There should not be grout in either of those places--they should be caulked because they are plane changes. Caulk allows for some movement precisely to prevent the cracks that you have. It's concerning that they didn't know this, and doubly frustrating that they grouted over the cabinet installer's caulk. Hopefully they can remove the grout and caulk it properly.

100% silicone caulk, they must remove the grout first. Any and all changes in plane (or between different material types) need to be silicone to avoid this exact issue.

No grout and if a pro did this get them to come back and remove it all ASAP and on their dime

I was half wrong. Sides are caulk. But pretty sloppy. Wonder why cooktop grout wall is solid not cracked grout. How hard is it to chip that out without damaging the 2 surfaces. i checked and it is just grout not caulk. if they wanna caulk over it ill just have to say no!

also dug into the rear of the sink side of the wall. i think between counter and wall is grout and then he caulked over it, i can use my fingernail top down over the tile and move the caulk but on the countertop it's hard like grout. so i guess in theory just a better caulk job needed?

Grout gets harder as it cures, time is now to get it remedied. Be sure he removes as much of the grout as possible. Of course there is a risk of damage but the longer it sits the greater the risk of damage.

I am not a tile pro, but I was on the John Bridge forums when it blew up after the TCNA softened their stance on caulk at plane changes. The code is changing from required to recommended.

When do you use caulk instead of grout?

Technically, anywhere there is a change in substrate or backing surface such as the joint between walks and floor and wall joint, caulk should be used in place of grout since these surfaces move independently of each other. However, it is important to recognize and make the end user aware of some important points.

Often, installers use grout in place of caulk for these reasons:

1. The caulk may not exactly match the grout color.
2. Even when the caulk exactly matches the grout color when installed, it may not match six months later (caulk will “age” differently from the grout).
3. Caulk will need to be maintained more often than grout.
4. Mold may grow more easily on caulk (except caulk treated with mildewcide) than on grout.
5. Acrylic caulks break down in horizontal wet applications. Silicone, urethane, or multi-polymer caulks are better choices but can be harder to apply.

However, when grout is used in place of caulk, the grout can cause structural and aesthetic problems.

• The grout will crack allowing moisture to penetrate.
• Where the grout is sufficiently strong, movement in the walls, floor, or countertop can damage the tile.
• Grout cannot hide corner cuts as well as caulk.

In summary, caulk is the better choice, but the customer needs to understand its limitations.

https://tcnatile.com/resource-center/faq/grout/

talked to the owner. based on the pics above he sees no caulk at all. he says it's all grout. agreed that grout needs to come out and caulk applied and will do in the matching cabinet color that i had before. but he did say that grout would normally be on the bottom then covered up with caulk. unsure i agree with that or understand exactly what he meant but he said something like it would be scrapped away. im sure once his guy comes ill understand it better.

but then turned into a very interesting convo where i learned about other back office issues that could explain some other things i didnt mention in my post so it was eye opening for sure. basically it's impossible to get good help

just remembered something else wacky. at the beginning of the convo the guy said houses that have southern facing kitchens with vinyl siding really can heat up and things can crack. meaning the grout. he knew nothing about my house lol. was funny. is 50s home faces east and i have permastone and concrete block. bizarre way to try to blame maybe 80 degree heat outside for a crack that appeared in a day.