Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Zuern Building Products Inc's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Zuern Building Products Inc

  426 Railroad St Allenton, WI 53002-1011

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  Zuern Building Products Inc

  PO Box 378 Allenton, WI 53002-0378

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  Zuern Building Products Inc

  1800 S Church St Watertown, WI 53094-7409

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  Zuern Building Products Inc

  N144W5800 Pioneer Rd Cedarburg, WI 53012-2864

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  Zuern Building Products Inc

  9545 S 80th St Franklin, WI 53132-8852

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/24/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We ordered eight areas of cabinetry totaling $86,000.00 with Zuern which was designed by one of their former employees in their **************** The employee who designed the cabinetry made significant mistakes which required reorders in all eight of the areas. Over the last two years, we have had to spend an enormous amount of money in labor costs and delay damages while awaiting the cabinetry fixes. Current employees at the ******** and ********* offices made additional mistakes with the cabinetry causing additional delays and forcing us to make design and functional sacrifices to make the cabinetry work. In some areas, third and fourth reorders have been required due to continued errors by current Zuern employees. Zuern has committed, verbally and in writing, to completing fixes with the cabinetry that have not happened and we have additionally made countertop deposits for countertops that have not been installed. Due to their continued errors, one of the areas of cabinetry still has problems with doors that are mismatched and drawers and doors that are sized incorrectly. Despite the fact that we have paid Zuern enormous sums of money for cabinets that are still incomplete and countertops that are not installed they now say they consider our project closed. They have not given us what we paid for and have caused us enormous expenses, delays and problems. Despite this, we have acted in good faith and ordered additional materials for our project as well as given recommendations to others to use Zuern for projects. We have spent close to $200,000 with Zuern and they will not take responsibility for their mistakes. They say they are closing our project, ending communication and refusing to deliver materials and services that were promised and paid for in full.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/27/2025

  Hi, the last time that Zuern was at our job site for this job was the delivery of the most recent cabinetry reorder on 1/8/25. But, we have been in constant communication with them about our project under the auspices that they were working on it through last Tuesday 1/21/25. In regards to warranty, I have no idea what the warranty status is as their work has been so prolonged and we have had so many cabinet reorders required. We are still in the process of having our original order of eight areas of cabinetry from November of 2023 fulfilled. Please reach out with any additional questions. Thank you for your help. 

  Business Response

  Date: 02/10/2025

  *** ******** started working with one of Zuern Building Products & Design Centers cabinetry designers in late 2021.  *** worked with one of our designers for the next year, designing, selecting and finalizing her cabinetry order for a home renovation.  It has now been two years since the original cabinetry order was delivered, yet *** continues to place full blame on Zuern for the project's issues and delays without acknowledging her own inaction or responsibility as her role as the general contractor.  Zuern has gone above and beyond in good faith, assuming the entire cost of any newly ordered cabinetry items in the process.
  
  *** has stated it is Zuerns fault for ordering the cabinetry too early. However, regarding the timeline of when the cabinetry order was placed, there is clear email documentation from June to October 2022 detailing the process.This includes numerous emails discussing final design details, confirmation of a 75% down payment, approvals of custom color selections, final job site measurements, and an email from *** with the subject line: "Final Decisions Please Process Our Deposit Yay!", followed by final payments, which are required before scheduling any delivery.  Its important to note that Zuern does not determine when orders are placed.  That decision is made by our customers based on their specific instructions.  In this case, we proceeded with the order in accordance with Lizs explicit directives. 
  
  At the time of delivery, November 2022, *** directed the cabinetry delivery to a storage unit.  Additional cabinetry was delivered February 2023, to the unoccupied house on ************************************************** was first made aware of cabinetry-related issues with this project in May 2024,approximately 18 months after the first order of cabinetry was delivered. In November 2022, while scheduling delivery, email correspondence with the contractor and homeowner outlined a 30 to 45-day window to inspect the cabinetry upon delivery and report any concealed damage for reordering. Additionally, our cabinetry vendors maintain warranty policies that require any claims be submitted within the same 30 to 45-day period from the date of delivery.  Given that the request for warranty reorders was made well beyond this timeframe, our cabinetry manufacturers declined responsibility for the associated costs.  Despite this, Zuern chose to absorb the cost entirely.
  
  In May 2024, our cabinetry manager, cabinetry technician and a newly assigned designer to this project first met with *** to address concerns.  At the time of this meeting, the original designer had retired, and the original contractor had been dismissed.  The absence of both the original designer and contractor presented unique challenges.  Additionally, the cabinetry sat uninstalled for 18 months (from November 2022 to May 2024), further complicating the situation.  After multiple meetings and onsite visits, of the 42 issues presented by ***, 13 were determined to be Zuerns responsibility.  In response, Zuern promptly reordered doors, base cabinets, restrictor clips,scribe molding, and also provided credits where applicable.  However, as the project progressed, the homeowner began requesting changes beyond the original scope of work.  Zuern redesigned the laundry room area at her request, as she felt the basket area lacked sufficient sturdiness, even though the original design was approved by the homeowner.  *** also insisted that Zuern reorder the primary bath vanities because she disliked the white interior, despite a documented designer note confirming the specification of a white interior.  Additionally, she expressed dissatisfaction with the aesthetics of the living room cabinetry, believing the vertical lines should align differently.  Although the installer had all components necessary to proceed according to the original design, Zuern purchased additional cabinetry panels to accommodate her preferences.  *** has continued to request custom upgrades to standard boxed cabinetry lines.  Zuern has expedited every order, covered all rush fees, and made every effort to meet her expectations, yet our efforts have not been deemed satisfactory. Throughout this process, we have upheld our right to cure and have fulfilled our obligations accordingly.

  As for the mismatched doorsor the variation in the edge profiles, our manufacturer is unable to address the slight variations.  This is due to the fact that the doors and drawer headers on the vanity were produced over two years prior to the recently received items, resulting in natural differences over time.  The doors produced over 2 years ago have the veneer installed then the edge banding.  Current doors produced first install the edge banding and then the veneer.  It is the same style of door but again, these doors and drawer headers were manufactured two years apart.  Our cabinetry vendors policy regarding product specifications is as follows: Showplace reserves the right to change specifications or refine product details as necessary, without notice or notification.  This situation falls outside of any manufacturers warranty period of replacement.  The responsibility does not fall to Zuern or the manufacturer, so if replacement are wanted, the cost would be on the homeowner.

  As for the incorrectly sized linen cabinet drawer header, a warranty order has been placed and we have an *** the week of February 10th.  The doors on the linen cabinet area are all the correct size.  Our vendor has reveal specifications, and you are asking for something called extreme reveal, which is available in custom cabinetry but not in our boxed semi-custom cabinetry line.  
  
  Zuern Building Products has provided over $21,000 in product, at no cost to *** ********.  Zuern did this in good faith to meet her needs and ensure the project's progress.  This cost does not account the $275 for numerous waived delivery charges, the $1,200 in billable hours by our cabinetry technician, the significant hours dedicated to meetings by our staff to ensure the successful execution of this project.  Additionally, the designer who inherited this project, has dedicated the past eight months to its completion,and worked diligently without receiving any commission or financial compensation.  We believe we have fulfilled our commitments and made every effort to support the successful completion of this work even when Zuern was not contractually obligated to do so.  Despite our efforts, *** continued to request further additions beyond the original scope of your project. Zuern has re-designed areas of cabinetry and purchased cabinetry items outside of the original order to suit the homeowners aesthetic wants, at again, no cost to ***.
  
  Zuern Building Products is a supplier of building products and materials. We are not the contractor, project manager or on-site installer and therefore do not dictate the timing or pace of the project.  As our role is limited to providing materials, we are not responsible for any labor or construction progress.  *** has continuously blamed the timing of the project on Zuern,even though she is holding the general contractor role.  The general contractor is responsible for the planning, execution and completion of the project, not Zuern Building Products.
  
  As for the countertop installation, our countertop fabricator worked with *** on a previous order, her kids bathroom countertop install.  Our countertop fabricator is an independent business, and they chose not to accept the additional ******** countertop order because of an issue with her previous order.  After the fabricator adjusted their very full schedule and provided an expedited measure and install, *** requested the entire countertop be removed because she believed that the sink was set too far back,even though our fabricator followed the sink specification guidelines.  The fabricator paid for the cost of the new countertop material and the labor for this replacement.  This is Zuern Building Products only countertop fabricator, so we refunded their original deposited amount and recommended a fabricator, who *** can work with directly. 
  
  The cabinetry manager's most recent correspondence with the homeowners is documented via email on January 31, February 4 and February 6.  In the email communication on January 31 and February 6, the cabinetry manager requested contact information for the appropriate person the Zuern cabinetry technician should coordinate with to install the primary bath linen cabinet drawers.  As of early afternoon on February 10, no response has been received. 
  
  Of the eight areas of cabinetry, Zuern Building Products provided: kitchen, laundry room, mudroom, living room, primary bath, kids bath, studio bath and studio.  As of February 10, only two areas have outstanding items.
  
  The remaining outstanding items are in the primary bath and kitchen:
  Primary bath: Installation of the primary bath linen cabinet drawers, which Zuern is actively working to coordinate with the homeowners
  Primary bath: Installation of a warranty linen cabinet drawer header (ETA week of February 10th)
  Kitchen: Delivery of two rollouts for the kitchen pantry.  As the cabinetry technicians schedule permits, he will deliver the kitchen rollouts concurrently with the primary bath drawer and header installation.  Zuern has one cabinetry technician on staff, and he is booked out 2-3 weeks.