If you are a kitchen and bath designer, here are some simple order entry habits that improve accuracy and cut down on warranty claims. When your cabinet order is clear from the start, your project moves faster, your client gets what they expected, and you spend less time sorting out changes. Most ordering problems come down to missing information or unclear communication, and both are easy to fix.
Here are five practical ways to submit cabinet orders that lead to better communication and fewer surprises (from our experience as a cabinet manufacturer who works with kitchen designers daily).
1. Give your cabinet manufacturer more information up front.
The more we know about your project, the better. Detailed, numbered elevations, appliance specs, quotes, and any special requests all help us review your order better and allow our team to catch issues before they turn into problems. When we can see the full picture, there’s less guesswork and less back and forth between the designer and customer service.
Think of it this way. Every detail you include is one less assumption we have to make. This is especially important with custom cabinet work.
2. Request custom paint colors before you place the order.
If your project calls for a custom paint color, send the request before you are ready to submit the order. This gives us time to add the color to our system and send you a sample to confirm it matches what you and your client are expecting.
The paint chip is your check against surprises. It makes sure the finish on the cabinets matches the color you are picturing. Our custom color samples are good for two years, so you will have a reference on hand if you need it again.
3. Send a wood sample for custom stain matches.
For a custom stain match, send us a physical sample of the wood and finish you are trying to match. We will do our best to formulate a match for it, and we will keep that formula on file for one year in case you need it again.
A real sample gives us something concrete to work from, which gets you a closer match than a description or photo ever could.
4. Mark up the order acknowledgement instead of emailing changes.
When you need to change an order, mark up the cabinet order acknowledgement rather than sending the changes in an email. A marked-up acknowledgement is clearer and leaves far less room for mistakes. Email threads are easy to misread, especially when several changes are involved.
Two tips that help. If you are working with a long document, add a note to the first page listing which pages you have edited. Or just send back the pages that have markups. Either way, we will know exactly what changed.
5. Confirm current lead times when you submit your order.
Lead times can change from when you start an order to when you submit it. What was accurate may have changed by the time you are ready to order. When you submit, confirm the current lead time so you can set the right expectations with your client.
