Selling Fixtures: Start A New Cash Flow?
“We quickly realized that a lot of people would – if they’re getting a new sink and new countertops – want new faucets,” says Adams. “And, we realized we wanted to be more of a one-stop shop. We didn’t want to capture part of the sale and then send them off to another channel to pick out a faucet.”
As with sinks, it can be a convenience factor for all involved. Just as sink configurations have moved away from the single bowl or two equal bowls into more exotic designs, consumers are changing the way they think about faucets – and that can again complicate fabrication.
Click picture to enlargeAdams, for example, notes that many of his clients have gone to a big-little basin combination sink, without understanding all the ramifications.
“A lot of people with the big-little sinks were going with the traditional three-hole faucet with the left and right water control, and it just doesn’t work,” he says.
Beyond not having to send that client out to struggle with questions about how many holes it needs and the presence or absence of a soap dispenser, Jason Nottestad, national customer services manager for VT Stone Surfaces in Rome, Ga., says offering a line of faucets also helps ensure your familiarity with the product – which, again, can be a real plus.
“You know what the issues are as far as placement,” Nottestad says. “And, you’re also going to know what to look for in the handles, as far as clearances. It’s just bound to make you more efficient.”
WEIGHTY QUESTIONS
Just about every fabricator deals with issues regarding a job that didn’t go right. Few are going to argue that if the installation leaves an uneven seam, or a chip comes out during the final polish, the responsibility lies with the fabricator. But, what happens if that faucet has a problem?
“For instance, I’m not sure, from an insurance perspective, what happens if something goes wrong with the faucet and damages the customer’s home,” says Nottestad.
Less frightening, but still disturbing, is the issue of a faucet that doesn’t work. Eclipse’s Cohn says when his company added kitchen faucets to its line of sinks, it had to develop a whole new customer-service infrastructure.
“We don’t expect our fabricators to make house calls or field phone calls from a consumer,” Cohn says. “This has put us into a different business. Rather than selling the sink and walking away, we have to be able to service that faucet customer and support our fabricator’s name and reputation by taking care of any problems a consumer has.”
He adds that in the case of Eclipse, the company added a customer-service department and a toll-free number for faucet hotline support.