TALKING SHOP: What lies beneath?

Sales director at kitchen and bathroom showroom KSL in Sudbury, Richard Hibbert says what irks him are companies who conceal quote specifications in order to gain the job

At the moment the wave of customers is very up and down and we have, at times, had to lower our margin. But all of the time, we are working harder and harder on each project.The real bug bear I have is trying to give our customers the best possible job within a given budget and are finding other companies are cutting corners and, either not telling their customers, or bending the truth about specifics within a quote.

Not all equal

The other day, I quoted for a £28,000 kitchen with Corian work surfaces, Neff appliances, Liebherr fridge and freezer, along with a large amount of labour. The customer said they had a like-for-like quote at £25,000 from another company. So we went through the quotation and looked at where we may be more expensive, only to find out that we were quoting for a rigid glued and dowelled kitchen against a flat-pack.  That’s fine as a flat pack kitchen can work very well and last a long time too... The only problem was, allegedly, the customer had been told that the other kitchen business would get the units in and make them up with cams and dowels, just like everyone else does! Erm, no. That is not how we are doing it here. The other quote also included entry-level Hotpoint appliances. We had specified the more premium brand Liebherr, as this fitted what the customer wanted.. i.e .soft-close doors and Bio fresh.  Apparently, the customer was told the two brands were like-for-like but Hotpoint was much better value for money. 

Tell customers truth

Now I don’t mind people trying to earn a living, giving more discounts or getting a better deal from suppliers.  What I hate is people being lied to. Work harder to meet your customers’ requirements or be up front with the product you are putting into their house. At the end of the day, our customers’ money is not picked from trees and they do not replace their kitchens or bathrooms every year. So the package you sell this person must not only meet their needs, but be what they are expecting in the first place. 

I have to say that we also come up against very good competition and I speak to great retailers all the time. I just wish that everyone in the industry would think of the customer as a person as well as a customer. Give them the best possible service and experience, leaving them happy as possible at the end.  If you lie you get found out and then no one is happy!

For more views, industry news, product trends and business advice, subscribe for FREE to Kitchens & Bathrooms News.