Smallbone Avis 128

Smallbone have been the most incredible company to deal with for our new kitchen. We are beyond excited to have it fitted !!!

From the very beginning of this project William has been absolutely excellent.
His attention to detail and customer care has been exceptional.
We were very impressed with the flexibility of the design.

William was great in helping us plan and design our kitchen. His expertise and experience made a daunting task easy.
We are confident that we have come to the right place. Now moving onto the next stage - simply can't wait to complete our kitchen project with Smallbone.

We were assigned Leila as our kitchen designer, it’s always difficult putting your vision into someone’s hands, but she got it straight away. Her patience, understanding and knowledge, creativity is second to none. We’re so pleased with everything so far

What a stunning kitchen design created for us at Smallbone. A special mention to William who took us through a thoughtful and comprehensive design, where every detail was all brought to life at the showroom cinema screen. We were made to feel very welcome by the showroom staff.
Simply can't wait to complete our dream kitchen project with Smallbone.

I paid a deposit to the original Smallbone company but received nothing. The company was bought out, then went bust and was bought out of administration in Nov 2018 by the existing owners. The new owners stated publicly they would honour existing contracts but initially this was not my experience. I was referred to the administrators as they had not taken on debts and this was my experience for a very long time. However, a little while ago, I was phoned out of the blue by the Sales Director who explained that the new management realised that they needed to address the reputational damage caused and improve their customer service from the legacy position that they inherited. I gather there was to be a step change in the company in this regard forthwith. He has actually been very nice. As I had long since ceased to want what I had ordered, we agreed they would provide products to the value of the deposit which I could use to settle the issue. These are to be delivered next week. So I am not sure how to rate Smallbone actually: my dealings with the former company were awful and this continued throughout pandemic but they have changed my terrible opinion into something positive by the direct actions of their Sales Director who reached out to sort it out and has managed to sort it. Legally he had no reason to as the former company had gone bust but as they wish to use the Smallbone name and reputation then they have greatly increased their care in regard to that reputation and service in the last year. This has been my experience. So my former experience was totally rubbish; my current experience very good with the current Sales Director.

Purchasing a new kitchen was quite a big investment and something we wanted to get right, Vince and the team at Smallbone have been very easy to deal with and communicate with, nothing has been a problem and they have made sure we get what we wanted.

My designer, Vince, is knowledgeable, creative and endlessly patient in accommodating and trying out ideas and changes to the kitchen plans. My kitchen is relatively small, and Vince worked with me to create a great design which maximizes the efficiency of my space, and is beautiful and design-forward. He is also very responsive and easy to contact when needed.

I hired a Smallbone of Devizes sister company, McCarron, to do the kitchen and joinery work in my South Kensington flat. I understand that the customer service and installation crews are the same for all of the different Lux Group kitchen companies: Smallbones, Mark Wilkinson, McCarron and Brookmans.

I hired them in April 2021 and they insisted on payment in full in advance. I trusted that this ‘luxury brand’ would perform. The work was supposed to have been delivered and installed several months later, by early August 2021. I told them that I needed to move into my flat no later than September 2021. But I could not move in because Lux Group routinely failed to show up or even to answer questions about when they would show up.

They left my flat uninhabitable until sometime in November 2021, and didn’t finish their work until 2023. I wish I could insert here a picture from December 3, 2021, showing how I had to live once I did move in.

Their performance was infuriating and unacceptable. They charged a luxury brand price and provided worse than budget brand service. I have countless emails and photographs complaining and documenting those complaints. Their installation people told me over the years that other customers were suffering, too. That had to be true because another customer’s joinery was delivered to me at least once.

But don’t take my word for it. My general contractor’s complaints and Lux Group’s own representatives’ admissions speak for themselves:

5 Oct. 2021: “As we are all aware the third party joinery company [this is a reference to Lux Group] have delayed the completion date considerably, which is ongoing…. each time we organize to be onsite to complete works which can only be done in tandem with one of our subcontractors, the joinery company do not turn up.” (Email from my general contractor.) I ended up paying delay fees and rework charges (where damage was done by Lux Group) to my general contractor that Lux Group has refused to reimburse.

6 Oct. 2021: “… once again, please accept my apologies on behalf of McCarron and Co. and Smallbones. It’s not the service that you should receive from us with regard to a luxury brand”. (Voicemail from Lux Group Customer Service Manager.)

30 Nov. 2021: “I am extremely sorry for all the delays and frustrations we have caused and that you’re not able to use your home to its full potential.” (Email from Lux Group Customer Service Representative.)

3 December 2021: “I can only apologise again for the ongoing delays and all frustration caused and incorrect items were delivered today. This is clearly not acceptable, and we will fix this as soon practically possible….” (Email from Lux Group Customer Service Representative.)

7 March 2022: “Further to your email I fully appreciate my apologies appear hollow – please be assured they are not. I am embarrassed that I am unable to supply you with the information you request.” (Email from Lux Group Customer Service Manager.) Between December 2021 and March 2022, an installer’s helper came twice and accomplished virtually nothing.

15 March 2022: “Obviously the most important aspect and information that you require is when we will return and get work completed, I will do everything in my power to chase through and get you the info updates you have long been waiting for.” (Email from Lux Group Senior Installation Manager.)

2 December 2022: “plan at this time for [the installer] to return next week Wednesday07 with materials/items from factory…. Which would leave the illuminated splash back ….” (Email from Lux Group Senior Installation Manager.)

13 July 2023: “You are correct, there was an installer booked to be at the apartment yesterday, there is no reason for him to have not attended ….” (Email from Lux Group Director of Installations)

There is lots more that I would be happy to explain, but this is already long enough. This is not a company that I would ever trust again with my money, my projects, or my time.

The finished kitchen is delightful, and the attention to detail of Smallbone and their contractors has been superb. We were very pleased with the fact that after completion of the kitchen, the site was physically visited by two senior company directors (Bob & Steve) to address some minor details and inspect the work personally.
The Smallbone contractors installing and hand-painting our kitchen were second to none, and at all times were polite, professional and gave attention to even the smallest of details.
Bottom line, we would most definitely recommend Smallbone to friends and family.

I'm delighted to share my experience with Chris Hitchcock from Smallbone. From the outset, Chris exhibited utmost professionalism, infusing his remarkable creativity into designing my dream kitchen. The process, from crafting design ideas to stunning CGI images to appliance selection and stone choices, has been a seamless and enjoyable journey. Chris's dedication and expertise have truly impressed me, and I eagerly anticipate the final installation. I wholeheartedly recommend Smallbone and Chris to anyone seeking exceptional kitchen design services.

Claudine McCarthy

We talked to quite a few high end kitchen suppliers before selecting Smallbone. Thanks to exceptional design and service from William, we found that Smallbone was really in a league of its own and the choice was an easy one in the end. William has been incredibly responsive throughout not just the design but also the installation process which has been a huge help as often decisions need to be made on short notice. He has also helped with multiple design choices for the wider house which we really appreciate. The start of our project was delayed by more than a year and I was very impressed that Smallbone was happy to postpone the delivery date multiple times.

I worked with Sophie on designing my kitchen. She was very patient and took the time to understand my needs. Came up with a lovely design.
Very professional and timely response.

Very disappointing. The end result is acceptable only because of the Smallbone sub contractors. Nothing to do with Smallbone.
For a very expensive kitchen, we have an average kitchen at best. We found customer follow up and service to be atrocious to say the least, and the project ended with us feeling like we should have opted for another kitchen supplier, and that Smallbone cared little to nothing about us as a customer.
Smallbone were nowhere to be seen throughout the entire process.
Would never use them again.

We met with Jai, the Smallbone senior kitchen designer at the Knightsbridge showroom. Jai designed our dream kitchen through 3D rendered images. We approved the design and now we cannot wait to have it built and installed into our new home in Cheltenham.

Good service, all details explained well. Our suggestions were included in design and also received good advice when we mentioned something that would not work, which is what we looking for as opposed to someone just saying yes to everything we proposed.

Beautiful kitchens, great experience, would recommend!

Smallbone Designers are extremely professional and Customer Oriented! Chris and Sophie are 2 of their reps i interacted with and they were easy to work with and super friendly! Loved their wholistic approach to project design.

I had always wanted a Smallbone kitchen had been registered with them 2 years prior to buying my new home. I was very excited to arrange a meeting at the Knightsbridge showroom to see the design come to life. The meeting went pretty well although I did feel slightly intimidated by the continued request to keep calling my partner, who had work commitments and couldn’t attend. When discussed with my partner we both felt the behaviour of the staff member was not appropriate and we would need time to discuss. When we emailed rescheduling after receiving this email the nightmare began. I received continued harassment by an employee of the company whom I shall not name at this stage over the course of 2 days I received numerous calls from various numbers. All of this has left me distressed and afraid to answer my phone to anyone. What should’ve been the best experience of life has turned into the worst. I will be contacting the head office as I would not want this to happen to anyone else.

Marco arranged for us a visit by Dean to fix a drawer that got misaligned after 6 years.

Dean was fantastic fixing the issue and highly knowledgeable.

Thank you to both of you

It could not have been a better customer service experience - really mirroring the quality of the products.

Upon arrival into the showroom we were kindly greeted by Kish. He politely described the history of the firm as well as some of the features that are present in the showroom. It is abundantly clear that Kish has a great deal of passion and extensive knowledge about what is offered. The warm hospitality offered to us was highly appreciated, and we look forward to checking in again soon.