Fitting a new kitchen - How

[thescruff]

I will tell you a true story why DIYers want to fit their own boxes with legs.

My mate gets a price for a new kitchen £5200.00 including VAT was the best of 3 quotes.

The spec was for Grahams units and wood doors, price to us less than a £1000.00

When asked about the labour, it was for a gang of guys the first day and one the next to put the finishing touches.

Bearing in mind this is a small kitchen we ask what constituted a gang, 2 guys was the answer.

For them thats not good at sums, thats 3 days labour at £4200.00 less VAT

Me and Him fitted it over the one weekend.

[Gadget]

A mate and myself did some work (new bathroom) for a youngish couple about 3 years ago. Shortly after we'd done the work they had a quote for a new kitchen and had the work done. My mate rang me a couple of weeks later asking how much I thought the kitchen would have cost if we had fitted it. Remembering it was a very small kitchen and what appliances were needed I said about £2,000 max, including appliances and a couple of days work for 2 men.....They paid £8,0000!

[thescruff]

Crazy money Gadget, no wonder home owners want to DIY.

[Gadget]

Scruff, what enrages me is that the guy who came out and did the estimate probably made more money than the guys that actually did the work!

[thescruff]

Yep, probably on a 20% commission £1600.00 thank you very much

[Gadget]

I just re-read my original post, and I put in an extra zero, making it eighty thousand pounds! . But I guess you all realised it should have been eight thousand pounds anyway!..

[lockie]

At the end of the day these people are prepared to pay for it. Its about clever marketing the customer feels they are getting good value.Obviously some know different but not all.
It doesn't matter how long it takes or how much they are charged they were prepared to pay it regardless.Its the phychology of customers that is in question not the price.
I put my prices up and had an increase in work which shouldnt make sense should it ?
I see other locksmiths out there charging a lot more than i do and cannot believe people pay it,yet they do.I quite often get customers who want to pay more as they percieve paying more as getting better service."Get what you pay for type thinking".

Just to prove this point i saw a report on locks and the testers gave a lock which is exactly the same as another brand a lower score.Both locks are made in the same factory and both brands are owned by the same group but they just have different labels.One brand was chubb and another union yet they scoredthe chubb higher.Anyone in the trade knows it is the same lock so how can it get a lower score ? Its all about perception and conditioned responses.

[thescruff]

Last job I did in London the kitchen was £52.000.00. ok it was all hand made and did look nice.

Units on 2 opposite walls with an island in the middle with a sink.

More money than sense.

[Telmay]

I will tell you a true story why DIYers want to fit their own boxes with legs.

My mate gets a price for a new kitchen £5200.00 including VAT was the best of 3 quotes.

The spec was for Grahams units and wood doors, price to us less than a £1000.00

When asked about the labour, it was for a gang of guys the first day and one the next to put the finishing touches.

Bearing in mind this is a small kitchen we ask what constituted a gang, 2 guys was the answer.

For them thats not good at sums, thats 3 days labour at £4200.00 less VAT

Me and Him fitted it over the one weekend.

This is not an issue of being over charged FFS - its about the skill and ability and time to install the kitchen, being savvy about getting enough quotes and picking the right one is another issue!