The Big Difference Between a Quote & an Estimate

There are really only 2 things you need to know:

No 1: An estimate is exactly that: it’s a rough guide to what you can expect to pay. ( What you’ll end up paying can be very different. )

No 2: A written quote is a fixed price – it’s exactly what you’ll pay.

With an estimate, if the work takes longer than the kitchen company expected, you’ll pay more.

Companies that give estimates have good reason to quote on the low side. It helps them get the job and, if they estimate too low, you pay the difference.

At My Beautiful Kitchen, we give a written quotation for any kitchens we supply. We think it’s fairer for the customer and you can have peace of mind that the price we quote is the price you pay..

Who Is Fitting My Kitchen?

It might seem like a strange question but… Who is actually going to fit my kitchen?

You’d be surprised how many companies can’t answer this simple question. This is because with most companies the work is subcontracted and put out to tender for the best price so it will change every other week.

So you’ll have no idea until someone turns up on your doorstep on day one and by that point it may be too late.

Here Is How We Work At My Beautiful Kitchen.

We’ll put you in touch with the installation teams, they’ll come out and meet you before your project starts and be your point of contact throughout your entire project.

They will work directly with you and best of all you wont pay a penny for your installation until you are completely happy with the work and that everything has been completed.

If you’ve watched a few of our video’s or followed us for a while on social then you’ll hear us mention the same names again and again. We’ve been working with and recommended the same installation teams for years and years. If you’d like to choose your own team then that’s OK too.

Always Get 3 Quotes BUT!

Always get three quotes prior to choosing your kitchen company.

That way you’ll get a feel for the differences in price, quality and service.

But, then ask yourself how will you compare them?

From experience the cheapest quote is very seldom the best option as it’s usually cheap for a reason.

So what else will it come down too?

Design? product quality? workmanship? service and aftercare?

Unless you’re an expert and work in home improvements it’s going to be hard to tell the differences.

If you already have some quotes for your new kitchen then we are happy to answer all your concerns with our FREE, Impartial Quote Comparison Service!

Simply, bring any quotations to us and together we’ll review the differences and the things you’ll want to consider.

Saving a few hundred pounds now is going to feel very empty if your dream kitchen lasts 10 months instead of 10 years!

Don’t Fall For The High Pressure Sales Tactics & Scams

You’re given a quote for a new kitchen. It’s seems like a good offer, but you want to think it over.

The salesperson realises this, leans forward and says “Unfortunately, you need to buy TODAY to get this price or the deals off.”

Tick Tock, What Do You Do?

Welcome to the world of high-pressure sales, where things aren’t always how they appear.

We could write a book on the horror stories we hear from customers everyday and a lot of kitchen companies build their whole sales strategy around this.

If you here a salesperson say he’s going to speak to his ‘manager’ to see what he can do, run a mile :-))

And, don’t get me started on “We only need 5 postcodes in your area” scam. They’ll come out and tell you your getting a £33,000 kitchen for £14,000 if they can use your kitchen as a show home in next years brochure. It’s very sad but you’d be amazed how many people fall for this and the stories we hear.

Is it legal? Possibly!

Is it ethical? Well, that’s for you to decide.

It’s certainly not the way we do things here at My Beautiful Kitchen. There is not a single member on our team that is on any kind of sales commission or bonus. We’re a design led company and everyone gets paid a fair salary to do their job well and look after you.

If you look after your team, they’ll look after your customers. That’s always been our strategy and It really is as simple as that.

Never EVER Pay For The Installation Works Upfront

Never pay for the installation work upfront.

If only our customer Mr Lappin had done this then he wouldn’t have ended up in such a mess.

Paying for you kitchen upfront is perfectly normal for bespoke companies as your kitchen has to be put into production and made for you. Likewise if your ordering your appliances online then you’ll be expected to pay before your chosen company delivers them.

When it comes to the INSTALLATION though, it’s mostly labour and there is minimal material costs. Our recommendation would be to avoid a company if they ask for the installation costs to be paid before the project starts.

All Reviews Are Not Equals

If you can get a good recommendation from someone who’s had a kitchen completed recently then that’s a great starting point.

If you can’t then the next best thing is check out a companies reviews.

Be careful though all reviews are not equal.

Video reviews are really the best.

If you look though our facebook page you’ll see we go right back to 2012 and we’ve got 1000’s of case studies from over the years. Real people on video, real kitchens and bathrooms and real reviews. Currently we are the only company that we know of who consistently do LIVE video reviews, If you’d like us to put you in touch with any previous customers, just ask :-))

Another great thing to look for is independent written reviews

That’s reviews on websites that the company do not control. Ie, think trip adviser if you were looking for a hotel or somewhere to eat.

If you’d like to read some independent reviews for us then you can do that here: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/mybeautifulkitchen.co.uk

Something to watch out for is ‘brochure’ pictures. There are loads of companies posting the most amazing ‘catalogue’ pictures. These are not real kitchens and it’s easy to be fooled into thinking this is their work only to go a bit deeper and realise this is not the case.