huge impact on all items and if you think suppliers are playing some game you are wrong.

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Again, for those in the cheap seats who struggled to read the first time. Covid has had a huge impact on delivery times and it is completely reasonable that your order takes months longer to deliver than it would have before.

However, whether a company chooses to carve out a batch reserve for remakes or wait until the remake is queued and rebatched (not the correct term bus close enough) is a choice. Many manufacturers are choosing to rebatch rather than reserve. While rebatching in normal conditions is fine, it is not allowed in any U.S. state if it causes significant delays. They are quite literally doing something they are specifically prohibited from doing, but it is the Wild West out there right now and there is no one to hold their feet to the fire.

I honestly don't even understand the defense. They have a responsibility to do the job correctly and in a timely manner. Sure a pandemic changes what a timely manner is, but making a mistake doesn't reset the clock. It is ridiculous to assert that a company should get a benefit from making a mistake.

@lynzy1 - it is a bit more complicated than that, but the summary is that remakes are not being properly prioritized.

May I ask what brand of cabinets you purchased? Did you try contacting them directly ? I don't always recommend that when you are dealing with a design showroom, but when dealing with a big box store - all bets are off.

In regards to the installer - when there are many issues and many parts that need replacing, they usually won't go back until all the parts have arrived. It is unreasonable to expect them to stop at your home every time a door shows up. This should have been explained to you.

In dealing with the store - who have you SPOKE to ( not yelled or screamed at because I understand how easy it is for that to happen ) - a designer, an expediter, a manager? Have you spoke with them in person or just over the phone? YEs this can make a difference because you will have a captive audience.

Photograph and document everything. Make a copy, put it in a file and go to the store - ask for the store manager. See what happens there. I would also reach out to the cabinet company - after all, the damaged and wrong parts were sent by them , not Lowes. You may also be able to demand a rep to come to the house so it can be all looked at in one meeting and resolved at that same time.

I do hope you can get some resolve.

Best of luck and keep us posted.

I apologize for not doing the full explanation earlier, it would have made things easier if I had not skipped that part, I will endeavor to explain it now, feel free to skip this part and not read it as it is too detailed to be important.

If a manufacturer has long lead times they are required to reserve some production for reworks and repairs. So if a car manufacturer receives 100 consoles for a car that they don't produce often, they can't produce 100 cars. Some number of consoles have to be set aside for reworks. Products with short lead times don't need to do that as they can simply queue your item back into production and through the normal cycle make it.

Cabinet manufacturers normally have lead times short enough to do business largely as the former rather than the latter and are choosing to keep doing business that way.

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In reality it is a bit more complicated than that. A cabinet manufacturer will build a production batch based on coated surface area. The goal is to produce the maximum number of completed orders in a single coatings run. So for example, suppose they are doing a run of a particular paint color that will produce 100 units, they start with the next in line that want that particular color and fill up until they have about 95 units assigned and then will go down the line finding reworks and the like to finish filling out the batch. Once they have the batch mostly full they will soft lock the batch and only work that the sales floor needs quickly can be added at that point until the batch is completely full and hard locked. So you end up with three portions of the the batch, (1) 95% production, (2) 3% - 4% reworks and replacements, (3) 1% - 2% priority replacements.

This model works in normal times as it gets reworks through the process in a relatively timely manner. However, when lead times have been extended, in this case because of the pandemic, the model needs to be adjusted, because a couple of batches from production may be six weeks in normal times but can be several months right now. The correct answer is to lower the production portion to accommodate more and faster reworks, in this case the cabinet manufacturer could move from 95% to 90% of the batch being for production and increasing reworks and replacements from 3% - 4% up to 7% - 8%.

Most of the advantage of doing it they way they do, has to do with revenue recognition. They can recognize revenue a week or two earlier this way. There is also some risk that a few people will cancel if the production lead time goes from 180 days to 189 days...

ETA: Just in case... coatings are not the only bottleneck and will not be the only maximization problem in a factory, but they are the main bottleneck.

When standard lead times are 26 weeks 6-8 weeks IS a rush order. That’s what you’re not understanding.

Exactly, @User.

@User & @Kristin Petro Interiors, Inc. - Can one of you please point to where the OP said the remake would be completed in 6-8 weeks? You all have fabricated a somewhat reasonable number and then pretended that the OP stated that.

ETA:

Here was the statement that @Kristin Petro Interiors, Inc. took issue with, "A remake or replacement cabinet should be put at the front of the line rather than going to the back of the queue."

Here is the response from @Kristin Petro Interiors, Inc. "This might be what you think should happen, but it's not reality."

I was wrong because it wasn't really rushed and now I am wrong because it is rushed (with a made up timeline)... I am going to need my decoder ring to keep up with this stuff.

Oh for crying out loud. My original point is that remakes can take a LONG time, which is why I posted that one company I work with suggested a single piece of trim was 6-8 weeks for delivery. That is up to TWO MONTHS of waiting for a part. But even my statement that a replacement cabinet may not go to the front of the queue stands...because you simply do not know and you have no control over what this particular company does. What does it matter if the replacement should or could be given priority? The OP will likely wait a very long time for it regardless. Posting about how a company should operate means little when the order has already been placed and the OP is stuck with a half-finished kitchen. Being right about something is cold comfort when dealing with the reality of a situation. Some of us actually work in this industry and can speak to our daily professional experiences...others like to spout theories and legalities that offer nothing but a lengthy read.

I am so tired of the supplier patronage and anti-consumer bias...

My advice was "start speaking to Lowes about a reasonable discount. Try to keep it reasonable, you want to be a bother but not a troublemaker. You will probably have more luck being a consistent bother than you will looking at any type of legal action."

Are you actually suggesting that not asking for a reasonable discount for the problem is in the OP's best interest? Because it honestly seems to me that you are advocating for Lowe's and not the OP. Do you actually do a lot of kitchens through Lowe's, if not, how does your professional experience as a cabinet retailer relevant to Lowe's?

Here is my experience, my new front door from Lowe's was supposed to be installed in December, it was ordered incorrectly and will now be installed in January, a total of about a 6 week delay. I am getting a discount because of the delay. Now since you are so experienced with the Lowe's business model can you please explain why I got a discount for a fairly short delay and the OP shouldn't ask for one?

My advice is, and has been SINCE MY FIRST POST, speak to Lowe's about a reasonable discount. My discussion on the production model of cabinet manufacturers, which I suspect I am actually more familiar with than you, was an attempt to stop the pro's from being apologists for producers and suppliers. They certainly have operational challenges right now but they are clearly making choices that benefit themselves over the consumer. If you don't believe any one of these companies would throw you under the bus the second there was profit in doing so then you are a fool. So stop defending Lowe's... pretty please with sugar on top.

My advice to the OP is to call Lowe's daily for updates on the status of the replacement cabinet. If they were told it has been ordered, ask for a written confirmation. If they are told it has shipped, ask for tracking information. Minor damage can be repaired on site. Damaged door and drawer fronts can be replaced later. Get everything installed so that you can have a functioning kitchen. It will all come together eventually. Patience and flexibility are required these days when starting a remodel.

Nobody here has apologized for Lowes. Nobody suggested they shouldn't ask for a discount. But people who work in and understand this industry know that outrage over the reason for the situation will get you little to nothing. And that the pandemic has indeed caused delays in cabinet deliveries. And that dealing with a big box store is inherently more difficult than if you had an advocate in a designer, direct dealer or GC. And that just because you think a replacement cabinet should be shipped out immediately, it may not.

Convincing the OP that she was somehow wronged in an unusual or unique way shows your inexperience in working in this industry in this current climate. Does her situation stink...absolutely. As a direct dealer, I was able to use my leverage to speed up the delivery of a replacement part. An employee at a large corporation may not have any kind of pull and finding the person who does within the corporation is most certainly a frustrating endeavor. Fixating on the reason for the problem does not help create the solution.

You seem to often suggest that people misinterpret your posts. I think you should consider the problem is with the writer, not the reader.

You seem to often suggest that people misinterpret your posts. I think you should consider the problem is with the writer, not the reader.

You are correct and I shouldn't say that other adults misunderstood something when they are perfectly capable of reading.

So in deference to your advice... your last post was another fabrication and strawman. I am not outraged at all and have not in any way advised anyone to be outraged. Saying that a company should take responsibility for their operational decisions and mistakes isn't outrageous in any way. Saying that we should not simply accept that the pandemic is an excuse for every mistake is not outrage.

I also didn't say anything about the OP being wronged in an unusual or unique way, in fact, I made several references to this being the standard way. So again, that is not a problem with what I wrote, you simply chose to fabricate a position that I don't have.

On every shift at Lowe's there is a manager who can authorize a substantial discount. There is no need to make general statements about large corporations when we are dealing with a specific company whose policies are pretty easy to find.

I am so sorry you are going through this. I can completely relate to the frustration of dealing with the big box stores. My husband is a contractor, so we have plenty horror stories. We have given up getting mad anymore. We realize that it is what it is. When we choose to do business there, we just expect it to come with some headaches.

Special orders are always a very long wait time that can be extended for no apparent reason. Some of that is due to the fact that we live on an island where everything is shipped in. But it sounds like that is normal everywhere now. It sure makes sticking to a timeline impossible.

It is a running joke between my husband and I whenever they call us to tell us our order arrived and is ready for pickup. We say, ”Pack a lunch!” Because more then a few times we have gone there to pick up an order, usually an appliance, and no one can find it in the whole store. Computers say it was delivered, but it decided to play a game of hide and seek. An hour or two later, and several employees and supervisors later, the item might come out of hiding. Or they finally figure out that it was never there in the first place.

Now, if by some miracle it is there, we do not get excited because it is probably not going to be correct. If it is correct, then it is most likely scratched, dented, or otherwise damaged. Then it become like the movie groundhog day.

I actually do feel sorry for the employees because they usually are new hires and are completely clueless. They are trying their best to deal with some other persons mistake who is long gone. The store managers never last either. It must be a horrible company to work for, when you see such quick turnovers of employees.

I was so sad when the woman who worked in the cabinet dept. left. She was actually a certified kitchen designer who had over 30 years experience. I asked her one time what she was doing at Lowes. Her reply was priceless! She helped us with several kitchens for clients without issue and so I had no doubts about using her for my own kitchen remoldel. There was not one mistake. 2 drawers had a couple small flaws which is normal. Only one was bad enough to replace. Now that she is gone, I am afraid of using them for cabinets. Especially reading all the nightmare experiences others have had.

I hope everything works out!

Keep engaging w Lowes. CC the store manager in case there are personnel changes in the cabinet department. Make a list by part using a photo by wall and mark doors, drawers. They can deal with part numbers.

Once assembled & installed, review again and do the same if needed.

It took us a year from original order to final delivery to get a whole home complete, some due to the factory, some to the store designer, some to my lack of knowledge of the product/process.