In-home sales is a business that has two fundamental problems that are extremely costly. For Kitchen Options to keep our prices below any and all of the competition and to stay the largest independent kitchen/bath refacing company in the Northeast, we must do what is necessary to counter these problems. The following is our way of keeping costs down and I hope that you understand why we have these policies. Please feel free to call our office and ask for me with any questions about the following policies.
– Ray Lentine
Why is a Kitchen Option kitchen so much less than the competition’s? First, we buy all of our building materials in bulk. We don’t buy 2 pieces of crown molding – We buy 100 pieces. We don’t buy 1 lazy Susan – We buy 25. We don’t buy 1 sink – We buy 15 of each size. We are the largest independent refacing company in the Northeast and buy more from our suppliers than any other refacing company in New England. That fact means we pay less. Where other companies buy all of the framing materials pre-cut by the door manufacturer, we cut our own from the large stock of lumber we have in our warehouse/workshop.
But more than anything that we do to cut costs, nothing saves YOU and us as much money
as having “1-Leg” and “1st Visit Discount” policies.
1-Leg: When only one person is home when we arrive we (and the entire industry) label this visit a “1-Leg.” Examples of 1 Legs: A husband without his wife, a wife without her husband, a partner without his/her partner, a widow or widower that needs one of their kids to help make decisions and the husband that refuses to climb off his lawnmower to see a presentation are all “1-Legs.” Here is how they cost us money:
1. The other person that is not home does not see the over 100 different door colors, designs and wood grain options. They are not there to choose a sink, faucet and over 250 countertop options. If additional cabinets are to be built, designs must be established. Backwalls have many many designs. The customer is looking for a price, but many of the decisions as to product are not established, making giving a quote impossible.
2. A 1-Leg does not make a major money decision without the significant other.
3. The 1-Leg can never do a demo like the sales rep. The other person never sees all of #1 above and when they arrive home and ask, “How much?” they have no idea what it is that that price would buy.
4. In our long history and selling hundreds of kitchens every year – we have never EVER sold a kitchen to a 1-Leg. They don’t call back, they don’t e-mail – they fall off the face of the earth. Seeing only one person is a waste of time for everyone. Even the person who wasn’t there loses, because he/she never has a Kitchen Options kitchen. .
Kitchen Options asks that when you make an appointment, please make sure all decision makers are available.
1st Visit Discount: This is a 15% discount given to any customer that buys their kitchen during our first visit.
1- If we need to return to a customer’s home for a second visit, we are not in some other customer’s home showing them a kitchen. During that time we are selling just one kitchen and not two.
2- If every customer needed us to return a second or third time, we would need several more sales reps, BUT even though we have more employees – we would sell far less kitchens. Quite simply, more overhead and less sales = higher costs to you.
3- We are at all of the home shows, fairs and festivals in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Southern New Hampshire. If you attended (for example) the Hyannis Home Show, you would likely live on Cape Cod. For the next week we would be seeing customers that lived on The Cape. The following week we could be seeing customers that came from the University of Rhode Island Home Show. If you call us to come back, all of the sales reps would be in Connecticut and Southern Rhode island. Geography makes it impossible to see everyone. We would come back to see you because you have decided to buy, but we would need to cancel an appointment from University of Rhode Island – again, selling one kitchen and not two.
4- If a customer buys during the first visit, we can see many more customers. If we must return a second or a third time to a customer’s home, which we would be glad to do, we would see many less customers – and we would sell far less kitchens. Therefore, we have a “1st Visit Discount.”
The “1st Visit Discount” is a policy we have had since the very beginning of our company. It was established to save us money, which in turn, saves you money not only with the 1st Visit Discount, but because our expenses are considerably cheaper. You save two ways: 1. Our Costs are lower, which means your cost is lower and 2. The 1st Visit Discount, without a doubt, is a policy you, as a customer should be ecstatic about this policy.
