Apr 18, 2015

Sleek Modular Kitchens

I chanced upon a second setup of Sleek modular kitchens and was wondering about what they were doing differently. How is it that the 2-3 people who sit around the kitchens are totally disinterested in any sort of customer interaction and hence any opportunity for leads and subsequent conversion. I assume it relates to the way their incentive is structured and after my repeated experience, I am obviously curious.


Sleek modular kitchen
Copyright: Sleek modular kitchen
The funny thing is that my first visit to Sleek kitchens was very similar. It was at a different HomeStop outlet ( maybe Sleek has worked some arrangement with HomeStop though I doubt that gives them any projects automatically) and there were 2 men and a woman working on their laptops. We were exploring around and were months away from deciding which brand to go ahead. 

I looked around, pulled some drawers and checked the kitchens. Then men didn't bother and the woman glanced. I was wondering when someone would come around and explain what they offered etc. So I tried giving the " I am interested, please come and explain looks." I was really surprised but since I wanted to know the type of finish used in one and the approximate price, I went up to the guy sitting closest to the kitchens and asked him. Few questions ahead, I realized that he neither had sufficient knowledge and nor was he interested. After I explicitly asked him to show us around, and he reluctantly got up, the woman thankfully took over. She was the Sales Manager and adept in her knowledge of the kitchens and everything around it. She took our contact details, sent me approximate quotations and even pursued me for a while. 

However, I also remember a defensive attitude during the follow-ups. "I called because you said you might decide in few months". Really?? If I want the customer to buy the modular kitchen from my brand, I will call because I want to convert them and not because of any other reason. As far as the brand is concerned, if I was a decision making authority I would actually just keep 1 knowledgeable sales person around and remove the unfriendly fixtures to some other office location. Judging from Mouthshut, I am not the only person who feels the same.

The experience continued with the website. I tried to download the catalogue unsuccessfully  by entering my details several times. And I was unable to get a catalogue emailed to myself. While the website looks great, I actually don't know why they maintain several websites like  http://www.sleekworld.comhttp://sleekworld.co.in and http://sleekkitchens.com/modular-kitchen. I am hoping they stopped at 3 and there aren't more lurking around.
Sleek modular kitchen
Copyright : Sleek modular kitchen

As quoted, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I did get some help in the form of a friend  who had purchased their Sleek modular kitchens. While the kitchen was very nice and he is happy , I got to know that the overall experience was not smooth. The different folks who take care of the various activities weren't in sync. He also had to  call some senior folks to get work done in time. However they did take care of damaged modules and that sounds like a life-saver. If interested, one can get an idea of their positive customer experiences on their website. If you do order a Sleek modular kitchen, my friend's advice is try to figure who will be the team servicing you and get some references.

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