Kinsman Kitchens Reviews 419

Poor service is an understatement. We have been trying to get a sample of the doors since October of last year. We were told its a supplier problem but 'if we looked at x product for the finish and y product for the colour' that would be what we got. That logically made us ask whether there are material delays (as they cant provide a single door). We have also said that we need to see a product sample before we sign off. They still have not provided a product sample in the colour that we want.

We went to their store in Artarmon multiple times to try and see if they had stock so we could proceed and the staff there were helpful and understood that its highly risky to sign off on tens of thousands of dollars worth of product without seeing it. Their promises to deal with the Sales manager never happened and we got no feedback.

We have written to and phoned their company and sales manager and designer who have not had the courtesy to respond on our concerns. The only thing that they were good at was securing an extra $500 to keep things going.

Unbelievably frustrating from a company that sells itself as a trustworthy entity.

Department of Fair Trading looks like next step.

Kinsman has delayed our kitchen multiples times. The installer did a site measurement, measured our microwave and then omitted it from his drawing. The CAD person also omitted it. We caught the blunder. That caused a two week delay. I repeatedly asked for our order to be pushed ahead in the production queue but they refused. Then we had another delay, for 1.5 weeks, due to the installer's schedule. He had previously agreed to the schedule, then he decided he was too busy. Those delays pushed us into the flood issues. Five weeks later and our kitchen was installed yesterday. Next problem: the oven does not fit (they had specifications). Next week, the QA person will call me to let me know when he can have a look at it. No word on when the defect will be fixed! We are unhappy, especially with their poor customer service.

It would appear by other comments that our situation is not uncommon. Over promised on a delivery date that they could not meet. Other joiners who priced the works were honest saying their lead times were long given the current climate. We were told Kinsman's buying power is superior and that they have better lead times. This unfortunately was not true nor was it honoured in the agreement. Kinsman were 30% more expensive than other joiners (even with your supposed 25% off cabinetry deal they advertise), but we believed they would deliver in time (mid-December and before Christmas) and timing was a key criteria to us. Worst yet, they deliver the product late and on the same day of delivery notify us that they did not complete the manufacturing. Our delivery was on 13 January and we are still waiting for the rest of our delivery which, after us having to follow up multiple times and escalate to management, was advised to be at the end of February - 1.5months later than an already late delivery. We have dealt with probably 10 different people from this group, so you have no ownership nor anyone taking responsibility for your project or the poor quality outcome. They fail to communicate at all. Would not bother with this company if you are considering them for your project.

WARNING!
Lengthy delays and items missing from delivery. Kinsman themselves were unaware of what had been delivered. We ended up having to bypass Kinsman and speak direct with their supplier to get the full kitchen delivered. 1-year later and the front panes are delaminating. Kinsman refusing to replace under warranty claiming its "normal wear and tear". ABSOLUTE DISASTER!

Forewarned is forearmed - went in store to book an in home consultation for a large built in general storage space, office and laundry.
First alarm bell - talking to the consultant who kept referring to a wardrobe consultation.
Second alarm bell - we’d need two seperate design assessments for the three spaces.
Third alarm bell - the aggressive deposit and payment terms. 10% deposit post consultation and pre concept design, progress payment prior to final design and full payment prior to on-site delivery.
Fourth alarm bell - full payment prior to delivery means no skin in the game to ensure quality, on time, as designed installation and little motivation to rectify defects.
At this point I’m questioning our decision, so thought I check out some customer reviews.
Thanks goodness! So many unhappy customers and many with feedback similar to the above points. Thanks for the heads up.
We’ve cancelled our consultation.

I paid a deposit for 3 x wardrobes in November and my installation date is March. Kinsman obviously overcommitted and is unable to deliver their product on an acceptable timeline. Incredibly frustrating and unacceptable for a national brand. They need to look into their business structure and operational capacity.

My experience tells me this company has overcommitted their sales since their exposure on the Block program. They were unable to meet their contractual timeframes, ran weeks overdue, did not provide answers to projected timelines to the point I cancelled my order. They do not have enough people to do wardrobe and kitchen installation so customers are left waiting for weeks/months and then told they have to meet suggested times of availability. (7am weekends) My view would be to suggest they knock back work rather than leave potential future customers never wanting to use them again. I believe they use the same installers as Freedom so the same issue is occurring.

Kinsman give the impression they will provide you a stress free experience for whatever service they provide.

Our journey with Kinsman started off great. The designer helped create our desired kitchen and we proceeded with progress payment. Although we made payment, it was not know to us at the time, the designer had placed our pullout bin under the sink, although we had provisioned for a dedicated cabinet to house the pullout bin next to the sink. On their contracted drawings, they provide you a 3D illustration of the layout, but with part numbers watermarked over the 3D drawing. The text of the part numbers cross over into other cabinet sections, so it's not clear what goes where. Kinsman provided us an oversized bin that doesn't fit in the dedicated bin cabinet, and getting hold of kinsman to exchange the bin for a smaller has been impossible.

They don't give a damn once they have your money. And a small request to exchange our oversized bin for a smaller one, they can't do - they won't call back and they're always on their lunch break - I've called randomly between 11am and 4pm.

Good luck if you're considering Kisman!

The kitchen designer was not a designer and did not help us to work out the best layout for our new kitchen. They designed a whole kitchen without a space for a bin and left areas of dead space that we then had to look for a solution to with the builder/installer.
We had issues with the installer and plaster and had to complain - which was never properly resolved.
After the installation, we continued to have issues and the quality of the laminate on the panels is of poor quality and Kinsman has blamed general wear and tear instead of honouring the 7 year warranty on their product.
It was very difficult to get anyone on the phone and after complaining that the resoultion provided was not good enough there has been no further contact.
I would NOT recommend this company to anyone!

I recently built a house, and after watching the block show, I decided to approach Kinsman for the entire house design with home office, Walk-in robes, Wardrobes, Laundry etc. I requested a quote and appointment on 2 Nov 2021. So far, they have rescheduled three times the initially booked appointment and still no quote. Unreliable and felt like they had no respect for time.

I dont have a lead number generally i get the calls from Thornbury Kinsman store, and my contact number 0437 437 347

My experience is much like the other reviews. Things started off amazing, our designer was fantastic and promised us the world. She designed a functional and wonderful kitchen, told us Kinsman handle EVERYTHING, they make the cabinets, demolish and dispose of our old kitchen, organise trades for us, basically all we ned to do is approve the designs and enjoy our kitchen! We didn't have to lift a finger essentially. It is so disappointing to learn that she was just a great sales person, as this has no been our experience AT ALL!

First - the CAD drawings approval process was drawn out, delays in getting back to us and basically took 2 months to finally approve which meat we missed the window for early install. The portal also broke during this time so even if we were contacted within a reasonable amount of time, we would still miss the deadline.

Next - Our "Installer” was meant to organise trades. He did not. He was meant to come and install on the 24th. He did not. When contacted to see if he as coming, he said he didn't care and to take him to court. When we contact Kinsman and FINALLY get through to them via the phone (dont even bother with the portal, no one reads it) they were helpful to a point. They were apologetic and promised he would come. He did not. Because of this we lost all the other trades appointments set up relying on the instal to be on the agreed date. This meant we were not going to have a kitchen for 2 months. we had to organise our own installers, who were more expensive, our own trades who were more expensive.

Last - They didn't send all the parts for our under-bench lighting, which to be fair they expedited to us via an Uber on the same day, however they had the balls to address it to "complaining customer". We also received a cabinet that was damaged which they have yet to replace.

Pros of Kinsman: their cabinets were great and it was easy to install (once we organised our own installer and trades)... that is it unfortunately.

Product = 4/5 we received a damaged cabinet
Customer service = 1/5
Communication = 0.01/5

It is unfortunate as 2 other houses in our street and a coworker were going to use Kinsman after ours was installed, they will not now after hearing our experience.

Over five weeks after taking delivery of my new cabinets (which of course was paid for in full beforehand), I’m still waiting for the job to be completed. Missing doors and handles, gaps under the oven, misaligned doors - my dream kitchen is a nightmare. Twice the installer has had to order parts and each time it takes another 3 weeks. I’ve tried raising a dispute with them and they refused. Customer service is non-existent once you’ve paid up. They also conveniently distance themselves from the installer that THEY recommend. Said I could use my own tradie for the rest of the work and offered $350 for costs. Pretty much buys nothing other than the tradie turning up.

The whole experience has been truly awful but they most upsetting part is that they have zero interest in resolving matters.

Do not use them.

Kinsman present beautiful concepts but when it comes down to it, choices are incredibly limited and everything is sub contracted out and therefore "not Kinsmans responsibility".
We went with Kinsman for our Kitchen remodel thinking we would be able to get something perfect for the space. In reality, everything is made in China and shipped flat pack so nothing can be custom sized and the size options they have for cupboards and drawers are super limited.
As designer is offered to help you pick and mix the fittings available however we found we still had to do most of the designing ourselves as measurements were wrong and designers didn't listen.
When it came to the actual installation, EVERYTHING is outsourced, plumbers, electricians, benches and Kinsman take no responsibility for getting things prepped for installation. They seem to have super poor communication with their subcontracters and we had a number of tradies show up unprepared, totally confused and requesting additional payment to complete the work.
All in all the kitchen looks fine but I would never use Kinsman again. From the outset it looks like they are a one stop shop for a premium kitchen design but honestly my brother had a better experience with Ikea!

One word - Run!
My experience at the beginning was great with the salesperson but steadily and quickly every other interaction with customer service declined. There was an issue that needed to be fixed and the staff were unhelpful, rude and slow to reply. I imagine when things go smoothly they are great but just unable to handle any issue that arises professionally and timely. The kitchen is nice enough but for the price and service I would look elsewhere.

The Kinsman boast, “No matter the choice, the decision is always Kinsman” After our recent experience with the Kinsman I would beg to differ for the following reasons.
1. NOT A ONE STOP SHOP
Purchasing a new kitchen is not only a significant financial commitment but also an emotional one; investing a great deal of time and energy in the process. When we chose the Kinsman as our preferred kitchen company we incorrectly assumed that they would organise and oversee fundamental aspects of the process. We were wrong to assume! Be aware from the get-go that the Kinsman do not provide:
a. Kitchen installation: The Kinsman do not include installation in their fee. You pay a separate fee to an installer and pay him/her separately at the end of installation (this was problematic as it was another process and extra person in the supply chain to deal with)
b. Benchtop check measure: Benchtops are an integral part of a kitchen but the Kinsman do not organise the check measure or installation of your Caesarstone. You will receive a message in your on-line portal and be advised to organise it yourself. I found this extremely strange as I expected a better level of customer service.

2. POOR COMMUNICATION
a. On-line portal - Customers are given a customer reference number which is used to access your customer portal. In theory this is a great idea, unfortunately it is not checked regularly and it can be days before a response is provided.
In my case, in one instance, I waited eleven days for a reply to one of my messages and when I did receive one I was told that, “We have run into some technical issues which means we have been unable to correct and generate the amended final invoice” I appreciate that technical issues happen but this issue should not affect the Kinsman’s ability to respond to a message in the portal. A simple, “Sorry Catherine we are having a few issues with invoicing and we will get back to you as soon as it is fixed” would have sufficed rather than me having to continue to put messages in the portal pleading for someone to respond to me.
b. Phone calls not returned – this happened several times.
c. Mixed messages- We were given mixed messages by the designer and site checker/installer about aspects of the job in regards to what was possible to design/include and what was not. Eg. Wine rack styles and the maximum broom cupboard width.

3. INACCURATE MEASUREMENTS- This happened with both the designer and site checker and was only picked up when I decided to enlarge the plans for our builder who was preparing the kitchen for installation. On doing this I discovered that both the kitchen bench and cooktop bench were shorter than the existing benches which we were replacing. (This issue became the biggest nightmare of our Kinsman journey and proved to be very stressful and required multiple communications to address this.
4. SIMPLISTIC PLANS – I appreciate that the Kinsman’s intellectual property needs to be protected and as a result the initial consult provides simplistic drawings and plans. However, once a 10% is paid the customer is on board and we should be entitled to the best, most accurate drawings (including the 3D ones that we only received towards the end of the process) If we had received these detailed drawings earlier then perhaps the inaccurate measurement fiasco could have been avoided.

5. ALL THAT GLITTERS IS OFTEN NOT GOLD – Don’t be taken in by the advertising pitch/ product placement seen on The Block. ( Oh and we never received our $100 Good Guys voucher that was part of the promotion at the time of signing up) Please do your research before committing to such an important investment. “No matter the choice, remember that you always have a choice and the decision should not be the Kinsman”. If I was starting this process again I would engage the services of a small local company, without all the glitz and glamour and seeming bells and whistles.

Post script: Our independent installer (not associated with the Kinsman and paid for by me) was fantastic. Over two days, he and his team did a wonderful job installing our new kitchen, butler’s pantry and laundry.

Client Reference Number: MDNDR21572

Horrible people to deal with.
Missing pieces and parts. Cabinet doors missing.
Packaging containing items different to packaging marks and numbers.
Phonelines are busy and all agents on other calls most of the time.
Left messages are unanswered.
Messages left on Kinsman Kitchen portals are left unread until followed up with phone call.
Due to missing base cabinets, sink and stove could not be installed making my home uninhabitable. Had to arrange accomodations elsewhere with additional cost.
Hopeless people. Still waiting for them to return my call and fix my problem.

The worst experience possible.

Customer service is not aligned with the amount of money spent. $20k.

Communication was great when they are attempting to get you to sign the contract.

Lack of communication through the process delayed construction by 6 weeks,

I was told a specific time and day of delivery, did not show up at the time discussed. Cost me additional money to have labour on site to receive delivery. This was dismissed as my issue when speaking to customer service.

Arrived on site damaged.

Wrong size of joinery arrived on site, delaying build time even further.

Stone supplier does not answer phone, attempted to call for 3 days. Meaning joinery cannot be assembled, causing further delays.

You could not make this experience up.

The finishes are beautiful and Geoff was amazingly helpful in making our design dreams come true!

This company has changed its name , we got our kitchen through the Good Guys when they were trading under a different name . We were made to pay the full amount for the kitchen before they would deliver and install $30,000 . The installers had several attempts at installing our $6,000 oven and could not get it sitting flush.
White sticky labels coloured with purple texter were stuck on dark wendge timber to cover screws.
They forgot about the under cupboard lighting .
The install took over 5 months once the kitchen was delivered .
I can see why they changed their name with so many previous bad reviews.

Great design and craftsmanship. My new kitchen is beautiful and it was all so fast. From design to install, my experience was fantastic.