Here is something you don't find as often as you should; Excellent customer service.
Yesterday I was due a delivery of a kitchen from Omega plc, quite a large kitchen so I was getting all the other daily things out of they way before it arrived. At 9.30am the back door bell rang it was a UK mail courier driver with a parcel, nothing unusual about that except I was not expecting a parcel, I opened the delivery note and it was from Omega plc. The note read 3x 450 drawer fronts Gloss Stone Shaker for customer Mrs x. I was a little perplexed as to why I had received these drawer fronts as I had not requested any because I had not yet received the main delivery.
Later that day Omega's delivery van arrived with the expected kitchen, I took the notes off the driver and read at the bottom to follow 3x 450 drawer fronts.
I have never in over 25 years in this job received a to follow remedial before even receiving the original order.
Later on that I evening I received a call from Omega customer service to explain about the unusual delivery sequence, the customer advisor informed me that the three drawer fronts had not arrived to them before the kitchen was loaded so they sent them via courier the moment they came in, subsequently the courier arrived before the Omega delivery van.
If all my suppliers took this stance then their businesses would be flourishing. Well done to the Omega plc Customer service team.
Thanks
Russell
Wednesday, 23 November 2011
Friday, 4 November 2011
The cost of not knowing
Let me set the scene.
A customer has their kitchen "designed" by an employed kitchen professional (or so they think). The customer tells the professional that they want to hide their existing washing machine behind a door. (This is possible but not as straight forward as it sounds). The professional says no problem and costs in a 596mm integrated appliance door. The customer is thrilled to bits they they are going to have their new kitchen and guess what they can even hide away their five year old free standing washing machine. Having received professional advice the customer orders and pays for their new kitchen.
5 weeks later their brand new kitchen arrives, the customers installer starts to put the kitchen in place and fits the washing machine in the designated position on the plan.
later that day the customer comes home from work and sees that their old washing machine is on show, they ask the installer why he has not fitted the door that was supplied by the professional.
The installer explains that the door is 596mm wide, the washer is 595mm wide, the is no hinge space and the washer is deeper than the normal depth of a worktop and the adjacent cabinets, this also means continues the installer that a plinth cannot be fitted in front of the washer because again it is deeper than the cupboards.
Now infuriated with their new fitted kitchen the customer sets off to the shop where they bought the kitchen from and confronts the professional, after explaining to the professional what the installer had told them the professional looks very embarrassed and has to bring down his manager to deal with the situation.
The customer informs the manager that the only reason they went ahead and purchased the kitchen was that they were told they could hide their washing machine and that the professional employed by the company should have know that this was not possible using standard sized worktops, the customer then insists that they want this situation rectified and at the cost of the company.
There are two resolutions to this problem:
1. The company provides an integrated washing machine for the customer at a cost of approx £350 to the company and then there is the cost of a new continuous plinth, another £20, plus the space that the freestanding washer was fitted in is bigger than the space required for an integrated one, so the cupboards will need moving and the worktop removing and cutting (£200 labour), the worktop cannot be removed without breaking the corner joint result new worktops (£250), the seal on the tiles has to be broken thus new worktop sealing. the bill for the professional not knowing his job is £820.00 minimum. A plumber will be needed as well so now at least £1000
2. The customer keeps their washing machine but the company have to provide deeper worktops, but this means a re-design of their kitchen beacuse the adjacent return of units needs moving up by approx 80 to 100mm, this is a total nightmare solution and will cost far more that option 1.
Conclusion. The customer eventually gets the hidden washing machine but has to go through a lot of disruption and upset to get what they wanted in the first place.
The professional not knowing their job has cost his company a lot of money and it's reputation not to mention any future recommendations, who knows the value in pounds of that.
It is not considered a mistake because a mistake is something done in error, not knowing the job you are paid to do is not deemed as an error, ordering the wrong colour worktop is an error, not knowing the consequences of your actions if foolish.
This will not have been the first time that the professional would have given the "hide your washing machine behind a door" advice it's just that that last person didn't complain. Lets hope that they have learnt a lesson.
If you absolutely know the all the consequences of what you are about to do then dont do it unless of course you are prepared to face the wrath.
Do not assume that the installer will get round it, " preparation is the key to success"
Russell.
A customer has their kitchen "designed" by an employed kitchen professional (or so they think). The customer tells the professional that they want to hide their existing washing machine behind a door. (This is possible but not as straight forward as it sounds). The professional says no problem and costs in a 596mm integrated appliance door. The customer is thrilled to bits they they are going to have their new kitchen and guess what they can even hide away their five year old free standing washing machine. Having received professional advice the customer orders and pays for their new kitchen.
5 weeks later their brand new kitchen arrives, the customers installer starts to put the kitchen in place and fits the washing machine in the designated position on the plan.
later that day the customer comes home from work and sees that their old washing machine is on show, they ask the installer why he has not fitted the door that was supplied by the professional.
The installer explains that the door is 596mm wide, the washer is 595mm wide, the is no hinge space and the washer is deeper than the normal depth of a worktop and the adjacent cabinets, this also means continues the installer that a plinth cannot be fitted in front of the washer because again it is deeper than the cupboards.
Now infuriated with their new fitted kitchen the customer sets off to the shop where they bought the kitchen from and confronts the professional, after explaining to the professional what the installer had told them the professional looks very embarrassed and has to bring down his manager to deal with the situation.
The customer informs the manager that the only reason they went ahead and purchased the kitchen was that they were told they could hide their washing machine and that the professional employed by the company should have know that this was not possible using standard sized worktops, the customer then insists that they want this situation rectified and at the cost of the company.
There are two resolutions to this problem:
1. The company provides an integrated washing machine for the customer at a cost of approx £350 to the company and then there is the cost of a new continuous plinth, another £20, plus the space that the freestanding washer was fitted in is bigger than the space required for an integrated one, so the cupboards will need moving and the worktop removing and cutting (£200 labour), the worktop cannot be removed without breaking the corner joint result new worktops (£250), the seal on the tiles has to be broken thus new worktop sealing. the bill for the professional not knowing his job is £820.00 minimum. A plumber will be needed as well so now at least £1000
2. The customer keeps their washing machine but the company have to provide deeper worktops, but this means a re-design of their kitchen beacuse the adjacent return of units needs moving up by approx 80 to 100mm, this is a total nightmare solution and will cost far more that option 1.
Conclusion. The customer eventually gets the hidden washing machine but has to go through a lot of disruption and upset to get what they wanted in the first place.
The professional not knowing their job has cost his company a lot of money and it's reputation not to mention any future recommendations, who knows the value in pounds of that.
It is not considered a mistake because a mistake is something done in error, not knowing the job you are paid to do is not deemed as an error, ordering the wrong colour worktop is an error, not knowing the consequences of your actions if foolish.
This will not have been the first time that the professional would have given the "hide your washing machine behind a door" advice it's just that that last person didn't complain. Lets hope that they have learnt a lesson.
If you absolutely know the all the consequences of what you are about to do then dont do it unless of course you are prepared to face the wrath.
Do not assume that the installer will get round it, " preparation is the key to success"
Russell.
Friday, 5 August 2011
Who knows what?
There is some great debate going on about industry representation and a force for the good of the consumer, if the consumer does not know who is right and who is wrong then everything is only hearsay. So here is a list of questions that a kitchen planner designer with experience would know the answers to.
1. What is the 300 rule regarding sinks and hobs?
2. What is the 300 rule regarding built in ovens & hobs?
3. What is the 300 rule regarding hobs and windows?
4. What is the 750 rule?
5. What is the 900 rule?
6. What is the 1200 rule?
7. What is the 1000 rule?
8. What do you need to do to get the 750 rule to work?
9. What is the dropped hob rule?
10. What is the island rule?
11. What distance per breakfast bar stool should be allowed for each person?
There are many more rules and many more common sense rules. Can you answer these questions more importantly can the average salesperson whoever they work for answer these questions.
1. What is the 300 rule regarding sinks and hobs?
2. What is the 300 rule regarding built in ovens & hobs?
3. What is the 300 rule regarding hobs and windows?
4. What is the 750 rule?
5. What is the 900 rule?
6. What is the 1200 rule?
7. What is the 1000 rule?
8. What do you need to do to get the 750 rule to work?
9. What is the dropped hob rule?
10. What is the island rule?
11. What distance per breakfast bar stool should be allowed for each person?
There are many more rules and many more common sense rules. Can you answer these questions more importantly can the average salesperson whoever they work for answer these questions.
Friday, 22 July 2011
One industry body
From Russell @RussRB
One industry body will not work because the industry is very diverse in it's supply of products to a multitude of retailers some being sheds, some multiples and others are independent retailers.
If we do need one body it needs to be a Government KBB ombudsman that can force companies to comply with strict rules who consistently create problems for it's customers. Retailers should have to display on all literature that they comply with their regulations. Now some of you might be saying there is a government backed scheme in place, the problem is you have to pay to join and when you have to pay they will not be fussy who they take because the money is more important, a lot of retailers are already affiliated with such bodies and they constantly have problems with either there design service, supply chains or installations so this proves it does not work. The furniture industry has a body that offers different levels of membership most of which are given to the sheds and multiples this body has no credibility with independents because they give their gold standard to companies that appear on consumer programmes and in consumer magazines with their problems. The buying public is being misled with massive fictitious discounts to lure people in only to receive a sub standard planning service with a 'designer' that has had little or no experience in the industry and although they will purchase KBB goods from either large or small retailers both areas will have good and bad instances of the whole buying experience. The public need to to have on the tips of there tongues a body that they will instantly recognise and the retailer will be proud to say I am a member because we fully comply and offer a very professional and comprehensive service. To summarise who will this body represent? will I just be buying an other acronym to put in my window. In my opinion there is no better accreditation than being recommended by your customers, we won the Liverpool Echo Merseyside trader of the year in December 2010 as voted by over 50 of our customers, so it is up to us to market that and show our potential customers that we do not need letters after our name to provide an excellent service.
One industry body will not work because the industry is very diverse in it's supply of products to a multitude of retailers some being sheds, some multiples and others are independent retailers.
If we do need one body it needs to be a Government KBB ombudsman that can force companies to comply with strict rules who consistently create problems for it's customers. Retailers should have to display on all literature that they comply with their regulations. Now some of you might be saying there is a government backed scheme in place, the problem is you have to pay to join and when you have to pay they will not be fussy who they take because the money is more important, a lot of retailers are already affiliated with such bodies and they constantly have problems with either there design service, supply chains or installations so this proves it does not work. The furniture industry has a body that offers different levels of membership most of which are given to the sheds and multiples this body has no credibility with independents because they give their gold standard to companies that appear on consumer programmes and in consumer magazines with their problems. The buying public is being misled with massive fictitious discounts to lure people in only to receive a sub standard planning service with a 'designer' that has had little or no experience in the industry and although they will purchase KBB goods from either large or small retailers both areas will have good and bad instances of the whole buying experience. The public need to to have on the tips of there tongues a body that they will instantly recognise and the retailer will be proud to say I am a member because we fully comply and offer a very professional and comprehensive service. To summarise who will this body represent? will I just be buying an other acronym to put in my window. In my opinion there is no better accreditation than being recommended by your customers, we won the Liverpool Echo Merseyside trader of the year in December 2010 as voted by over 50 of our customers, so it is up to us to market that and show our potential customers that we do not need letters after our name to provide an excellent service.
Monday, 27 June 2011
The demise of Moben & other KBB retailers
There are too many words to say in a 140 characters on #twitter so I thought I would blog some view points.
The first and most important thing to be asked here is did top managment at Moben/Dolphin/Homeform group know how bad things were did they continue to take deposits off customers? This should be investigated and if any wrong doing is found to have taken place then legal proceeding's should follow, this should be a standard matter of course for all companies that do the administration type thing.
Secondly do people not watch BBC's Watchdog programme, when a company is on there that many times and this goes for other companies not just the afore mentioned then this should be a sign for them to steer clear of that particular company because BBC will not put you on there unless they have received a sustained number of complaints, again this shows massive mis-managment by these companies companies when they are on there that many times and yet fail to prevent themselves from appearing again.
Thirdly there seems to be a number of companies trying to take advantage of the situation by offering Moben customers who have already paid a deposit some financial assistance if they buy a kitchen off them, good business move for the companies but the last time I looked some of these companies do not have a price list so you do not know for sure if you are going to be offered a genuine deposit refund, I.E any company that has no price list can make up a figure and deduct a fictional discount which Moben did for years, again some gullible people who have just been bitten will no doubt be bitten again. The other companies who are offering some financial assistance who do have a price list still do not offer their best price first off in the hope that the customer pays the higher price thus more profit, this is still a sharp selling practice that the Government needs to get hold of.
KBB retailers who offer a deposit guarantee scheme either covered by the manufacture such as Sheraton / Chippendale or by the KBSA is a good thing and can be dropped into the conversation especially now when customers are feeling vulnerable.
The national media have a lot to play in the hype that surrounds peoples perception of the retail industry and economy as a whole, it is sensationalising the issue, they should not name retailers that have not gone into administration who take cash sales for take-away-goods today because the customer pays today & takes it away today. The News announced this morning that Jane Norman (womans fashion retailer) and Clinton Cards are having trouble, If they were not in trouble then they surely are now because the national news has just told us all.
The news is now available twenty four hours a day seven days a week and from a huge amount of sources, it would be in ours as retailers and consumers interests if they also mentioned that there are good solvent companies out there who are doing an honest job who are not in financial trouble, if everybody here's the word bomb we all run.
In summary: Thanks to negative reporting by national news corporations to the general public (not industry publications as they are reporting to trade customers) the day will come when there will be few retailers left and we will all be looking for somebody to blame. People who go out and buy large ticket items should really do their homework first and not accept what they think is a good deal as they say if it sounds to good to be true it usually is and finally KBB retailers who rip people off should watch their backs because they could be next.
Russell
The first and most important thing to be asked here is did top managment at Moben/Dolphin/Homeform group know how bad things were did they continue to take deposits off customers? This should be investigated and if any wrong doing is found to have taken place then legal proceeding's should follow, this should be a standard matter of course for all companies that do the administration type thing.
Secondly do people not watch BBC's Watchdog programme, when a company is on there that many times and this goes for other companies not just the afore mentioned then this should be a sign for them to steer clear of that particular company because BBC will not put you on there unless they have received a sustained number of complaints, again this shows massive mis-managment by these companies companies when they are on there that many times and yet fail to prevent themselves from appearing again.
Thirdly there seems to be a number of companies trying to take advantage of the situation by offering Moben customers who have already paid a deposit some financial assistance if they buy a kitchen off them, good business move for the companies but the last time I looked some of these companies do not have a price list so you do not know for sure if you are going to be offered a genuine deposit refund, I.E any company that has no price list can make up a figure and deduct a fictional discount which Moben did for years, again some gullible people who have just been bitten will no doubt be bitten again. The other companies who are offering some financial assistance who do have a price list still do not offer their best price first off in the hope that the customer pays the higher price thus more profit, this is still a sharp selling practice that the Government needs to get hold of.
KBB retailers who offer a deposit guarantee scheme either covered by the manufacture such as Sheraton / Chippendale or by the KBSA is a good thing and can be dropped into the conversation especially now when customers are feeling vulnerable.
The national media have a lot to play in the hype that surrounds peoples perception of the retail industry and economy as a whole, it is sensationalising the issue, they should not name retailers that have not gone into administration who take cash sales for take-away-goods today because the customer pays today & takes it away today. The News announced this morning that Jane Norman (womans fashion retailer) and Clinton Cards are having trouble, If they were not in trouble then they surely are now because the national news has just told us all.
The news is now available twenty four hours a day seven days a week and from a huge amount of sources, it would be in ours as retailers and consumers interests if they also mentioned that there are good solvent companies out there who are doing an honest job who are not in financial trouble, if everybody here's the word bomb we all run.
In summary: Thanks to negative reporting by national news corporations to the general public (not industry publications as they are reporting to trade customers) the day will come when there will be few retailers left and we will all be looking for somebody to blame. People who go out and buy large ticket items should really do their homework first and not accept what they think is a good deal as they say if it sounds to good to be true it usually is and finally KBB retailers who rip people off should watch their backs because they could be next.
Russell
Saturday, 7 May 2011
No middle ground
I have read with interest this week that Hombase have become the only retailer to receive the FIRA gold award for products & installation. Now I am not knocking either Homebase or FIRA, but the question that needs to be asked is where does this leave the middle ground.
What do I mean 'the middle ground' and why? Well the middle ground are kitchen retailers either multiple or independent that has a product and service that is perceived to be of a better standard than Hombase, I mean just look at the quality differences in the product, thicker cabinet back panels, PVC edged cabinets, concealed hanging brackets, not multi holed side panels to name but a few. If retailers who sell these products have or do not have the FIRA gold award how can they distinguish themselves from Hombase during the sales process.
Scenario:
Customer to retailer: "Why should I buy a kitchen from you and not Homebase"?
Retailer: "Well our products have a so many year guarantee and have these specifications and are covered by FIRA Gold certificate".
Customer: "Aah yes but so are Homebase and they are cheaper than you".
Retailer: "Yes but ours are better quality than theirs".
Customer: But you have just told me that you are covered by FIRA Gold & so are Homebase, so there cannot be any difference can there"?
So where do we go from here? Are FIRA going to introduce a Platinum standard for the perceived better quality products that are available, I think not because this would then lessen the Gold standard and I cant see Hombase then upping its product quality to get the Platinum standard.
Then there is the Installation FIRA Gold award.
It is widely known that you only have to look at Internet review sites on companies before you buy and see how many people have written on them how they have experienced a poor installation service (not all poor I might add and some top end companies will have poor reviews as well, although not as many.) So again where does this leave the middle ground, where the installation service from companies that truly project manage each fit and rarely get problems, another Platinum award maybe? again I think not.
Where does the retailer and the customer stand in all this? As I said at the beginning where does this leave the middle ground. I have not picked on Hombase because I may think they have poor quality products, They don't, they have a value product within the market place, but if the market place is determined by the FIRA industry standard then I feel FIRA need to categorise the kitchen industry into Sheds, Multiples and independents.
If I am wrong on any detail or have missed something I am happy to stand corrected
Your comments are welcome
Thanks
Russell
What do I mean 'the middle ground' and why? Well the middle ground are kitchen retailers either multiple or independent that has a product and service that is perceived to be of a better standard than Hombase, I mean just look at the quality differences in the product, thicker cabinet back panels, PVC edged cabinets, concealed hanging brackets, not multi holed side panels to name but a few. If retailers who sell these products have or do not have the FIRA gold award how can they distinguish themselves from Hombase during the sales process.
Scenario:
Customer to retailer: "Why should I buy a kitchen from you and not Homebase"?
Retailer: "Well our products have a so many year guarantee and have these specifications and are covered by FIRA Gold certificate".
Customer: "Aah yes but so are Homebase and they are cheaper than you".
Retailer: "Yes but ours are better quality than theirs".
Customer: But you have just told me that you are covered by FIRA Gold & so are Homebase, so there cannot be any difference can there"?
So where do we go from here? Are FIRA going to introduce a Platinum standard for the perceived better quality products that are available, I think not because this would then lessen the Gold standard and I cant see Hombase then upping its product quality to get the Platinum standard.
Then there is the Installation FIRA Gold award.
It is widely known that you only have to look at Internet review sites on companies before you buy and see how many people have written on them how they have experienced a poor installation service (not all poor I might add and some top end companies will have poor reviews as well, although not as many.) So again where does this leave the middle ground, where the installation service from companies that truly project manage each fit and rarely get problems, another Platinum award maybe? again I think not.
Where does the retailer and the customer stand in all this? As I said at the beginning where does this leave the middle ground. I have not picked on Hombase because I may think they have poor quality products, They don't, they have a value product within the market place, but if the market place is determined by the FIRA industry standard then I feel FIRA need to categorise the kitchen industry into Sheds, Multiples and independents.
If I am wrong on any detail or have missed something I am happy to stand corrected
Your comments are welcome
Thanks
Russell
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Hung up on technical detail
I don't think people do get hung up too much on technical detail, otherwise they would not be buying lots and lots of kitchens from Hombase, Ikea, some B&Q, Howdens and possibly Moben among others. I think the only thing people get hung up on is ridgid or flat pack. We tell our customers that the only difference between flat pack and rigid built is where it is built unless you are buying a Smallbone or similar.
We always point out the higher spec of our cabs, range and size availability of the cabinets compared to our competitors, but to be honest the majority either did not realise there was so much involved or they are not bothered.
I totally agree with Majji (twitter) that the design is the important thing, only real experience and the true understanding of how a kitchen works will make a real difference whether or not somebody buys from you, even then it is difficult because you are just having your brains picked then they will go and buy the cheaper less tech spec version from one of the you know who's. The only way to combat this is to design something your competitors can't.
Thanks
Russell
We always point out the higher spec of our cabs, range and size availability of the cabinets compared to our competitors, but to be honest the majority either did not realise there was so much involved or they are not bothered.
I totally agree with Majji (twitter) that the design is the important thing, only real experience and the true understanding of how a kitchen works will make a real difference whether or not somebody buys from you, even then it is difficult because you are just having your brains picked then they will go and buy the cheaper less tech spec version from one of the you know who's. The only way to combat this is to design something your competitors can't.
Thanks
Russell
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