The case study that we have set out below gives you an insight into the process we undertake for each of our clients no matter how big or small their kitchen is.
In October this year we won the Neff Master Partner Excellence Awards Kitchen Design of the Year 2013.
In October 2011 one of our designs was "Highly Commended" by the Designer Magazine.
In December 2010 we won the accolade of "Local Traders of the Year," we received this award for outstanding customer service as voted by our clients.
Just in case people think my job is easy and I get paid loads of money for creating a couple of pretty pictures I am going to give you an insight of how my job works via this case study.
This is an actual kitchen that was ordered by my client on Saturday 09/11/13.
The initial contact with the client was in February 2013, The client was proposing to have a large kitchen extension so that they could have the kitchen of their dreams plus a separate utility room. After taking copies of the architects drawings we had a meeting which lasted a couple of hours were we discussed the clients requirements (wish list) and the reason for them wanting certain things, this also involved in me having extensive demonstrations of live studio appliances to discuss the benefits of certain features of each individual appliance that would benefit the client in a way that they proposed to use them.
Part of the wish list was an informal eating area that faced the main kitchen cooking/washing area, this also needed to be decorative looking but also functional ( I suggested working sockets for mobile phones, lap tops etc..).
The worksurfaces would be in Black Mirror Quartz with upstands, extractor splashback and window board, I recommended quartz as the material that would suit their lifestyle (i.e rolling pastry & hard wearing & low maintenance)
The overall look of this kitchen needed to have a "wow" factor. We also discussed waste bins, drawer inserts, under and internal cabinet lighting, style of sink which will be a 1.5 bowl steel undermount with full recessed sink area & drain grooves.
The kitchen materials that we chose was the Chippendale Hilton Ivory (solid painted ash frames) with painted ash tongue & groove add on side panels
After extensive discussions it was decided that the appliances would all be Neff with the exception of the slimline wine cooler (Caple), the Neff appliances were to include a tall integrated larder fridge, tall integrated no frost freezer, multi function slide & hide oven, multi function oven with microwave, warming drawer, large 5 burner gas hob with wok support (900mm) so larger pans can all fit on at the same time, 900mm vented matching steel and black extractor fan, large dishwasher with info light so when the floor light goes off you know the wash cycle has completed.
Some time at the end of February I sat down with my drawing board, pencil, scale rule calculator and eraser (just in case) and drew out the area at 1:20 scale on a large sheet of paper, the measurements were taken from the architects blue prints which were in 1:50, although some of the printed dimensions did not mirror the scaled dimensions (which later had ramifications to the design)
I always start by drawing a fine pencil line 600mm from the walls that are to have cabinets etc.. placed on them (the depth of a standard worktop), this gives a starting point to work from. When designing larger rooms I never assume that the worktop depth will be 600mm as I need to allow for step out features (this is an inexpensive way of creating depth to a design) and reducing infill panels.
I always calculate the dimensions of the appliances that have to go into the design and deduct these from the measurements of the overall wall space that has to have things like cabinets on them.
Having been at this for several hours and penciling different ideas it was a good time to take a break and take stock of what I had done so far, this gives me time to reflect and to see if there was another way I could do things to achieve the best outcome for the design & the client.
In between me doing what I have already done with this design I had taken in and checked off several deliveries of items for other clients kitchens, spoken to potential new clients in the studio and had a meeting with installers who are installing ongoing kitchen fits.
having stopped for my usual 7 minute lunch break I got back to the penciled design, I made a couple of small changes (more to do with the ease of installation for the installer than being unhappy with the design).
It was now getting to 4.30pm I had calls to make and start the locking up of the studio for the day and 4.30pm is too late to start listing the layout to cost the materials and estimate the installation.
Next day after opening up, going through emails answering some other client queries, taking in 2 more deliveries and checking them I started to write out the list of materials required for this particular design, and having calculated how much cornice, pelmet, plinths and painted panels that are required so as not to over cost the quotation and having trawled through quite a few suppliers price lists and noting them down I had finally come to price as to how much the materials cost would come to (4 hours), at which time my partner and I opened the post went through some invoices to check they were ok, answered a couple of calls from the kitchen installers and replied to a couple of emails, oh and had my usual 7 minute lunch break which was interrupted by a potential new client coming into the studio for a look around and arrange a home visit (1.15mins), I finished my lunch break (2 mins over my normal 7 mins, I shall reprimand myself later if I get the time). I then went onto costing the installation of the project. (1hr). I typed out the quotation & installation estimate and called the client to make an appointment to go through the penciled design and prices.
Fast forward to the following Saturday morning. The clients came in at 10am I had previously prepared the set out the of the clients door, worktop and suggested handle style (sort of a 3D mood board), we sat down had a couple of coffees over the next two hours and discussed the design, this meant a lot of getting up and down to show them working items from my displays that I had incorporated in to the design ( two couples came in whilst this process was going on at which I briefly spoke to and then my partner dealt with them and booked in appointments for me to go out to their homes) After agreeing my design was just what they wanted (this actually happened, the client actually cried because she said " after visiting a couple of other companies none of them had actually been able to do what they wanted and you had done this and more", hankies passed, tears wiped we went through the prices, so far so good, I did at this point advise the clients that the architects drawing & measurements did not match and that all this was subject to survey once constructed, the client understood this and then asked if we could show them what it would be like in 3D cad images, I agreed this was the next step forward and pointed out that we charge £250 to transfer penciled drawings to CAD when it is only at blue print stage due to that amount of time required to complete the CAD process and given the architects drawing are rarely the actual finished measurements (unforseen things can happen along the way once building has begun), the client said they understood and paid the fee (which is fully refundable on paying the deposit for the order, which I wont take until the final detail has been agreed)
On the following Monday after loading the delivery van and going out with the driver to deliver a kitchen that was being installed that day then going back into the studio to do the normal Monday things, post, emails, telephone calls and more deliveries in and checked, I sat down to start transferring the penciled drawings to CAD (fast forward 3 days with all the other usual stuff in between) I had now completed the CAD drawings and fully accessorised them so that they would be as realistic as possible for the client to visualise them as their kitchen, I called the clients to make a further appointment to come in and view them. (further fast forward 2 more days with all the other usual stuff and two more 7 minute lunch breaks). The clients came in at 10.00am again I had prepared the door, worktop and handle style for them to see and we sat down with coffees to go through the 3D images, 2 hours and four hankies later the clients went away with beaming smiles and in eager anticipation for the completion of their extension.
Fast forward to June 2013, ( by which time I had amassed the legal amount of lunch time hours that a normal person would get in three days) Client comes in to inform me that they had hit a snag with planning and things will need to go on hold until resolved plus the builder who was set for the job was not as good at his word as they had hoped for and were looking for a new one. ( I manged to get 12 mins for lunch on June 26th )
Fast forward to end of July, Client phoned to say planning issues sorted builder sorted but cant start until end of August, great progress made and all systems go.
Fast forward to middle of October (lost time on lunches in July, August and September due to being extremely busy, The EU will be calling me sometime soon to say I can take myself to an employment lawyer to sue myself for breach of the Working Time Directive), The outside walls are up and I can now go and take some measurements, appointment made for middle of the 2nd week. Off I went in very heavy rain briefcase in hand filled with paper, calculator, pens, very long expensive tape measure, architects drawing and my plans in a nice clear plastic folder, arrived at clients house still very heavy rain, I sat in the car for 10mins waiting for the builder to arrive and to see if the rain would go off and wondering if I would get lunch today, the rain did not go off and the builder was late so I made a run for it through a builders sand pit and bricks to the clients front door rang the bell and waited, the client opened the door with a smile and let me in, as I wiped my feet on the door mat he said I wouldn't bother I would wipe them on the way out if I were you.
The builder was going to be late due to heavy traffic. I made a dart for the extension whilst the rain eased slightly, there was no roof yet because the builder was trying to point the side wall but had not managed to do it due to the monsoon rains we had had in October so far, I placed my pad on the brick window opening, trying not to get it wet and started to measure the walls of the extension, smart brown shoes were not the best footwear for this job as I was already up to my ankles in water, I managed to take the measurements and then go back into the clients existing kitchen dripping wet and rain smudged writing on my pad, warm cup of tea in hand I copied the measurement to the plan and cross referenced them with the architects drawing measurements.
Oh Oh (or something like that) a problem had arisen (I now have a not surprised look on my face) something is not right with the measurements, did I write it down wrong has the rain made my four look seven, out into the rain (feet already wet so it doesn't matter) to double check that measurement, no I was right it was a four not a seven, went back inside to break the news to the client that his sink cabinet will be 600mm instead of 800mm and his drawer pack by the dishwasher will be 400mm instead of 500mm and the pullout waste bin just got smaller plus the radiator they wanted by the tall bespoke wine rack will need to be closer to the door because the width of the room is 300mm narrower than the blue prints suggested. 25mins later the builder arrives also very wet, I went through the dimensions that would be required after he finished plastering then made a further appointment with the client to come back to the studio at 10am on Saturday to view the changes to the design, Now 2.30pm (lunch missed, EU not happy) I head back to the studio to do all the other things that I do as well as plan, design other clients kitchens and project manage deliveries and ongoing installations.
The following Saturday after a whole Friday of changing the original design ,you guessed it 10am door, worktop handle already prepared blah blah blah...
the client arrives not wet as the rain had stopped (briefly) and we sat down with coffee and this time with some biscuits I had bought to munch on during my working day (given up on lunch times, I decided constant munching might get the EU off my back) I went through the changes to the design and the client was very happy with what we had done and agreed to pay the deposit (minus the £250 design fee) and book in a delivery date for the 13th January 2014, deposit taken, hands shaken and thanking them for their business, the clients left with printed colour copies of their design and a promise that I would email the designs to them and promise I would now to draw up the electrical plans ( which I would leave until Monday as I had other clients booked in to view and order their kitchen) so their electrician could get all the sockets, spurs etc in place before the plasterer would get the room ready for the kitchen, this took a whole day as it had to be absolutely spot on (as usual) so as not to cause problems to the installer when he fits the kitchen.
Monday came, the usual deliveries out, deliveries in, phone calls and then emails to go through (no lunch just biscuits, reminder to self : buy more biscuits) I then sat and wrote out all the orders for the clients kitchen (6 pages of order forms for 6 different suppliers) and then fax them off, sit down and complete the electrical drawings and annotated plans for the installer. It is now 3.30pm and eight biscuits later (note to self: inform the EU work Directive Department that I consider biscuit interludes to be classed as lunch and that I am the boss at least that is what my partner lets me believe and I will give myself a good talking to later) where was I, oh yes, 3.30pm the order confirmations start coming through by email which I check and confirm back with the suppliers which leaves me enough time to ring the installers to check on things for other fits they are on.
Tuesday, after getting very wet ( I did say the rain had only stopped briefly) whilst taking in a delivery the phone rings and it is my client, he explains that the builder has now decided that he will be finished by the end of November and can we either bring the installation forward to the 1st week in December because they would be without a kitchen all over Christmas & New Year and he has to take out the old kitchen to do the knock through or could I put the kitchen back a couple of weeks so he can go in after New Year (6th January) and do all the electrics and plastering which would take a couple of weeks. My client said he felt very embarrassed that he was making this phone call and he understood our timings were critical as he wanted to use the installer that installed our Award Winning Kitchen Design, After explaining that this would be impossible the client again apologised for asking as he knew what the answer would be but said his builder asked him to ask as he did not want to inconvenience them (understandable). After a couple more deliveries a good soaking (rain still not stopped) a biscuit ( EU Directive) and a coffee the phone rings again this time its the builder informing me how put out he will be and how put out the client is going to be and is there definitely no way of moving the fit date, after calmly informing him of our process and time scales he started to get a bit shirty and put the phone down on me, The client then phoned me back and apologised for for what the builder had said and he explained to him that it was not a problem that they would be without a kitchen as they knew what they were letting themselves in for and not to worry and to keep everything as planned, panic over another biscuit and two coffees and I can get on with the rest of my busy day.
What I have written so far is the point up to were I have got an order, In January their delivery will come in along with other clients deliveries and then I will check it all which includes opening every box that contains a door (60 of them) plus open sink. tap and lighting boxes to check that they are good quality (this also prevents any delays in the installation) On the 13th of January I will go with my driver to deliver this kitchen to the clients home and place it in a position that the installer will commence his fitting start point, I will then during the next two / three weeks (between some biscuits & coffee) visit the site several times to check that things are going to plan and to make sure the client is happy with the progress, once the worksurfaces are installed, the taps and hob have been put in and the decorating completed I will then make an other visit to take some photographs to put on our facebook page.
As you can see from above I wanted to keep this a brief as possible so as not to bore you too much and just to let you in on what we do for each individual client, of course not all orders are for extensions and most are for kitchens in existing rooms, but the process is exactly the same.
Every time we take an order and complete a kitchen we ask the client why they chose us and nearly ever time we are told that it was our attention to detail, invaluable advice and service that made them choose us over our competitors, so much so some people come in to us having been to six or seven companies already, they are filled with dread at looking at more kitchens but were recommended to come and see us, they go away refreshed knowing that the whole process going forward is not going to be as daunting as they thought it was going to be and that they now feel happy that the project they started will be a good experience not a bad one.
Russell Buckley
Stuart Henry Kitchens Ltd
Multi Award Winning Kitchen Studio
