Hi fellow trade people

[M-Class]

Just joined, hopefully here to pick up any tips . Been fitting for about 20 years now starting out on site work but gradually went in to the private kitchens . No muddy sites or freezing houses with no windows or heating ! warm workplace and nice cuppas if your lucky . iv fitted many different manufacturer over the years , wicks howden's , gower , IKEA grr , and a few locally made manufacturers and some german kitchens  . at the moment most of my fits are from wren and am wondering if anyone here has or is working for them ? and wanted to get some feedback from you good or bad ! look forward to hearing from you - all the best - Tim..

[PJK]

Hi Tim, welcome to the forum mate. I only fit my own stuff and have never fitted a Wren. If any of the lads on here do I’m sure they’ll get back to you soon 

[Stretch]

Hi Tim, and welcome to KFF. 

Most of us here only fit our own but we'd be interested to hear of the pitfalls of fitting from companies such as Wren. We've done two, i think, and not through choice but both of them were a disaster in terms of supply issues, designer mis measurements, etc.

[PREM]

Hi Tim. 
I have fired about 6 now.   Not a big fan,  some hits out of square. Although damaged it  we ms were sent within 2 days using their www.   My son is going through the  initial stages now. 

They would be infinitely better if they used Blum

[M-Class]

hi guys , thanks for the welcomes . agree with that prem if blum were the norm for every manufacturer ! So i will just state a few things you have to have in place if your going to work for company's like wren . Everything must be in date or your account will go into suspension ie:
up to date -

Asbestos awareness course annually 
CRB or DBS check yourself and upload 
a gas engineer with the proper up to date card / id 
same for Electrician with the front & back of there id card up to date card uploaded  
2 Million in public liability insurance 

You upload these documents to a online portal - ideally you download them on your computer then upload to there web site bikbbi .

i think that's it . Your required to carry out a pre-fit measure check at the job etc , they pay 100 for this . They def bring lots of work to you but you also get a lot of cancellations for no apparent reason . There kitchens are pretty good but there are some defects here and there which you normally put right ( you don't have too !) or its a week or twos wait for a replacement . You can invoice them for any work that's extra to the normal fit you just have to have it authorised . Generally everything goes ok as long as they get what Wren needs . If the customer has opted for a kitchen take out , the price is only 100 - this is for ALL size kitchens . So on a big one to rip out as you know its pretty hard labour - so i normally aim to have it out as quick as i can . If the customer wants floor/wall tiles removed that is extra - chargeable to the customer per meter . Supplied appliances from wren are included in the fit but not connection - that is extra . Anything the customer has supplied eg dishwasher / tap / sink / extractor they are Not included in the wren fit . So its extra if the customer wants you to fit them and connect etc. 

But and there is a but - and my biggest gripe by far is that they seem to want to hang on to your payments for any reason however small . For instance iv carried out remedial work and got a completion form filled out by the customer . but when invoiced they come back with - Have you got before & after photos ? - well no i forgot or didn't realise you needed them etc . Sometimes they suggest to go back to get pictures , but on a job that was 1 hours work and 10 -20 miles from home ? Now i know !
 Also be aware that say if your gas guys card expires at the end of the month , after that they will Stop all payments to you and they wont allocate you new fits until it is renewed . But they expect you to carry on with the already booked in fits ! Even if the fits are completed and already signed off ! They wont pay it seems .  Iv seen fitters come and go because of there payment T&Cs . So just want you guys to be aware if you go direct . I may sound a little harsh but you need to know what you could be getting into . 

Iv helped 2 guys get on board with them so far , the first doesn't anymore (chasing money)  the second still does but he's only been 2 month so far and I'm making sure he knows what to do to cover himself so there's no excuse for delay in payments etc . Because lets face it who wants to go 6 months without any payments made ? 

Don't let it put you off though , if you cover yourself and know what your dealing with its pretty good . There pricing is pretty good and most jobs pay well . Most customer are nice to deal with too . But you can get the odd bad apple , being talked to like your there employee isn't fun . But I'm sure you have all had that at some point .. Take care yall . feel free to ask anything ! cheers Tim ..