[Misc] New kitchen

[McTavish]

The thing that put me off Wren was their ridiculous approach to pricing: Here's the price but we're doing a 40% sale today only and my manager says you can have an extra 10% off because your name begins with an M. I always felt like I was being conned somehow.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

I find it interesting to see so much love for Wren on here.

When we were looking for a new kitchen, we wandered around the showroom and saw units with blistered sides and other defects. This really didn't give us much confidence in the long term durability of their stuff. I likened Wren to a car supermarket - good to look around and see what you like or don't like but not somewhere I would actually buy from.

 

[Wrong-Direction]

Different branches of Howdens often compete with each other, so one can beat the price of another.

Sent from my SM-A326B using Tapatalk

 

[zefarelly]

I find it interesting to see so much love for Wren on here.

When we were looking for a new kitchen, we wandered around the showroom and saw units with blistered sides and other defects. This really didn't give us much confidence in the long term durability of their stuff. I likened Wren to a car supermarket - good to look around and see what you like or don't like but not somewhere I would actually buy from.

Also good to have a wiggle/yank and see what stuffs made like . . . . you can also establish that most of it is essentially the same, at least until you get to the Stella Artois end of the scale where the prices start at eye watering and goes all the way up to nuts in a vice.

 

[Bold Seagull]

I find it interesting to see so much love for Wren on here.

When we were looking for a new kitchen, we wandered around the showroom and saw units with blistered sides and other defects. This really didn't give us much confidence in the long term durability of their stuff. I likened Wren to a car supermarket - good to look around and see what you like or don't like but not somewhere I would actually buy from.

Lacquered finished MDF doors, MFC carcasses - not going to be a lot in it. You're not going to find one manufacturer makes a vastly superior MFC carcass to another.

The big difference would be if you went for a solid wood or plywood carcass and doors, then you might see a difference in long term durability but also at 2 or 3 times the cost.

Wren's is all branding and sales. You can pick up a decent deal though if you get your own worktops, sinks, taps, applicances etc. and just get Wrens to supply only the carcasses and doors. Their fitters are where most of their bad reviews come from. I've spoke to quite a few independent chippies / joiners who've said they're decent carcesses to fit in like for like comparison to Magnets / Howdens / Wickes etc. You may have seen a blistered side and other defects, but they won't be any different to what any other of those would have in their showrooms - maybe just quicker and switching the damaged items out.

 

[Machiavelli]

The thing that put me off Wren was their ridiculous approach to pricing: Here's the price but we're doing a 40% sale today only and my manager says you can have an extra 10% off because your name begins with an M. I always felt like I was being conned somehow.

Oh, I'm the same. It just smacks of dishonesty. This is one of the problems we're confronting at present: pricing really isn't that transparent, largely because you're not comparing like-with-like, and you have to get sucked in in order to get a full quotation so as to compare pricing. This also raises the question of how many quotes to get, and where from.

Really helpful advice on here. Thanks NSC.

 

[Weststander]

Hi.

I asked a very experienced builder, who works with a chippie. He advised the following:

- Wren & Howdens both offer good products.
- Wren are favoured by many homeowners due to their interest free credit terms.
- Who you get to do the fit is more important than the product. My contact prefers his chippie over Wren fitters, due to the precision of his work. [No surprise that he’s fully booked until late 2022!].

 

[BN9 BHA]

Howdens seem to be getting a bit of a pounding on here so I'm going to stick up for them. I had one of theirs put in 4 years ago and 4 years on I'm still very happy with it. Only thing I was pissed off with them was they sold me a very expensive tap that needs a high pressure system to work. My hot water is gravity fed so I only get a dribble of hot water coming from the tap.

Any kitchen designer / salesperson should know the difference between high and low pressure taps, I’m guessing they just sold you a very expensive tap without asking you about your hot water system.
All Howdens taps have specifications on water pressure in the catalogue.

 

[Pembury Seagull]

I can thoroughly recommend avoiding Magnet’s fitting service.

Third rate at best in our case……after a successful claim to the Furniture Ombudsman and a claim on our credit card we are still out of pocket.

The actual Magnet product (work surface aside) isn’t too bad

 

[drew]

I'm a bang average diyer and fitted my own kitchen about 4 years ago. We used Benchmarx to supply the units and used 'alusplash' instead of tiling. Had a relative that worked that at the time so got a substantial discount Appliances were all bought on black friday having researched what we wanted. Got someone else to fit stone worktops. Bloody big job but would give it another go in a few years!!!!

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

I'm a bang average diyer and fitted my own kitchen about 4 years ago. We used Benchmarx to supply the units and used 'alusplash' instead of tiling. Had a relative that worked that at the time so got a substantial discount Appliances were all bought on black friday having researched what we wanted. Got someone else to fit stone worktops. Bloody big job but would give it another go in a few years!!!!

Could one use this company to compare other companies?

 

[drew]

Could one use this company to compare other companies?

Lol.

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

The thing that put me off Wren was their ridiculous approach to pricing: Here's the price but we're doing a 40% sale today only and my manager says you can have an extra 10% off because your name begins with an M. I always felt like I was being conned somehow.

I try to avoid companies who do that. A while ago I was talking to a sales person in a company who have that approach. Gave me the full "only today" sell and I told him that if he wanted my business then I was sure the today price would still stand in a few days.

Didn't want his product but feeling mischievous, I called again and surprise surprise, the 'today only' price was still there. When I then said I wasn't interested, the "I've spoken to my manager" line came out.

Most of us are savvy enough to see through this (and I get the sales person is just following company policy) but it saddens me to think how many more trusting folk pay over the odds for goods because they don't shop around or just believe that the sales people have their best interests at heart.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

Wren done our kitchen 3 years ago....original quote was (22k I think) anyway the salesman called me the next day after the quote I told him im not paying 22 he asked what my budget was so I told him 12K he immediatly matched that price and included fitting......Should have told him 10K..

Good quality kitchen and well fitted.

Call me a cynic but I never trust a company that does that. I want your best and final price first go. It's a typical double glazing tactic to load the price high and hope a few bite and then reduce for those that dont. Awful way of selling - and yes I haggle but only at the point of initial quote.

 

[MJsGhost]

- Who you get to do the fit is more important than the product

This is all I was going to add to the thread.

An average or worse fitter can balls up an expensive kitchen, whereas a decent fitter can make a great job from an average product.

I had a Wickes kitchen installed by a decent fitter 10 years ago and it's still nigh-on as good as new.

 

[Arthur]

Any kitchen designer / salesperson should know the difference between high and low pressure taps, I’m guessing they just sold you a very expensive tap without asking you about your hot water system.

You guess correctly.

Asked a mate who was a plumber how much it would cost to get it working and he reckoned about £2.5k....think I'll just get a new tap thanks.

 

[sydney]

Call me a cynic but I never trust a company that does that. I want your best and final price first go. It's a typical double glazing tactic to load the price high and hope a few bite and then reduce for those that dont. Awful way of selling - and yes I haggle but only at the point of initial quote.

perhaps it might balance the ledger against those bell ends who get six quotes for a job and then decide it's too expensive because they didn't have a clue how much things cost despite many of their friends having recently undertaken kitchen / bathroom/ laundry renovations within the last 18 months...perhaps..!! You would have to be a mug to get caught out by the first quote but , fortunately, there are plenty of mugs out there....

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

perhaps it might balance the ledger against those bell ends who get six quotes for a job and then decide it's too expensive because they didn't have a clue how much things cost despite many of their friends having recently undertaken kitchen / bathroom/ laundry renovations within the last 18 months...perhaps..!! You would have to be a mug to get caught out by the first quote but , fortunately, there are plenty of mugs out there....

My kitchen guy was telling me that a big problem in the sector is people pretending they want a nice fancy kitchen, getting him to design it, and then hawking his plans and design around to others to try and get it done cheaper. As a consequence he charged me for the design which was then discounted from the purchase price.

 

[Justice]

My kitchen guy was telling me that a big problem in the sector is people pretending they want a nice fancy kitchen, getting him to design it, and then hawking his plans and design around to others to try and get it done cheaper. As a consequence he charged me for the design which was then discounted from the purchase price.

I do that if I have to visit the premises it weeds out all the time wasting saps.

 

[sydney]

My kitchen guy was telling me that a big problem in the sector is people pretending they want a nice fancy kitchen, getting him to design it, and then hawking his plans and design around to others to try and get it done cheaper. As a consequence he charged me for the design which was then discounted from the purchase price.

That's how we do it , our designs are hi spec and we charge $700.00 which is not chargeable unless the job doesn't go ahead , the plans remain the intellectual property of my designer until the fee is paid , all supplied plans are stamped and dated with conditions , it's a sad fact that there are a lot of people out there who are perfectly able to pay for a top class job but just don't want to , a lot of loaded people head over to China from here with plans for new builds , Tiles , Floorboards , Kitchens , Hand made baths , double glazing ....all the stuff arrives in a container 12-16 weeks later for about a third of the price , the cost of the trip is tax deductible as 9 times out off 10 these plums are speculative builders who will flip a house every 3 to 4 years , is it a rort ..??, i'm not sure, It's another way the rich get richer and the local suppliers get shafted.