Smallbone Opiniões 

** Expert Witness Conclusion **

“A combination of poor quality products, missing goods, and defective project management has resulted in a fitted kitchen of a value that bears no relation to the contract price. Smallbone is widely recognised in the kitchen industry as representing the highest quality of fitted kitchen innovation, manufacture, design, installation and project management. Accordingly, any Smallbone project would be expected to fall within that reputation and any consumer buying a Smallbone kitchen would be entitled to expect the highest possible standard of service based on that reputation in return for paying a premium price. The kitchen installed for the Householders falls far short of this expectation. At the date of my inspection, there remained a significant number of goods still to be supplied, workmanship to correct, and poor quality products to be replaced. My inspection took place nearly 15 weeks after work started, and the extent of outstanding work and supplies, together with questionable quality of some of the materials, is entirely unacceptable for this time frame. I would expect substantial completion of a kitchen of this scope, meaning that the installation is fully useable, no more than 4 weeks after starting work, including the installation of specialist worktops made to site templates during the main installation phase…”

“Based on my inspection and the correspondence between the parties that has been made available to me, the Retailer has shown a lack of competence and interest in the Householders needs throughout the project. To move forward, my recommendation is that the Householders give the Retailer 4 weeks from the date of this report to correct and finish the kitchen to the standard that would be expected of a kitchen specialist of the national stature of Smallbones, the minimum standard being the work and supplies outlined in this report, and failing that standard being achieved, they take legal advice…”

** My conclusion **

Smallbone of Devizes is one of a series of brands trading under the Private Equity backed Lux Group umbrella. From my own experience, speaking to other customers and what I have read here, these brands are little more than a series of elaborate marketing campaigns, which trade off the reputation of individuals who have long since left the businesses. This is presumably why Land Rovers and digital art are prevalent in their showroom: to distract people from their products.

The customer experience we received once the deposits had been paid for our kitchen was comical. We were passed from a sales designer, to a package designer before being left at the mercy of an installation manager in an entirely disjointed process. In our case the kitchen was value engineered between sign-off with the designer and the contract being issued - to his credit a Director at Smallbone admitted this.

A trick Smallbone plays is to issue simple line drawings within their contracts, as well as sketch visuals which they caveat as being illustrative. They rely on this to allow them to interpret whatever they like during fabrication and installation.

The sales designer also sold us all sorts of fitted furniture throughout the house, which the installation manager on visiting our home during refurbishment said the business couldn’t deliver - ‘we don’t do that!’. In spite of this, deposits were only returned after my solicitor intervened, almost a year later.

In terms of the kitchen, customer services were hopeless throughout, never having a record of what had been delivered, when the next delivery would be and what it might contain. Our appliances weren’t ordered on time, exacerbating well known external supply issues. Having a 3 month old baby and 2.5 year old only added to the stress. Temporary appliances were promised but never materialised.

As set out above, the quality of furniture bears no relation to Smallbone’s reputation or the contract value. What we expected was for our kitchen to have been crafted and assembled in a workshop, dismantled and delivered to site where it should have been installed in little over a few weeks. Instead we enjoyed 3rd party fitters cutting down doors and shelves and treating our now newly refurbished home as a workshop for months. The fitters joked about the price we had paid and the quality of the furniture they were installing.

We apointed an expert witness to assess at 15 weeks post installation. 52 weeks past our initial installation date our patience finally expired and we terminated our contract. We are appointing a joiner to put into effect the expert witness’s recommendations.

Remarkably, Smallbone are fully aware of the situation outlined and consider themselves not to be in breach of contract.

On the way back from V&A museum, came across Smallbone, where we were approached by a lovely handsome gentleman named Kish. Who gave us a tour of the beautiful space and explained the background of the company. The art work was phenomenal, we were extremely happy with the experience. We will be back, see you again.

As I was heading to Harrods, I spotted an enormous sculpture of a spaceman through some open doors to a beautiful space that looked like an art gallery, which I hadn’t seen before. I was greeted by a lovely lady called Liliya who happens to be the manager there. She was kind enough to show me around and talk me through the concept for the space and shared more about the business, which is a new showroom for Smallbone and I got to learn more about Smallbone’s craftsmanship, as well as the art in the space, which was a great experience. I have already recommended the space to a couple of friends and will be coming back soon!

Working with Craig Trainer on our NYC kitchen was an exceptional experience! Craig is an original! We’ve never met someone like him who just ‘gets’ what his clients are saying and then is willing to go through all the details with you to create something beautiful and functional. His professionalism, humor, positivity, and thought leadership make the odyssey of a home kitchen renovation incredibly enjoyable, pleasant, and organized. His service to his customers is A+ and he delivers on his word! A trusted leader among architects, designers, and clients with a passion for the art he creates!

So happy with not only my kitchen which I’ve had for 12 years but for the continued service to help service and keep in incredible condition.
I recently was visited by Charlie who was outstanding. Thorough and totally lovely!

Our kitchen got almost completed just before lock down and subsequently I put in a request under their warranty scheme to get several items to be finished. My request went to them by email on 8th April 2022. As I had no response at all from them I forwarded the email again on 25th April and finally got a response from their customer service which appears to be a one man organisation. A couple of weeks later a fitter arrived at 8am without warning and spent the time fixing about half the outstanding issues. However two new drawer fronts would have to be made. Cutting a long story short, we are now in beginning of July 2022 and the two replacement drawer fronts have arrived unpainted and just primed, but I still have no idea when the fitter and painter will arrive to finish the job!!!

Updated below on 10th August
After many phone calls trying to get a date when the work on replacing and painting the drawer fronts will be done along with the door stay for the dishwasher door I received the following email.

"I am emailing you to inform you I am still following up your drawers/handles case,

After chasing the installation department, they advise they are still waiting for the handles for the drawer fronts to arrive – as soon as they do, we can arrange for our fitter to attend site, followed by a painter,

I am very sorry for the delay"

As you can see, not very helpful

Update on 11th January 2023
The situation remains with the outstanding work except today Trustpilot asked me for further information which I have supplied.
Last written contact from Smallbone was from Marco Toscano (Customer Services) which said:-

______________________________________________
I hope my email finds you well,

I saw you tried to reach out for an update, sorry I missed your call,

Further my previous email, unfortunately the production team advised we are still waiting for the handle for the new drawer front which is already on site.

As soon as the handle is available, Charlie is primed to take to site – we cannot fit the drawer front until the handle is available.

I know this is frustrating as you have been waiting for several months now, I am chasing the team everyday trying to have an update ASAP,

Best wishes,

Marco
_____________________________________________
So, as you can see nothing has changed and I should make clear there is nothing wrong with the handles. We just need the two drawer fronts sent by courier five months ago painted and fitted and the door stay for the dishwasher door sourced and fitted.

I recently contacted Caroline Boulter with the unlikely hope of finding out which paints were used on my kitchen 7 years ago. Caroline was able to supply not only paint names but also quantities and mixture of colours used. All the info needed to repaint the units and in a matter of hours. Fantastic service !

In line with other reviews. We placed a firm order with Smallbone for a 100k kitchen/utility and asked to pay 60% upfront. This was all agreed in Jan, multiple surveys on an empty square, no communication and out of the blue the production date is pushed back. I really regret ever going forward with this company

Having placed orders for some kitchen works over 8 months, I am now finally finished. I was off to a rocky start as my job wasn’t allocated to anyone but a couple of months ago, Amy picked up my job and has been dealing with me since. Excellent customer service, informed me of any delays in advance, bent over backwards to get my project finished. I was extremely lucky that she picked up my job requests and now the job has been finished to a high standard thanks to Amy and Charlie (the fitter).

I want to say Lee and Steve are the best men I have ever had work in my kitchen. They go above and beyond to make sure every corner is looked after.
I can not recommend them more and if I ever made a new kitchen I would NOT trust anyone else but Lee and Steve. They are both super friendly and professional

During my career as an architect, I had the priveledge of working with Smallbone on projects in the Chelsea area, and have always had the utmost repsect for the professionalism in which they approach every aspect of their projects.
Years later, I have opened a design school and now teach and Interior Design and Architecture course to students aged 14-18, encouraging them to study this at University level. One of the projects we recently completed, involved designing the interior of a luxury apartment. I reached out to local kithcen designers to obtain brochures and/or materials to inspire my students, but had no response. I then remembered Smallbone and emailed them to ask if they could spare any brochures to send to our school and got an almost immediate respone from a lady named Gemma. To both my students and my delight, she agreed to help without any hesitation and promised to send us brochures in the post. Thanks to her we now have a wonderful collection of their beautiful designs to show our Students.

I would like to thank Smallbone and Gemma for supporting our future Interior Designers and Architects and we cannot wait to visit your new showroom in Knightsbridge.

I contacted Smallbone as I had a few cupboards that were needing adjustment as they were not closing properly. I spoke with Joelle in customer service and she was very efficient and helpful and organised for a fitter to visit. Charlie came today and quickly sorted the problem out for me and he too was very helpful. Excellent service and good to know after 5 years I can still get a problem dealt with.

Very good and caring service. Fully recommend.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
Kitchen finalised in June 2020, final payment made in September 2020. I was told 4-6 weeks for the full delivery/installation.
6 months later after constant complaints and escalations we are at around 60% complete with no end date in sight. The site has been left in a mess and little/no communication from customer services.

We will be raising this with trading standards. It seems many other people have had a similar experience.

I had a small problem with the drawers and when I contacted the Company, there was no hesitation to arrange someone to come and sort it out.
Charlie arrived on time, was polite, professional and efficient. He knew his craft and resolved the problem quickly. It was excellent after sales service. Thank you.

Our experience this summer with Smallbone was truly exceptional. We ordered our kitchen several years ago for a second home. Although the kitchen had been made, we asked Smallbone to delay installation as we had other issues at the house to resolve. In short, Smallbone warehoused the kitchen for several years at no charge. Furthermore, when the company went bankrupt and was then acquired, the new owner showed outstanding flexibility when we asked for the kitchen to be re-designed for our primary residence in London. The designer did a superb job. Very creative / ingenious. The Smallbone installation team was busy and the company proposed to use Elmgrove Developments. The installation — including hand painting — was flawless. Bottom line: Smallbone showed true integrity over several years and ownership change. The company remained focused throughout on keeping us, the customer, happy. I would recommend Smallbone and Elmgrove without reservation.

Sadly, I am not one for reviews but I feel that for the price point being charged and the extraordinary level of poor service I am forced to let others know.

I personally have never experienced a company so poorly run or had such poor customer service with any provider of any kind.

I have spent an enormous amount of money for Kitchen, Wardrobes and Bathroom renovations and I have received not only the worst service, but I still have almost nothing to show for it.

It is now months overdue, and after multiple empty promises and rescheduled delivery dates I still do not have anything I have paid for. Not the product, and for certain not the service.

As with other reviews here, the design process and pre sales was great, but as soon as they had my money everything fell apart.

The planning, delivery and leadership team are some of the worst I have ever encountered.

I have now, months later after huge delays, still only got a kitchen carcass which had to be totally refitted after I formally escalated multiple issues. This was so poorly fitted that I had to request this to be completely redone.

I have had multiple deliveries cancelled without any communication that they would not turn up, I have received the same items multiple times and each and every time they are completely the wrong dimensions and could not be fitted.

At the time of writing, they still have not been delivered or fitted. I also have still not been given any dates as to when I will receive bathroom cabinets, kitchen items, kitchen units, wardrobe units, lighting, electrical goods and more.

I escalated this on multiple occasions to the senior leadership team and even reached the point that I requested a refund and to end this project due to the unbelievable amount of issues and still having not received anything I have paid for.
I was told that no refund would be offered on this project.

I am currently out of pocket thousands of pounds due to missed deliveries, days of off work, missed client meetings and more to essentially project manage this myself and to accommodate deliveries and fitters that never turn up and are never communicated as not coming.

Other major works have been held up and delayed and caused an unbelievable amount of issues.

I currently have no working sink, no fridge or freezer due to electrical goods paid for still being missing and delayed for months. After escalating this multiple times, a rusty fridge full of rusty nails and layers of mold was delivered as a "resolution".

To summarise, deliveries missed, fittings done completely incorrectly without being checked, months and months of delays on every aspect from lighting to units to electrical goods which have all been paid for in full.

I even double paid thousands of pounds for items which I had to battle for weeks to get a refund on.

I would strongly advise that you use another more reputable provider who can deliver.

I hate to have to go down this route, but as it stands it would seem my only option is to seek my funds back via a legal route as this is now ongoing for months and I still have nothing to show for it and nothing I have paid for.

Avoid at all costs, as unfortunate as it is.

I had extremely high hopes and was very excited for my first home, which to be frank has been completely ruined.

I wish things had been different but with a leadership team who cannot keep to their word, or offer any form or resolution let alone anything paid for in full it puts customers in an extremely awful and unfair situation which causes enormous disruption.

Absolutely shocking.
The very worst experience I can imagine ; After spending over £100,000
The design process was great, but there it stopped.
I put my order and deposit in over five months before I needed the kitchen fitted, as I was determined not to face delay issues and would be way ahead of schedule.
It is now almost three months after my installation date and I am still camping in the hallway.
Only half of the units are here. No worktop. No appliances.
It has also been very difficult to contact anyone and there have been no decent explanations.
This is way beyond blaming Brexit or suppliers. This is a company who think they can just ride on their name whilst reducing customer care and quality.
The fitting so far is not great. There are some seams that are unacceptable.
All the units are sitting on blocks of wood as the legs aren't long enough. In my desperation, I allowed them to convince me that this was ok??
Pathetic. They have had over £100,000 of my money during the last 8 months and I have nothing to show for it.

It has now been some 3 months since the Smallbone's Team completed our new kitchen complex which was a significant project. As the kitchen is openly acknowledged as being the most important room in anyone's house, I am pleased to state, since completion, there is not a day gone by where we haven't marveled at the result achieved. What was promised by Smallbone was delivered in drones. Craftsmanship, user friendly ergonomics and exemplary finish with the all important WOW Factor. They delivered as promised the Smallbone's experience - on time, despite the frustrations of the CV-19 crisis. Very many thanks to everyone involved.

We can not praise Smallbone enough. We initially placed a deposit on a kitchen for a project that did not proceed. The company subsequently went into liquidation, that resulted in new owners. The new owners could well have walked away from honouring our deposit, but they did not. Our kitchen was installed nearly a year ago. The process, from initial design through to installation, was well managed and the installation team highly skilled, as you would probably expect. Snagging issues were addressed efficiently and without question. We are now enjoying our amazing kitchen.