What you need to know about Mkhabela renovations

What was supposed to be a beautiful gift for my mother has become a seven month long - and counting - nightmarish ordeal. I chose this company among several others to renovate my mother's kitchen primarily because of social media posts which showed beautiful transformations. I thought this company would undoubtedly deliver the same level of product and service. I was wrong. Project delays and lack of communication The project manager, Sabelo Mkhabela said the project would take about two weeks to be completed. But two weeks became almost two months due to unnecessary delays such as wrong materials being bought because of inaccurate measurements, wrong colour cupboards being bought etc. The project manager is a terrible communicator. He often assumed what my mother and I wanted rather than ask or listen to what we had to say. From the onset, he assumed the kind of kitchen that my mother wanted. He did not consult us about specifics pertaining to the kitchen construction beyond the layout. When we pointed this out, he said it was too late to change anything because he had already purchased the materials i.e cupboards. Mkhabela sub-contracts artisans to construct the kitchen. They would often arrive after 10am to work on the kitchen. In one instance, they arrived at 2pm. At this point I wanted to pull out of the project and find another company. But I had already paid a hefty deposit of more than 50% of the total cost of the project-which was at his insistence. In hindsight and at the time, I regret this. Unprofessional I often felt and still feel like my mother and I were disrespected and treated with disdain because we: 1. Live in a township and 2. Because we are women. On the first point : I do not know how other customers have been treated whether those in suburbia or other regions. I can only speak to my experience. But I often felt like this particular project was a burden because of the distance Mkhabela and his workers had to travel to reach our house. Worker’s lateness was blamed on the distance, current delays in fixing parts of the kitchen that are still not functional, are in part blamed on distance. If this is the case, why did Mkhabela choose to take on this project? On the second point: It’s hard to explain misogyny in the same way that one would find it hard to explain racism. It’s nuanced. It’s in intangible behaviour that leaves you feeling small and comments that you know would never have been made to a man. I often felt undermined and still do. Overall review Some parts of the kitchen were not fitted in properly. A draw and cupboard do not close properly. It has taken more than a month to have this repaired (project was completed in September 2020, it is now March 2021). I strongly urge other consumers to not work with this company. Mkhabela is unprofessional. He is arrogant. His workmanship is sloppy and unprofessional. If I had known what I know now, I would have definitely chosen to work with a different company. It is companies like this that give black businesses a bad reputation.