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;
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.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Very honest of you to write this review. Interesting thing about how visits can typically last 4-5 hours and very late into the night - I have read that the later hours of the night and early hours of the morning are apparently when people are at their most vulnerable to agreeing to things (because they're tired).
A good insight into the company, how sales-driven it is and how little the management care about their customers.
evilfran 30.12.2007 15:31
thanks for the very good review, i'd never heard of the company before, i will steer clear of them in the future
Stg27 30.10.2007 21:07
Great review full of information for what to watch out for. I'm sure the same tips will come in handy for their competitors too.
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.
Cojoba 16.11.2003 (16.11.2003)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Kitchens Direct
Aug 3rd, 2007
(Aug 15th, 2007)
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