Tesco Bathrooms - opinions?

tpt

Basically your not using tesco, your using a company that has licensed the brand name, so your paying more and getting less!

becs

Sorry to hear of your issues Monty but have to say I do hope there's a lot more out there with the same experience then maybe people will stop supporting a flipping supermarket that's out to destroy everyone else's business! I dread the day when it will only be them left in business for everything and then where we be! It's pure and utter greed and they're only getting worse!

keystone

'nother zombie thread.

Cheers

ListysDad

why a zombie thread Key?

keystone

Resurrected from the dead and yes I know I was guilty by not noticing that when I contributed in Nov 2010 when it was already a year old.

Cheers.

andrew_setchfield

OOps... I am a bathroom retailer with 30 years in the business. I know exactly supplies Tesco bathrooms and a well you said it..I shall say no more. Next time go to a proper bathroom retailers who know the business and dont just have one product line but thousands of quality tried and tested products. You bathroom should look good for years.. buyabetterbathroom price is not everything.

Halkyn

I made an error by assuming that Tesco's Finest was actually Tesco's. Can't imagine where I got the idea from, should have noted the tiny footnote not the big bright logos. Don't go near these people and Tesco should consider more carefully who they partner...wont be shopping there again!

Dear Mr Clarke,



We all know how valuable branding is to a company. The last thing Tesco would want is that if a company trading under the lucrative “Tesco’s Finest” brand were not to provide the finest service that the customer was expecting.

Unfortunately in my recent experience, this is exactly what has happened with the Finest Bathroom Range provided by Mark two Distributers Ltd.



We decided to buy and have our bathroom installed by Tesco’s Finest Bathrooms in the summer after reviewing the web advertising at <link>

We had a design and quote which went relatively well.





Perhaps we should have heard alarm bells when the designer failed to show at the time of the meeting, and we received a phone call after the appointed time to tell us there had been an issue and that they would arrange another consultation.



CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE:LACK OF TIMELY COMMUNICATION AND PROMISES OR EXCUSES WITHOUT SUBSTANCE.



Referring to the web site linked above, the site very much looks like it is corporately part of Tesco. At the bottom of the page in small print is the following statement:



The Tesco Finest Bathrooms website - is owned and operated by Mark Two Distributors Limited.

The TESCO trade mark is used under licence from Tesco Stores Limited. The goods you buy from this site will be purchased directly from Mark Two Distributors Limited.



I think that most customers would think that they are buying this product under the Tesco brand umbrella. We certainly considered the excessive quote to be reflective of the exemplary project management and quality of service implied and advertised by the digital marketing.

This was reinforced by the salesman who made statements affirming our lifetime guarantee (nobody else offers that, and its backed up by a big company – small print now suggests this is not for anything but the sanitary equipment not the fitting).



CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: LOSS OF TRUST IN TESCO BRAND AND WHAT IT MEANS IN TERMS OF VALUE!



We arranged that the plans would be sent to us via email the following week whilst we were on a cruise. We also asked for two quotes one at the standard end and one comprising luxury fittings, and this was agreed to be provided. Unfortunately I had just been made redundant and I wanted the option to manage the costs and expectations based on a budget currently in flux. As you can imagine this was a stressful time for us and the advertised project management services. (It was fun going to interviews without the use of a bathroom).



“When you decide to get a Tesco Finest Bathroom, we ensure that you get nothing but the best service. We make things easy for you, and you can rest assured that we'll work hard to keep it that way throughout the project. From our no obligation home design visit, to our high quality installation, right through to after-sales support, we take care of the hard work while keeping you in the loop. Our customer service has won awards and our installation teams have all of the essential qualifications - with Tesco Finest Bathroom, you get nothing but quality”



We were also assure that the fitting would take about a week and we would not be left without a toilet for more than one day as we only have one bathroom in this house. This was consistent with our expectations from third parties and previous experiences with a similar installation at our old house in Bath.



CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: EXPECTATION OF ADVERTISED HIGH QUALITY STRESS FREE PROJECT MANAGEMENT WAS NOT REALISED.



When we returned from our cruse the plans and quote had not arrived. I had to contact the salesman myself to chase this up, and eventually this was emailed (but only one example, not the two as requested). The price as quoted would be discounted by £1,000 to £7,000 if we agreed to buy that very day. So pressurised we agreed and the survey and delivery and installation dates were subsequently arranged. We paid in full with the belief that the funds were in escrow until we were fully satisfied and that we would receive a substantial amount of club points (not yet received).



On the night of delivery and installation we received a voice message from the project manager telling us that the installation had to be delayed by two days. Delivery would still take place and we would have to store the items. She also informed us that she was now going on holiday.This same person had found it impossible to email us the details of the installation prior to this date and had to resort to posting it.



[SIZE=+0]CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE:AGAIN LACK OF TIMELY COMMUNICATION AND PROMISES OR EXCUSES WITHOUT SUBSTANCE.[/SIZE]



So at this point a totally new installation team were seconded at short notice. They had not done the survey, did not have access to full details of what we were expecting, and as they had to travel from Worcester to Wolverhampton were not reliable with regard to timings. We were now already two days late. They had no idea that we only had one bathroom and the first thing they did was take all the old fittings out, we would then be without flushable sanitation for over two weeks! The toilet was put back in place, with a broken seat and flushed by bucket. This was disgusting and dangerous, one night would have been acceptable but not two weeks. I have photographs of the broken, lose and sharp fittings we suffered if you require evidence. When I told Mark Two I had done so and posted to my facebook site as a record, they became threatening with regards to their digital marketing team. The promise that the work would be completed for the weekend was rescinded with word play of “expect” and “see no reason that it wont” not meaning “promised” as implied rather strongly by context. This was important to use as we were expecting house guests who ended up having to stay in a local hotel.



We allowed the installers full access from 7.00 am and for as long as they wanted to work in order to facilitate a timely installation. Unfortunately with travel, arrival was of 2 to 3 hours after this time.



Mid next week, the project manager appeared. He apologised about the late starting and the unsanitary services we were suffering. We pointed out that adhesive that would have required 24 hours was going to be used, which we would not allow losing a further day as a mores sensible type was sourced. He also assured me that there should be no issue in completing the job by the end of the week. Whilst he was here the tiller should have been on site, but we could not find him. He never reappeared and it turned out that he had to leave urgently, without any communications to myself. Thus we lost most of another day. The project supervisor seemed unaware of the delays we had been experiencing.



At this point I started attempting to communicate with Mark two, to complain about the progress so far. I phone five times, could not speak to the same person (clearly holiday coverage for the absent project manager was not working). I had promises of call backs which never happened, making sure they had the right telephone number every time. The project management for this installation was either none existent or those involved completely incompetent.



[SIZE=+0]CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE:LACK OF PROJECT MANAGEMENT POSSIBLY CAUSED BY INABILITY TO REACT TO CHANGE OF CONTRACTOR AND INTERNAL VACATION COVERAGE.[/SIZE]



[SIZE=+0]I would like to reassert at this point the cost of this project was accepted based upon the advertised and expected [/SIZE]finest standard of project management offered by Tesco’s Finest range. To have the same installation from a local installer would have been considerably less expensive.



Needless to say the installation was not complete by the end of the week, and it was at this point that it started to become apparent that the tiller had not been able to follow the plans as they misrepresented important details. We then had to start making compromises with the tiling pattern and particularly the splash back for the toilet which my wife had insisted upon. There would have either had to be a change to the pattern of placement, with a mismatch between one area and another, or we would have to do with a half border rather than a full border of tiles. We were forced to go with the full border, mismatch option to provided the desired splash back behind the toilet.



CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: DETAIL IS MISSING FROM THE PLANS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN ADDRESSED EARLIER AND BETTER IF THE TEAM AND SURVEYOR WERE ONE AND THE SAME.



At this point we were heading towards our third weekend! It now became apparent that the bath end tall cabinet would not fit as per the plans. It would not have been able to be opened as designed. It therefore had to be mounted higher on the wall. Then the above sink cabinet also became a problem. It could not be fitted above the sink due to the nature of curvature of the bath and shower screen. I discussed a smaller replacement, meaning that we again had to compromise storage space, and a new one was selected for delivery the next day. The wrong one was ordered and delivered. The correct one had to be delivered the following day. At this point we had a flushable toilet, a toilet that continued to flush permanently and a leak from the radiator and from the input to the toilet! I stress that the fitters fixed all these things, however I am sure that if they were not so time constrained it should not have happened. Tiles had to be re-grouted as the original floor grouting was already crumbling making me very nervous about the quality of materials used.



I am a big man and I was assured that the bath size would not be a problem, it is! When I asked the fitters if an alternative could have been sourced and fitted they said easily and the design issues would not have become a problem if they had done the survey. Promised samples of tiles and alternative fittings were never offered, quite contrary to the advertising on your web site.

• <li style="line-height: 24px;">Establish exactly what you're looking for CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: DONE BUT NOT REALISED <li style="line-height: 24px;">Discuss our range, services and guarantees in more detail CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: DONE BUT MISREPRESENTED. <li style="line-height: 24px;">Provide a selection of real samples - so you can feel the Tesco Finest bathrooms quality CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: PROMISED BUT NOT FOLLOWED THROUGH
• Accurately measure your bathroom space CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE: INACCURACIES PRODUCED ON THE FLY COMPROMISES AND CHANGES.

I have put all these points to Mark Two. They handed it over to customer services who wrote to me on Friday. The letter had been posted in what looked like a greetings card envelope which had been opened in transit. They offered me £69 compensation, and 2 £60 if I could prove that I had missed college for the two days affected by the late start. The installation process took two and a half weeks, which is ridiculous for a large company and unlikely even for a sole trader. Project management was none existent or even incompetent. Customer Services clearly have a sense of humour. When I phoned them, the person dealing with the matter and who wrote the letter was not available and the person who signed the letter was also not available. I am still waiting for a call-back.



I’ll leave you with a link
to these messages



This is what people are saying about your product! I really don’t think that you want your brand associated with Mark Two, and I would ask you to please assert any pressure you can on them to honour a reasonable compromise. We are perfectly happy to pay for the goods and the fitting, the premium of project management I would estimate at around £2000 making a total of £5000 not £7000 and I feel that we did not obtain any such service or value for money.

martfree1972

So first of all that you need to beware of is that it is Tesco Bathrooms in name only. You actually meet someone from Mark II who are a distribution company based in the Northwest.

I was looking for a complete project managed installation, 1st steps were positive booked a designer who arrived on time etc. Came to my property and took some initial measurements and then spent the next 1 1/2 hrs trying to build a 3d diagram on his computer. I tried to give the guy some ideas on what we were looking to do, but it was always I'm not sure we can do this or we have a limited range of bathroom furniture etc and then when I made flooring suggestions the answer was like I'm not sure if that would work, but when pressed for the designers suggestion I don't think I got a credible response. Also wanted me take out a finance agreement, when I said I can pay cash on completion.

I have gone through a recent bathroom renovation, so had a base level understanding of what was required, but when I started talking that I wanted Wedi tile backer (or similar) board in the shower area, the guy mentioned he would have to speak with his fitters to see if it could be done. I know it can be done as I had just done it a few months before.

Also had to prompt him a number of times that I had to go and collect my wife as it was approaching 10pm and she was in a potentially tricky situation as a gang of youths were learning against her car and she wanted me to collect her, but the guy was not taking the hint as sitting 2 foot away from me and could hear my wife was becoming distressed on the phone, but kept plugging away at his diagram. Had to say to him that we have to wrap this up now as I have to go (2hrs .45 mins already in his company).

To top things off it has been 10 days since the appointment and I have still not received the quote even though I have phoned twice and emailed the main info address twice. Still no joy.

I also believe because of the lack of choice (that I was presented), it is going to be mass produced low quality goods and they want to get the job done as quickly and as cheaply as possible (my opinion only on this). Where I want someone to get what I'm looking to achieve and help me get there, rather than changing my preference to suit their product range perhaps.

I can't say "do not use", but I have had 2 installers visit since and they have filled me with more confidence that what I want can be achieved. The designer just didn't fill me with any level of confidence despite saying he had 30 years industry experience.

Don't know what to say overall about Tesco/Mark II - Disappointed sums it up really.

Doozergirl

We're working on two bathrooms right now. Our client was quoted £1000 less for one bathroom than we have quoted for both and ours is a much higher specification.