Local or national kitchen fitter

Mxty

Hey,

Just looking for some advice if possible.

I'm looking to get a new kitchen some point in the near future, and I was wondering whether I should go with a local kitchen fitter or a national?

All the reviews I read about the major national kitchen fitters, Wren, Homebase, B&Q etc are pretty poor so it worries me a little. I also likely need the flooring and tiling done as part of it, and I'm not sure if this is something they would do.

What are peoples thoughts / experiences?

Thanks in advance!

Doozergirl

It's only a few people that fit your kitchen. The national kitchen retailers subcontract more than a few people so you have no idea who is actually fitting your kitchen. The quality of the fit is all about the quality of the fitter.

It doesn't matter even if your next door neighbour had a great experience with B&Q fitters, you don't know who you are going to get.

That is why I think it is imperative to use a local fitter or small company where you can see their previous work and get genuine recommendations.

Davesnave

We used a local kitchen manufacturing company to re-fit our kitchen. They employ their own fitters for the install. As the fitting is vital, this was the situation we wanted.

They did sub-contract the flooring to a specialist, but the price was competitive.

If you buy from a local independent, they may offer to give you deals on appliances. I'd certainly haggle for that. We had ours at a price well below that of AO.

Overall, we were very pleased with the fit and finish. A local firm relies greatly on word of mouth recommendation, so most will want to make sure you're happy. The only reason we marked this company down a little was because they didn't do any evaluation. OK they were good, but no one's perfect!

Aylesbury_Duck

Local every time, for the reasons given above. You only have to peruse the threads on here to see that the illusion of “protection” by dealing with big chains is just that: an illusion. A lot of the big chains know that they’ll always have new customers because they can afford to go big on glossy marketing.. Local professionals rely on their workmanship and reputation for solving any problems that arise for new business.

pollypenny

Local, absolutely!

Both the firm and its fitters, electricians etc will have reputations to uphold.

Mxty

Great, seems like local is the way Thanks

redmalc

XTY i would go with local,we had a similar dilemma a few years ago and looked at all of the normal contenders and in the end settled for a local company in the village who did a great job.
I must sat i negotiated a good price with the local company but remember to pay any deposits on your credit card so you have the cover in case of Insolvency