When a Great Kitchen Needed a Second Chance

A major purchase and high expectations

Jón, whose name has been changed, was not yet our customer when he came to Poland to shop for his home. Based on the information available to us, the total value of his purchases may have been between EUR 70,000 and EUR 100,000. We do not know the exact amount because we did not organise his visit or manage all of his orders.

We do know that he spent around PLN 200,000 in one store and approximately PLN 70,000 in another. For a private home project, this was a large and complex investment.

One of the most important purchases was a kitchen from a well-known studio. The design looked excellent, the quotation was attractive, and everything appeared consistent during the sales process. Jón approved the documents, paid for the kitchen, arranged transport to Iceland and covered all import-related charges.

Only during installation did he discover that one worktop was too short and one cabinet was missing.

The problem became visible in Iceland

By then, all major costs had already been incurred and the products were hundreds of kilometres away from the seller. Jón needed someone who could return to the documentation, speak with the studio and establish what had happened.

The people who had previously helped him with the purchases stopped responding. Jón no longer had anyone in Poland who knew the case and could continue handling it.

He contacted Guðmundur Vigfússon, who asked me to help.

First, we had to reconstruct the entire order

We did not begin by looking for someone to blame. We first collected the documents, compared the design with the order and tried to determine whether the issue arose during measurement, design, approval or production.

During a series of visits to the studio, we reconstructed the transaction step by step. Over time, the most likely explanation was that one cabinet had not been included in the design. At the same time, Jón had approved the drawing and quotation, which made the situation less straightforward.

Measurements on a technical drawing are understandable in any language. However, the customer had been making many decisions in a short period of time, in a foreign country and in a sales environment focused on closing the transaction quickly. Under those conditions, it is easy to focus on the appearance, price and delivery date rather than every technical dimension.

This experience taught us that customers need time to review a design calmly before signing. It was also one of the experiences that later influenced our decision not to recommend this studio to our customers.

The solution required more than one attempt

After further discussions, the missing elements were produced. Unfortunately, the first shipment was damaged in transit and the parts had to be manufactured again.

The process took longer than anyone expected, but Jón eventually received the elements needed to complete his kitchen.

While organising his documents, we discovered another unresolved issue. He had not received a VAT refund from a different store, and no one had completed the process on his behalf.

More than a year after the purchase, we helped recover approximately PLN 40,000, which at the time was roughly EUR 10,000.

How this case changed our way of working

For Jón, the most important result was that he could complete his investment and recover part of the money he was owed.

For me, it was one of the experiences that showed that purchasing support cannot end when an order is signed. A customer also needs support when the goods are already in Iceland and the problem must be solved in Poland.

Today, before a purchase, we look beyond price and design. We also assess how a supplier records agreements, whether the customer is given time to verify the details and how the supplier responds when a difficult issue appears after the sale.

The key lesson

Major purchases abroad can create significant savings, but they require a calm decision-making process and someone who remains available after delivery.

Jón did not need a promise that nothing would ever go wrong. He needed someone who would help him solve the problem when it arose.

That became one of the foundations of The Fixer.