Is Your “Guaranteed” Kitchen Really Guaranteed?

Is Your “Guaranteed” Kitchen Really Guaranteed?

You want to be delighted with your new kitchen. You might picture yourself, with a nice cup of tea or coffee, enjoying looking over your fantastic new kitchen but what happens if things go wrong?

Maybe the kitchen doors are squint, or the sink is leaking, or the fridge door doesn’t close properly.

No problem… because you made sure you bought from a company that guarantees their kitchens…

Or do they?

Most Kitchen Guarantees Cover Very Little

When you look at the small print, you may find that the only thing that’s guaranteed is the kitchen cabinets.

This is quite common, cabinet guarantees are very low-risk. There’s a very low chance of having to pay out, and when they do, it’s not going to cost much.

This limited guarantee allows them to claim their kitchens are “guaranteed”. Their ads don’t have to spell out how little this means, and they know most of us don’t read the small print so we end up thinking we’re making a safe purchase when it’s nothing of the sort.

Good for the kitchen company. Not so good for the customer.

So What Should You Look For In A Kitchen Guarantee?

There are really only two things that can go wrong with a kitchen: materials and fitting.

You’ll find that most companies will replace faulty units or appliances but very few will guarantee the fitting and here’s the rub: bad fitting is far more common than bad components!

A good kitchen fitter has the skills to make even a poor quality kitchen look good, but even the most expensive kitchen will look terrible if fitted badly.

Bad Fitting – Who Pays?

The answer is simple. If the fitting is guaranteed, the kitchen company pays and if it’s not guaranteed then it’ll be you. If it is going to be you it’s worth asking yourself why.

Clearly any kitchen company who offers a full money-back guarantee for their installations needs to employ fitters that work to the highest standards, they need to make sure their customers are absolutely delighted with the end result otherwise they’d be out of business in no time.

Those that don’t guarantee their fitting don’t have to be so particular about their standards.

Make Sure You Understand The Guarantee

The first step before buying is making sure you understand the guarantee.

An honest kitchen company will always be transparent and offer written guarantees that explain exactly what is and isn’t covered, what you should expect… and what they lose if they don’t fulfill those expectations.

Ideally, the guarantees should be present on their website and newspaper adverts. If they’re not – or if they’re vague – ask them. And don’t just take their word for it – get them to put it in writing (in plain English) that way if things go wrong you’ll have written proof of what you were promised.

If they say something vague like “All work is guaranteed” but don’t explain what happens if you exercise the guarantee or even for how long things are guaranteed, that’s not good enough. A real guarantee spells out what happens when things go wrong.

Anything less and you’re left hoping they’ll do the right thing. And, when it comes to business, “hope” is often a 4-letter word.

I hope this helps.

All the Best,

Tommy