About me.
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I joined the John Lewis Partnership in 1994. Early on and throughout my career, it became apparent that I had exceptional customer service skills. Not because I say so, but because the feedback from customers started filtering through to me from managers. Customers quite regularly sent letters of appreciation for how I had dealt with their queries, and solved their issues, and sometimes very frustrating problems. These skills, together with my desire to learn and drive to improve, pushed me forward through my career at John Lewis, culminating at the Fitted Kitchens Department. Whilst working in the Customer Service office of this department, I taught myself to plan kitchens using a spare laptop. I became proficient in producing CAD drawings. This, together with my ample experience in sorting out issues caused by planning errors, as well as technical knowledge, gave me the confidence to design kitchens for John Lewis. I saw the need and the opportunity to prove myself. Initially, I was not recognised as a kitchen planner by any of the many managers that passed through the departments. Most of them didn't really understand much about kitchens. One day I was asked to go down to the shop floor to help a lady that was not going to wait for a planing visit. She had come al long way to talk to a kitchen planner, but none was available. I was asked to step in. We discussed her needs, and arranged a planning visit. In the end she was happy with me and my kitchen design and ordered her kitchen from us. This caught one manager’s attention. She saw the potential and decided to support me. There was a high demand for planning visits, but the Kitchen planners were not able to cope with this demand. Customers were unwilling to wait 3 or more weeks for a planning visits. Occasionally some walked out of the department for good. From this point on my training became more formal. But in all reality I had already developed my planning skills. I was helping more experienced planners with technical issues, whilst they offered me advice and support in return. After selling my first kitchen, I planned and sold many more kitchens for the John Lewis Partnership. John Lewis and I shared the same belief in the importance of honesty, product knowledge, and exceptional customer service. All the right ingredients were there. I had the knowledge, the drive and the desire to help, and I was provided with a top quality product to sell, in which I fully believed in. I loved designing and selling kitchens for JLP. Unfortunately, I was never officially appointed Kitchen Planner. I did try hard. I applied 7 timers for positions in Southampton, London, Reading and Leeds branches. I really wanted the job, I was arguably the best candidate. I was always short listed for interviews. However, someone in London's head office, had different ideas. He met me once at an interview in Southampton. He openly said and acknowledged that I could indeed plan. But for reasons beyond logic, he saw that from then on I was not appointed. He was high enough not to be challenged by local managers. The vacancies in Southampton always went to female applicants. Three of them were younger than me. All of them had to be trained from scratch. The irony was that I was asked to assist with the training of the last two appointees that had applied at the same time as me that got the job. One morning in February 2018, all Customer Service Admin staff in all 26 or so JL branches in the UK was made redundant. Although I was actively planning and selling kitchens, I was still on the Customer Service Admin pay roll. So I too lost my job. While working out what to do next, It dawned on me that I still had the passion for kitchen design and its multi skill process. I realised that the best use of my time was to put my skills, experience and knowledge to good use. I also had the contacts, and the desire to continue my own path. So I took a leap of faith and decided to start my own business. This time it was going to be my way. Curiel Kitchen Designs was created and registered as a limited company, which still trades, despite the very tough competition from the long established mega big firms, and the difficult economical times we all have faced in recent times. |
Please see images below for samples of kitchens I have designed and supplied for my clients.
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