CJ Cabinets LTD

I'm deeply disappointed with our experience with independent contractor Jimmy, from CJ Cabinets Ltd, and I want to share our story to help others avoid similar issues and potential financial loss. While I've given him one star for the decent work on our kitchen cabinets, our overall experience has been immensely far from satisfactory, far outweighing what he has done for us, and I strongly advise not to hire this contractor.

We hired Jimmy in January 2024 to renovate our kitchen cabinets and island (it is now June). Initially, he seemed organized and communicative, catering to our preferences and passionate about his work. However, things took a downturn when he asked for an advance payment due to financial troubles and mentioned he did not have enough money to order certain materials. Unfortunately, despite our charitable inclination, our trust proved misplaced, and we found ourselves in a vulnerable financial position.

From there, things went straight downhill. Jimmy's punctuality became a major issue, with frequent tardiness and even instances of him not showing up at all without any courtesy calls or texts to notify us. (i.e., it would be the day before, he'd text he'd be at our home by 9:00 am, and show up at 11:30 am only after we called him to ask where he was, and then to only stay for an hour and leave.) Our attempts to accommodate his erratic schedule incurred both financial loss and unwarranted disruption to our professional schedules as well.

His unannounced, inappropriately dressed companion's presence during work hours was also unsettling for us as we're not comfortable with unprecedented strangers in our home.

During his last visit is when we noticed the quality of his work significantly declined (please see photos.) Substandard electrical work required me to intervene and fix it myself, a task incongruous with our expectations of professional service. We had specifically asked him prior to the start of his tasks if this would be within his scope of work (and if he would be comfortable), as we were perfectly happy to have an additional contractor do the work. But he insisted it would be no problem. Thus you see the result.

We're still missing the work of final touch-ups, as well as certain materials to finish our bar. There are gaps between certain shelves, missing LED tracks, poorly constructed light switches, a missing garburator outlet, exposed lighting wires, wires that have not been replaced or reconnected, the list goes on.

Despite attempts to communicate and hold him accountable for all the events that have transpired so far, he avoided us and even had his girlfriend answer and text on his behalf, and eventually blocked our calls. Even the contractor who had referred him could not reach him. (We had other colleagues call, and they could get through just fine, hence we knew we were blocked.)

Overall, Jimmy's behavior lacked integrity and professionalism, reflecting poorly on conscientious contractors. We've taken legal action to recover our losses, and as legal proceedings unfold, I remain committed to revising this review to reflect the outcome and offer closure to this regrettable chapter.