Author's product rating: 
| Advantages: |
none |
| Disadvantages: |
expensive kitchen, average quality, dodgy company |
| Recommend to potential buyers: |
no |
This company is part of the same group that includes Moben, Dilusso, Sharps and Dolphin. They are sell the same product as Moben but are generally a little more expensive.
We were told to say that the kitchens are made by the company and fitted by our own contactors. The truth is they are made by a third party in China and although some fitters are employed by the company its most likely a outside contactor will fit the kitchen.
The “design consultants” who visit you are salesman with no design qualifications who work on commission alone, if you don’t buy the kitchen they don’t get paid.
You will be told that a visit lasts 2 hours, however I would say 4 to 5 hours is more the norm with most evening visits lasting past mid-night.
The company has sales all year,however, the truth is the cost of a kitchen actually increases in the January sale then the price stays about the same the rest of the year, they cleverly structure the prices so they can legally claim it’s a sale but trust me the price will be about the same all year.
Their sales hook is 50 -60% off plus a few cheap appliance offers;
You may see for example a cooker or similar appliance that’s £600 in Curry’s that Kitchens Direct are offering for £150 or for free. (if you spend typically at least £3500 on a kitchen) Now read the small print !, you will be charged for installation (ask to see the designer’s price book) when I worked there installing a cooker cost £260 plus a further £150 if a electrical point was needed so a total of other £410 for installation. (a corgi installer will charge around £100).
Promotional costs (sales/ free or chaep appliances)are hidden in the furniture, a typical double base unit costs around £1400, (again, ask the "designer" to show you his price book) apply the 50% “sale” discount and its around £700 PER UNIT! . A 3 metre Formica worktop was £1200 that’s £600 with 50%discount. (they cost about £140 at most in B & Q)
They claim “free fitting” but there’s no such thing fitters need to be paid, the fitting cost is hidden in the furniture costs.
As a salesman for Kitchens Direct the only way to make the price of the kitchen attractive was to try to talk the customer out of having more than a few units,even the most simple kitchen without wall units would be on average around 6 grand.
Because Kitchens Direct salesmen are paid on commission alone you will receive the hard sell. We were told that trust in the salesman rather than the product sells the kitchen, salesmen are trained to compliment you and make you feel like you are their best friend. For example, I was told if you see a football shirt in the customers house pretend that you follow that team, the idea was to get on so well with the customer, by the end of the night they would be embarrassed not to buy from you.
Prices are not discussed until the end of the evening, ask for a breakdown of costs, we were advised to hide installation costs.
I cant stress this enough if you do let this company into your house insist on seeing the salesman’s price book.
You will be offered credit at an exorbitant % rate and the salesman will initially say “this kitchen will cost you £X per week” you will only be given the total cost if you ask, when I worked there the loan offered was repaid over 10 YEARS !
When I worked there,the salesman who visits can make up to 20% commission, 10% normal plus a further 10% if he sells you credit. The salesman’s line manager I was told can take a further 20% commision.
There were complaints about every kitchen I sold, I was advised never give a customer my mobile number, I was told by the area manager once you’ve sold the kitchen “F*** them” its not your problem. When customers called to complain about the kitchens they were met with similar abusive language.
The company seems very reputable, I assumed that a company advertising on national TV must be OK. I learnt a valuable life lesson.
Sales staff leave, after about 3 months, once they find out how dodgy the company is. I regret ever being involved with this company.
The kitchens are expensive, the quality is nothing special and the company operates in a questionable way. Please avoid Kitchens Direct/ Moben / Sharps / Dolphin. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED !.
Kitchen's Direct leads were mostly gained by cold calling, see this article for more details;
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/115/115963_kitchen_firms_silent_calls_rap.html
I will add that when I worked there I saw people adding positive reviews to sites like this. Contact your local trading standards department and ask how many complaints they receive about this company !
Kitchens Direct's target customers arn't savvy people who check reviews on the internet or get several quotes, they are people who have been cold called and KD are the first company to visit them.
Go to B&Q, Focus or IKEA to get your kitchen, and get a fitter who has been recommended by somebody you trust to fit it.
| More Reviews |
 "Buying direct Saves you £1's"..I think not!!
Review of Kitchens Direct by
Cojoba
Advantages: Nice Looking Kitchen Units, quick initial appointment.
Disadvantages: Pushy Salespeople, offer Supply and Fit only, Very Expensive, Limited range of Appliances, No breakdown of Prices offered, No printout of Kitchen given.
...to finish.....
I rung Kitchens direct on their freephone number. Tel: 0800 123 321. A very polite lady answered the phone and I said I would like an appointment as soon as possible with view to just getting a quote.
She said a salesman would be out to see me the following day at 7pm. I thought this was excellent quick service, and I asked how long he would be in my home as I knew exactly what units I wanted and had already got all the measurements. ...
...each page of how good Kitchens Direct is, exactly how the units are made, where they come from, what sort of handles/runners are used, why they are better etc. I explained again I just wanted a price please. He then continued his speel, and said I can offer you good finance too.
At this point I told him that i would be paying cash outright and wouldn't be interested in Finance.
He drew up my plan (or should I say his plan) there and then, which ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful |
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very helpful
16.11.2003
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Not in my kitchen!
Review of Kitchens Direct by
water-witch
Advantages: None that I could see
Disadvantages: expensive, time consuming, poor customer relations
...buy my new kitchen from Kitchens Direct ,so I can’t tell you what the product and fitting are actually like ,if one went through with the fitting.
My reason for writing this review is because I was so unhappy with the parts of the process we did go ahead with that I would like to warn you to think hard before giving them your hard earned cash or bank loan!
We are having massive restoration work done on our Victorian house. We totally ripped out ...
...was suggested to me that Kitchens Direct might be an option, so I contacted them. I explained the situation and said that in order not to waste anyone’s time there was only any point in them coming to the house if they could guarantee the kitchen would be with us in four weeks. I was assured that this was no problem and they made an appointment for the designer to come the next evening . I was told to expect a confirmation call. The appointment would ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful |
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very helpful
24.09.2004
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"I'm a designer, not a salesman" sales ploy
Review of Kitchens Direct by
LittleGinger
Advantages: Design ideas and planning, possibly
Disadvantages: Pushy sales, financial entaglement, quality doubtful
...appointment' with both Moben and Kitchens Direct, not realising that they were the same company. My KD appointment was for 2pm Monday. I was stood up. When I phoned in 45 minutes later, I was told that due to the icy conditions, she'd been involved in a minor car accident (sympathy vote).
It was rearranged for the following day at 7pm. When I got home that evening, there was a note to say someone had been around at 2pm. So I'd been stood up again.
...
...for a day later, again at 7pm. Result! A lovely young gentleman arrived, on time! It was kind of interesting having had both a Moben and KD design visit. They're identical!
- "I'm a designer, not a salesmen", will be within the first three sentences they say to you.
- They will slate B&Q, Wickes, MFI etc. for poor quality. If you are interested, there is even a presentation pack they will show you, with photos of poor workmanship. - They will try ...
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful |
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very helpful
09.01.2009
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 well im happy
Review of Kitchens Direct by
smudger1964
Advantages: national company,reasonable prices
Disadvantages: none in my experience
...me proud.
I saw Kitchens Direct advertised in the national press so decided to give them the oportunity to come round and give me a quote for a new kitchen that was overdue to be replaced in my house.I also contacted a couple of other local companies as I prefer to deal with a local company .
I contacted kitchens direct on the 11 th june and on the 13th a representative from kitchens direct came round to measure up.After about 20 minutes of me ...
...to expect a call from kitchens direct telling me of a delivery date and a fitting date.Only 2 days later they phoned saying the kitchen would be delivered in 2 weeks time and they needed payment of the balance on this date.A few alarm bells were ringing at this stage thinking that once they had all the money the fitters wouldnt arrive.I needent have worried.
On the agreed date a large van arrived with numerous boxes of kitchen units,plinths etc ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful |
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very helpful
15.07.2004
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 Dream Kitchen @ Trade Prices - NOT!
Review of Kitchens Direct by
abcdefg
Advantages: I'm not sure there are any!
Disadvantages: Expensive, Persuasive
...Meanwhile, I researched some kitchens and prices online. We knew roughly what we wanted and how much we could afford to spend, so we didn't think the appointment with the salesman would take too long at all. How wrong could I be???
The salesman arrived slightly early, but was very pleasant. We showed him our kitchen, made some coffee and sat at the table ready to discuss our options. As I said, we knew roughly what we wanted and where we wanted ...
...had a "follow-up" call from Kitchens Driect, asking why we hadn't placed an order. I explained it was too expensive. I was then asked what sort of price we would be prepared to pay. When I said we didn't want to pay more than £6,000, he told me they didn't do kitchens in that price range. Having read some of the reviews for this company on ciao, I wish I'd stayed well clear. I hope they delete my details from their database and decide not to pester ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful |
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very helpful
21.03.2007
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16.02.2001
18.07.2004
