Wickes - Letchworth Avis 

James at the click and collect Letchworth was kind enough to carry my new sink to my car. He was polite and courteous

It started badly, with part of the delivery missing on the first day. When I contacted Wickes' supplier they said Wickes were fully aware but the installer turned up anyway and they did not rebook the installation for a later date.

To their credit, an express delivery was organised for the following day and work started that same week.

Stripping out the old bathroom took one day. Then after two days work paused and the contractor walked off site when I complained about plastic pipework I was never told about and did not want. Aside from health concerns about using plastic for drinking water, the data sheet stated that was susceptible to damage by vermin. Otherwise, if you get mice they would eat your pipes!

After a week and a half they returned to site and did another 2 days work. Again, to their credit, they took on board our concerns and continued the installation with copper pipes.

That is until they had to stop because the cistern specified on the design was too big. Something I had told the designer myself during the design process and I was assured could be dealt with by the installer. Not so, and off they went again without a date when or if they would return.

Following that there was no communication for days despite repeated messages and emails. There was no plan to get the bathroom completed.

By that time Wickes had left us without a bathroom for 4 weeks and done a total of 4 days work. Their average bathroom installation, they claim, completes in two weeks or less.

In the end, not knowing if it was going to take 6, 7 or 8 weeks, we could not live without a bathroom any longer and we had to get ( and pay) someone else to complete the job.

Can you get a cheap bathroom on 0% finance from Wickes? Yes, absolutely. But do not expect it to be trouble free.

Their contractors are on really tight margins and they themselves subcontract. Everyone in the chain has to make a profit and add their margin. Installers don’t have the time or a budget to do a proper job, only a very, very quick job.

If you are lucky and get a quick but capable installer it may be okay, we did not get lucky.

Workmanship was poor. For instance, they managed to build a 70cm wide box out wall at the back of the toilet that was so kinked it was a whole cm deeper at one end than the other.

If you expect a carefully installed, quality bathroom, then you should probably go elsewhere.

Communication was generally poor, their coordinator did not answer the phone or call back. In reality, the Coordinator you will be assigned is probably just a name they put on the job rather than an actual person.

Our experience was that our calls were filtered, and we would always get through to someone in the call centre who, sometimes, was empathetic and promised to pass on a message for the coordinator to call back but they pretty much never did.

In the end, despite promises to the contrary, you will probably find you will need to manage the builder yourself.

The builder / installer will avoid responsibility because you contract with Wickes ( except for "specialist works"). They will refer you to the Wickes coordinator, who, based on our experience, will generally not answer the phone.

Their colleagues will defer any issues to the coordinator and promise a call back. We only spoke once in 6 weeks with someone who claimed to be our Coordinator.

Any decisions were deferred almost exclusively to the Installation Manager who sits above the Coordinators. We were never allowed to speak and, despite indications to the contrary by call centre staff, the Installation Manager never called or visited our site.

Whatever problems you have with your bathroom or kitchen install, whoever you speak to will never be responsible for solving them. They will pass you on to someone else, take a message, but nothing very much happened after that, at least not quickly.

Their processes are specifically designed to frustrate progress and avoid accountability.

Wickes also do not seem to care about the disruption caused by not having a bathroom for long periods of time. As far as they are concerned it takes as long as it takes, and thats okay with them. Stuff happens.

On top of that they have tried to blame it on us!! Apparently, we are to blame because we scrutinised everything they did. They appear to forget it is our house and we have a stake on what it is done to it. Particularly, if it is done badly and takes too long.

If you set about designing a company specifically to provide bad customer service, you could not do a better job than Wickes have.

Our overall assessment is that, in our opinion, they do not live up the values they promote in their advertising.

Went into Wickes store in Letchworth and was helped by Tyler. I wanted 10 bags of sand and 2 bags of cement. He loaded up my trolly and helped me with my other purchases and took them all to my car and loaded them into it. He was very helpful and cheerful - a great employee. Thanks Tyler.

Called in late today to look at tiles for our bathroom. We were unsure of called in late today to look at bathroom tiles. We were unsure of the quantity of tiles we needed and asked for assistance. Your helpful lady on the till called for someone, and Alfie came along. Very helpful and told us the quantity we would need and that we could pay for a sample. We did, but unfortunately they were not what we were looking for. Thanks to everyone

Great customer service from the Wickes team at Letchworth, with and a special mention for Jordan who was very helpful.

JP at wickes letchworth , top man for customer service.

Rio very kindly carried my load to the car for me. He was polite and friendly.

I went into Wickes to get some advice on a decking project I was completing. I spoke to Cieran. I have to say, I was very impressed by his knowledge and attention to customer care. I was then served by Kenzie who was also very helpful. Both members of staff are an asset to the company. Highly recommended.

We’re so grateful to the amazing team at Wickes Letchworth for their recent support.

Their team led by Natalia, Wickes's Community representative kindly donated materials to help redecorate the school staff room. A well overdue refresh to help create a bright and welcoming space for all the hardworking staff to enjoy.

Natalia, has been incredibly helpful from start to finish. Friendly, professional, and genuinely interested in supporting a local initiative and we're so grateful for their community spirit and generosity.

Thank you, Wickes Letchworth for helping us create a space that our teachers truly deserve!

St Andrew's School Association, Hitchin

James was very helpful and professional to help me find the parts I needed.

This is my continuation of my previous review. Can my experience get any worse (I hope not)
Still no contact from Laura!
I have a very long list of her errors one example she measured my kitchen wrong!
I would like her email, the store manager's email please.
I have a customer service email as they have made errors too. This seems to be the only way I get some attention although last time it was minimal. Thank you.

Thank you Ciaran for helping me play tetris in my car with some heavy bags.

I purchased 10 bags of gravel from the Letchworth Wickes store, and JP helped me with getting the bags to the boot of my car, and putting the 10 bags of gravel into my car boot.
His assistance was a great help to me and made me appreciative of the staff at the Letchworth store.

Maddy and Lily were very helpful, very sweet people, helped me load all my building sand on the trolley.

I needed to exchange a paint. I wanted a different colour as the original colour had been used by a close neighbour. Ciaran the manager was a great help as I wasn’t swapping like for like. He helped me decide the best option. Really appreciated

Lily in Wickes Letchworth gave great service with a smile, helping load four heavy bags of chipped bark into my car

I called Letchworth today to see if they had a particular item, Lily answered and offered to help, thank goodness, because she was polite, helpful and offered to go and check if they had stock on the shelf, a moment or two later she came back and said that they have one left and it was reduced to clear. Lily said that she will put it behind the till for me, I thanked her and said I would come along in twenty minutes to collect. I came into store and met Lily. A more helpful, smiling, go above and beyond, brilliant young woman I couldn't have wished to have met. Lily you are an absolute and total credit to your company and it was a pleasure to have met you. I have no doubt you are destined for great things. Thank you.

The product was in store at the offer it suggested online. I was helped to load, unload and was served by the same person. Lily was helpful, knowledgeable and very pleasant to deal with. Nothing to be negative about. Thank you.

Lily helped me with my shopping to the car and loaded them.
A pleasure to deal with.

Came into purchase some DIY bits and the girl on the till (Katie) was vivacious and engaging, with some helpful product knowledge.
Great customer service!
Well done Wickes Letchworth.