The Two Centimetres That Stopped a Kitchen Installation

The kitchen was already in Iceland

At the same time as I was assisting with Jón's case, I was handling another complaint involving a kitchen ordered from the same studio.

The customer was Guðmundur. The kitchen had already been delivered to Iceland and was being installed by an experienced Icelandic carpenter. The work progressed normally until it became clear that one finishing panel could not be fitted because it collided with the sink mounted in the stone worktop.

The studio maintained that the issue had been caused during installation and that the carpenter should start again.

Instead of arguing, we needed to understand the design

The case continued for months. Repeated discussions did not lead to a solution because each side viewed the problem from a different perspective.

I therefore obtained the full documentation and learned how this specific type of kitchen should be designed. During one visit, I asked the studio to explain how much space must be left around a stone sink because of the mounting components.

The answer was clear: four centimetres.

We returned to the design. In the place where four centimetres were required, only two had been planned.

I then asked whether, in that situation, the problem could still be attributed solely to the installer.

Two centimetres changed the conversation

For the first time, the discussion moved away from general opinions and focused on one specific measurement in the documentation.

One of the studio's owners accepted that the design needed correction. The other still had doubts and continued to focus on the installation. Eventually, the internal discussion on the studio's side led to acceptance that a new element had to be produced.

After another two weeks without progress, we initiated formal legal steps. The studio then offered to manufacture a new worktop and asked for support in sending it to Iceland.

The replacement arrived through cooperation

Producing the new item did not solve the entire problem. A stone worktop is heavy, fragile and expensive to transport.

With the help of one of our customers, we combined the shipment with another load travelling to Iceland. This avoided excessive costs and allowed the replacement to arrive safely.

The kitchen could finally be completed and the case ended positively.

A previous meeting I had not connected with the case

Later, I had the opportunity to speak with Guðmundur directly. We then realised that we had already met at my company, Ambit.

Near the entrance, we had spoken about composite decking. Guðmundur purchased decking and other materials from us, and those products travelled to Iceland together with his kitchen.

During our conversation, he thanked me for the support and said that the company where he had bought the decking had provided his best shopping experience in Poland.

That was especially meaningful to me because it was not a comment prompted by the resolved complaint. It was his independent assessment of the earlier purchasing process.

The key lesson

The problem was not solved through louder arguments. The solution appeared when we reduced the entire situation to one precise question and two centimetres shown on the design.

Guðmundur was able to complete the installation, the studio corrected its product, and I gained experience that later helped us handle other complaints.

Good after-sales support often begins with patiently understanding the detail that everyone else has overlooked.