Mikes Kitchen & Bath

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• By Nancy F.

  May 29, 2013

  February 21 ,2013, my husband and I went to Mike's Kitchen and Bath in Clarksburg, WV to look at a Thermador duel fuel range and hood. I asked about the age and condition of each item and salesman Joe Cogar replied that he thought the range and hood had been on the floor about 4 years. He also thought the warranty was still good on the products. I specifically asked if all the pieces were there for the range and hood to be installed and operational. Joe assured me again they were ready for install. I called Thermador and found out the range was manufactured in 2007 and the hood in 2006. Also the warranty was void because the products had been floor models. Our contractors were ready to install the hood so I picked up the hood on April 1, 2013. Joe Cogar carried it to the car and gave me all the instructions he had downloaded from the Internet. He again assured me all the pieces were there. When the contractors and my husband saw it they realized parts were missing including the ventilating motor. I called Joe and he assured me he would find the missing motor. Joe believed, as did we, the hood was only sold with the motor included. The next day I called with the list of other missing pieces. Joe was apologetic and assured me the store would stand behind the hood and help me any way possible. Joe was still searching the storage shelves at Mike's as well, confident he would find the missing pieces. My contractors could not do the install until the hood was complete. I talked to Thermador on three different days. Each time they told me the parts were never sold separately, except for the ventilating motor, which was now out of production. They recommended an alternative motor for $649 which had to be ordered through a dealer. They could not recommend any way to obtain the missing parts. Mr. Caputo was very curt and said the range and hood were sold "as is" and it's the buyer's job to make sure the items purchased were complete and the store wasn't responsible in any way. When my husband came home that evening and looked at the hood again with the contractors he called owner Mike Caputo to inform him the transition pipe was too small for the hood and could not be altered to fit. I asked to speak with him on the phone as well and reminded Mike of the reputation of the store. Mike said he could not stay in business if he let customers cheat him. I said I was not trying to cheat him but I felt he had an obligation to me as a customer and felt he should want me to be happy and satisfied. I asked him if I could just return the pieces of the hood and get a refund. He emphatically stated the sale was final and "as is." Mike said I should have known what I was buying, and I do agree with that. He was rude and condescending.
  My contractors had been waiting two weeks to finish the job at this point. The hood is vented to the outside so my cabinet had to be cut specifically to fit the vent. The contactors and my husband decided to abandon the Thermador hood and buy a new one so the kitchen job could be finished. I agreed.
  I would like to say I don't believe the salesman Joe Cogar tried to deceive me. I believe he thought all the pieces of the hood were there at the store. He was apologetic and I know he tried to locate the missing parts at the store and even found a ventilation motor at Searspartsdirect.com for us to order, but it was not the same ventilator and may not have worked. Even if the ventilator had been compatible, we could not locate the missing pieces needed to make the hood functional. (We now think the missing transition pipe would have to be reconstructed by a machine shop.)
  We believe the sale implied functionality of the appliances and Mike's K&B should have offered to compensate for the missing ventilation motor and other parts. We believe the sale was misrepresented, however unintentionally, and that this event should be kept on record with the Attorney General's office.

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