Walk-in-wardrobe: What A Terrible Experience!

[Tanis 0]

Anyone out there looking to install a walk in wardrobe, we’d just like to caution you if you happen to check out Aussie Closet (“AC”).

Our experience with them was anything but satisfactory.

Background:

1. At the first meeting, we provided the floor plan and based on the floor plan, it was estimated that the wardrobe space would be 6 ft each on two sides of the bedroom walls.

2. The price quoted was based on this estimated measurement. As the price was acceptable, we placed a 50% deposit.

3. Subsequently, there was no contact from the AC folks. In fact, we had to call them up to check on the status as the AC designer was supposed to come up with the drawing for the wardrobe system and show us the specifications.

4. After reviewing the drawing, we had our queries /what we wanted noted down on the drawing itself. We then faxed the drawing back to them.

5. During the on-site visit where the AC folks came down to take the exact measurements, we discovered that one of the walls do not run straight all the way but had a recessed area halfway. (This resulted in more wood required to extend the depth of the wardrobe in order to cover the recessed area. More wood = more cost. But the AC folks did not communicate this to us during their on-site visit).

6. During installation of the closet, the AC folks totally forgot that they had to extend the depth of the wardrobe for one of the walls to cover the recessed area. As a result, installation was half complete and they had to come back another day to install the remainder.

7. When we checked the closet subsequent to installation, we noted that the closet was not according to our specifications at all. What we had reviewed in the drawing and subsequently faxed back to the AC folks was not taken into account at all.

Issues:

Issue 1: The height of the wardrobe was much shorter than expected. When we asked why, the answers that we received were “This is standard”, “It’s to allow you space at the top to put your luggage.”, “We cannot install it too high as it would then not be at a comfortable height to reach for your clothes.”

Issue 2: The final length of the closet on the wall that was nearest the door was shorter than the agreed measurement taken when the AC folks came on-site. Reason given – Since this is a walk in wardrobe, according to industry practice, the wardrobe on the wall that is nearer the open walkway / door will not be installed right to the edge of the wall in case the wall is not straight.

All right, makes sense. But when we asked why the length for the wardrobe for the other wall was not done right up where we agreed it would be (which was adjoining another cupboard), the reason given was that it’s to allow room for dismantling and also in case we wanted to build a door. Again, at no such time did we say that we were going to build any door for the walk in wardrobe or tell them that we wanted to have that allowance!!!!

Issue 3: The closet was designed to enable us to have both top and bottom hanging spaces. For the top hanging, the shirts were touching the shelf that partitioned the top hanging from the lower hanging. Again, when we asked why this is so, answer was that “This is standard”, “No choice.”,“We cannot install it too high as it would then not be at a comfortable height to reach for your clothes.” How can this be? It cannot be that only our shirts are longer than the general population’s! All right – never mind.

Issue 4: For the bottom hanging, we could not even hang any shirts at all as they were sweeping the floor. According to the Closet folks, if we hang pants then it’s okay. Not everyone hangs pants, by the way. So why did they assume that we were only going to hang pants? Okay – never mind too.

Issue 5: One of the drawers was not installed properly. It was stiff and was not smooth to open/close.

Resolution? What resolution??!!

They came on-site after we noted Issues 1-5 and asked them about it. Neither of the 2 who came down realized that one of the drawers was not installed properly until we pointed out to them that the drawer tracks was different as compared to the other drawers. Initially, the boss tried to brush it off by saying that it just needed oiling. So since they did not bring anything with them, they had to make another appointment to come back and fix the drawer.

Since we were still not satisfied with the explanations given for Issue 1-4, we told the boss that we wanted a discount from the original agreed price. First of all, the wardrobe was not in accordance with our specifications. Second, the original quotation was for 12 ft of wardrobe. The final length of the wardrobe was about 4.5 ft each wall only. The boss refused and only wanted to give us S$50 discount.

We told him this was unacceptable. That’s when all the crazy reasons came out.

a. We did not charge you when we had to come down a second time to finish installation of the wardrobe.

Note: They had already taken the wardrobe measurements when they came on site. The fact that they forgot to take into account the recess area subsequently when making the wardrobe was their own mistake. So why say that they were nice enough not to charge us for coming down a second time to finish the installation?

b. We had to use more wood to extend the depth of the wardrobe to cover the recessed area of the wall. When we came to measure, we already knew this was going to cost more but we did not charge you.

Note: Why did they not tell us that because of the recessed area in the wall, the wardrobe could potentially cost us more but out of goodwill, they are not going to charge us? Why only bring this up when we were obviously not satisfied with the end results and wanted a discount? Shouldn’t they be open about such things right from the start? If they made a decision then to absorb the additional costs and not inform the customer, should this even be brought up later on?

What about the final length of the wardrobe? It was much shorter than the original 6 feet and 6 feet that we ordered. So even if they used additional wood for the recessed area, wouldn’t the shorter length of the wardrobe offset this? In fact, even after taking the 2 feet into account, he still owed us some 4 ft of wood!

c. You have to take into account our labour charge as well. For example, we come down to fix the drawer today, these are all costs that you must consider.

Note: Shouldn’t they have taken into account all their necessary costs when pricing their products? Should the customer then have to bear their mistake of pricing their products wrongly? And if they make a mistake in installing their products, should they then tell their customer that they are already not charging us even though they have to make a trip down and it’s out of the way? Shouldn’t this be part of good customer service? If they installed wrongly, they should come and make it right at no cost to the customer!

d. You don’t haggle over S$50.

Note: They can also don’t haggle over S$50 and out of goodwill, give even more discount for the unsatisfactory work.

We were so tempted to just tell the boss - Please dismantle your so-called customized walk in wardrobe system, take it all back and return us the deposit we paid. No doubt we are no businessmen but then we are not naive either!

Without a doubt, this has to be the most unsatisfactory purchase we had ever made!!

Edited August 1, 2007 by Tanis

[Mousehunt 0]

Oh dear...... So sorry to hear that. I hope my contractor is good. My first closet contractor is good but they close their business in Singapore. Now I have engage another.

I hope for the best......

[applefreak 1]

dear dear that's so traumatising

and the boss is

definitely will not give them any business

thanks for sharing with us your experience, that helps us avoid a similar experience

[Mousehunt 0]

BTW, did you pay the balance for the wardrobe?

[shmj 0]

Thanks for sharing your experience with us!

Can also share how much you paid for the wardrobe?

[Tanis 0]

The experience was just too terrible we felt that we had to share it with the rest of the community so that everyone will be forewarned. No point for someone else to go through such unnecessary pain.

The price that was quoted to us at the first meeting was S$1,550. I'm not sure if that is very high or very low but we bargained for it. The very first price he offered was around S$1,700, S$1,800 or so.

Believe it or not when they came to fix the drawer, the boss did not even remember how much the quote was and how much deposit we had paid... What is this??????

And yes, we paid the balance less the discount that we argued for. Sigh.... My husband's colleague told him the next day that we should not have paid the balance but insisted that they made things right to our specifications before paying the balance.

It's okay lah.. never mind.. at least now we do not have to deal with this guy and his company anymore.

And guess what.. I went to the website to kaypoh, check out the closet picture again... the lower hanging space CAN be used to hang SHIRTS!!! Really total utter rubbish.... I have nothing else to say...

Sigh....

[applefreak 1]

it's an expensive lesson but at least the rest of us are forewarned

dun think this company can survive long with this kind of attitude

[l_club23 0]

The experience was just too terrible we felt that we had to share it with the rest of the community so that everyone will be forewarned. No point for someone else to go through such unnecessary pain.

The price that was quoted to us at the first meeting was S$1,550. I'm not sure if that is very high or very low but we bargained for it. The very first price he offered was around S$1,700, S$1,800 or so.

Believe it or not when they came to fix the drawer, the boss did not even remember how much the quote was and how much deposit we had paid... What is this??????

And yes, we paid the balance less the discount that we argued for. Sigh.... My husband's colleague told him the next day that we should not have paid the balance but insisted that they made things right to our specifications before paying the balance.

It's okay lah.. never mind.. at least now we do not have to deal with this guy and his company anymore.

And guess what.. I went to the website to kaypoh, check out the closet picture again... the lower hanging space CAN be used to hang SHIRTS!!! Really total utter rubbish.... I have nothing else to say...

Sigh....

Ooops... sorry to hear it turned out so bad...

Edited August 1, 2007 by l_club23

[expatswife 0]

i'm living in our matrimonial apartment designed with love by my other half. but e quality leaves much to be desired & i am waiting for e carpenters to install e interiors of my wardrobe as per my design- e only thing that he lets me design as it's a very personal space. i was appaled to find a bar & shelf missing plus dividers inserted into e top drawer whn i wanted 4mini drawers! we moved in 2 weeks ago & i've still not unpacked. mind u, we've 2 infants in e house!

whatever customised or "pret-a-porter" item u ordered & paid for, demand for what u want. do not give them e liberty to spoil e design of ur home that u've considered to meet ur comfort.

tanis, hats off to u for standing ur ground!

[denoria 0]

I concur that Aussie Closet left an unpleasant taste in my mouth as well. Thanks Tanis for giving me the chance to ride on this post and write about them.

Their quotation was utterly unreasonable. The kind you won't even need to pay with establised designers.

As we were inexperienced, we had them work out a quote for us for all the carpentry in the house. We almost signed with them even then, but luckily we decided to source around at the last minute as we weren't sure they have the best designs around. They boasted about how high grade their materials were and being novices I admit we were taken in.

Imagine our surprises when we talk to other agencies and discovered our folly. To put it bluntly there is also nothing to shout about with regards to their designs. So lucky that we have nothing to do with them.

Anyone out there looking to install a walk in wardrobe, we’d just like to caution you if you happen to check out Aussie Closet (“AC”).

Our experience with them was anything but satisfactory.

Background:

1. At the first meeting, we provided the floor plan and based on the floor plan, it was estimated that the wardrobe space would be 6 ft each on two sides of the bedroom walls.

2. The price quoted was based on this estimated measurement. As the price was acceptable, we placed a 50% deposit.

3. Subsequently, there was no contact from the AC folks. In fact, we had to call them up to check on the status as the AC designer was supposed to come up with the drawing for the wardrobe system and show us the specifications.

4. After reviewing the drawing, we had our queries /what we wanted noted down on the drawing itself. We then faxed the drawing back to them.

5. During the on-site visit where the AC folks came down to take the exact measurements, we discovered that one of the walls do not run straight all the way but had a recessed area halfway. (This resulted in more wood required to extend the depth of the wardrobe in order to cover the recessed area. More wood = more cost. But the AC folks did not communicate this to us during their on-site visit).

6. During installation of the closet, the AC folks totally forgot that they had to extend the depth of the wardrobe for one of the walls to cover the recessed area. As a result, installation was half complete and they had to come back another day to install the remainder.

7. When we checked the closet subsequent to installation, we noted that the closet was not according to our specifications at all. What we had reviewed in the drawing and subsequently faxed back to the AC folks was not taken into account at all.

Issues:

Issue 1: The height of the wardrobe was much shorter than expected. When we asked why, the answers that we received were “This is standard”, “It’s to allow you space at the top to put your luggage.”, “We cannot install it too high as it would then not be at a comfortable height to reach for your clothes.”

Issue 2: The final length of the closet on the wall that was nearest the door was shorter than the agreed measurement taken when the AC folks came on-site. Reason given – Since this is a walk in wardrobe, according to industry practice, the wardrobe on the wall that is nearer the open walkway / door will not be installed right to the edge of the wall in case the wall is not straight.

All right, makes sense. But when we asked why the length for the wardrobe for the other wall was not done right up where we agreed it would be (which was adjoining another cupboard), the reason given was that it’s to allow room for dismantling and also in case we wanted to build a door. Again, at no such time did we say that we were going to build any door for the walk in wardrobe or tell them that we wanted to have that allowance!!

Issue 3: The closet was designed to enable us to have both top and bottom hanging spaces. For the top hanging, the shirts were touching the shelf that partitioned the top hanging from the lower hanging. Again, when we asked why this is so, answer was that “This is standard”, “No choice.”,“We cannot install it too high as it would then not be at a comfortable height to reach for your clothes.” How can this be? It cannot be that only our shirts are longer than the general population’s! All right – never mind.

Issue 4: For the bottom hanging, we could not even hang any shirts at all as they were sweeping the floor. According to the Closet folks, if we hang pants then it’s okay. Not everyone hangs pants, by the way. So why did they assume that we were only going to hang pants? Okay – never mind too.

Issue 5: One of the drawers was not installed properly. It was stiff and was not smooth to open/close.

Resolution? What resolution??

They came on-site after we noted Issues 1-5 and asked them about it. Neither of the 2 who came down realized that one of the drawers was not installed properly until we pointed out to them that the drawer tracks was different as compared to the other drawers. Initially, the boss tried to brush it off by saying that it just needed oiling. So since they did not bring anything with them, they had to make another appointment to come back and fix the drawer.

Since we were still not satisfied with the explanations given for Issue 1-4, we told the boss that we wanted a discount from the original agreed price. First of all, the wardrobe was not in accordance with our specifications. Second, the original quotation was for 12 ft of wardrobe. The final length of the wardrobe was about 4.5 ft each wall only. The boss refused and only wanted to give us S$50 discount.

We told him this was unacceptable. That’s when all the crazy reasons came out.

a. We did not charge you when we had to come down a second time to finish installation of the wardrobe.

Note: They had already taken the wardrobe measurements when they came on site. The fact that they forgot to take into account the recess area subsequently when making the wardrobe was their own mistake. So why say that they were nice enough not to charge us for coming down a second time to finish the installation?

b. We had to use more wood to extend the depth of the wardrobe to cover the recessed area of the wall. When we came to measure, we already knew this was going to cost more but we did not charge you.

Note: Why did they not tell us that because of the recessed area in the wall, the wardrobe could potentially cost us more but out of goodwill, they are not going to charge us? Why only bring this up when we were obviously not satisfied with the end results and wanted a discount? Shouldn’t they be open about such things right from the start? If they made a decision then to absorb the additional costs and not inform the customer, should this even be brought up later on?

What about the final length of the wardrobe? It was much shorter than the original 6 feet and 6 feet that we ordered. So even if they used additional wood for the recessed area, wouldn’t the shorter length of the wardrobe offset this? In fact, even after taking the 2 feet into account, he still owed us some 4 ft of wood!

c. You have to take into account our labour charge as well. For example, we come down to fix the drawer today, these are all costs that you must consider.

Note: Shouldn’t they have taken into account all their necessary costs when pricing their products? Should the customer then have to bear their mistake of pricing their products wrongly? And if they make a mistake in installing their products, should they then tell their customer that they are already not charging us even though they have to make a trip down and it’s out of the way? Shouldn’t this be part of good customer service? If they installed wrongly, they should come and make it right at no cost to the customer!

d. You don’t haggle over S$50.

Note: They can also don’t haggle over S$50 and out of goodwill, give even more discount for the unsatisfactory work.

We were so tempted to just tell the boss - Please dismantle your so-called customized walk in wardrobe system, take it all back and return us the deposit we paid. No doubt we are no businessmen but then we are not naive either!

Without a doubt, this has to be the most unsatisfactory purchase we had ever made!!

Edited September 26, 2007 by denoria

[GnM 0]

hmm... even with the payments already made, take pictures and send it to STOMP or something to let the rest know who lousy their service is.

I understand the frustrations that come with paying lots of money for unsatisfactory work that you have to live with for a long time to come.