No Complaints Here!

How to find excellent customer service with DIY kitchen units

One of the main things that puts many people off undertaking a home improvement project is that things might go wrong. The worry is that, if that happens, you will be worse off than when you started. So many of us just leave things as they are instead of making the improvements that we would really like to see happen.

But if you really want to make improvements, there are ways that you can minimise the hassle.

Let’s look at the example of fitting new DIY kitchen units. We’ll look at some of the most common things that do go wrong and how to do your best to avoid this happening.

Lots of companies supply DIY kitchen units. These include large companies such as the big DIY stores and self-assembly furniture stores. But if you Google any of those stores and add the word “complaints” then you will see a lot of results! So the size of the company is no guarantee that things won’t go wrong.

We had a look through some of these complaints sites and found four common problems when ordering and installing DIY kitchen units.

Items out of stock
Many people have problems with some items being out of stock. If this is not made clear at the time of ordering then you end up with some of the items arriving at your home and then having to wait for others. This can often mean that you can’t progress the work on your kitchen due to the missing items, so the whole process gets delayed. If you are using kitchen fitters this can be particularly disruptive and potentially expensive.

The way to get round this is to make sure you have clear information at all stages of the process from your supplier. At DIY Homefit we will always give you an indication of expected delivery time as soon as we can and will update you as it becomes more definite. This includes keeping you informed of any unexpected delays, as we are notified by the manufacturer.

Items damaged
Even when items arrive they can be damaged. You can read horror stories online of companies handling this badly and customers being kept waiting for the replacement parts or being treated rudely. It is quite common for companies to come and collect the damaged item but then take their time providing the replacement, meanwhile leaving the customer unable to proceed with their kitchen.

At DIY Homefit we ask you to check whether your packaging shows any signs of damage and if there is any then note this at time of receipt by signing “DAMAGED” in the signature box on the courier’s electronic device. If possible open the packages at this point to check the products for damage but do not refuse delivery of damaged goods. Instead, supply us with photographic evidence of the damage within 24 hours in order for us to supply a replacement product quickly to you.

Items do not fit
This is a more complex issue to resolve. If you have measured your kitchen yourself then it is your responsibility if the items do not fit and companies will generally not accept returns under these circumstances. However, some large stores offer measuring services and if these measurements are incorrect then it should be up to them to resolve the situation.

In either of the above cases, the thing to do is not to attempt to install the items but contact the company and see what can be done. Certainly if the incorrect measurements are the company’s fault then there should be no qualms about replacing the items. But if you are doing the measurements yourself and are not confident about doing this then your our “Find a Fitter” service can help you to find an experienced kitchen fitter in your locality who can help you with the initial measurements as well as the subsequent kitchen fitting.

Hidden fitting costs
If you are buying a replacement kitchen from a large store, you may also find that they offer an installation service. However this is usually where stores make their mark-up. It is often unclear the final price you will be charged, and you have no control over the choice of installer – so no idea whether or not their work will be good quality. The assumption most of us make is that because it is a large store it is bound to be good, but sadly this is often not the case.

If you are not confident about doing your kitchen fitting yourself then the way to overcome this is to buy products that you like and then choose your own kitchen fitters. At DIY Homefit our “Find a Fitter” service can help you to find someone near you with the expertise to fit your kitchen well. If you choose your own fitter you have the opportunity to ask lots of questions before the work starts, and also to check reviews from other customers.

At DIY Homefit we don’t claim to be perfect: things can sometimes go wrong. But what we can promise is that if anything does go wrong we will then do our utmost to put it right as quickly as possible. Fortunately this is very rare: just read the testimonials from all our satisfied customers to see how wonderfully hassle-free a DIY Homefit experience can be.

So if you have been yearning to make some home improvements but have been too cautious to take this further, then why not make now the time to get started? Browse through our galleries of bedrooms and kitchens to get some ideas for what you could achieve, then start making plans to improve your home in 2019!