Talk to me about Wren kitchens
Discussion
QuantumTokoloshi said:
They only supply and do not fit, which is where your issues are.
Be carefully with their recommended fitters, cowboys is understating it.
Once they put the kitchen into production, they have you over a barrel, and the fitters know it, so they delay until then with "we can price that once the project starts" and then things get very expensive, very quickly, with you having no kitchen, massive storage costs and the fitter milking it for everything it is worth. Extreme caution. We barely escaped without being burnt.
Just clarified that it is painted doors for our orders. We're fully aware that we're buying a pile of wood and some appliances - we're using our own fitter and will be stripping the room back, ceiling down, floor up, electrics and network being done - all of that is additional to the cost of the units, worktops and so on, so we know that there's no hidden surprises on that front. I'm chatting to my fitter later - as I say, he's already done the "If it's what you really want then ok but let me price it up with Howdens and Benchmarx first" which we're very much open to. Be carefully with their recommended fitters, cowboys is understating it.
Once they put the kitchen into production, they have you over a barrel, and the fitters know it, so they delay until then with "we can price that once the project starts" and then things get very expensive, very quickly, with you having no kitchen, massive storage costs and the fitter milking it for everything it is worth. Extreme caution. We barely escaped without being burnt.
mrmistoffelees said:
Just clarified that it is painted doors for our orders.
Just making sure you didn't miss my earlier post:"Painted doors from Wren also suffer problems; the j-pull doors in particular are prone to chipping and flaking.
The ‘pacrylic’ doors are also notorious for fading."
The advice above, to 'proceed with extreme caution', is good.
FWIW said:
Just making sure you didn't miss my earlier post:
"Painted doors from Wren also suffer problems; the j-pull doors in particular are prone to chipping and flaking.
The ‘pacrylic’ doors are also notorious for fading."
The advice above, to 'proceed with extreme caution', is good.
Apologies, I had missed that. Thanks for the advice. Going to see what Howdens and Benchmarx come up with and go from there. The handleless issue is proving more of an issue than I hoped it would. "Painted doors from Wren also suffer problems; the j-pull doors in particular are prone to chipping and flaking.
The ‘pacrylic’ doors are also notorious for fading."
The advice above, to 'proceed with extreme caution', is good.
No experience of Wren but I've had 3 Wickes kitchens and they have been excellent. No hard sell, prices on a par with similar products, quality fittings, solid 18mm back panels - which makes the whole unit more solid. I never had any delivery problems or damage or missing parts. Bear in mind that they are flat pack so factor that in. I was told that Benchmarx are the same but are fully assembled, I don't know if that's true.
I did look at Howdens but I lost patience with their smoke and mirrors pricing bulls
t. They also have flimsy hardboard back panels.
I did look at Howdens but I lost patience with their smoke and mirrors pricing bulls
t. They also have flimsy hardboard back panels.
mrmistoffelees said:
Apologies, I had missed that. Thanks for the advice. Going to see what Howdens and Benchmarx come up with and go from there. The handleless issue is proving more of an issue than I hoped it would.
No problem. If you want to message me I’ll send you a copy of the Expert Report on my Wren kitchen that was commissioned by the Furniture Ombudsman. OP, don't know if anyone has shared the Which! reviews but Wren consistently score in the bottom 5 of reviews alongside B&Q which is totally different price point
This is also a very good comparison video to watch
https://youtu.be/DkNmhyEFX5U?si=_k5eKAAe1Ukwdr-y
.
This is also a very good comparison video to watch
https://youtu.be/DkNmhyEFX5U?si=_k5eKAAe1Ukwdr-y
.
Edited by Lagom on Tuesday 26th March 21:08
itsallyellow said:
The nice one certainly doesn't look like a cheap kitchen, Were living in the house and its working very nicely and seems well built
Forgive me for being nosy, but is that a ground-up new-build or an internal re-model of an existing church or similar?It's a beautiful central space - just curious whether that was dictated by the existing structure/envelope or if a design choice from scratch.
OzzyR1 said:
itsallyellow said:
The nice one certainly doesn't look like a cheap kitchen, Were living in the house and its working very nicely and seems well built
Forgive me for being nosy, but is that a ground-up new-build or an internal re-model of an existing church or similar?It's a beautiful central space - just curious whether that was dictated by the existing structure/envelope or if a design choice from scratch.
2 years in, very pleased with our Wren Kitchen
Any problems resolved seamlessly (eg a door missing upon delivery, they told us, arrived a couple of days later as stated)
A year in, dinged a door A quick call to customer services, door easily identified from our record, duly arrived in a few days.
Great kitchen & service.
A few unlucky people in here who have a grudge to bear
Pop up whenever Wren is mentioned.
Any problems resolved seamlessly (eg a door missing upon delivery, they told us, arrived a couple of days later as stated)
A year in, dinged a door A quick call to customer services, door easily identified from our record, duly arrived in a few days.
Great kitchen & service.
A few unlucky people in here who have a grudge to bear
Pop up whenever Wren is mentioned.
James6112 said:
2 years in, very pleased with our Wren Kitchen
Any problems resolved seamlessly (eg a door missing upon delivery, they told us, arrived a couple of days later as stated)
A year in, dinged a door A quick call to customer services, door easily identified from our record, duly arrived in a few days.
Great kitchen & service.
A few unlucky people in here who have a grudge to bear
Pop up whenever Wren is mentioned.
Great that it has worked for you, however their reputation isn’t based on a few people with a grudge, but the sheer number of people who have had issues…Any problems resolved seamlessly (eg a door missing upon delivery, they told us, arrived a couple of days later as stated)
A year in, dinged a door A quick call to customer services, door easily identified from our record, duly arrived in a few days.
Great kitchen & service.
A few unlucky people in here who have a grudge to bear
Pop up whenever Wren is mentioned.
Any company with a pricing policy of ‘let’s see how much we can charge the customer’ already has the potential to not be a customer-centric business…
Companies that then so often turn to their terms and conditions to avoid sorting out issues perhaps increase that non-customer-centric approach…
When we were looking we went into the wren showroom near us to look simply at layouts and spacing etc - the hard sell from 8 different members of staff was impressive - less impressive was that not a single one listened to what we were saying!
The difference dealing with DIY Kitchens was night and day - no pressured sales tactics, transparent pricing available on their website for everyone to see, help whenever you needed it and Yorkshire tea and flapjack in the showroom / on delivery was of course the primary reason for purchase
No grudge or otherwise just a reasoned conclusion after exposure to both companies
Edited by akirk on Friday 29th March 11:29
gangzoom said:
OzzyR1 said:
itsallyellow said:
The nice one certainly doesn't look like a cheap kitchen, Were living in the house and its working very nicely and seems well built
Forgive me for being nosy, but is that a ground-up new-build or an internal re-model of an existing church or similar?It's a beautiful central space - just curious whether that was dictated by the existing structure/envelope or if a design choice from scratch.
Sporky said:
FWIW said:
James6112 said:
A few unlucky people in here who have a grudge to bear
Why the winking emoji? Mention Wren.
The usual suspects turn up.
Bearing some kind of grudge, as a few do.
Some often serve a ban, forum rules.
A tad obsessive ..
The other 99% are very happy.
I wonder why builders push Howdens!!
James6112 said:
For What It’s Worth.
Mention Wren.
The usual suspects turn up.
Bearing some kind of grudge, as a few do.
Some often serve a ban, forum rules.
A tad obsessive ..
The other 99% are very happy.
I wonder why builders push Howdens!!
What does that even mean? You have a chub for Wren?Mention Wren.
The usual suspects turn up.
Bearing some kind of grudge, as a few do.
Some often serve a ban, forum rules.
A tad obsessive ..
The other 99% are very happy.
I wonder why builders push Howdens!!
James6112 said:
For What It’s Worth.
Mention Wren.
The usual suspects turn up.
Bearing some kind of grudge, as a few do.
Some often serve a ban, forum rules.
A tad obsessive ..
The other 99% are very happy.
I wonder why builders push Howdens!!
In other words having experience of something and an opinion of something on a discussion forum. Mention Wren.
The usual suspects turn up.
Bearing some kind of grudge, as a few do.
Some often serve a ban, forum rules.
A tad obsessive ..
The other 99% are very happy.
I wonder why builders push Howdens!!
Some seem happy, others not.
You don't appear to like a difference of opinion.
Obsessive?
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