Grovedale Kitchens

Grovedale Kitchens - good product but NO Customer Care! – We had our old kitchen ripped out, and a new kitchen installed. A new dishwasher was included in the new kitchen. Grovedale Kitchens (GK) said they would provide an elevated floor to raise the dishwasher from the slab level to the floor tile level. They failed to supply and install this item. This meant the plumber had no choice but to install the dishwasher on an uneven surface.

We also arranged to have a floating floor installed over the existing tiles. When the flooring installer came to the dishwasher, he noticed that the plumber installed the dishwasher into the cavity without the elevated flooring piece installed. While removing the dishwasher (with its back feet extended) he caused a chip to occur on the underside edge of the kitchen benchtop. This is where all the problems began.

The GK salesman/manager deflected all responsibility for this chip to the flooring guy. His attitude became so arrogant and offensive that I advised GK that I would no longer speak with him or allow him in our home. The business owner arrived to view the chip and to negotiate my demand that they pay the $225 I had paid to have the chip repaired. His initial view was that it was not GK's responsibility. I argued it was. He eventually gave in, and I received my refund.

The next issue was that when GK installed the underside panel of the cupboard shelf, the installer pushed a screw through the outer surface of the panel and then placed a sticky "dot" over the hole to hide his mistake. He failed to advise me or GK that this had occurred. Although the panel was eventually replaced, it demonstrates the poor quality workmanship that GK is willing to pass off - together with rejection of any blame for their failure to supply and install the dishwasher flooring they were contracted to provide.

In all fairness though, the old kitchen was removed and the new one installed and WAS OPERATIONAL within 32 hours. This was AMAZING!

The backsplash tiling and plastering over the top was all that was needed to complete the job. We were very happy with this result. Overall, we are very happy with the kitchen - but our joy is tempered by the bullying over the dishwasher 'chip' and of GK's failure to accept any blame for the problem they had caused. Given that GK offers a $1,000 premium to arrange the various tradies (i.e. plumber, electrician, tiler and plasterer) for them to arrive on time and finish the install (and to manage any issues that arise) this didn't happen as expected with the plasterer and the plumber.

SUGGESTION: If you are NOT OKAY in a bullying environment where money is the issue, avoid GK as they can become obstinate. Alternatively, if you can handle a somewhat 'headstrong' environment if your job encounters a problem, GK can still provide a top quality kitchen in a short time.