I’m seeking some advice in dealing with the Whangarei GJ Gardner Franchise. We moved into our new home at the beginning of October 2017 (after an extremely long and frustrating build). There are two issues we discussed at handover that we continue to be unhappy with, and after contacting GJ’s head office, have found little resolution over.
Firstly, the kitchen was set for tiles when we had chosen vinyl during our colour consultation (we never ever wanted tiles). The kitchen was a ‘owner supplied’ item due to us not going with their preferred company. We don’t have any proof, however, it was made clear to us at the time that this was a mistake made by the construction supervisor. GJ then contacted the installer to get them to lower the island bench, however, there was still a gap (of about 6ml). The construction supervisor then put silicon around the WHOLE kitchen. It is a sloppy installation that is uneven and ugly. Upon contacting head office, the owner of this franchise then said we’d changed our minds from tiles to vinyl during the build (not true). After a lot of emails back and forth, the company have finally agreed to remove the silicon, however, they are not taking responsibility for fixing the issue as a whole.
Secondly, during the build we noticed the bulk head planned for the area above the fridge was missing. We brought this to the construction supervisor’s attention, and after a lengthy discussion with him, decided to take up their offer of putting in a cupboard instead of the bulk head. However, we are not happy with the manner this cupboard was installed as the GIB cove is indented when we wanted a streamlined finish (hence the desire for a bulk head). If we had known the cupboard would end up looking like this we would never have chosen it. Again, upon contacting head office, inaccurate information was given when the franchise claimed we had not identified the issue at hand over – we certainly had and the company have since sent in tradies in an attempt to fix it. Unfortunately, the fix is not acceptable to us. They are now saying it is installed as per the manufacturers specifications and therefore they will not take any further action!!!!
At the beginning of this year my husband and I employed Maddren Homes to build our new home in Huapai. From start to finish has been a fantastic experience. Half way through the build we had a 2 month trip overseas during which time Madden continued with the project leaving us confident and with no concerns the build would continue as scheduled, they communicated with us occasionally to ensure things were being completed as agreed. They even made one or two improvements. Two days before handover it was discovered that a faulty tap had leaked from the kitchen sink causing water damage to the floor, this wasn’t anyone’s fault other than a faulty tap and despite everything sometimes issues happen which can’t be helped. It’s at times like this when Building Companies show their true worthiness, Maddren and the Tradespeople they work with were fantastic! Flooring had to be ordered so our move went ahead as planned. Even with a slightly water damaged floor our home was absolutely beautiful. Four weeks later, tradespeople came in and replaced the damaged floor. Three days had been scheduled for the work, all of which was completed in less than 2. The Tradespeople organised by Maddren blew us away with their workmanship, professionalism and care. What started out as an unfortunate disappointment became a huge positive, we appreciate things can and do go wrong and nothing is perfect, the way Maddren and their Tradespeople handled this situation by far exceeded our expectations and gave us confidence knowing we had chosen the best company to build our new home. It’s how a company manages and deals with issues that really matter; we know we chose the best company to build our new home and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend or choose them again in the future.
Hi,
I’m seeking some advice in dealing with the Whangarei GJ Gardner Franchise. We moved into our new home at the beginning of October 2017 (after an extremely long and frustrating build). There are two issues we discussed at handover that we continue to be unhappy with, and after contacting GJ’s head office, have found little resolution over.
Firstly, the kitchen was set for tiles when we had chosen vinyl during our colour consultation (we never ever wanted tiles). The kitchen was a ‘owner supplied’ item due to us not going with their preferred company. We don’t have any proof, however, it was made clear to us at the time that this was a mistake made by the construction supervisor. GJ then contacted the installer to get them to lower the island bench, however, there was still a gap (of about 6ml). The construction supervisor then put silicon around the WHOLE kitchen. It is a sloppy installation that is uneven and ugly. Upon contacting head office, the owner of this franchise then said we’d changed our minds from tiles to vinyl during the build (not true). After a lot of emails back and forth, the company have finally agreed to remove the silicon, however, they are not taking responsibility for fixing the issue as a whole.
Secondly, during the build we noticed the bulk head planned for the area above the fridge was missing. We brought this to the construction supervisor’s attention, and after a lengthy discussion with him, decided to take up their offer of putting in a cupboard instead of the bulk head. However, we are not happy with the manner this cupboard was installed as the GIB cove is indented when we wanted a streamlined finish (hence the desire for a bulk head). If we had known the cupboard would end up looking like this we would never have chosen it. Again, upon contacting head office, inaccurate information was given when the franchise claimed we had not identified the issue at hand over – we certainly had and the company have since sent in tradies in an attempt to fix it. Unfortunately, the fix is not acceptable to us. They are now saying it is installed as per the manufacturers specifications and therefore they will not take any further action!!!!
Any advice on what we can do next?
At the beginning of this year my husband and I employed Maddren Homes to build our new home in Huapai. From start to finish has been a fantastic experience. Half way through the build we had a 2 month trip overseas during which time Madden continued with the project leaving us confident and with no concerns the build would continue as scheduled, they communicated with us occasionally to ensure things were being completed as agreed. They even made one or two improvements. Two days before handover it was discovered that a faulty tap had leaked from the kitchen sink causing water damage to the floor, this wasn’t anyone’s fault other than a faulty tap and despite everything sometimes issues happen which can’t be helped. It’s at times like this when Building Companies show their true worthiness, Maddren and the Tradespeople they work with were fantastic! Flooring had to be ordered so our move went ahead as planned. Even with a slightly water damaged floor our home was absolutely beautiful. Four weeks later, tradespeople came in and replaced the damaged floor. Three days had been scheduled for the work, all of which was completed in less than 2. The Tradespeople organised by Maddren blew us away with their workmanship, professionalism and care. What started out as an unfortunate disappointment became a huge positive, we appreciate things can and do go wrong and nothing is perfect, the way Maddren and their Tradespeople handled this situation by far exceeded our expectations and gave us confidence knowing we had chosen the best company to build our new home. It’s how a company manages and deals with issues that really matter; we know we chose the best company to build our new home and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend or choose them again in the future.