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Domestic renovation platforms are flooding the industry.
Celebrities endorsements
You will NEVER run short of ideas or ID contacts in Singapore because every now and then, new platforms pop up, and even influencers expand their business into renovation matching assuming that will solve the problems.
The problems aren't those extreme mishaps where IDs run away or are involved in illegal schemes. The problem we are talking about here is the overly sales-focused interior design and renovation that is taking full advantage of this profession.
Charging the rate that professional design firms charge, while delivering erroneous design and sub-par detailing and finishings.
What are some of the common purposes of renovation portals?
➤ To match you with 5 ID firms, mostly claiming they are stringently selected and are the best of the bestest
➤ To get interior design firms to submit their project images and run articles for them
➤ To build ID firms' credibility through the featuring of articles, reviews, video productions
➤ To funnel sales leads to ID firms
➤ To work with various suppliers to offer goodies and exposure
➤ To make revenues from all the digital marketing efforts for their clients - ID firms
This particular portal claimed that they only invite the best 50 ID firms in Singapore and have to pass their stringent criteria as they are committed to offering only the best to their customers.
Some of these firms have been on our research radar since 2019. Let's ignore whatever data we have previously collected and just focus on the surface of things.
A quick check on the open source data, some of these firms have small paid-up capital, not citing the lowest, $20,000 paid-up means the firm is only liable for up to $20,000 in the event of insolvency.
One of the best ID in this portal's reviews of ONE of them. Google reviews cannot be deleted, and often 1-star reviews suggest the real plights. We also give our take on some of the .
💥 My ID was uncontactable ➤ This is one of the most common cries of all. Apart from having site inspections to attend, we often make trips to choose materials and discuss execution plans. For us, we have a policy in place to ensure that customers' messages and calls must be returned no later than the same business day.
💥go spend some more money on a better ID ➤ The fact is, able to spend more may not get you a better ID. To meet a competent ID, you need quite a bit of luck because everything before signing is always sweet and nice in this industry at large.
💥id appeared once throughout the reno ➤ Not uncommon. In fact, some of us had previously been advised by seniors to spend less time at the site and more on closing sales in road shows and renovation fairs, understandably when the job role is sales. The success of any renovation project requires effective communication with the respective work teams and being on top of the site's progress. We deploy site surveillance to aid us in security and monitoring, but it couldn't fully substitute physical site inspections.
💥don't know cannot work on Saturday ➤ We have heard of this more often after the pandemic. HDB only allows general renovation activities to be carried out only between 8:00AM and 6:00PM daily. Noisy renovation activities are restricted between 9:00AM and 5:00PM during weekdays and are not allowed on weekends and public holidays. Condominiums similarly only allow renovation activities to be carried out between 9:00AM and 5:00PM on weekdays, 9:00AM to 12:00PM on Saturdays only. Timing may vary slightly in different condominiums.
💥The purpose of having an ID is to have them to help the house owner to plan and coordinate ➤ If you meet a rogue sales ID, you better be prepared for the worst experience during your project execution. From involving customers in committing to things they don't know about, such as positioning of built-in vanity, to the dimensions of cabinet plinth and wall nook. To save time, they may even arrange for customers to meet the contractors on-site to avoid taking accountability for things they have proposed in the quotation and 3Ds.
💥I had to clear the rubbish and clean the place myself ➤ This is just sad to learn about (absolutely absurd to even had happened). This brings us to remind customers to be very very careful when the last milestone (payment) is 5% which ID firms can afford to forgo, this irresponsible behaviour is harder to prevent.
💥I have deleted the screenshots as I felt threatened after a phone call ➤ Playing threats indeed happen from time to time. Among the 8 cases we helped salvaged in 2022, 3 of them had shared their hostile encounters with their ID at some point when problems arose.
ID FIRM CREATING DIFFERENT COMPANIES AND ORGANISE INTERNAL "RENOVATION FAIR"
// 23 September 2023, 2:15PM UTC +8h
In the ever-evolving world of interior design and renovation, some ID firms have adopted a unique approach to business expansion and client engagement. They create multiple companies under their umbrella and organise internal "Renovation Fairs".
We are all familiar with the year-round home and design expos in Singapore, often hosted at common venues like Singapore Expo and Suntec City. These expos consistently attract a crowd, with attendees hoping to find great deals. However, it's important to remember that there are costs associated with booth rental and the logistics of setting up and dismantling these booths.
To save on the significant expenses that come with participating in a week-long fair, some ID firms opt for a different approach. They organise their own fair and collaborate with other ID firms.
There are also some firms even creating empty shells, also known as "shell company" to create the illusion that the participating ID firms are distinct entities (to us at least, any registered company that has little paid-up capital, no substantial operations, assets or business activities are considered a shell company).
Let's look at what we've got here.
3 ID Firms, 50 Designers. Actually just 1 ID firm lah!
This is a recent renovation fair organised by a popular ID firms who have many complaints through the years. In its advertisement, it was mentioned that 3 ID firms were participating, with 50 designers to choose from.
We did a search on all 3 firms, and we found suspicious similarities, so we went a step further to check on their ACRA profiles to confirm our suspicion.
Our knowledge about one of these firms is particularly extensive because two of us at MEEK were former employees there. This firm serves as a notable example within the non-pro circle of interior design due to its practice of hiring a significant number of Sales Designers.
On average their sales strength is always 50 to 70 sales ID throughout the years.
Notably, the founder of this firm also holds a key position in the renovation association, actively advocating for an ethical business environment within the industry. He is frequently sought after by the media as an expert commentator on renovation-related topics.
He has highlighted on several occasions that the excessive reliance on sales personnel is the key factor to customer dissatisfaction due to tendencies to overpromise to prospective clients. His company is doing the exact same thing.
It was said that it wasn't surprising to see angry customers arguing in office with designers and managers. It was rare not to see any within a month. They have always enjoyed a good amount of sales from their internal events, and we have a few contractors who share how their designers and customers quarreled at site etc.
So, the next time you encounter ID fairs, it's important to approach them with skepticism. In the interior design industry, honesty can be a rare commodity, so it's crucial to exercise caution and conduct thorough research before making any decisions.
