Are retailers transparent enough 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?
Words: Nathan Damarell
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, following the aftermath of the Oasis ticketing issues.
According to the Government website one of their objectives in their intervention is “Consumer protection – improving transparency and protecting consumers from misleading or harmful practices..”.
I remember a number of years ago, Government intervention occurred to stop non-transparent pricing in the airline industry. As I recall, it was all to do with headline prices being lower than the actual bill by the time you had chosen your seat.
Now I mention these interventions because I have 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 the 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.
Fast forward to today and what has changed! Today, we talk about projects, walls out, open plan living, ceiling lighting, new flooring, underfloor heating. Then there’s the evolution of product – the venting hobs, advanced cooking with ovens and steam, stone worktops, boiling taps – we all know the changes that 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 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. Lots of clients are amazed when we outline these costs, on top of their basic installation of the kitchen.
How many clients buy a kitchen without being told the true end-cost, and is that acceptable?
Most large outlets sell the product and installation. They then add on all the other items once the order has been made. And there is the question: is it transparent to sell a product without explaining all the costs – even those that you do not provide?
Let’s say a customer walks into a large outlet, says they want to buy a kitchen and gets given a price of £15k for the kitchen and basic installation. They place the order and then have a survey done, which adds another £2k. Still the room is not complete, as they still need to find someone to do the flooring, decorating, and maybe there’s a piece of skirting that needs replacing.
They have never been told it is not included, it is just ignored and they are already committed, they can’t decide to not have it done, they have bought the product. 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 £85.00 and after waiting in a queue the price has increased to £150.00. But they have the option to log out.
To take this analogy onto the kitchen purchase where the overall price is not known, surely this is like turning up to the concert, having paid the £85.00 and being told that if you actually want to get in and see the concert the price is £150.00!
Is that 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? Does this mean Oasis fans are more worthy than kitchen customers?