Huggy Bear’s Cupboards

My Huggy Bear kitchen cabinets were installed September 2010, about one year later the paint on the pantry door began to crack. Since it was only the one door I was unconcerned and just ordered a replacement. About 3 years later the paint on every surface (upper cabinets, lower cabinets, inside of cabinets, cabinet above the refrigerator) had begun cracking, in some places the paint was fracturing and in others it is literally peeling off, leaving paint flecks on the floor and exposing the wood underneath. Initially I called my designer who was our HBC contact when we purchased the cabinets, he agreed that this was unusual and stated that «after 30 years of doing painted kitchens it is my opinion that something is seriously wrong with the cabinets/​paint in this kitchen.» He called the current HBC representative to come out and view the damage. Mike DeMello, HBC representative, came out to view the kitchen. Mike determined that the damage was due to water and heat exposure and therefore HBC was not responsible. He did however offer to replace a few doors for free but that I would need to refinish the rest of the kitchen at my own cost. In addition he agreed to send a door to Sherwin Williams to have it analyzed for paint/​process failure (I was told that this process would destroy the door but that it was the only way to tell for certain if there was a problem with the paint.) The test door that I selected was an upper wall cabinet, away from any moisture. Nearly seven weeks after delivering the door it was returned to me undamaged with a «report» which stated that a «visual inspection» was performed and that in his «opinion these cracks appear to have been caused by exposure to moisture.» I inquired as to why a visual inspection took nearly 7 weeks to complete, why was the test not performed and how could they justify water damage in an area that had never been exposed to water? These questions remain unanswered. There are only a couple of conclusions that one can draw from this experience. #1 There is in fact something wrong with my cabinets. Either the paint is failing or there was an error in the painting process that is causing this damage and HBC does not want to be held liable. Without an analysis it is impossible to determine what is the cause of the damage. Or #2 — HBC is comfortable with the quality of the cabinet they delivered, they believe that kitchen cabinets needn’t last over 5 years nor should they be able to withstand the heat from running the stove nor the water from the dishwasher. They believe in the quality of product that they delivered and do not feel that they should be held responsible. I have included photos of our cabinets, these can serve as an example of what Huggy Bear Cabinets feels is acceptable wear and tear of a 5 year old kitchen, I strongly caution against doing business with them as the quality of product they deliver is subpar and their customer service is shameful

we love our huggy bear kitchen island. it was installed around 2007 and still looks and works like new. Just now laying down shelf paper to keep it looking great for years to come.