Kohler Sucking

[JCsPlumbing]

Called Kohler today for a couple of parts to go in a kitchen faucet for a customer. Took 8 minutes to speak to someone. They will not send the parts to me (Moen will), only the customer. Even though they have me on file as a plumber and they can look at my history and tell I'm not trying to cheat them or stockup on parts. The customer worked in some areas that they would like to keep their name & address as private as possible. So that's out. Pisses me off. :mad::mad::mad: And no, not available locally even at a Kohler "certified" showroom.

Ever tried to order some things from Kohler through a "certified" showroom or supplier? If they don't make the "truckload or halftruck" then Kohler will not send it. I've sat with the person looking at Kohlers inventory myself. They give them a little code generator that changes every so often that allows them to access inventory. You can be looking at an item in stock that they WILL NOT SHIP regardless of freight. I've tried. I've even told them to double the freight to get keep the job moving. Spoke to a regional sales manager and he tried to debate with me but finally realized it was just nuts. So if the next shipment for an area is 3 months out, guess what?

On top of that, faucets are being made in China. Toilets are being made in Mexico. You know what they do there? Ship all the toilets to Wisconsin then distribute. So if you live in Texas you watch them drive out of town, then drive back.

They are more interested in Ad campaigns than product, installer, and customer service. Bet it gets worse before it gets better.

And while I'm at it, whoever came out with that Ipod (what I call it) shower system is a stupid S.O.B. :mad::mad::mad:

I'm close to refusing to install anymore of Kohler.

Done for now.

J.C.

[Tyman]

Finding the parts & getting the parts, is why I hate Kohler. One time I broke a lid on a Kohler toilet. I was told they would be making those lids in 6 weeks. :mad: They were no help at all. Consequently, the customer withheld payment until I had the lid, which I received 7 weeks later.

So, I'm with ya brother!

[ridgidpipe]

I feel your pain
I know a lot of people on the forum love Kohler but I will stick with Moen
But not the home depot moen faucets as they are made to cheaply to compete in that market
Ive had the same problems with Kohler as you have plus the parts are not universal so you end up spending most of your time trying to figure out and get the right part that you need

[Killertoiletspider]

I feel your pain
I know a lot of people on the forum love Kohler but I will stick with Moen
But not the home depot moen faucets as they are made to cheaply to compete in that market
Ive had the same problems with Kohler as you have plus the parts are not universal so you end up spending most of your time trying to figure out and get the right part that you need

Is there any chance you could edit your years of experience line so that I don't have to side scroll to read your posts?

[Nevada plumber]

I had a job on July 15th installing a kitchen sink and faucet for a lady who had who counter tops replaced. Started to install the faucet that she supplied, and found it was missing pieces. Who wants to guess who the faucet was made by? :D

Called Kohler on July 16th to have the missing pieces sent out. To my surprise, they offered to send them to me. I asked to have the parts overnighted or sent second day air. They said no problem.

On July 25th I finally got the parts. Installed them for the customer who swore she would never buy another Kohler faucet.

This is not the first time I have had this happen with Kohler products. The only good thing I can say about Kohler customer service is that once I installed a steam generator that quit working after about 6-8 months. I called Kohler expecting a fight to get parts to get this working. To my surprise, they said sorry it isn't working, we are shipping you a brand new unit. They didn't even ask for a serial number.

Makes me wonder if there wasn't a problem with the steam units they knew about.

[NHMaster3015]

JC, I wonder if the Kohler rep is going to give you an ear full like the Delta guy is going to give Dunby?

[JCsPlumbing]

JC, I wonder if the Kohler rep is going to give you an ear full like the Delta guy is going to give Dunby?

No. He doesn't want to give me an earful. His shirt might get dirty. :D

J.C.

[cpw]

Finding the parts & getting the parts, is why I hate Kohler. One time I broke a lid on a Kohler toilet. I was told they would be making those lids in 6 weeks. :mad: They were no help at all. Consequently, the customer withheld payment until I had the lid, which I received 7 weeks later.

So, I'm with ya brother!
I had to buy one of those Kohler lids. It only took a week, but it was $106 after shipping (and I still needed to go pick it up at the supply house). Apparently black is expensive because it is a "fashion" color. The flapper for a similar toilet was something like $14 too.

[DuckButter]

OK, we got the number one faucet in America switching to plastic, Kohler will send the cartridge next year, I've had trouble with new Moens leaking after install and heard others have as well.
Everythings made in Mexica, China, designed in Japan & engineered in Germany.

I wish George Carlin were still alive, a plumber & a member of this forum.

[boillerman]

I had a job on July 15th installing a kitchen sink and faucet for a lady who had who counter tops replaced. Started to install the faucet that she supplied, and found it was missing pieces. Who wants to guess who the faucet was made by? :D

Called Kohler on July 16th to have the missing pieces sent out. To my surprise, they offered to send them to me. I asked to have the parts overnighted or sent second day air. They said no problem.

On July 25th I finally got the parts. Installed them for the customer who swore she would never buy another Kohler faucet.

This is not the first time I have had this happen with Kohler products. The only good thing I can say about Kohler customer service is that once I installed a steam generator that quit working after about 6-8 months. I called Kohler expecting a fight to get parts to get this working. To my surprise, they said sorry it isn't working, we are shipping you a brand new unit. They didn't even ask for a serial number.

Makes me wonder if there wasn't a problem with the steam units they knew about.

I had one last Friday, new tops in the kitchen and lav and new toilet. We had sent her to the A/S showroom, she didn't like the rep so she went looking at my old employers showroom and bought, you guessed it, all Kohler. One of the lav faucets was missing the stem to handle adapters, and the kitchen faucet was missing the mounting hardware. Needless to say, I was back to finish Monday, but I went back to my old employers store myself and got the inserts and another faucet. (Fortunately, I'm still on good terms there.)

If Delta goes plastic, at least American Standard is made on this continent.

And now a moment of silence while we all remember What Would George Do?

[JCsPlumbing]

Last American Standard lav. faucet I installed had Made In China on it.

J.C.

[PLUMBER RICK]

i don't recommend kohler, but i fix a lot of kohler toilets and faucets.

as i've said before, kohler needs to get rid of some of the rocket scientist and hire some real plumbers to advise them.

how many different toilet flappers do they need to design before they figure out what works:bash:

if their toilets would suck as much as they do, maybe i would recommend them:D

rick.

[boillerman]

Last American Standard lav. faucet I installed had Made In China on it.

J.C.
And I thought they were made in Mexico. And I thought all plumbers liked
Kohler toilets. ($$$). So the industry is going to go back to the old standby from years ago, Gerber. Haven't sold one of those in years. I do
like the new replacement tub cartridges though.

[ridgidpipe]

Is there any chance you could edit your years of experience line so that I don't have to side scroll to read your posts?
Sure I can thanks for letting me know this was causing a problem I had no idea

[ridgidpipe]

Is there any chance you could edit your years of experience line so that I don't have to side scroll to read your posts?
Hopefully thats better

[gear junkie]

Sure I can thanks for letting me know this was causing a problem I had no idea
Why doesn't Rick's paragraph cause a problem? You don't have to take that Bill. You want to list every year you did plumbing then you go right ahead.

[PLUMBER RICK]

Why doesn't Rick's paragraph cause a problem? You don't have to take that Bill. You want to list every year you did plumbing then you go right ahead.


i complained to joey when she posted multiple birthday smileys. it too made me and others scroll left to right.

i think it's been determined that screen resolution was the issue.

mine probably just fits under the radar. sometimes photos that are copied and pasted are an issue too.

rick.

[ToUtahNow]

.....or you can use a wide screen and not worry about it.

Mark

[PLUMBER RICK]

joey will not allow me to connect to our flat screen monitor.

1 day i will surprise her when she turns on the t.v. and sees the ridgid forum across the wall:nyaa-nyaa4:

don't spoil my surprise;)

rick.

[NHMaster3015]

I'm not a huge fan of all Kohler products, but then again what plumbing line can you think of that every product is perfect? I have installed probably thousands of Kohler wellworth toilets with almost no issues that I can remember. Kohlers tub\shower valve is easy to install, versitile and the trim is easy to mount. Most of their builder grade faucets are pretty much trouble free also. Before we all go off on a Kohler bash, who else makes quality cast iron enameled kitchen sinks and lavs? And I think their fiberglass is as good as any on the market today. While I'm at it the sterling line of showers and tubs has been a life saver for bath remodels.

[wrench spinner]

I put a kitchen facuet in for my parents last week that was a kohler it was actually pretty good, built in braided stainless steel supplies nice solid brass body and the mouning was strong as he77. they had a ring that threaded up to the countertop then too set screws that secured it further. It DEFINITELY made life easy on a DEEP (19" deep) stainless steel sink. If it took me 5 minutes to install that was alot!! And the supplies were 20" long!

Delta 1000 series shower bodies are the bomb! I havent had much luck in the last 6 months with bathroom faucets though! almost everyone that I installed has dripped and I have had to replace the cartridges, although I havent had a problem getting them from the manufacturer at all, usually within a week they arrive! Free of charge oif course! But you still have to make another service call which sucks!

[PLUMBER RICK]

my biggest complaint is with their toilet line.

what other company has 8-10 different toilet flappers?, ballcocks?

of course, now with the newer low flow toilets, they got smart and the ballcocks are fluidmaster. but how can a company come out with flappers that don't even last a year and then redesign the flush valve to a totally different design and flapper.

then the older toilets and ballcocks. pretty much an expensive array of ballcocks.

fortunately when we sell a home out here, toilets have to be replaced with low flow. so all these older kohlers will eventually be off the market.

how about the 1pc. pressure assist kohler toilets:confused:

their the bomb:D

spend good money on a pressure assist and end up with a lousy gravity that you had to pay for the replacement labor:confused:

then the toilet seat issue. had a nice condo building in the mid 80's that all had 1 pc. rialto toilets. (junk). they come with toilet seats. of course in a hand full of years the toilet seat bolts being plated steel started to rust and become loose. no way to remove the bolts without destroying the seat to attempt to cut off the bolts from the top. try to explain that to the owners 60 times.

or the undersized flush valve overflows. when their plastic ballcock tops would fatigue and snap. the toilet would continue to run full bore. the overflow was too small to handle the volume and the 5 rear vent holes on the back of the 1pc. tanks would pour out water.

29 story building is a lot of water damage after it happens more than once. kohler actually paid for that mistake thanks to the power of home owner associations and hi power owners.

i could go on and on, but you get the point.

rick.

[NHMaster3015]

Have you spent any time with American Standard toilets. Talk about crap:D pun intended.

I agree with you about their toilet line, though I do like the Wellworth. However, even though they have a:D bunch of different flappers and fill valves, there's not too many other companies that offer such a diverse collection of styles and colors. In a perfect world everyone would love Mansfield 135's, a nice flushing, problem free toilet. But admittidly not the most fashionable crapper in the world.

[Service Guy]

I love Kohler. I rarely have any problems servicing or installing their products.

[NHMaster3015]

You knwo, the only Kohler faucet I ever had trouble with was a roman tub spout and the threads on the cold faucet were cut just a bit off so the nut was a real bear to get tightened but I eventually got it to go. God help the poor sod that ever has to take it off. Oh.. I guess that will probably be me.:grin-angelic:

[DuckButter]

I put a kitchen facuet in for my parents last week that was a kohler it was actually pretty good, built in braided stainless steel supplies nice solid brass body and the mouning was strong as he77. they had a ring that threaded up to the countertop then too set screws that secured it further. It DEFINITELY made life easy on a DEEP (19" deep) stainless steel sink. If it took me 5 minutes to install that was alot!! And the supplies were 20" long!

Delta 1000 series shower bodies are the bomb! I havent had much luck in the last 6 months with bathroom faucets though! almost everyone that I installed has dripped and I have had to replace the cartridges, although I havent had a problem getting them from the manufacturer at all, usually within a week they arrive! Free of charge oif course! But you still have to make another service call which sucks!
This is strange, arouses a question of whether it's a coincidence or something you've done and may not realize.
You don't cut the copper with a hack or fine sawzall blade do ya?

[wrench spinner]

This is strange, arouses a question of whether it's a coincidence or something you've done and may not realize.
You don't cut the copper with a hack or fine sawzall blade do ya?

no they were one a couple spec houses in the same development just werent happy with the existing faucet. Ran new s.s. supplies and called it a day. on city water too. 2 kohlers and an american standard all from supply houses not Homeowner Depot specials.