Cook's Kitchen & Bath, Inc. Comparative Summary

Even though Dave Cook’s company specializes in kitchen and bathroom remodeling, he considers himself to be in “the relationship business.” The best contractors don’t merely see themselves as project managers, says Mr. Cook, co-owner of Cook’s Kitchen and Bath, they take responsibility for the entire customer experience—with good communication as their key approach.

In the case of Cook’s Kitchen and Bath, that customer experience resembles a well-oiled machine, calibrated to deliver on-time, on-budget and trouble-free performance, says Mr. Cook.

The family-owned company (Dave’s brother, Christopher Cook, is co-owner) manages every aspect of your project from start to finish: Bidding, designing, planning, pulling permits, scheduling, ordering, installation, clean-up, follow-up and, of course, guaranteeing their work. This business model, known as design-build, spares you the hassle of juggling multiple contractors. More important, all accountability for your project rests with one company. When you have problems, there’s no run-around; you know where to turn.

Moreover, the Cook’s Kitchen and Bath team stays in constant communication with its customers. The company actively solicits ongoing feedback, says Dave Cook, asking, “What can we do better?” and “How are you feeling about the work?” Customers are never left frustrated or kept in the dark.

Cook’s Kitchen and Bath has developed a highly regimented process that ensures bids are based on real-life considerations and not, as is a common practice in the industry, “allowances and wild guesses,” says Mr. Cook.

Because Cook’s Kitchen and Bath is a smaller company with only one or two ongoing jobs at any time, it will never pull its workers off your project because they’re needed elsewhere. What it starts, it finishes—on time and on budget.