IS THIS THE RIGHT KITCHEN CABINET COMPANY?

Renovating your kitchen cabinets can be scary and……. in a sense it should be due to the many “fly by night” companies around ready to jeopardize one of the most important investments in your home.

Keep an eye out for these red flags before signing on the dotted line…

 Kitchen Cabinet Company Showroom Visit:

• A showroom should be available where cabinet styles, colors and materials are on display for you to view. Also, displays where you can get an idea of the service and products they provide will give you a more legitimate image of the company.
• If your visit to the showroom did not make you feel welcome, and the sales representative was behaving like a robot and speaking without listening to your needs first. The first person you deal with is a direct reflection of the companies attitude. People who love their job are usually excited to meet a new customer and share their excitement about the service that company provides. Employees that are not treated right and not compensated fairly for the work that they do usually don’t perform with the same enthusiasm. Can you imagine what that kind of employee would be like to deal with if you encountered an issue with the job?
• A good service provider will usually not start off your discussion with “what is your budget?”. A company that genuinely wants to work with you will give you different options according to your needs and your budget.

Kitchen Cabinet Company In Home Consultation:

• If the Salesperson is more than 10 minutes late for the appointment without letting you know…..well that is a red flag! A phone call to let the customer know that you are running late takes less than 2 minutes!!! Do you really want to work with a company that at the first appointment is already showing lack of care for the customer?
• If the “listening first” strategy does not continue at home, if the kitchen designer does not put any effort in understanding what you are looking for, he or she will not be able to help you.
• If the Salesperson agrees with all your ideas without genuinely challenging them…they are not helping you. Many kitchen designers tell the customer what they want to hear so they can have an easy sale. They know that making the customer feel like a great designer it is a contract half signed already. Are they really helping you by agreeing with your every idea without giving you their expertise???
• If the kitchen designer does not analyze your ideas with you, educate you about the pros and cons, if he or she is not explaining the reasons why they think that one way is better than the other, they do not truly care about the customers’ needs.
• Of course, on the opposite end of the scale, it is not good if the designer has the “I know everything attitude” rejecting every single idea you have. You are looking for help and guidance, not for a dictator!

To make a long story short the “in home consultation” should be a meeting between the Homeowner that wants the best looking and functional kitchen at the right price, and the Kitchen Designer that shares their experience, good taste, and knowledge without the pressure of making the sale. A kitchen designer that has the urgency of closing the deal usually does not have the ability to focus on helping the customer, the two things can’t co-exist!