Opinion
opinion // Nathan Damarell Are you transparent about costs?
Everyone knows the cost of kitchens has increased in recent years, but with an already high price tag just for the kitchen itself, are retailers being honest enough about the total cost of complete projects?
I
was watching BBC News the other day and was intrigued to watch a Government Minister
talking about how they are going to intervene in the secondary ticketing market, in the aftermath of the Oasis ticket issues. I mention interventions because
I’ve long had the belief that our industry needs to improve its duty of care to the end user and be transparent in how we talk about final costs. The kitchen purchase today is
significantly more “grown up”, than when I started in this industry in the mid 90s. Back then we would take out old units, replace them with new units, laminate worktops and appliances in a similar layout, and then retile. So the whole layout stayed the same, generally speaking. The customer was given a price and that was what they paid.
Transparent truths Fast forward to today and what
has changed? Nowadays, we talk about projects, walls out, open plan living, ceiling lighting, new flooring, underfloor heating. Then there’s also the evolution of product – the venting hobs, advanced cooking with ovens and steam, stone worktops, boiling taps – we all know the changes that
made. And there is the question: is it transparent to sell a product without explaining all the costs – even those that you don’t provide?
Commitment issues Let’s say a customer walks into a
large outlet wanting to buy a kitchen and gets given a price of £15k for the kitchen and installation. They place the order and then
How many clients buy a kitchen without being told the true end-cost, and is that acceptable?
have occurred in the last ten years. Add to that multigenerational living and importantly (where intervention undoubtedly helped) changes to building regulations and electrical compliance. The purchase is no longer a basic product, but a multifaceted project, involving multiple trades and costs. Now, we at KF Kitchens make a
" March 2025 kbbreview
point of outlining and encouraging the client to consider all costs at the outset. We pride ourselves on this transparency, however, as reputation is everything, customers don’t return being disappointed that the original costs have escalated. Most large outlets sell the product
and installation. They then add all the other items once the order has been
have a survey done, which adds another £2k. Still they also need to find someone to do the flooring, decorating, and maybe there’s some skirting that needs replacing too. They’ve never been told it’s not included, it’s just ignored and they are
already committed. They’ve
already bought and can’t decide to not have it done. How many clients buy a kitchen without being told the true end cost, and is that acceptable? Let’s compare that with the ticket issue. A person thinks they are buying a ticket for £85, but after waiting in a queue the price has increased to £150. However, they have the option to log out. Is that similar to what happens in
a kitchen purchase? Is it correct that the Government sees fit to intervene in the concert market, but not the kitchen market? And does all of this mean Oasis fans are more worthy than kitchen customers?
kbbr
What do you think? We always want to hear your views and opinions, so email
editor@kbbreview.com to be featured in a future issue
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iStock.com/Whale Design
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