BSC Culinary Resource Center

Really top notch appliances and good service. In the past, I bought from places like Sears, and always had some headache or another to deal with. With BSC I received beautiful appliances for my kitchen in a timely manner. Pat even emailed with my contractor to be sure the delivery was done at the right time and location.

If you are looking for a shabby salesroom, no street parking and a salesperson that couldn’t be bothered to follow up with ordering information despite being called twice — then this is your place. Otherwise avoid.

So the place sells good appliances, at okay prices. However what sets these guys apart is their delivery. We had an incredibly difficult delivery with 30 stairs and a fridge that barely fit up the stairs. Any other company would have left and asked for us to pay for a crane to bring it in. The BSC guys (William, Andy, Dayton, Ahhing, and Nick) went way out of their way to get the job done. They offered to help fix mistakes my contractor made. They were resourceful in making things work. Offered to follow up. All round great guys and made a huge difference for me in my customer experience. I would not hesitate working with BSC again, mostly because of the solid delivery crew. Thanks so much. William and Andy really made a big difference.

Monopolies are not good things for consumers. BSC is basically a monopoly if you need a new gaggenau, or two, wall oven.
Basically it’s grab your ankles and ask politely… that is if you need to cook in your home.
That being said I found BSC to do a really good job for being the only game in town. My sales help guy Emmanuel was great at first but once the deal is done he is off to the next client. Don’t get me wrong everything went well. The two ovens fit into the space of the existing ovens… which is a miracle in and of itself. It is just that the attitude is you get it when we tell you.
The delivery guys are really awesome. Friendly, Fast, and Efficient.
The two ovens work great and I couldn’t be happier.
Swallow your pride and whip out the Platinum card… your kitchen will thank you.

F this place. We purchased $ 12k worth of appliances there 8 years ago and our Piece of junk Jenn Air fridges compressor decided to take a dump 8 years into owning the fridge. Well we called BSC to see if this was covered under the warranty. There response «what would you like me to do about it», how about shove it up your tight ass, really! How about some customer service you moron. Shop else where this place is the devil reincarnated as an overpriced appliance store.

I love BSC Culinary. After my 4-​month disaster with Pacific Sales (see my negative review) — BSC was a breath of fresh air. Bill Kavros took my order in the store and set the right expectations when delivery and installation of my new Bosch oven would occur — this was very important since this particular oven was on back order. BSC also does a thorough walk-​through inspection a week or two before installation to minimize last-​minute snags. As Bill predicted, the oven showed up on the appointed day, and Paul and James from the installation team were on time, professional and efficient. I’m extremely happy with my BSC experience and would recommend them. Most importantly, they are honest, trustworthy and deliver as promised (and without the BS that you may get from other vendors in SF).

BSC does ever earn a one star rating… The products they sell are top of the line… and they are great sales hockers… but as soon as you purchase and pay for the product… you are given the worst service possible… try to get product specs, delivery info. follow through on any question is seldom timely or in some cases incorrect… I placed numerous calls to the Manager Pat Rose…(Because my salesman was rarely available) and have yet to ever have him return a call, leave a voice message or even communicate through his salesman… and we spent $ 14,300…for their appliances… This is a Buyer Beware company…

This is an update to my earlier review. I was contacted directly by the owner and he was responsive, courteous and professional. Most importantly, he convinced me that he was sincere in his desire to right the situation. He presented me with a variety of options and executed well on the the series of steps we agreed to to attempt to remedy the problem. All along, his staff who worked in my home were hard-​working nice men who represented the company well.
The problem was a lack of direct experience with the Liebherr brand and poor decision making by the installation manager who earned the company the original one star review and maintained it throughout. His failure to send an experienced crew, failure to respond, apologize, or even attempt to address the problem, made it appear that the company did not stand with the customer beyond the sale.
The owner, Tom, even went so far as to offer to replace the refrigerator and the custom panels if they were damaged or the fridge was found to be faulty in any way. It took several weeks but we are now finally settled into our new kitchen and satisfied with the outcome. The installers need to be empowered to see custom kitchens as more than just a refrigerator delivery and installation. They need to understand that the adjoining cabinetry and hardware is not off limits but, in fact, needs to take minor adjustments as well as the panel doors in order to have a professional finish all around. These guys were afraid to touch the hinges on adjoining cabinet doors but it is a necessary part of the process to complete the job; it’s not for the cabinet maker/​carpenter to do after his work is already done. Fully integrated built-​in appliances require bold confident appliance installers who view the installation not as a single component but with an eye to the overall project as a whole. I actually believe it is more telling how a business handles jobs gone wrong then a hundred jobs gone right. Five stars to the owner for his efforts.

We are renovating, and our architect recommended BSC as a great place to buy an entire house worth of appliances. Unfortunately, we connected with Bill there. He is not knowledgeable and will waste your time.
We chose not to purchase any appliances from BSC for two reasons —
1) Bill simply didnt have enough information (he relied on colleagues but they were busy with their own clients)
2) Bill got upset and told me I was «wasting his time, spending too much time at BSC asking questions if I was going to shop around» when I asked if BSC could give us a better package deal since another store was offering a discounted washer/​dryer as part of the package. He got SO mad. One of the kitchen design people (they sit in the front of the store) overheard the whole conversation and didn’t know what to say — but quietly suggested I call the manager. I left and called Pat, the manager, moments after and left a simple voicemail. Never heard back.
Needless, I would NEVER buy a thing from a place or people like that.
Avoid at all costs and go to a place like Cherin’s, where they treat customers with care and respect.

Another one of those similar experiences where the follow-​up wasn’t as great as the service was pre-​sale.
We bought a Big Green Egg here — they were the only BGE dealers in the city — paid extra for the install. Years later when I was replacing the gasket I realized how they did not even follow Big Green Egg’s instructions for installation. They did not leave some of the extra parts behind — which we subsequently had to locate, but they forgot to install the top gasket which made a difference in performance. The also didn’t align the egg properly. I feel like I am just starting to get the true potential of my egg thanks to the shoddy installation by BSC.
Do not buy your Big Green Egg from these guys.

I noticed that other customers had similar issues regarding a lack of overall customer support post purchase. I can relate to this experience. Their «3» star rating on Unilocal doesn’t surprise me. At BSC Culinary Resource Center they appear more then happy to sell you a product, but when it comes to technical support they appear to care less about servicing you.
I purchased an ultra high end Miele dishwasher from this store, I was SOLD on their stated customer service and product knowledge as a value add to purchasing through them. However, when I had an issue with the intake /​drain alert system, the extent of their customer service was to contact Miele directly through a 1 – 800 number! They didn’t even attempt to provide any assistance over the phone in order to diagnose the problem. If I would have known that this was the extent of their customer service /​technical support, I would have never given them my business.
I’m beginning to realize more and more how a majority of brick and mortar retailers provide little value other then a show room to display home appliances to potential customers. It’s obvious given my experience that they have limited technical knowledge of the products they sell. This became fully apparent when I had an issue with my $ 2160.00 purchase.
Next time I’m considering an appliance purchase, I will use a retailer as a show room, and then purchase online through some other channel so they don’t benefit from the sale. Considering I’ll be relying on the manufacturer to service the product anyway, I see little point in giving them my business. They clearly do not earn the margins they generate from in-​store sales.
I can probably get a much better deal online anyway with some research. To any consumer considering an appliance purchase, I would recommend purchasing elsewhere.

We did a complete home renovation and made the mistake of going with another appliance purveyor that was laughably bad and rude and failed on every level. So bad, in fact, that, after 3 failed attempts to deliver a La Cornue range to us, we canceled the order. Even though it meant no working kitchen for a family with 2 small children!
So we were fairly desperate when we called Iyara at BSC. She and the whole team there managed to be AMAZING on every level. They rushed the order, scheduled a site inspection and delivery, came on time to both and competently installed the range for a very reasonable price. And they were courteous and helpful throughout.
The experience was such a marked difference from others we’ve had that our exceptionally busy contractor will be making BSC his go-​to for appliances. Seriously GOOD service.

I bought a Thermador appliance package from BSC. Bill Kavros was my sales guy and was a great pleasure to work with. He was straight-​up and honest and was helpful through out the buying process through to delivery and follow-​up inquiries. Definitely would go see Bill again for any appliance needs.

We visited this showroom as well as their sister store, Atherton Appliance in Redwood City, to shop for 4 free standing kitchen appliances. We hoped to support a local, independent business for this major purchase. The salesman we spoke with, Bill Kavros, was helpful and knowledgeable. Our major disappointment in this store was the small number of floor models available, so we would need to rely on the catalogs or look at other showrooms. Atherton Appliance did have more on display.
After we decided on the items, we asked for a quote, which received promptly via email and each item was somewhat more than a quote we received from another dealer. Bill said he would try to match other prices, but the difference was considerable enough to purchase from the other dealer.
We appreciated his time and knowledge and willingness to work with us, even though our total purchase was in a mid range for kitchen appliances. I recommend this company, both stores, but one might need to shop around in the superstores to look at the models, especially in the mid-​range items.

We just finished a renovation in which we completely re-​did our kitchen, and bought all our new appliances (Wolf, Sub-​Zero, Miele) from BSC. It has been a great experience.
What first attracted us was the showroom, and the knowledgeable, helpful (and funny) «Appliance Consultant» Charmen. She really knew her stuff, listened to what we wanted, and carefully explained the trade-​offs and options. We didn’t feel like she was trying to hard-​sell us anything.
Then, I read the reviews about BSC after-​sales service (I can see that some of the complaints are quite recent). I flagged this as a concern before we made the purchase, and Charmen gave us her word that she would be there for us throughout the process. She delivered (the appliances, as well as the availability). We got exactly what we ordered, it arrived on time, everything works. And this was not an easy delivery (we live on the 9^th floor of 1920’s era building with an original and «fascinating» elevator). And there were problems — getting our full-​size fridge into our less than full-​size elevator was an on-​going drama — in the end, BSC hired a speciality delivery company that cost them more than they charged us — and they ate the difference since they had committed to the delivery in the first place. When the inevitable questions arose, both before and after delivery, Charmen was either easy to reach, or, if we called on one of her days off, she got right back to us when she returned.
I know that the overall reviews of BSC tend toward «great until you pay, then abandon all hope», but I can only report on our personal experience, which was excellent. Based on our experience, I would heartily recommend BSC, and in particular Charmen.

Oh BSC, how I have both loved and hated you over the past 9 months.
The Good:
Pat: one of their super-​qualified sales managers, is truly fantastic. He’s knowledgeable, opinionated (in a good way) and is always very helpful. I visited a lot of other appliance locations, but he was by far the best salesperson I met. He maintained his professionalism throughout all of our interactions. There were hiccups along the way, but Pat always helped me get them resolved. He can sometimes be hard to reach over email, but stopping by or picking up the phone always did the trick.
Product: they sell top of the line product at the lowest «legal» price. I was happy with their assortment and they had a lot of experience selling, so they (mostly Pat) knew how to guide me into the right purchase. Mind you I spent north of $ 18k in appliances, so I really wanted some hand holding.
The Bad:
Scheduler: Victoria was initially quite rude to me on several occasions. I frankly was having none of it, having just dropped almost $ 20k. Over time our relationship improved, but considering how much money the customers are spending here, they frankly deserve to be treated like royalty at every turn.
Installers: This MUST be improved. They installed a built-​in Thermador fridge and it took 4 visits to get it right. On the second visit, the men would not install it because they claimed parts were missing (parts that their brethren delivered only days earlier and were clearly in front of their face). So, they left. Then I had to wait another 2 weeks to have them return to install the paneling on my fridge. When they came the third time, they put the door on upside down and damaged the panel in the process. To the company’s credit, they paid to have a new panel built and sent their guys out to install it properly the 4^th time. All in all, they need to work on improving this department. It’s not acceptable to sell this type of equipment and do a shoddy job on the install.
The Verdict:
All in all, I struggled between 3 and 4 stars with this review. If it wasn’t for Pat and the fact that they made everything right in the end, they might have even landed as low as 2 stars. But, if you work with Pat and monitor the installers carefully, this is definitely a 4-​star business. If, on the other hand, they cleaned up their act in the install/​scheduling department, this could rise to a 5-​star business. Management, you have some work to do.

This is a hard review to write because I feel like I’m dogging the disadvantaged based on the [incapable] service I received subsequent to placing my order. I would highly recommend going to BSC to research things. The sales people are knowlegeable and undeniably eager to make the sale. Once they have charged your credit card, though, the pod people take over and I think they are forbidden from answering their phone or returning countless calls or emails, as well as providing a truthful answer to any question you may have.
I’ll try to be brief but it was such a comedy of errors that will be hard. To start, I met with the salesroom manager and made my selections of a Thermador Wine Fridge, BlueStar rangetop, Zephyr range hood, and two sinks. I confirmed the order in an email, referencing make & model of each item. To my surprise, when I reviewed the invoice, they order an entirely different wine-​fridge that cost about $ 3,000 more and was never on the table as an option for me. In fact, I immediately nixed it in the showroom because I didn’t like the look and couldn’t figure out why it cost so much more. After a number of back-​and-​forth emails that started with the original email specifying my order, they finally admitted the error. Originally, they told me they got it right. Then they said it was an admin error because of the holidays. And then some other bullshit excuse. I finally told them if they want the sale, read my original email and get the order right or forget it. Funny how well that worked.
During the order process, I was very concerned about delivery and repeatedly confirmed that the stuff would be delivered into our condo. I even sat in front of the salesman and confirmed with my contractor that in-​unit delivery was required. When things finally arrived nearly a month late, the delivery guys, who were affable enough but seemed stoned or recently reintroduced to society at large, said it was for curbside delivery only. When I protested, they pulled out a paper, that I had never seen nor signed. When I called the shop, my salesman was on vacation (he took a lot of time off during the time I tried to get all my stuff delivered) and no one would deal with it. Eventually, I broke down and agreed to pay the guys $ 100 to bring the stuff into my place. I felt like they just shook me down.
The fun never stopped, because when the fridge was installed, they had sent the wrong handle — it didn’t even fit on the door. It took close to two months to finally get the right handle. In addition, the 100 bottle wine fridge we order in the showroom, actually only holds about 80 bottles. When I asked about the discrepancy, I was told that no one had ever asked about that. WTF does that matter for. I guess I don’t happen to be a lemming. I was informed almost a month later that unless you remove all drawers and just pile the bottles in, it will only fit about 80 bottles.
I can’t even recall all the other lame-​brained excuses, non-​responses, mistakes I dealt with but I will never buy anything from BSC again unless they change their policy and you pay upon delivery. If they do that, I’m quite sure the service would be just as amazing as it was up to the point of charging my credit card.

They have nice appliances, but so do other people.
And don’t let them sell you an extended warranty.
I just received the worst customer service ever. Spent over $ 26,000 on applicances and extended warranties. The AGA oven breaks last night and now won’t turn off. Called for service and the extended warranty is 10 days expired. 10 DAYS!!! I was hoping that a high-​end retailer would be willing to extend some service to a good customer, but was told by Nicole, their extended warranty person, that «we can’t do that for everyone this happens to.» Her snooty attitude extended to telling me that well you didn’t really spend that much and we have plenty of other customers. Apparently they sell so many appliances that break within days of going out of warranty that they’d go broke making things right.
If you do make the mistake of buying appliances from these jokers, don’t bother with any warranties. You’ll just have to deal with Nicole.
BTW she also works at Atherton Appliance so give them a miss too.

This is a great store; huge selection, all high quality brands. They are very helpful and answer any question you have. Delivery includes installation. I also bought my kitchen and bath counters from them in addition to several appliances.
Our salesperson was Aldo. who is so easy on the eyes … and helpful. that it really made the shopping experience all the better.

Oh come on! They don’t even answer their phone.
I called today to see if they had a particular dishwasher in stock… or to be told about something similar.
When you call, you CANNOT talk to a human being. They have an automated attendant who, if you don’t know who you want to talk to, will let you leave a message.
Really? This is the service BEFORE I buy? I suspect they really don’t retail, one-​appliance buyers to bother them.