To not buy new kitchen over a tap

[Kubricklayer]

DW and I are close to pulling the trigger on a £30K kitchen. Spent last month back and forth agreeing specifics.

A few days ago DW saw on their FB page a deal for new customers in Feb to get a free £1K Quooker tap if they spend min £15K on a kitchen.

We then sent an email to chase up our kitchen stuff and asked if we’d get the tap since the sale will likely go through in Feb.

They said it’s for new inquiries and as we inquired late Dec we wouldn’t qualify for the tap.

At this point in time we’ve not paid a deposit, or signed anything and they’ve spent significant time designing our kitchen. All that effort will be for nothing if we decide to walk away.

Surely it’d be worth throwing this tap in so not to risk losing the sale? I’m not fussed about the tap tbh but part of me is a bit annoyed because we’re spending over double the money needed to qualify for the free tap and the sale will now be finalised in Feb, the qualifying month.

would you push back and insist on getting the tap if you were in my position?

Save a copy of the advert now, check if any T&Cs are in the small print or not. If not, go to the Advertising Standards Agency and log it, telling the company before hand maybe?

Always source your own appliances and worktops and save THOUSANDS. You can also use cashback sites to purchase many of these items and get £500+ in your account for doing so. Also, look at independent local kitchens, don't just go to Wren / Howden's / Magnets, etc. Also, find a local carpenter and show them the plans, ask them to quote to fit the kitchen - they will likely fit to a superior standard for a better price. AND if they are good at their job, will be able to recommend other places to look at / match / beat your quote. Married to a carpenter who fits a lot of kitchens and this is the advice he gives to all of his clients.

This 💯

Problem is that price comes directly off their bottom line. It's an item not made in house.

They may have had a deal where they agreed to place an order for say 10 taps and got a discount with the manufacturer, and if all of those 10 have already been taken up then it effectively costs even more to supply one.

Nevertheless, these sorts of sales are always in my experience flexible. My guess is the sales person feels confident enough in the feedback on the sale they have got so far to believe this is a bluff and you will take it anyway. I guess we will see if their instincts are correct.

I would ask them straight out what sort of discount they could offer on your £30k kitchen. I'd also get at least 3 quotes before shelling out £30k and I'd make sure they know that I am getting other quotes. However I work as a consultant and my services are sold and I work with APAC based clients who bargain HARD. You can still go with them with no discount at the end if you want to but he who don't ask don't get.

Thanks for the advice so far folks, no real update over the weekend as DW and I had separate events on over the weekend so not really discussed it much.

I can add some further detail if it helps round out the advice.

The last meeting we had with the kitchen company was January 17th. We had tinkered around with the plans to get the price to the £30K mark which included the dry fitting by their team (£3K estmate which our builder says is really good). The sales assistance was going to get back to us about alternative stone and handle options. During this meeting the cashback for appliances was confirmed as being valid for January, so DW and I were thinking we'll get prompt feedback with the expectation of hitting go before end of Jan. We also voiced that outloud.

However, we heard nothing from the sales assistance until DW emailed asking about the tap offer. That was on the 27th. There was a prompt response back on the 28th with a no to the tap, but no further update on stone/handle and seemingly no reiteration on 'order before Jan to get appliances cashback'.

I think the ball is in our court to reply back with a 'that's disappointing about the tap' etc, but we're perplexed the sales assistance isn't chasing us. We definitely won't have come across as not serious of half hearted, we've been quite passionate during these visits (maybe passionate is wrong word, but defo engaged and serious).

It's a small company with 3 showrooms my DW said. They have a 4.8/5.0 rating on trustpilot from 80+ reviews (and other sources like FB/google reviews are 40+ and hgih rating). Again confused as to the lack of chasing us.

I think I also said the week after our meeting (so 23rd of Jan) we went to another local family run firm with a good rep. We outlined our requirements and they were going to put together options and comeback so we're waiting on that.

I guess we should be proactive and look at further options. We're in Dumfriesshire bordering Cumbria so if anyone from those areas can recommend further companies it would be appreciated. The more pokers in the fire the better I suppose.

Apologies for the essay and thanks again for all the advice it's definitely been thought provoking and helpful.

You need to read my previous message before writing your email
i have outlined how you should
approach it. I am an interior architect

@Kubricklayer any outcome?
I hate it when companies put so much time and effort into getting a potential new customer and then fudge it so badly! Esp when this is easily rectified

Hope you find an amazing kitchen

From your update it sounds like you have had several meetings where you try to drive the price lower and ask for more in terms of offers cashback/free tap. Perhaps they have written you off as a difficult customer. At the end of the day they don't want to do work for people that don't want to pay for it.