Hi all,
I have recently got a new job which pays me a bit more from my last job and my mum is turning 60 this year so I thought I’ll redo the kitchen as her birthday gift.
My mum has locked herself into a 25k Kitchen Remake Deal with a major retail company (18.8k for the material and 6k for the installation including electrical, plumbing, tiling ,demolition and disposal works)
After reading reviews/comments from others from productreview.com.au (in which it is pretty much a 50/50 balance on the critics and complements), I am a little bit of concern hence I’m writing up this post.
It appears that most of these kitchen companies provides a SUPPLY ONLY role (as the Installation would probably be with the biggest risk of having variance in terms of cost, time and quality)
So basically what that means is these large companies will be taking all your money, wipe their hands and then pass you on to some “recommended sub-contractors”. I personally don’t blame them for this so please don’t get me wrong with making such statement. It’s more a reminder for anyone who’s reading this post to understand the deal they are signing up.
They stated in their contract that customer ourselves are the only one who will be managing the contractors and any delays/argument/workmanship will be managed by ourselves.
What a LOVELY STATEMENT. So I guess it’s up to my people management and time management skills to ensure the kitchen is installed at the agreed time frame, satisfied quality and agreed price.
So enough background knowledge, I'll start this post in a diary format and hopefully I can update it every day or at least 3 times a week.
Any questions please do message me and obviously please also throw me any new ideas if you think I'm doing something wrong.
19th December 16:
Mum booked someone to come in to have a look at the kitchen and also giving us a free quote
1930: The designer MARIA (who worked with the company for 7yrs as a contractor) , arrived to our place at 7:30pm
1930 – 2030: Maria started explaining the products provided by the company claiming their hinges are made in Germany, all MDF boards are much better quality then their competitors such as Bunnings from the coating to the density of the boards. Please note that we were not provided any technical sheets stating the difference between different companies
2030 – 2130: We gave her the requirement and preference on how my mum wants the kitchen and she started doing measurements
2130 – 2230: Maria completed the measurements and provided us a layout.
2230 - 2300: We were happy with the layout and she started getting us to select materials we would like to use.
2300 – 2330: All measurements and material were picked. Maria generated a 3D image and provided us a price (18800 for the supply only and “guesstimated” the cost will be 5600 to install) Maria stated that the cabinets would be available in February so we will wait and see.
2330 – 2400: We had other quotes from others but the other ones didn’t really give us a good design so Maria impressed my mum and basically mum was happy to go ahead with the contract as Maria stated that the 20% discount voucher can only be used straight away and if mum doesn’t use it the voucher can’t be used again (Very very very smart way to pressure someone into a deal)
Compliments:
Maria was very professional, has a lot of ideas, listens and thinks of a solution straight away. Mum and I were impressed with the design that she came up with.
She even went around to check what’s sitting under the kitchen slab(which is the garage) to ensure that the design is constructible
She is a true designer instead of just a salesperson.
The tailor made cabinets size, cabinets positioning, the change of the stove top location was amazing. She looked into all sort so detail, listened to everything my mum said and came up with such brilliant idea in less than an hour. She even go through how a kitchen can be design to improve the view of the kitchen eg maintain width of the breakfast bar and the bench top of the ceiling height cabinet.
Critics:
Obviously Maria is working as a contractor and she gets paid per Kitchen they sell. So towards the end my mum was feeling a bit pressured to sign the contract. But by saying that she was very very polite throughout the process.
Terms and conditions were NOT presented before showing my mum “where to sign” until mum asked for it.
Terms and conditions favours the company a lot but this is the same as all other kitchen designers/suppliers as there are too much risks to carry out such task.
No lock in days of delivery for the cabinets(no penalty on the company if they delayed the production) and customers are locked into the contract and the only option is that we have to wait or forfeit whatever has been sent out.
Lesson learnt:
Go get a company that provides you a supply, delivery and installation.
Read through terms and conditions and if they don't let you take the T&D home or make decisions later, well good sign for you to just leave the door and find someone else.
21st December 2016:
Text message and The Good Guys My Kitchen System message received 12:58
Subject: OCCP - Reply | Posted On: 21/12/2016 12:55:40 PM | Message From:
Dear Ronald ,
Thank you for choosing The Good Guys Kitchens.
Once your file has been received in the Production office you will be contacted by a representative of our Kitchen Team regarding what you need to know, what the next steps are and any information we require from you.
Welcome call - A representative from our Customer Liaison Team (CLO) will contact you to discuss the next steps and see if you are ready to progress your job to site check.
Site check - To be ready to progress to site check, walls must be up and gyprocked in the kitchen and you must be able to supply us with all of your appliance information. We require the model numbers or dimensions (H x W x D) of your oven, cooktop, rangehood, fridge, microwave, dishwasher, sink (new / existing). Once the site checker is allocated to your file they will make contact with you directly to book in a time and date that is suitable (approx 7-10 business days).
Final Plans - Once site check has been completed and your paperwork and 30% progress payment is received, the CAD (Computer Aided Drawing) department will draw up your final plans with any changes you have made at site check. They will then be available online for you to view and accept (approx 8-12 business days).
Production - Once you have accepted your final plans, delivery and installation dates will be allocated to your job. A member of our Installations Department will then contact you to advise what they are and confirm them with you. Your kitchen will then start to be manufactured (approx 4-6 weeks, however this can be longer during peak periods approx 6-8 weeks).
Delivery and Installation - A CLO will contact you to confirm final payment and delivery details 2 days prior to your delivery.
Post Installation - You will receive a call after installation to check everything is ok and get feedback on your experience.
Please Note:
We do not project manage your job as we are a SUPPLY ONLY Company so all trades, installation, stone and glass enquiries or payments need to be discussed directly with the person / company responsible.
The online system is used for job progress updates, credit card payments, communicating and uploading of plans etc.
If you are unable to proceed to site check, after 6 months you will be required to pay $500 to keep the job active and without price changes. This comes off the total kitchen price and will be required every 6 months or until you proceed to site check.
If you have a stone or glass contract once you have delivery and install dates you will need to contact the supplier directly to book in a check measure, as it can be a further 10 days before the benchtop is installed and a further 10 days after the benchtop is installed before the splashback is installed.
Payments can be made four ways - Direct Deposit, BPAY, Bank Cheque or Credit Card (fees - 1% Visa and Mastercard and 3% Amex). The kitchen cannot be delivered without receipt of the final payment.
Delivery and installation of your kitchen can only occur during the week and once delivery and installation dates have been confirmed they cannot be changed, so you may need to take time off work, as we need to coordinate around the delivery drivers and installers.
Kind Regards,
Your Kitchen Team