Kitchen surcharge after order placement

People, the professionals (KFBs) have told him clearly what’s going on and made suggestions. Somehow he seems to have missed the general price increases and that in the end not every wall stands exactly as in his plan. His front stairs and driveway are an example.

The warehouses of kitchen studios have been full to the ceiling with kitchens for months because no house is finished the way the homeowner imagined. There are no dishwashers, refrigerators are missing, etc. Some complain that furniture fronts are warped due to long storage, etc.

Anyone still building now apparently doesn’t realize what’s going on.

Well, that really makes me angry when I read such nonsense. You probably have no idea about house construction outside of kitchens – I just can’t say more about that. I even strongly suspect that you work in the kitchen industry and that’s why you react like this.

You have an incomprehensible understanding of partnership cooperation for me. I would have expected a verbal notice, if one is to believe the statements of the OP here regarding the previous business relationship. What is so difficult about addressing something like that? If you otherwise talk about everything, deliberately omitting this supposed detail harms a business relationship. The remedy would be simple: talk.

I think the OP has understood that a measurement is needed, so why should that still be discussed? For me, and apparently for the OP as well, it’s about this unaddressed clause. And I agree with him there.

Nevertheless, I would be interested in what comes out of the conversation or whether a compromise is found

If I give the "order" in my role that from 01.03. the new prices plus TZ apply, then that also applies to the salesperson in the field

...and if I have learned anything in 11 years of sales, then that nothing is set in stone and there are always and everywhere means, ways, exceptions, and compromises. Always.

For me, it has nothing to do with the way the surcharge was secretly added, at least without active consultation with the kitchen studio, in the very last of all offers. The OP already describes it correctly, this is not the way to proceed when a partnership has been maintained up to that point.
I stick to my suggestion , would that work? When do you have a meeting with the studio?

Yes, exactly. We will talk to the kitchen studio again as soon as our general contractor sends us a detailed construction schedule that we can "more or less" rely on after the shell construction phase. Then we can roughly estimate whether the kitchen can be measured in time or not. This will happen next week – so we'll wait and hope that the timing works out.

I think the suggestion from is quite good. We will try to negotiate one or two months so that we don’t get into trouble having to pay the partial payment at all – that would be easiest for everyone.

Well, I don’t believe that is buried in the fine print. You don’t hide that in the terms and conditions!!
It must have been placed somewhere on the last page and is a note from the studio.

But the OP doesn’t engage at all with the proposed solutions, e.g., whether it’s feasible to have the measurement done before the deadline!?!?! They could have closed the thread after page 2 already.

Then you probably have never built a house or had a prefabricated house set up? At the moment, it is simply VERY DIFFICULT to communicate this within such a tight timeframe. It’s currently very tight for us!!! That’s why I’m so annoyed that the kitchen builder is probably messing around because of one month!

And just by the way: he knew exactly when we were going to move in roughly and what our current status is. To then simply put such a clause in writing in the very last offer is, in my opinion, just cheeky...

...and if I have learned one thing in 11 years of sales, it is that nothing is set in stone and there are always and everywhere means, ways, exceptions, and compromises. Always.

But absolutely... thank you! That is exactly how it is.

It is currently simply VERY DIFFICULT to communicate this within such a tight timeframe. Things are extremely tight for us at the moment!!! That’s why I’m so upset that the kitchen builder is most likely messing around because of 1 month!

The one month may be related to a fixed price increase from the supplier, which the kitchen builder would have to bear. That would create a different basis for negotiation than a general clause that applies after x months in the standard offer. For a successful negotiation, it is useful to also consider the position of the opposing party. If you remove some emotionality and start to take an interest in your business partner, a good result will surely come out of it.