Gorilla Islands

I would NEVER contact these people. First they call and cancel when you have an outstanding appointment; after making you wait around for them (they called 45 mins after apt to say they couldn’t make it). Then they finally come out and meet with you and look at your space. The owner sits there and boasts about how great they are and talks bad about customers they’ve dealt with in the past.
They leave and then days later send you a drawing (made on a DIY software landscaping program you can purchase at computer store for beginners, the owners call «CAD»). The drawing was horrible.
Then they continue to call and email you asking when you want to start project. When you tell them you aren’t ready or are still planning the project, they threaten you by saying «the drawing we sent you is copyrighted and we want it back»? You want it back? It’s a file you have emailed me. Makes no sense.
I have blocked their email and also their phone numbers from my phone.
Do not use these people. Buyer beware and please read other reviews. They are real.
I will also be filing a complaint with the entities they are licensed with.

Overall just bad customer service! My fiancé bought a Green Mountain Daniel Boone Smoker for them for Christmas that was promised to be delivered before Christmas with a cover. We really wanted in time for Christmas to smoke our Prime Ribs. Turns out the grill didn’t get delivered before christmas and to this day as of Jan 26^th still no cover for our grill or a follow up call explaining where the cover is or when we can expect it. We called ourselves to try and talk to someone about what there return policy was on the grill and after calling twice we still have not heard back from anyone after both times being promised someone would call us back. Just a very disappointing experience with Gorilla Island. Being Corona residents we thought we would support the local business but they obviously do not care about customer satisfaction or even completing orders or following up with phone calls. Would not recommend anyone to this store, there has to be better business people who actually care out there in the BBQ business. Still waiting on our cover and a return phone call…
Dear Ronda,
I did not yell when I called yesterday, you and I both know that but it’s fine if you want to portray me that way. Frustrated with your stores lack of follow through and communication, yes but I never raised my voice. It’s funny that after calling 3 times to find out your return policy and nobody calling us back, ever, I now know your return policy thanks to your Unilocal comment back. If your store would have called me back ever, I may have not been as dissatisfied as we are with your customer service. How is it you can tell me your return policy over a Unilocal review but can’t pick up the phone and return a phone call as «promised». Yes we posted it on Craigslist, so what? Guess what your immature «internet lady» did? Called us fake asking to buy it then rudely hung up said you would go by new. Not to mention she had to post a craigslist post right behind ours basically saying not to buy ours. Talk about immature games, grow up already! It’s no wonder the amount of bad reviews you guys have. Your business is a joke! Good luck!

I would give them a –3 stars if allowed. Buyer Beware! Go ANYWHERE, but here. I really feel like a horses ass for not having read the reviews before purchasing from Gorilla Island.
Kevin D. in a previous review nailed it. (Thank you Kevin)
Pros (2 stars):
— Island was built well. (But Incorrectly, See Cons)
— Lots of outdoor accessories to choose from at their store
— Staff are friendly
— Will price match competitors on grills
Cons (–5 stars):
— Islands was delivered without agreed to changes made.
— TONS of miscommunication between in house staff and installers alike
— Do Not Show on Appointment Times
— Constant Excuses
— Very defensive when asked put on the spot about doing things correctly
— Very poor customer service
— Poorly organized when it comes to delivery of items
— Understaffed
— Horrible at listening to the customer wants and needs

I really wanted to give my business to a local company as I am a very firm believer in supporting the local economy. However, other than the quality of the product that their staff produces (which is good) and friendliness of the on-​site staff, they are lucky to have been in business this long. They constantly play the «poor us» card every time they screw up and being a nice guy I really tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. I never got angry, yelled or was disrespectful in any way shape or form. In fact I really don’t like to use Unilocal,but even after they screwed up multiple times the owner asked that I give them a positive Unilocal review. WOW! I think that is why I felt so compelled to write this review.
Let me be clear I really don’t like to use Unilocal,but when business such as Gorilla Islands is so blatantly aloof I find myself forced to. Even after they screwed up multiple times the owner asked that I give them a positive Unilocal review putting me on the spot, because the project was not completed as we were waiting on a log set for our fireplace. Funny thing was I found myself agreeing to do so just to make this whole thing go away, but I informed them they needed to make the rest of the transaction flawless. To my surprise they continued with the poor communication and performance up until the very end. So unfortunately here I am «Yelping». In fact, I would not be surprised if Rhonda or Kevin don’t reply to this review with more lies and excuses, excuses, and more excuse followed by a condescending «I hope you enjoy your island!»
Listen I would go into the story of what happened and how my experience with Gorilla Islands was horrible, but it mirrors so many of the complaints before me that it really would be extremely redundant. However if you read the reviews and do NOT heed the warnings let me give you some pointers on how to deal with Gorilla Islands:
1. Get everything agreed to in writing and e-​mailed to you. (which they do at first, but not when it goes wrong)
2. Any changes to the originally agreed get in writing. Especially the small details.
3. DO NOT give them 100% payment until project is complete and installed. DO NOT.
4. Put all payments on a credit card for the extra protection. DO NOT pay cash or check, you may not have as much leverage to be sure the project is completed in a timely or correct manner.
5. Know that you will be like a general contractor when it comes to making sure EVERYTHING is on the up and up, and to the agreed to specs.
6. Really ask yourself do I want my next few weeks/​few months to SUCK.
Again, at anytime please feel free to contact me and I will be willing to share the e-​mail or text I sent to them with my concerns and you can see for yourselves I was more than fair.

Here is the short and «sweet» version:
Pros (2 stars):
— Island was built well
— Lots of outdoor accessories to choose from at their store
— Staff are friendly
— Rhonda was very communicative over phone and email with helping me design my island even after normal working hours
— Will price match competitors on grills
Cons (–3 stars):
— Lots of miscommunication between staff members
— Very defensive when asked put on the spot about doing things correctly
— Very poor customer service
— Poorly organized when it comes to delivery of items
— Understaffed
— Not certain about this one, but delivery staff seems to be 3^rd party
For those of you wanting more details:
Everything started out really well! I chose Gorilla Island over 4 other places I contacted because Rhonda seemed to be on top of things. She responded to all my questions and was very patient with me. She did not try to oversell me on the grill parts and her prices were fairly competitive. I put my deposit in and was hopeful that everything would progress as smoothly as it had been (I gave more than 1 month lead time). The sign of trouble occurred when they told me they had put in a space for a utility drawer when I had asked them to cancel that order. Rhonda apologized and said she would just charge me for the price of the drawer, which was okay I suppose. Next hiccup was when they put the tiling on; they messed up. I went into the store to speak to them about what had happened and Rhonda admitted it was their fault. She offered to change it to the way I wanted but that it would take an extra week at MINIMUM. I opted for the different tiling since it wasn’t terrible and my priority was getting the island to my house on time. A couple days later Rhonda calls and says that they accidentally stucco-​ed over the part where the drawer and shelving was supposed to be. They also couldn’t fit the utility drawer any longer, and Rhonda told me they would refund me the amount of the utility drawer for the trouble. After this, they had to reschedule the delivery twice, and almost missed the 3^rd delivery time. When they arrived, I found out they had forgotten 3 key components. I called Rhonda and she said that 2 items were backordered and the smoker didn’t come because it didn’t fit on the truck. This was the most upsetting part because she had specifically told me that everything was ready to go. I got everything over a week after it was promised, but only because I went to go pick up the smoker myself. I also had to install a couple of the components myself because Rhonda and Kevin delivered a door and side burner themselves (cool of them, but it was their own fault for delivery issues). In the end, I didn’t get the island on time, and had I known that, I would have asked them to re-​tile the island.
After all was said and done, my wife emailed Rhonda to ask for a refund of the delivery fee at the very least. I thought it was a reasonable request: nothing was delivered on time and I had to pick up the smoker myself. Rhonda got super defensive and responded with (verbatim): «It’s so interesting how when something goes perfect, nobody notices. But when things are not, some people are whistle blowers.» Her only apology was that they are a small business, were understaffed, and that I had said «okay» to the changes.
Bottom line: I could see myself being friends with the staff at Gorilla Island, but as business people, they do not seem to value their customers’ time as well as they should/​could.

A 5 MINUTE TRIP CAN SAVE YOU THOUSANDS OF $$$$$$ PLEASE READ
I want to add, I have copies of all our emails and text messages for proof of the conversation and false promises.
Kevin and Rhonda both knew my mother was buying this island with my father life insurance in honor of him because this was something he always wanted (i have messages to prove this)
Let me first start by saying, I have posted an outstanding review for this company a few month back during the construction time of my island. But things have truly taken the turn for the worst.
I AM INVITING ANYONE THAT VISITS GORILLA ISLANDS TO COME TO MY HOUSE WHICH IS LESS THEN 5 MINUTES AWAY TO SEE WHAT QUALITY AND UNFINISHED WORK THIS COMPANY PROVIDES. (if you can contact me on Unilocal I am more then willing to give you my contact information and directions to my house to see for yourself)
Also, at the bottom of the Unilocal page, you will see a light grey bar that says, «other recommended reviews» please click it and read the common issues each customer has.
’ APPOINTMENT DATES NOT KEPT, LIES THAT EACH ASSOCIATE CANT KEEP STRAIGHT, FRAUD, FALSE PROMISES AND BLAMING OF THEIR STAFF FOR REASONS OF NOT HAVING THINGS DONE, REPLACING OF CONTRACTORS (WHICH THEY DON’T REPLACE BECAUSE ITS NOT THEIR FAULT)
The original completion date was August 15 2015 for my father memorial that we were having at our house. Rhonda and Kevin both knew this and were looking forward of building us something so special for us. The memorial didn’t happen so this allowed a few more extra days for completion. Then all the lies started
They had the nerves to reschedule an appointment with us to discuss what we need to do to move forward because they had a site check. Now, they are looking to get more business before they even finished a job they have been paid. Our island is not small and paid way close to 30k Which was all paid up front.
First, it was the tile guy had to be replaced and now they have a better one.
Then, the patio guy had to come out and remeasure.
Then it was the blame of the warehouse workers for not completing my island and starting on others
The doors to my island were missing because they are on the dock and haven’t been released. (to find out that they were never ordered and we are supposed to be getting them in the middle of November.
The stucco that was ordered to finish my island was sold because they never picked it up. (Per Rhonda)
Kevin numerous times told me that Jeff (the patio guy Socal Patios) should fix the patio because its his fault for not measuring correctly. (Again, i have messages to prove this)
The other pair of speakers were never ordered because they didn’t know which ones would attach to my patio cover that is supposed to be built
Grout patches that still haven’t been fixed (which Kevin is the one that pointed it out to me)
Let me not forget this, Kevin and Rhonda like to quote they built my island bigger and didn’t charge me for it. This was not done from the goodness of their hearts, Its because they didn’t build it right so the middle island wouldn’t have fit if they didn’t make it wider.
Rhonda wanted me to pay for the additional outlets that were placed on my island. We were quoted on the contract 3 outlets which we paid for. The reason is, I have a TV and two Fridges (This was no surprise that I had a TV and Fridges built in the island but they wanted to say it was added later.) I didn’t add anything. When I told Rhonda I dont believe I have to pay extra for something that was already paid in the contract (itemized) she got all upset.
She told me, she needs to pay her electrician full pay and who is going to pay her. She went on and started about how they built my island bigger but didn’t charge me (again this was their mess and I didn’t ask them to build it bigger.)Then she said, which I believe it to be comical, how kevin and her are even fixing the island that fell off the truck during delivery (another costumer) and they are not asking them to pay for it. Why would anyone pay extra to have their island fix when it was fell off their truck due to not tying it down properly (Per Kevin)
Now remember, my island was supposed to be finished in August and these conversation are happening in October and November.
A patio cover was supposed to be built but because Kevin under bid so much, it’s costing more to build which he refuses to fix. And the solution was for us to move our chairs in closer to the island when we sit so the rain wont hit us (Per Rhonda)
Before I go on any further, I encourage Rhonda or Kevin to respond to this Unilocal review if anything that I am saying is untrue. If so, I am willing to remove what is false.

Contact me via email. My name is John
I almost forgot. I haven’t used my grill once because they haven’t found the time to adjust the cut out. I live less then 2 miles away. What if I lived in a different city? People just run.
i WILL FINISH LATER

This place sells a good variety of BBQs and accessories. Unfortunately, most of the time if you show up during weekdays you will find just one employee on duty. For the second day in a row I walked in and found no one around to even acknowledge there was a customer in the showroom.
Yesterday, after about five minutes a female employee came in from outside with another customer. She saw me but never said anything. Not even, «We will be with you in a few minutes.» After being ignored for almost ten more minutes another customer and I walked out.
Today it was the same thing. Not a soul to be found anywhere inside. I called the business phone and the cell phone number listed on the business card. No answers. After ten minutes of wandering around their showroom a man comes in from the same back door with a customer. Again, no acknowledgment, just ignored. Once he finished with the other customer he was very friendly and helpful. Again, there was another customer who refused to wait like I did yesterday and walked out.
Not great service because they short staff the place. Good variety of accessories if you can get someone to help you.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER pay for anything until it is complete and delivered!!! A year later, and STILL NOT DONE. I learned my lesson the hard way. You get what you pay for I guess… in hindsight I would have payed a few extra dollars and had professionals handle my job.
Very disappointing.

BUYER BEWARE!!! Save yourself the headaches, time and money. VERY POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE. Many excuses given for missed appointments, messages not returned and job not completed. Kevin, Rhonda and Sue can’t keep their lies straight and cover for each other, not very well I might add. Their communication skills need MUCH to be desired. One excuse after the other. One lie after the other. DO NOT PAY IN FULL until job is completed satisfactorily. There’s a reason why they want the money up front. Once paid, the poor service begins as another reviewer stated. Had many appointments that weren’t kept. Missed time from work and even cancelled an end of the school year field trip to an amusement park for our kids and friends to be here for an 8am delivery that never happened. No apology given. Just a call from them at around 10am wondering why we were calling them upset…2 hours after scheduled delivery, a cancelled family trip and no response to voicemails and texts. Are you kidding me??? This after the first BBQ island was built incorrectly and had to be returned. The grill cutout was too small. A comedy of errors. Too many to list but here are some… fridge cutout too small, grill cutout too small, access doors wrong size, BBQ island height too low, vaporizer for BBQ was wrong size, one of 3 chairs that were delivered was used and poorly fixed for resale. Does not attach to the base. On the date of delivery, after many excuses about why delivery couldn’t happen as scheduled and being told their delivery guy was booked until later in the afternoon, my husband and I decided to go by the store/​warehouse. The BBQ island wasn’t even finished!!! THAT’S the reason why it wasn’t delivered as promised but no one bothered to call us or let us know. We had to find out by paying a surprise visit. Then of course it was delivered later in the afternoon but not without the grill being installed incorrectly by their incompetent installer. After their sidekick Sue tried to blow us off once again saying that it was installed correctly, my husband had to explain to her that there are brackets required for installation and they can’t just screw the grill into the drywall on the BBQ island. The brackets were left on our front patio for my husband to install later that day??? We paid for Gorilla Islands to install the grill. Not my husband. After another few calls, they installed the BBQ island the next day but not without breaking a knob on the BBQ grill. In addition, there’s a gap and ugly holes cut into the tile on the BBQ island that need to be retiled or trimmed properly because of the incorrect grill installation and once again, we are being blown off. We were assured that a crew would be out here today at 10:30am to fix the island and bring a new chair, new knob and new vaporizer. Once again, they were no shows. We will have our attorney rectify this situation and will be filing a complaint with the BBB. Save yourself the headache and go elsewhere even if you pay more. It’s not worth the hassle and frustration. They DON’T value their customers as many here have stated and are very combative when called out on their incompetency which is usually the case when people know they’re wrong.

They did what they would probably consider a small project. Good people. The project ran over but they made it good. It’s nice to see integrity in this world. Overall, I was pleased with this result.

web site states contractors, landscaping, appliances they have none of these licenses and no business license so always cash, kevin was happy to admit that for problem clients, my island was 3 weeks late got a shell of island that kevin admitted it was cut wrong and they broke things in my patio worst part is ronda forgot her lies about having kids then later she claimed they have no kids, lies lies and more lies if you hire record all get a copy of business license they don’t have for your protection

I have been in this location a few times, always clean and friendly staff. Many things to pick from. They have pretty much everything you need to make a dream backyard.

This review was difficult because there were so many steps involved. Some definitely better than others. The process is basically broken down to sales, timeliness /​delivery, and overall quality of the product.
Sales — Kevin and Rhonda both came to my property and gave me things to think about. They even came out a second time once construction had started, to make sure everything was sized appropriately. During this time Kevin produced many CAD drawings for me, which was very much appreciated and necessary for me to make up my mind. All of this at no extra cost. It took me around 5 months to make up my time, during which Rhonda was very persistent in keeping in touch with me making sure my questions were answered. Multiple visits to the display store were made and both of them were very happy, easy to talk to and defiantly good at making that sale. They were both understanding and flexible concerning the final estimate and reducing costs to keep me within my budget. Whether or not I got the cheapest price for the best product, I do not know. I didn’t shop around. The sales process gets 5 out of 5.
Build and Delivery –This was a very frustrating, disappointing and long process. It was filled with empty promises, delays, and more delays. In April Rhonda informed me that if I gave my deposit before Memorial weekend, that it would be a 4 – 6 week turnaround time. But if I gave my deposit after, I was looking at an 8 – 12 week turnaround time because of demand, which was very reasonable. I made it a point to get there and have my deposit in by May. On the proposal the delivery date was a week after Memorial Weekend. Rhonda was great with sending pictures of the island during the build. After May I started calling more frequently to check progress so I could have it before 4^th of July. I was met with endless excuses about staffing issues. It took 3 weeks alone just to do electrical because they were changing out electricians and supposedly this one was better than the last. This was around mid-​July. I was promised it would be done one day, and then on that day to find out electrical still wasn’t done. Why wasn’t I notified earlier? Very disappointing Plus, they still had a long way to go on the island. A new delivery date for the first weekend in August was set for 12pm. On the delivery day, at 12pm, I get a call from Rhonda, the island still isn’t done! The tile isn’t even finished. Two weeks later the island is finally finished 15 WEEKS after I gave them my deposit. It should be noted they were also 2 hours late on the delivery as well. After the second missed delivery date I sent an e-​mail expressing my disappointment and asking for some sort of discount due to the delay which caused me almost the whole summer without an Island that I was promised around Memorial weekend. Rhonda responded with a detailed e-​mail describing all of the discounts that they provided to me and they weren’t able to give me any sort of discount. Heck, the BBQ Island alone was 10k, and after being 6 – 9 weeks late you’d think she would offer some barstools, or an umbrella to try and help make things better. I would have been happy with a 12 pack. I was also shocked they weren’t present for the delivery just to make sure everything went smoothly and that I was happy. Where did the sales attitude go? This process gets a 1 out of 5 and was definitely a FAIL. It’s like the showroom looks amazing but everything behind the scenes are held together by a piece of string without organization or keeping their word.
Product /​Quality — The Island had a fair amount issues when it was first delivered. An outlet needed to be moved to another side, an edge was slopped downward, chipped tile, and a corner needed to be sprayed again. Since then all of the issues have been resolved. Despite having to reschedule the fixes multiple times, all of the repairs have been done without complaint. It looks amazing and the quality is great. For this I give 4 out of 5.

This Company exceeded our expectations on our back yard kitchen. Both Kevin and Rhonda were professional and kind.
It started with a Idea on paper. Kevin brought it to life with his computer skills, and we were sold. It took 8 weeks to complete from paper to delivery.
The installation crew were great they completed it in two days due to one section to large, that it needed to be lifted over the house by a Crain. They stayed hours to finish it that day.
It look so good and very functional that we put out 52 dinner in 15 minutes. our party was a hit. all our guests love it.
Thank you so much for the great work you and your crew had done.

These folks were very professional, honest and kind. First of all when we came in my daughter had a foot injury and was hopping around the showroom. Rhonda gave her a set of crutches and said use them and then give them to someone who needs them when we were done. Then Kevin gave me a tour of his manufacturing site. After visitng several other sites it was clear that there process was quite better than many others. There was attention to many details such as the way the screws are placed on the boards to the extra support on the overhang. Their quote came with full drawings and spec sheets which were much more professional than the 3 other quotes I received. They are a well run, honest family business. Id go back to them again!

There is a reason this company gets bad reviews. Poor customer service. Made a appointment for a estimate and a hour before they were suppose to show up they flaked. No show. Find another company.

The only reason I’m not giving a 5 is because I had to bring some issues to their attention. They fully owned any complaints and fixed them. In the end I wound up with the barbq area I wanted at the right price. I also have been making Pizzas that Rival any place I have eaten anywhere and I’m a New Yorker. Kevin and Rhonda are great people to work with. Their paver installer did an amazing job for any price and was ¹⁄₃^rd of other quotes. Yes there were some items missed from the beginning but after an inspection at their place it was all corrected before installation. I think for some people they expect to be able to order a custom made BBQ area and walk away until it is done. If you take a pro active roll of being involved and checking up on the project you will get what you ordered, at least I did. I would use them again for sure without hesitation. PS I’m a picky son of a bitch engineer. I wouldn’t want to do any work for myself.

I took the time to visit this company. I left my info for a quote at my home. My budget was $ 20,000. I was contacted by the «designer» who made an appointment. On appointment day I left my business early to make this consultation. Consultant was a no show, but did leave a message 30 minutes after the appt time to say they were doing something else. Ok maybe this happens, so I waited a week and no call, no apology, nothing. I’m so thankful you showed the way you value customers. I’m also not surprised others have had issues with this company. You did me a favor thank you! I’ll take my $ 20,000 elsewhere. The way you treat your potential customer is a direct reflection on how you treat your current customers.

Very impressed with Kevin and Rhonda. Very knowledgable and professional. We love our BBQ island! Beer cooler, sink, charcoal BBQ and beautifully done palapas. They even upgraded our palm trees on the stucco. Free!!!

We purchased a custom, natural gas fired, fire pit from Rhonda of Gorilla Island on April 29, 2013 for $ 2000. The pit was built on schedule and delivered when promised. It is truly a pretty pit. However, there was one glaring problem with it. The flame is … well, the only way to describe it is that… it is puny.
We called several times and eventually they sent someone out to look at it. He pulled the burner and found that the orifice was undersized. He drilled it out and it helped… a little. The flame height went from 2″ above the rocks to maybe 3″ or 3.5″. Still too small. Their employee agreed with this and that the flame would be much better with a «ring» type burner and promised to talk about it with Rhonda and Kevin.
After a couple of weeks of no answers, I called and found that the employee in question, Jerry, no longer works there. We have made repeated calls and visits to the store and left messages for Rhonda and or Kevin, but the problem persists.
We do like the fire pit, we just wish it worked the way a fire pit is supposed to. There is something really wrong with the burner they installed. Here we are in June, still waiting for Gorilla Island to make it right, but our calls are going unanswered. So far we are not seeing the good customer service referred to by other reviewers.
We’ll gladly keep the Unilocal audience updated with the outcome and update this review when the issue is resolved.
Updated to respond to Rhonda’s comment.
Rhonda, we exchanged several emails on June 22, where you essentially made the same comment you placed here in Unilocal.I responded to you, but never got a a reply back from you.
Rhonda,
Isn’t my fire pit custom too?
Help me understand: What is the BTU rating of the installed burner and what is the rating of the one you propose?
Can you elaborate on the trade-​in and return policy you alluded to in your earlier email?
The existing gas line was previously powering a fire pit that put out a flame that was over 2 feet in heigh when run wide open, much more than I really want.
I just want our fire pit to produce a flame commensurate with the fire pit photographs displayed in your web site. During the ordering process, you never mentioned that burner BTU range was a choice. Had you asked then, I would have answered that I was looking for a fire pit that performed as well as the ones in your web site. By the way, your web site doesn’t mention that those fire pits have non-​standard or different burners than the ones you normally provide. In my mind, this borders on false advertising.

Had a very large custom island built in our backyard along with an Alumawood patio cover. I have to say that I’m very pleased and impressed with everything. not to mention the service from Rhonda and Kevin. They took all the time we needed to make sure we got the island we wanted and were very competitive with their prices. We price shopped against many local competitors and they were spot on… it’s the customer service that won us over.
We even had a minor mishap after they delivered the island. Rhonda was able to get Cesar out within a day to fix the issue without question. They really stand by their work and would highly recommend them to anyone looking for an island. It’s been about a month since they delivered it and have used it multiple times. It’s built solid and am looking forward to many years of use. Thanks Rhonda and Kevin!