American Woodmark takes advantage of their own dealers

This is an unusual blog in that I am criticizing a cabinet brand, American Woodmark, that we actually sell.

Many cabinet brands, like American Woodmark, are sold under different names at different locations. Selling the same cabinetry with different brand names is sort of a cabinet industry secret, and done for a number of reasons. One is to make it difficult for consumers to compare apples to apples at different retail locations. I’ve never liked this about our industry, and American Woodmark takes the practice even further. They actually use their own private dealers like Main Line Kitchen Design, as a free resource to service the problems that their builder dealers do not honor. 

Main Line Kitchen Design sells 1951 cabinetry.

1951 is yet another name for American Woodmark cabinetry and the product is the same as Timberlake  which American Woodmark sells to home builders. The exact same cabinets are available at The Home Depot where they are named American Woodmark.  And at Lowes, the same cabinets are sold as the Shenandoah line.  Confused yet?

About 30 years ago, some cabinet makers started cutting their dealers out of the sales process. They began selling cabinetry directly to home builders. Before that time, nearly all home builders bought their cabinetry from private dealers or home centers. In 1990, American Woodmark rebranded their cabinetry as Timberlake in order to sell to home builders and independent dealers.

This created some ethical issues discussed below.

Most home builders warranty newly built homes for one year. After a year, if anything in the house breaks or is faulty, home owners must repair or replace it at their own expense. This includes the cabinetry in a new home.

Reminder – Timberlake is now sold only to home builders and so the warranty on Timberlake is one year. What is a homeowner supposed to do if their hinge breaks or a cabinet drawer box needs to be replaced 13 months after they bought their home?

Most home owners first call the builder who then tells them, ‘Sorry, we don’t do that’. Next, most home owners call Timberlake directly. Timberlake (American Woodmark) then tells them that they will have to pay for the hinge or other warranty item. But lucky for them Timberlake is the same as 1951. And so American Woodmark gives them the phone number of the closest 1951 dealer to get the part that they need.

Notice Timberlake doesn’t tell sell them the part directly. Or tell them that they can go to a Lowes or a Home Depot.

The business of replacing small parts and pieces for another business’s customers is labor intensive and not profitable. Timberlake knows they don’t want the business. And they know that they better not try taking advantage of their home center dealers. They won’t “poke that bear” so to speak. So, they try to pass off this nuisance sale on to their own private dealers. Talk about a sleazy business practice . . .

Main Line Kitchen Design receives calls every week from home owners looking to replace Timberlake parts and pieces. Homeowners tell us that they were referred to us by Timberlake or, sometimes, by a builder like Ryan Homes. We can’t possibly process multiple orders a week for replacement parts for all the builders in our area. So we direct the homeowner to Home Depot or Lowes.

I explain the whole issue to each caller. And, I encourage each caller to consider buying something else while they are in the home center, to offset the cost of the work that the employee will have to do replacing their broken part.

It is this unethical kind of behavior that frustrates me with our industry.

American Woodmark also has another interesting warranty wrinkle. According to the American Woodmark Inside Sales Specialist assigned to support Main Line Kitchen Design, American Woodmark will not honor reported cabinetry damages after 60 days. The Specialist advised me that this is because that after 60 days, American Woodmark can’t get reimbursed by their shipping company for damages.

So, a 1951 customer who has to wait longer than 60 days to open a box only to find damages must be reimbursed by, you guessed it, the private dealer! I also find it interesting that American Woodmark puts the entire damage blame on the delivery company. They expect to be reimbursed for damages found inside a closed box even though no one can know for sure when the damage occurred. Every other cabinet company we work with absorbs these damage costs. They only file claims with a shipping company in very rare circumstances. 

Main Line Kitchen Design believes in – and extends – a lifetime warranty on all the cabinetry we sell (including American Woodmark.  Why don’t other builders and designers?

Situations like this are why consumers HAVE to consider the reputation of the cabinet dealers that they work with. Probably one of the many reasons Main Line Kitchen Design has received hundreds of 5 Star Reviews on Google, Houzz.com, Angie’s List, Yelp, and other review sites.

Wishing everyone a wonderful summer and of course . . .

Bon Appetit!

Paul McAlary

President Main Line Kitchen Design