Clever kitchen people! Any thoughts on this Howdens quote?

DBee1

Thank you for confirming. Not having proper sight of the pricing list has given me an incentive to get quotes from elsewhere now (my current quote is also double yours although my kitchen is a bit bigger) so its not a completely bad thing.

cddc

zcrat41 wrote: »

Thanks guys some really helpful advice here.

We don't want a 'double oven' I.e one big oven and one small oven. We want two full size ovens in a tower - cda is the only one I've found that does that. I might look into two single full size of better quality based in these comments. The other option is a range cooker but not a fan of their quality and feel there's not as much usable oven space as 2 full size.

I will probably source the tap and sink myself as buildbase seem to dough better prices on better quality. Good to have that confirmed.

We were given the plans from Howdens plus the detailed quote. Magnet tried to do the same to is of not giving us plans and I walked out. To be fair, we do actually have a commercial property business so they probably think there's future sales in me.

Get two better quality single ovens in a tower unit one above the other...as a designer, do this all the time. I would also recommend avoiding CDA appliances if at all possible. Also Lamona, Howdens own brand are generally equally as poor.

To those complaining about not being given plans....look at is this way. If you go out and visit a customer, come back, spend an hour producing the design on CAD, and an hour going though it in detail with the customer, and then give it to them unsold....it is like spending three hours writing a report only to give it to someone else so they can get the credit and paid for it. Let them write their own report!

Why do you need the dimensioned plan at quote stage unless you are taking it to a competitor to get it priced?

If you take any pride in your own work you would not go giving it to your competition for free..would you?

I will always give a detailed quote (agree, that if you don't, it looks like you have something to hide), but never the plans.....

DBee1

CDDC - I didnt ask for a 'dimensioned plan', I asked for the picture layout (the one they clearly say on the website they will email so you can then review at home) and wanted it for that very reason, to decide how their suggestions really looked in peace and quiet without a salesman trying to get me to agree to something there and then. What I would also now like is the price list the salesman ran through very quickly as to how he arrived at his quote - I specifically asked about the price of various taps for example but couldn't get a straight answer. I had no intention of taking anything elsewhere. Although now I am thinking if thats a regular experience in my local depot then they must have a reputation for overpricing.

And if that sounds unreasonable to you, so be it, but I can't afford to spend £6k on a kitchen (without fitting costs factored in and missing features I'd asked for) based on an hour looking at a powerpoint slide beamed onto a wall with a salesman trying to sell it as a done deal and without a pricelist to sit and review.

jenfa

DBee1 welcome to this traumatic time of searching for a new kitchen!

We have been waiting to do our kitchen for a while as it is the last room to rennovate, finally having built myself up and done lots of research I approached a kitchen showroom last year only to find that we sat down like you for a large scale show of a kitchen that was nothing like I wanted. For a start the first thing they wanted to do was for us to change our back door to opening outwards - extra cost and wasn't necessary to the design that we have now chosen with someone else, there were at least 3 other things where it was clear he hadn't listened to a thing we wanted. We didn't take the plans but made our excuses and walked away.

Last week I approached a different company with a floor plan I had drawn myself we sat down to do the plans together but the message was clear this is your kitchen where do you want things. Have been back with DH who wanted to make changes and we are really happy with it. So if you are so unsure maybe it is either worth saying I think we miscommunicated or go elsewhere.

We have a full size oven and then a compact above it in a tower unit one is 65l the other 45l capacity. Drawer underneath and cupboard above. I too considered a range cooker but they are lower down when you want to grill or see what is going on inside.

DBee1

Thanks jenfa, I'm now starting to think traumatic just about sums it up!

I naively thought selecting the kitchen would be fairly straightforward once I'd saved the money to finally go for it... Similar experience to yours by the sound of it, I'd even started off saying I was content with the layout of the current kitchen but that seems to have been lost in translation somehow - and the salesman has told me his ideas are trendy! (so I guess I'm just not, oh the shame of it!).

But in a way it might turn out for the best as I wasn't originally planning to get other quotes/designs if Howdens were ok (the depot is less than five minutes from my house and I liked the idea of dealing with local people even if its a national company) so I could well be overlooking a better offering and quality elsewhere. I have a feeling kitchen related websites are now going to be taking up a lot of my time for the foreseeable.

F_Bear

see my previous post about our howdens kitchen. as an update we've ditched all the lomano appliances and got neff instead.

i thought howdens were great throughout the process. they gave us plans and expected us to shop around, they were confident as been the cheapest.

we also didnt get the cheaper chipboard doors. we could have got it around 25% cheaper but proportiontly its worth paying 1k more on a room we're spend 8k on.

we've got a local fitter to do it for less than a grand including the floor.

cddc

Actually Dbee, I don't for one moment think you are being unreasonable...you need to know what your potential new kitchen will look like and what it will cost all in and the breakdown of those costs. That is what you would get from me and any designer/salesman worth his salt.

I actually think that the Howdens designer is being an idiot who does not deserve your business and would go elsewhere.

You need to trust the person you are buying from. There is nothing special about Howdens units anyway (though nothing wrong with them either) and they have the worst warranty terms of any of the major players(5yrs via the fitter) and their pricing is covered by more smoke and mirrors than anyone else. Hence all these threads about Howdens quotes....If you get the right deal and the right design then great. If not, go elsewhere...

Would suggest you try one or more of the following...Wickes, Benchmarx, Magnet Trade, or a local independent, even follow your Howdens mans advice and maybe go to B&Q, and if you have an Ikea within striking distance look at them too.

The only people I would not bother with are Homebase as they are overpriced for what you get (ditto Tecso's), and Wren, because although if all goes well you get what you pay for, if it does not you are likely to have a terrible time trying to get it put right (see the thread on the Consumer rights board for more details).

The other type to avoid are the old school, drop close in the home types.

A kitchen is probably the single most expensive item you will buy in your home, and you need to trust both the person you are buying it from and the fitter. I certainly would not buy from that branch of Howdens...

cddc

jenfa wrote: »

Last week I approached a different company with a floor plan I had drawn myself we sat down to do the plans together but the message was clear this is your kitchen where do you want things.

That is my approach, and how it should be....after all it is your kitchen...you are the one who is going to have to live with it..not me:money:

Everyone uses their kitchen in a different way, it is the designers job to get the customer what he/she wants, not the other way round!
I may be able to add a bit of flair to it..but the basis of what goes into it, and how it should look comes from the customer...it is their kitchen.

Robbo175

I'd take out the cushion close and buy a bag of Blum soft close clip ons off eBay, you'll save a fortune.

phil_51

Greenwich cream gloss cabinet. What sort of discount should I be going for of the cabinets ?

Only got 65 % of ggr cabinets but not used my account much.