Reader's Question

I sometimes receive questions from readers of this blog which I believe many other people too have on their minds. I hope by publishing my answers, more people will benefit.


This email came from Rachel :

"Hi, Can you imagine, I read ur entire blog from beginning to end in 1 night!!! that my sense of urgency!

Anyway i cannot find any entries on Warranty / Sustainability etc..
Ie: let say you handover ur job to the house owners. Then a month later, the anti jump sliding door does not work properly?
or the kitchen cabinets door are not straight... so the defects warranty is upon inspection or over a period of time? I believe some kitchen tops like solid stone **those from korea** is a lifetime warranty right??

anyway want to know more about that.

thx
Rachel"


Hi Rachel,

Most business owners are in the business for long-term and most realise that to build goodwill and reputation, after sales service is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Therefore, sliding doors that don't work properly will be serviced FOC within the 1 year warranty. Bear in mind that all things go through wear and tear and sliding accessories wear down faster than swing open accessories. After the 1 year warranty, we will still provide servicing but will need to collect a minimal charge for labour and travelling.

Cabinet doors that are not straight is because of allignment, which is easily adjustable by an installer. We would definitely prefer the house owner to tell us all things to rectify one shot rather than having to make many trips. Sometimes when the owner overlook some defects, you can still call up for after-sales service.

I don't know which brand of kitchen tops you mean, but life-time warranty doesn't mean it will be scratch-proof. It only means, guarantee for manufacturing defects but solid surface will scratch easily so we normally advice customers to take good care of their solid surface - no hard chopping, no hot pans on surface, no spilling of acidic stuff, no spilling of stain-causing stuff like kunyit/curry,etc. Granite and marble too require similar good care even though they don't scratch as much.

- Lola

X'mas Cupcakes Decoration Class !

We're going to have some FUN this Christmas! I have invited celebrity pastry chef Melinda Soon from Apple Kitchen to conduct baking classes at our showroom and she has chosen to have the very first class with a Christmas Theme.

Melinda had very kindly submitted these photos of the cupcakes that she'll be teaching. I am wondering whether anyone will actually take a bite out of these...because they look too good to be eaten!

If you would like to register for this class, do call Melinda directly at 012-6409809 or send her an email at applekitchen@gmail.com

Date: 20 Dec (Sunday)
Time: 10.30am - 2.30pm
Fee: RM140 per pax
Type: Semi Hands-on

Venue : Signature Kitchen, No.14, Jln SS 15/4, Subang Jaya.

1) Chocolate Chips Cupcakes
2) Buttercream
3) Fondant
4) Decoration

*participants will get to decorate and bring home 6 different cupcakes

Early Bird Promotion:
Enjoy 5% discount for early bird registration before 30 Nov 2009

Melinda Soon

Apple Kitchen

Tel: 012 640 9809

Email: applekitchen@gmail.com

Blog: http://www.myapplekitchen.blogspot.com/

Cancellation Policy: Payment must accompany all reservations. Class cancellations are accepted and a credit for other replacement classes will be given if notification is received 7 days prior to scheduled class. If you cannot attend, you may send a substitute in your place. No refund will be given in cash. Cancellations made fewer than 7 days before the class date are non-refundable. All classes are subject to minimum and maximum enrollments. In the event that Apple Kitchen cancels the class due to instructor illness or minimal enrollment, students will be notified by phone and e-mail. In that event, you may choose to transfer credit to another class or to accept a full refund.

Dec 09 Workshop : SAVE MONEY! Monitor the renovation yourself!

Almost everyday I'm put in a difficult situation. We have to decline the many enquiries simply because we cannot take in too many work orders at any particular time. While we can take in more carpentry work, we are limited to 5 teams of masonry workers. Some people have requested to be put on waiting list but this is NEVER a good solution.

We have decided to help those who have the time and guide them to self-monitor their own house renovations!

Coming Dec 09 Workshop : SAVE MONEY! Monitor the renovation yourself!

Chee Hoong and I will conduct a workshop entitled "SAVE MONEY! Monitor the renovation yourself!".

In this 3 hour workshop you will learn :

1) Elements of a Home Renovation Project
2) Project Planning
3) Implementation
4) Control
5) Selecting the Project Players
6) 7 Ways to a Successful Project
7) 7 Ways to Project Mistakes
8) Keeping Your Eye on the Budget
9) Functionality and Space Planning
10) Colours and Trends

Bonus : Every participant will be allowed to pose 1 question that he wants answered at the workshop.

The Cost ?

And the cost of this 3 hour session is : RM10 per person!

This ridiculously low price is just for printing of notes and for light refreshments (not to worry, all food will be halal).

Why are we doing this? Are we crazy to give out free information? Maybe we are ...or maybe we are a little ecstatic about moving to our new showroom at SS15 Subang Jaya.

The Date and Time ?

13th December 2009, this 3 hour session will be from 2.00pm to 5.00pm on a leisurely Sunday.

Place ?

The workshop will conducted at our new showroom at SS15 Subang Jaya :

No.14, Jalan SS 15/4, Subang Jaya (opposite Station 1 Cafe).

Seating Space Limited to 15, so...

This will not be in a conference room ...so the seating space is not that great - pardon me! We can only take in 15 persons so do confirm your attendance now by sending a note to Lola at ahlimche@tm.net.my . In your confirmation note, please include the following :

1) Names of all attendees ( full names)

2) Contact no.

3) The question that you want answered at the workshop.

Updated on Nov 5th : This workshop is now closed for registration.

Design Proposals

These couple of days I've been busy with proposals for a child learning centre to be located in 1Utama. I have uploaded some pictures here. I've proposed the theme "Garden Playground" at the play area.

The lobby has a concave partition which gives a sense of "welcome" as in a pair of open arms. I have purposely not used any primary colours but chose to use variations of the basic colours because I wanted to make this outlet different from a kindergarten or a tuition centre.

The proposed furnitures are of good quality and in outstanding colours and shapes to portray the prestige of this centre's overseas syllabus.

Should you do repairs before selling that house?

Sometimes I receive enquiries asking to quote on repairs before a house is sold. Last time, we would just send some workers over to the house to get the repairs done. NOW...a few years later and wiser after some observation of customer behavior trends, I would guide the person who enquires on the type of property he's having.



My reply to a recent enquiry on whether to repair or replace that old kitchen cabinet is :


"... whether or not you need to change to a new kitchen set or repair the old one depends on your property.


My observation is that :

1) If your old house is not a very high-end one, the prospective buyer will hope to get it fully furnished because they will not have much budget for a full house reno. Therefore they will appreciate a "free" kitchen even though not to their taste.

2) If your old house is above RM250,000 , the prospective buyer is likely someone who has more money to spend and will want to have the kitchen of his own choice, not any "free" kitchen. Therefore, a new kitchen you'll fit in may not be what they like and will not influence their buying decision.


**Most of the customers we come across choose to tear down "free" kitchens provided by the developer because when they have money to spend, they will want something better and of course nicer.



What about a leaking problem then?


My advice would be different if the problem is a leaky piping or roofing, which in this case I would say to get it repaired.


Or what about that fading paint?


Paint it. But make sure you choose a universally appealing colour so that it's "appetizing" to your prospective buyers. Colours are very subjective, where the maxim "one man's food is another's poison" applies. So... do not choose your favourite colours but choose something that's in trend now but is neutral enough to appeal to a vast majority. Some property investment books advice to paint white or cream but I feel it won't help your house to stand out. If you just do not have any idea, just go by the book and paint it white!



What to do with the old tiles?


To present a house that looks "well taken care of", get the stubborn stains chemically cleaned. No, that bottle of Clorox will not be of much help. You'll need to engage the tiling people to do a chemical cleaning.

Again, if the property is on the higher-end side, the new owner will most likely tear down and renew the tiles. However, if your house looks bright and clean and well-maintained, the probability of making that sale is very much higher.

What do you want me to write about? Please feedback.

Hello everyone!

Sometimes I receive emails asking for advice on home renovation decisions to make. Should I do this or should I not? This type of questions.

I am in the process of writing a website, a content-full site, with a minimum of 31 pages ( yeah, it will probably take me ages to complete but I'll start to publish it without waiting for all 31 pages to be ready!). I have in mind something that is really helpful to share with the public, not just the usual sales talk.

I would like to invite all of you to participate by emailing me the concerns and areas that you wish to read about concerning home renovations. Please label your emails with the title "Suggested topics for new website " and mail to ahlimche@tm.net.my .

Thank you for your participation!


Regards,
Lola