Space Kitchens...REVENGE!

Meepster

...............................

marywooyeah

I understand that revenge is a dish best served cold, and that often they are making such a huge profit that he knocked 14k off and still could make a profit, but taking up nearly 4 hours of his time for a joke is just plain cruel. I actually feel really sorry for the poor guy

cremegg

the guy was trying to do his job...yeah, he would have been happy to get as much as he can out of it...but that's sales isn't it and consumers work in the same way really i.e. how cheap can I get this for...

I think that trick a bit cruel to be honest. He would have gone to work for half a day for nothing..in fact he probably paid his petrol money and so lost money.
Shouldn't be taken out on him, it's the company that needs dealing with, not one guy who is trying to make a living rather than be on the dole. Its assumed he is a conman just because he works for a bad company - The company won't care... they've lost nothing. It wouldn't have affected them at all.

MothballsWallet

boo hoo, poor Space Kitchens, I so feel for them - NOT! I think mwilletts did the right thing.

Companies like these also prey on elderly people, often without letting them have a family member present to help, and they think nothing of pulling the tricks that mwilletts experienced.

They also take all their "designers" as self-employed contractors, no doubt to wash their hands of responsibility if they get complaints. This also helps them minimise their tax and National Insurance bills.

At least while mwilletts was tricking them, they weren't pestering, pressuring and hassling someone more vulnerable.

mrcol1000

mwilletts wrote: »

Hi everyone, this isn't really a Praise, vent or a warning, but I know there are a couple of posts about Space kitchens on here already, regarding their poor service, snide tactics and complete dishonesty, so I thought it would be quite fitting to put this post in here. (If a mod feels they need to move it, then by all means do so). THIS MAY BE A VERY LONG POST, BUT IT WILL BE WORTH IT!

As a lot of you may know, through my previous posts, that I am a kitchen designer and salesman by trade and I'm always willing to do my part to help people out. I thought I would help you out today by having a Space Kitchens rep. come round and try to sell me a kitchen and I'd see just how much of their time I could waste.

The background: Around 3 weeks ago, Space called me at home (still not sure how they got my details) and asked if I was looking for a new kitchen. At first I almost told them where to go, but I had a thought; today, I knew I would be really hung-over (party last night) and that I would be home alone as the OH would be working and as I wouldn't be up to much, I'd get some revenge for everyone who has been conned by them, so I made an appointment for 11am

The quote: The "designer" turned up at 11 O'clock as arranged, spent half a hour or so going through what he would be doing, a bit about the company, what they did, how good they were etc etc. He then measured the kitchen, so I left him to it and 20 minutes later, I thought I would check on him, as he seemed to be taking a long time: he had difficulty measuring it, as the room isn't exactly a normal shape. [I also made MYSELF a brew at this point, but didn't ask if he wanted one]

When he'd finished, with a little help from me, he began the actual design, without asking me for any input. 30 mins later he had a pretty picture of a kitchen, which to be honest, was semi-functional and didn't look too bad, although I did notice that the corner wouldn't work properly due to him leaving insufficient space for the cupboard door to open. At this point I told him that the boiler was moving to a different wall (complete lie) and pointed out that the stop-!!!! was in the exact place he had put the washing machine (true). He sighed and asked why I didn't mention this before and I told him, he never asked, so he tutted, sighed a few more times and re-designed it and then asked if I was happy. [when I'd come back from making my second brew, again, didn't ask him]

He then went through the design and I asked the odd silly question and eventually I said I was happy. He then got on to pricing it. 5 minutes later (I really wish I could price a kitchen that quickly from a catalogue) he gave me a full price of £37,500, but as they had "a deal on" it would only be £29,000, for everything, including appliances, worktops, sink and tap (which I hadn't been asked about) and installation. At this point, I started to ask about what brands they would be and started to swap appliances around, as I wasn't happy with Bosch appliances and I said I wanted Gaggenau appliances (CK - if you read this, you'll see the significance). He then wrote some random codes down on his paper, played with his calculator and said it would cost me an extra £1250 to get what I wanted (at which point I nearly laughed, but kept myself restrained) [I made myself another brew instead]

The sell: I explained I wasn't looking at spending that much and that he would have to come down on price. With another few presses of his calculator, it came down to £26,750 to which I again commented it was too high and could he come down any. He said he would have to speak to a colleague (no mention of boss) to see if there were any other discounts he could apply. [Whilst he made the call on his mobile, I went to make a sandwich, as I was pretty hungry by this point and got some juice]

When I came back in, he told me he hadn't known about a special offer they had on Gaggenau and that he know he could give a little bit more discount overall, and he would do it for £23,000, this was still out of my price range and asked him what he could do. Instead of making me a different offer, he started to lay into all the other kitchen suppliers, telling me why their product was so much better than everyone else's and told me quite a few things I never knew about the likes of Ikea, Howdens, a few local independents and wait for it...WICKES. (At this point, I actually did fall of the chair, but explained it was due to me trying to get comfy!) To say I was shocked is an understatement, but I carried on listening to him slagging everyone else off and making Space kitchens sound perfect and trying to justify the price. After his rant I said, calmly "well, I never realised half of what you just old me, but it's still too much"

It was time for another phone call [and another brew for me] and we were just over 3 1/2 hours into his time here and I got the "final offer" if I let them use my kitchen, for a magazine shoot they had planned, they would do it for £20,000.

The close: Well, this was within my budget and the chance of getting a photo of my kitchen in a magazine, well that sold it. So I said I was happy to go for it and we could sort out the details and he filled in the paperwork and put it in front of me, I only had to sign it, I could apparently read it after he went. So I read the entire thing, making notes for myself as I went along. I then questioned him on the parts regarding the design may change before it's installed, anything mentioned verbally isn't included unless it is detailed in the paperwork and the fact I was now paying for my dream kitchen on finance. More time went by, as the various bits and pieces were explained to me and the paperwork was re-done, to take of the finance, which according to him, would have made paying for it a lot easier, but it was my choice to cancel it.

The end: So there we were, everything was there in black and white, all detailed how I wanted it, with various bits and pieces crossed out and signed by him, all I had to do was sign on the dotted line...This was the moment I had been waiting for, for nearly 4 1/2 hours, I could hardly contain myself...

...From under a magazine on the coffee table, I pulled out a kitchen quote and plan and gave it to him. The plan was very similar to what he had done for me (not surprising due to my input) and was for £14,557.34. He looked at it, looked at me, looked back at it again and said he didn't understand. I explained this was a quote I had prepared earlier in the week, for a higher specification product. He looked bemused and asked why I had got him out to quote for a kitchen if I could have done it myself and if I was being funny. I'm pretty sure he had a tear in his eye (and I ALMOST felt sorry for him). And then I told him the truth, I'd heard so many horror stories, and I wanted to find out for myself if it was true and thought I would waste HIS time for a change. He put his things away, stood up, called me a few choice words and left...REVENGE IS SWEET...

The end

So you wasted four hours of your life and you wasted four hours of this poor guys life (who depsite any problems with the company is just trying to make a living)? Do you also go around all the supermarkets getting all exicted pointing out to shelf stackers in Tesco that in Asda Heniz Baked beans are 1p cheaper?
Well done. I am sure you feel a much more superior human being now and the salesman has a funny story about the sad little man who kept him at his house for four hours just to bring out a cheaper quote at the end.

aliasojo

cremegg wrote: »

I think that trick a bit cruel to be honest. He would have gone to work for half a day for nothing..in fact he probably paid his petrol money and so lost money.
Shouldn't be taken out on him, it's the company that needs dealing with, not one guy who is trying to make a living rather than be on the dole. Its assumed he is a conman just because he works for a bad company - The company won't care... they've lost nothing. It wouldn't have affected them at all.

Agree with this completely.

Sorry mwillets, I know you're very helpful here and I usually appreciate your posts but I think this was really unfair.

When my lad left school he went to loads of interviews. Space kitchens gave him a job (that I had a hand in him refusing as I knew of their tactics and how poorly they treat their sales team as well as their customers). He was desperate to work and his desperation over rode his 'good employer' criteria. He probably would have worked for old nick himself at that point so desperate was he to not go on the dole.

I'm sure there will be the odd conman who doesn't care and actively enjoys ripping people off but I think the vast majority just need a job and probably wouldn't work for them if they had a better option. :undecided

mudgekin

While I feel for the salesman from this atrocious company who is probably employed on a commission only basis I think it is about time that this lot were put out of business. I know I will get flamed from hades and back but having had the miosfortune to have dealt with them lately I was cheering mwillets all the way.

I desperately need a new kitchen and cash is really tight atm, DH is redundant and due to a disability is unable to fit a new kitchen.

Some of the salesmen we have had out have been appalling despite being told that we are on a limited budget. SK came to see us (no idea how they got our contact details in the first place) and after 3.5 hours I was close to tears with the sales pressure and I am sure if I had been in alone that I would have crumbled and signed. So, yep, I applaud mwillets :T

Meepster

marywooyeah wrote: »

I understand that revenge is a dish best served cold, and that often they are making such a huge profit that he knocked 14k off and still could make a profit, but taking up nearly 4 hours of his time for a joke is just plain cruel. I actually feel really sorry for the poor guy

So it's ok for them to waste 4 hours of someone's day, by being sat in their house, trying to pressure them into buying an overpriced kitchen?

Amistoso_2

what about those scumbags that bully old people into buying adjustable beds and chairs, they "just doing their job" as well?

mrcol1000

mwilletts wrote: »

So it's ok for them to waste 4 hours of someone's day, by being sat in their house, trying to pressure them into buying an overpriced kitchen?

You can ask people to leave. You don't have to sit there for four hours if you do not want to. If someone refuses to leave your property then you can call on the police for assistance. If you get to the point where your close to tears because you can not get them to leave then its probably best not to invite salespersons to your house or allow them in if they were not invited.
Telesales and door to door salesman I politely tell them I am not intrested and close the door on them or put the phone down. As soon as you enter into any kind of chat with them your theres.

Volcano

cremegg wrote: »

the guy was trying to do his job...

No, his job would have been to sell a £20K kitchen (his final price) for £20K. What he actually did was try and sell it for £29K, blatantly ripping the customer off to get maximum commission.

This isn't the action of someone "so desperate was he to not go on the dole." or someone who's just trying to scrape a living in these difficult times. It's the actions of a greedy git who couldn't care less that he's ripping someone off for an extra £9K!

No sympathy for someone who could easily make a more honest living.