Submitted
by Michael Jones on 06/08/2024
1 Star Testimonial by Michael Jones
BEWARE
We had been friends with the owner of Bath & Kitchen Galleria - John Hogan - and decided to hire him because we thought we could trust him. We have learned too late that John is a man with no integrity.
There are WAY too many issues to list in an online review but this was a 6 figure master bathroom remodel with a target completion date before Christmas - we finally moved back into our partially finished master suite in late March and now in June still stuck without resolution and threats to put liens on our home.
One item or detail after another was missed countless times, and in every instance, he blamed us. When mistakes were made, he did agree to correct them without admitting fault, but then we later saw in the billing that he charged us to correct mistakes that he had made.
When we asked questions he got mad and blew up and threatened to walk off the job. He belittled and insulted both of us on more than one occasion, calling me a 13 year old crying girl, even though we continued to try to take the high road and to just hope the job would be completed, but in the end, it proved impossible and he still walked off the job.
He demanded a draw that equated to the balance remaining and when we asked for an accounting he provided confusing and convoluted ledgers that were impossible to make sense out of. He ultimately lost his temper yet again and canceled the contract and accused us of not paying our bills and threatened liens on our home even though our actual payments ($100k) have exceeded the contract amount ($98k). We had a small handful of changes most of which occurred earlier in the job and he never provided any written change orders so we kept track of the math. Only one of those changes could have added time to the job and we actually agreed on that one before construction began in November so while he tried to blame changes for not finishing within the timeframe, that was just another bogus tactic that was typical of John Hogan blame shifting.
We have twice made increasing offers well beyond the original intended costs of the job in an effort to just try to close things out amicably and he somehow comes back with a new even higher price that can’t be supported so we had to stop chasing outrageous and unjustified numbers. Beginning with the original contract and every financial interaction since, we encountered duplicate charges and erroneous billing on top of paying for his redo’s, so it’s disingenuous that he’s accusing us of not paying his bills as no sane person would do so without the clarity that we were seeking.
We have had to hire an attorney due to his threats to put liens on our home. When he canceled our contract and sent us a certified letter with a copy of the contract, he had slip sheeted the page that said “not to exceed” on the price and it was obvious because that page did not have initials at the bottom. We actually have an original copy of the fully executed contract with signatures and initials at the bottom, clearly stating the “not to exceed” pricing so the fact that he would pull such a stunt speaks volumes.
He refers to and hides behind “the contract” over and over and it’s clear that he has written that in a way to use it as a weapon. I wasn’t sure whether to refer to him as “time-bomb John” or “Teflon John.” He will never accept responsibility for anything that goes wrong and predictably will resort to insulting and blaming us on this review. I have never been so disappointed a human as what we experienced with John Hogan. I guess he must finish some projects in a satisfactory manor (I don’t trust the authenticity of his glowing positive reviews with pictures) but just know you are playing roulette if you decide to go forward with him. He’s definitely narcissistic, obnoxious and arrogant, but at this point, we think probably also a sociopath (he started out telling us he didn’t even want to make any margin on our job because of the friendship). He has changed his company name twice, so do your homework and read all the reviews and make your decisions accordingly.
Bobbie and John were the best. They were so easy to work with and guided us through the whole process without any sales pressure. They were very knowledgeable and thought of a design we would have never came up with on our own. Then in the multimedia room we could see exactly what our renovations would look like. I can't wait to get started transforming our home.
Submitted by Daniel Jones on 04/26/2024
B&K Galleria was recommended by a couple of friends were very happy with their renovation projects. We've been working with John and his team - Christina, Bobbie, and Aiden over the past month or so on our kitchen and master bath projects. They're a great team ... very easy to work with, very attentive to our requests and questions, and very helpful in making our materials selections. We've also been very impressed with the methods of organization for the project management and the detailed manner of the contract. All things that are important to us! We're currently finalizing our material selections and are very pleased so far with everything and everyone involved. Will follow up with a final review when the jobs are complete.
Submitted by Beth Davis on 04/17/2024
So I’m just in the beginning phase of working with Bath & Kitchen Galleria, yet I’m feeling good the process will be a success. I have only received my renderings and will pick out my parts & pieces this weekend (did I mention they are doing all 3 of my bathrooms-taking the plunge). Working with Christina and also talking with John (owner) they realize that any remodel can be stressful. I have been pleased with the job details for each bathroom and know when each step is supposed to take place. It’s going to be fun and glad they are partnering with me on this journey.
Submitted by Lynn Toler on 04/17/2024
Nice showroom - then it’s all downhill from there.
I dislike writing bad reviews, but if I can save one person/family from the horrific experience we had with our two bathroom remodels - then I will rest easier.
There is no way I can possibly relay everything that went wrong with this company so I will try to summarize.
Designer - Was knowledgeable and easy to work with. However, there was no attention to detail. In fact, she quit the company (she later returned) and our job fell through the cracks for 7 weeks even though we paid a deposit, signed two contracts and paid upfront for the materials to be ordered. We signed our contract on June 24, 2021 and the work did not begin until October 11. The work was not completed until January, 2022 - about ten days ago.
Project Manager - He was rude, abrupt, uncaring and bordered on inhumane when our first “finished” bathroom flooded four times, leaving us with NO bathrooms to use. The only time we saw him was when he wanted the next check. WE ended up managing our own project and were actually happy when he didn’t show up. He started problems or made them worse; he was not a project manager or a problem solver. Absolutely incompetent or simply did not care. Not sure which.
Owner - We met him twice. Once to shake his hand after we signed the contracts, the second time when he arrived for the walkthrough of our project on August 27. He was arrogant, rude and unhelpful. He would not answer our questions about the contracts and, instead, immediately produced a change order to those contracts upping the cost of the materials (which had never been ordered in the first place). He tried to pre-qualify us out of the job until he realized how much money we had already paid upfront. Then he changed his tune and demeanor. We should have fired him then and there - which was the mistake WE made and lived to regret. Lesson learned. After the second meeting, we never saw or talked to him again - despite all of the problems. He simply never returned our phone calls.
The Subcontractor Crew - Generally nice people but WAY out of their league. Sloppy, shoddy work. They dropped a work rag into our sewer line causing our “newly renovated” full bath to flood four times - so badly that the water flowed through the floor joists into the room below. The flooding ruined the grouting for the new floor, which had to be completely redone. They installed the toilet improperly (used wrong flange and seated it below the subfloor) and failed to seal any of the shower fixtures so that water again leaked in between the newly tiled walls and down through the floor into the room below. A master plumber had to be called in twice to fix the mess they made. We later found out that the leader of this crew used to work directly for this company, but was FIRED for shoddy work! Yet they subcontracted him and his crew to do our job.
My advice - walk away and be glad you did.
NOTE: I see the owner responded with comments 19 months after the completion of our project. He has a new company name and new location and I can certainly understand why he needs to disguise his past deeds. He mentions that we added a second bathroom to the original contract. We did not. The original contract was for BOTH of our bathrooms. Also, he mentions that they remodeled our kitchen. Thank God that is not the case - they were never hired or consulted to remodel our kitchen! The owner lies and then lies some more. Beware! This is his third name change and location. Must be trying to hide something!
Submitted by Laura Young on 03/29/2024
I recently visited the showroom and was thoroughly impressed with my experience. The showroom was organized, making it easy to browse their extensive selection. Aiden was incredibly knowledgeable and helpful in bringing my vision to life. The quality of the products on display was exceptional, and I found exactly what I was looking for. Overall, a fantastic showroom with top-notch service—I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a one stop shop for their next remodel.
Submitted by Claudia Field on 03/14/2024
This review is the 1st negative review that I have written about any business. Be very careful if you hire this company. Look at all the details of the contract and the fact that it is noncancellable.
I hired Bath and Kitchen Galleria (previously Remodeling Expo) to remodel my Master Bathroom on October 20th, 2023. I had not had any recommendations for the company, but saw the ad in the Smyrna magazine. I was very impressed by the design center. I put down a $5700 deposit upon signing the contract. The designer helped me to pick out selections. When it came time to do a change order with the selections, the new amount was $5000 over my budget. Ok. I decided to figure out a way to make it work within my budget and started to pick new selections. At this point the owner, John Hogan, became very impatient and aggressive in his tone with me. I felt really uncomfortable and stressed in my interaction with him. At one point on the phone, he told me that maybe we weren't a good fit for his company. My husband even tried to get involved and he hung up the phone on him. When I investigated a bit further into this company, I noticed that he had a 2.5 rating on Yelp reviews. Also, if you read the reviews from his employees on Glassdoor and Indeed, they are consistently saying that he is arrogant and has horrible communication skills. In addition, his company has a C rating on the BBB. On my contract, he falsely misrepresented himself and said he had an A rating and was BBB accredited (and is not actually accredited). After I discovered that my contract had false information, I decided that I did not want his company doing my master bathroom remodel. I didn't trust him enough to let his company into my home.
My husband and I have been asking for our deposit back since Nov 17th, 2023. Keep in mind that no actual work has been done at my house. He claims to have ordered materials but won't tell me which ones, and I actually didn't sign off on anything to get ordered.
We have gone to his store a few times, sent emails and called him. It is February 2024, and he still hasn't given us our deposit back. I have even offered $1000 to pay for the design services. I'm thinking that is more than fair. Again, I hate to write a bad review, but I needed to share my unfortunate experience.
Submitted by Eve Scott on 02/11/2024
First let me say that I'm and architect with over 35 years of experience. What drew my wife and I to Bath and Kitchen Galleria is their unique combination of technical proficiency and artistic/creative design competence. What impressed us is that they just don't advertise this, they actually do this on a day to day basis. In the remodeling business, "experience" is the most important element of any design-build company, and this company is populated with experts in every category.
Our project was about as complex as they get, large load bearing beams, high end custom cabinetry, premium appliances and a total redesign of the room size. John and his team simultaneously embraced the engineering, design, spacial planning, and CAD documentation, with such precision and speed, I could only be impressed. Their work continued through the installation process where their scheduling was so impressive that we didn't have a single day of inactivity through the 6 week schedule. This company has a culture of communication, so the designers, procurement dept., project managers and installers are all on the same page.
As a highly critical construction professional, I was impressed with this company from start to finish.
Submitted by Johnathan Birmingham on 12/02/2023
Our experience with Remodeling Expo Center was very successful. We are very happy with our new kitchen. The project manager,owner, showroom staff as well as all the contractors were very helpful, skilled and knowledgeable. The only issue we had was the timeline (took longer than they thought). We would highly recommend for your remodeling needs.
Submitted by Amy Bogue on 11/23/2016
