Imperial Bathrooms

[mrkjd]

I have been lurking in these forums for sometime and picked up some very useful information for which I'm very thankful.

We recently renewed the bathroom in our Edwardian semi. Imperial Bathrooms have some stylish tradititional ranges and market themselves as an upmarket manufacturer. Unfortunately our experience with them has been very disappointing. Even writing to their MD directly by recorded delivery has drawn a blank. No response. No explanation for the shortfalls in product and customer service. No attempt to rectify the situation. No interest in their products design.

Mistakes happen, we may have been unlucky in respect to the actual items in question, but the complete lack of customer service from Imperial is unforgivable. For that reason I would forwarn others who may be interested in purchasing a traditional style bathroom suite / tiles / chromeware from these people to consider the company's CS performance as experienced by us. Another sorry example of British Manufacturing!

 

[shelli]

How do we know you aren't a competitor ?
:wink:
Shelli

 

[mrkjd]

Because there's no such thing as bad publicity?

But there is such a thing as a disappointed customer :evil:

Rgds

Azimuth Real Super-Elegant Bathrooms Ltd

 

[Nemesis]

Em yes but - if you look at the site regulations it does say that adverse comments etc should not be posted on the site...

 

[mrkjd]

Thank you Nemisis for your regulatory wisdom. I have read them and it also says posters should avoid "back seat moderating"

If the posting is too vigarous for this forum then I'm happy for the mods to remove it Different forums have different interpretations of what constitutes a possibly defamatory statement. I felt the posting was reasonable if not exactly hagiographic

 

[shelli]

Am I the only person who doesn't know what hagiographic means ? -

BTW I was only joking when I asked if you were a competitor!! I think you understood that :wink:

 

[Nemesis]

Oh I do.

But I wasn't back seat moderating, merely drawing to your attention that this could possibly be outside the normal spirit of the forum.

 

[mrkjd]

It was in a crossword recently - couldn't resist the opportunity to use it

To balance things here's what Imperial say about themselves on their website. Forum viewers can make their own minds up which version is the reality!

At Imperial Bathrooms we are entirely dedicated to satisfying the needs of the homeowner. I am delighted that we have developed products that uniquely satisfy the brand new homeowner just starting out on the housing ladder right through to the demands of the largest and most opulent prestige mansion.

We are so confident in the manufacture and quality of our products that we give up to lifetime guarantees on many of our ranges: add to that the excellent designs and the lasting pleasure they bring we are sure that after investing in an Imperial Bathroom, you will never feel the need to invest in a new bathroom ever again.

At Imperial Bathrooms, we want you to be more than happy with the quality, design and craftsmanship of our products and services; we want you to be delighted – in this way you will use us again and again, and will recommend us to your family and friends.

 

[skier-hughes]

Unfortunately our experience with them has been very disappointing. Even writing to their MD directly by recorded delivery has drawn a blank. No response. No explanation for the shortfalls in product and customer service. No attempt to rectify the situation. No interest in their products design.

Mistakes happen, we may have been unlucky in respect to the actual items in question, but the complete lack of customer service from Imperial is unforgivable.

But you've not made any mention of any of the problems you've had. It could be that a tap is not quite on straight and they won't come out to move it one millimetre, or it could be that the bath has a big crack in it and leaks when you try to fill it........................

In my opinion, if you want to post like that, then you should give all the info to support your case............ then people can make up their mind.

 

[shelli]

Yeah - spill the beans - what did they do - these Imperial lot?


From Wikipedia
The term "hagiography" has also come to be used as a pejorative reference to the works of contemporary biographers and historians whom critics perceive to be uncritical and even "reverential" in their writing.

Ahh!

 

[AMc]

we are sure that after investing in an Imperial Bathroom, you will never feel the need to invest in a new bathroom ever again.

There's your problem its not supposed to work as a bathroom, it's an investment.
What is the market like for second hand bathrooms, can I expect to make a killing now the buy to let property market is in trouble?
Note to copy writers 'paying a lot of money for...' is not the same as 'an investment' IMHO

 

[mrkjd]

Well, apologies in advance for a long posting.... but since people have asked here goes.

The main thrust of our disappointment is that Imperial Customer Service did not take any interest in our complaint and did not bother responding to our written complaint (sent recorded delivery). Defects and human errors happen in any company but ANY effort by Imperial to try and help us through our problems would have been welcome! Our experience to date contradicts the published aspirations to CS of Imperial Bathrooms quoted in our previous post from their website. As that was public comment we felt our opinions were equally valid in the public arena.

The actual complaints were:

1) We arranged to collect some extra tiles after both ourselves and the retailer were told they were in stock by Imperial. Turns out they weren't in stock when we went to collect and when we asked why they had previously said they had them just replied "the computer was wrong". No appology and asking when they expected resupply was like pulling teeth. They could have phoned ourselves or the retailer to let them know there was a problem and they could have been proactive by, for example, saying they would contact us as soon as they were resupplied. The upshot of this is we have a bathroom with incomplete tiling and the plumber /tiler has disappeared to pastures new! We've more chance of finding Elvis woking as a tiler than getting one to come in for a couple of hours work :roll:

2) The flush handle on our WC cistern is "wobbly" ie there is excess lateral movement that detracts significantly from a positive flush. The actual flush mechanism is functioning ok allbeit a bit wooley. It was fitted by our plumber to the instructions and it just appears a "botch" (his words). I went through the assembly step by step with him and it seemed to be assembled per those notes. We asked about this design in our complaint letter. We are convinced that something is amiss with it but checking other Imperial showroom examples they seem to have the same flaw. Maybe there's a part missing or maybe the "wobble" is "normal". I stress we are not being super-fussy regarding this. The unit it replaces had a better action (now at the local tip!) and friends and family have noticed it too. I can probably fix it by using some strong spring washers or similar but no response from Imperial is extremely unhelpful. The incalcuable cost of this (apparently) shoddy design is I now find myself obsessivly comparing flush actions kingdom wide. Saddly I am reduced to a flush-fetish.

 

[Flyfisher]

we are sure that after investing in an Imperial Bathroom, you will never feel the need to invest in a new bathroom ever again.

There's your problem its not supposed to work as a bathroom, it's an investment.
What is the market like for second hand bathrooms, can I expect to make a killing now the buy to let property market is in trouble?
Note to copy writers 'paying a lot of money for...' is not the same as 'an investment' IMHO

Surely the return on an 'investment' can be measured in more ways than mere financial gain?

 

[shelli]

Dear Mr KJD

Reality check - you really padded that last post out when in essence your problem with this company is that you had a wasted journey for some tiles and they didn't say sorry and your toilet has a design fault!

Okay so those things are annoying - but you have allowed yourself to become disproportionately angry about it - Yes it's annoying, state of the nation etc etc but sometimes you just have to let it go or else spend whole life in a state of Victor Meldrew type rage (and you'll get v unattractive worry lines all the way up head - not good !!)

8) take it easy (man!)

 

[Nemesis]

Solution - get a septic tank.

If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down etc.

That way, flushes are few and far.

 

[skier-hughes]

I agree with Shelli, but on the other hand, just about to buy a toilet for my en-suite I am now checking flushing mechanisms, pre-purchase.

 

[AMc]

Surely the return on an 'investment' can be measured in more ways than mere financial gain?

It was a joke, perhaps I should have put a bunch of smilies in there too? :lol:

However, I stand by my original sentiment... from the first easily accessible, free reference I can find
http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/investment

in·vest·ment Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[in-vest-muhnt] –noun
1. the investing of money or capital in order to gain profitable returns, as interest, income, or appreciation in value.
2. a particular instance or mode of investing.
3. a thing invested in, as a business, a quantity of shares of stock, etc.
4. something that is invested; sum invested.
5. the act or fact of investing or state of being invested, as with a garment.
6. a devoting, using, or giving of time, talent, emotional energy, etc., as for a purpose or to achieve something: His investment in the project included more time than he cared to remember.
7. Biology. any covering, coating, outer layer, or integument, as of an animal or vegetable.
8. the act of investing with a quality, attribute, etc.
9. investiture with an office, dignity, or right.
10. a siege or blockade; the surrounding of a place with military forces or works, as in besieging.
11. Also called investment compound. Metallurgy. a refractory material applied in a plastic state to a pattern to make a mold.
12. Archaic. a garment or vestment.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Origin: 1590–1600 for def. 12; 1605–15 for def. 1; invest + -ment]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Now back to Compulsive Flushers Anonymous...

 

[Nemesis]

As an investment ie something on which you hope to reap a reward in the future - I think an ISA may have been a better bet really than a bog.

Once it's been used really, like a car, I wonder if it simply decreases in value? Bums on seats may not make it worth more in time. It's not a case of good wine.

Thinking of a future sale - I don't think it makes much difference whether it's a B and Q or a Thomas Crapper - most folks will want to rip it out anyhow and fit anew.

 

[Flyfisher]

However, I stand by my original sentiment...

Me too. I wasn't disagreeing with your post, just questioning that it was the only (i.e. financial) definition - as your list confirms.

I'm sure some people consider vast sums of money invested in the pursuit of a good flush to be highly rewarding in all manner of ways :wink:

 

[chuckey]

FWIW, a low level cistern bought from a company that trades from latge orange sheds, had a "wobbly" flush. The problem was that the hole in the cistern wall was for a 3/4" BSP fitting and the flush handle thingy was 1/2" BSP size. I bought a 3/4" white connector and turned it down on a lathe to bush the hole out. In general the ceramic ware one sees is absolute rubbish. Toilet seats don't fit, In the "fitting instructions" no one actually specifies the height of the outlet pipe and its angle. Its like a victorian product where the success of the kit is all down to the skill and ingenuity of the plumber. We can put men on the moon but still can't cast a bit of pot to a tolerance of better then +_ 1/4".
Frank