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So we saw on television and in newspaper adds that Dolphin Bathroom were having a sale, so we decided to call them up and get a quote from them.
The salesman came out to see us and was friendly and was there for about 4 hours and didn’t pressure us once into buying a bathroom from ... Read review
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A review by johnnyk33 on Dolphin Bathrooms February 26th, 2003
Author's product rating:
Service
Excellent
After Sales Service
very good
Quality
Excellent
Advantages:
Professionalism of Company
Disadvantages:
Length of time to fit
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I must admit at first when my wife wanted a new bathroom I did not think it would cost as much and take as long as it did but when you watch what is happening you can see there is a lot more work than you think there would be.
We looked about for different bathrooms from different companies and as we had a bad time with our kitchen when I got one of my mates to do it and although he is still my friend he will not be getting any more work from me we thought we would get the company to do the whole lot this time. Our bathroom is quite small and the four walls were tiled completely and it still had a coloured bathroom suite, which means it was very old (this was in when we moved in 3 years ago).
So we saw on television and in newspaper adds that Dolphin Bathroom were having a sale, so we decided to call them up and get a quote from them. The salesman came out to see us and was friendly and was there for about 4 hours and didn’t pressure us once into buying a bathroom from them. When he quoted the price of £6000 I nearly chocked but when we discussed this decided to go for it. The surveyor came out and again took nearly 3-4 hours planning the bathroom and then he told us his plans based on our ideas of course and everything looked great.
We then checked the web to see if there had been any recommendations on Dolphin but we couldn’t find much if any and all we found were complaints which made us unsure and we also saw things on Watchdog about the company and we started to have big doubts in going ahead with Dolphin. We did check up with a few places and a lot said as they have been going for over 30 years they are of course going to get complaints and no one really ever says when they are satisfied really do they?
A lot of the price for the bathroom was the labour as it had to be stripped out completely and started from scratch. We knew from our experience in the kitchen and as our house was quite old the plaster on the walls was not very good so if anything went wrong they had to deal with this and at no extra cost to us. As we thought the walls had to be completely stripped back to the brick and the four walls re-plastered. This would have cost us quite a lot so I’m glad we got a company to do the whole lot which Dolphin do. This took about 3 days and as the plaster had to dry this took another 4 days before they could start work on fitting the bathroom.
The following week they came to start fitting the bathroom and there was an inspector there everyday and we also got a phone call everyday from Dolphin to check if they had basically turned up to start work and if we were happy with the work and how it was going etc. which I thought was very professional. The workers knew what they were doing (which they should) and I was keeping a close eye on them to make sure as you can’t trust anyone these days you don’t know!! I made quite a few cups of tea and coffee in those 2 weeks.
We were left without a bath for 2 days and a shower for one night but one of our friends let us wash at theirs so that was fine so it wasn’t to much of an inconvenience. We always had a toilet and they tried to leave the bathroom in as much a decent state as they could before they left every night. And as I like to see what is going on I checked the place out (as you do) every night and although I’m not a skilled worker I’m OK at DIY so I was pleased the workmanship looked very good. When they finished the men also left us their numbers along with Dolphins and if we had any problems we could contact them directly and save time going through Dolphin directly.
After 2 weeks they finished (early December 2002) and everything was looking great and we’ve had no problems since. Everything is warranted for a year and we also got phone calls a few weeks after the work was finished to see if everything was still alright and we were happy with everything and if we had any complaints or issues we wanted to bring up.
Just a few weeks ago we again saw Dolphin Bathrooms on Watchdog and the troubles some people have had are unreal and shocking but I think It’s all down to the workmen you get from your area at the time and thankfully we got good ones.
I think if you get your new bathroom and everything goes fine (which it should for the money you pay) you don’t seem to bother saying or doing anything about it but if you’ve had a bad experience you want as many people to hear about it as possible and quite rightly so and in the same situation I’d probably do the same.
All I can say is I would recommend Dolphin Bathrooms to anyone especially in the Edinburgh area and if you get the same workmen as we did. We are really pleased with our new bathroom my wife more so, phew!!!!
Advantages: One-stop shop for a complete bathroom rebuild Disadvantages: Expensive. Watch out for the extras!
...un-metered off-peak surf-time on DIY, Dolphin Bathrooms.
About 3 years ago, I succumbed to the “a proper shower would really enrich my life” pressure coming from Mrs Bnibbles. Since I prefer a good wallow, we had to compromise on a corner bath with a power shower enclosure. Not being the world’s best plumber or most enthusiastic tiler (motto – “don’t worry, it’ll look alright when it’s grouted”), ... ...I asked them how many Dolphin installations had they heard of where the bath was fitted but not the panel. This also fell on deaf ears. I’m afraid I got to a stage where I couldn’t be arsed to fight any more and gave in, resolving never to touch Dolphin (or Moben, their partners in crime) ever again. At least I was voting with my feet, and now I’m writing this opinion, helping others to “make that consumer decision” ...
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Advantages: The Sales Rep/ Designer and the fitter were friendly and helpful Disadvantages: See text, too many too list.
...We decided to go with Dolphin as we thought it would be less hassle and stress, with Dolphin arranging all the workmen and everything involved with getting a new bathroom, (what a mistake that turned out to be.) My mum has M.S., therfore getting in and out of our old bath was problematic. So, we eventually decided on a wetroom. The Designer/ Sales Person was great; he did not pressure us into anything only helped us make all those important decisions, ... ...so it wasted electricity and Dolphin took over a week to get back to us let alone sort the problem.
They often hung up the phone on us, which was extrememly frustrating and not to mention incredibly rude.
We had dirty water from the toilet come up into the shower, flooding the bathroom, and blockages in the drain.
Small fixtures and fittings weren't fitted until weeks after the wetroom and even then they weren't fitted very well, as they fell ...
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...three quotes and I chose Dolphin as my first. One of my mates had used them and was very pleased with the outcome, but she did say they were a little expensive. Remember that word "Little".
I checked them out on the Net, ordered a brochure and booked a rep to come and measure up, discuss my ideas and give us a price.
I booked him for 2.00 p.m. last Wednesday and he duly arrived, dead on time and even took his shoes off before he entered. Wrong!!!! ... ...it if someone does that, especially if it is a man. (My immediate thought was that he is obviously nagged at home, and his wife is house proud). He didn't think of taking his trousers off incase they left marks on my brand new beige leather suite!! He then went on to say that some homes he has been in even left his socks filthy. He quickly said "not yours of course". What a start.
Any rate he (Andy) went on by asking me what I had in mind and we ...
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Advantages: It looks better than an old bathroom Disadvantages: too many to state
Here are the opions of my experience:
After having a sales consultat our house and ending up with a quote of £8300 for our small bathroom doing, it was indeed far more (by about £2000) expensive than we were thinking, but decided to go ahead on the basis of relying upon a long standing, professional and well established company to do the whole thing. Excepting the painting that was. The all in one package attracted us.
There are far too many problems ... ...we have, to comment on, so I will name just a few things.
the promised 10 working day turnaround was not going to plan but as we addressed this continually it was ignored. We were never apologised to for ANYTHING until it had gone too far and we had not only had a manager of the area to our home but written our complaints in.
Installers never turned up the first time with no notification, then only worked 3-4 hour days, came and left when they ...
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Advantages: One-stop shop & quality fittings Disadvantages: Paying up front
...couple of months ago to Dolphin - and THEN found these reviews! You can imagine my panic. However, I have to be honest and say I was thoroughly impressed with Dolphin's professionalism from start to finish and am now the proud owner of a beautiful, gleaming, well-fitted bathroom.
The sales process was bizarre - basically he asked how much we were prepared to spend: I lied and told him 6 grand (I'd set aside 8 and a half). After going right round ... ...were frequent phone calls from Dolphin to check on progress and a customer satisfaction survey at the end of the job. Two weeks later, we are still delighted with the work and the finished bathroom. We have one very minor problem in that the seal between bath and bath panel has come away in places, but we have mentioned it to Dolphin and are awaiting a response. To be honest, it will be easily rectified.
Overall, it was a suprisingly unstressful ...
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...THE SAME COMPANY AS MOBEN, SHARPS AND DOLPHINBATHROOMS. DO NOT USE THEM!!!!!!
IT WINDS ME UP HEARING THE ADVERTS ON TV AS I WISH I COULD STOP PEOPLE MAKING THE SAME MISTAKE.
AN APPALLINGLY BAD UNPROFESSIONAL COMPANY - DON'T BE FOOLED BY THE GLOSSY ADS......
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Advantages: Impressive finished product, great catalogue and TV advert, professional sales staff Disadvantages: Very expensive, sister companies featured on BBC1's Watchdog
...listed and you could even order a free catalogue.
The TV advertisement of Sharps Bedrooms was quite slick. It gave an atmosphere of calmness with soothing background music.
The concept of Sharps Bedrooms was quite simple. You chose a design from the catalogue, a salesman came to your home to take measurements and organise finance and finally the bedroom furniture is installed.
SISTER COMPANIES
Other companies in the same stable as Sharps Bedrooms are Moben Kitchens, Kitchens Direct, DolphinBathrooms and Portland Conservatories.
I watch the consumer programme ‘Watchdog’ regularly on Tuesdays at 7 p.m. on BBC1. The web site at www.bbc.co.uk/watchdog does have some case histories of Moben Kitchens and DolphinBathrooms. There were delays in getting the work done. Also some kitchen and bathroom furniture were not fitted properly...
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Advantages: Stylish furniture competently fitted into your bedroom Disadvantages: Furniture is not of the highest quality.
...said something along the lines of “50% plus £50 off all prices – offer must end Saturday”. I’m sure that if I’d looked a little more closely I would have found some small print underneath saying “but don’t worry it’ll be replaced by another offer next week” because something you realise is that this company has always got a special offer banner in the window.
Sharp’s Bedrooms is part of the Homeform Group. It doesn’t ring any bells? Well, I’m sure you’ll have heard of Moben Kitchens, DolphinBathrooms, Kitchens Direct and Portland Conservatories who are all part of the same group. Sharp’s say that they have a commitment to providing a ‘desirable product range coupled with a friendly and efficient service.’ ‘Quality’ you may note is not mentioned; it’s more ‘it’ll look pretty and we’ll smile whilst we take your money from you as...
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13.02.2008
13.10.2002
