When Michael Notaras was fitting out his iconic honey dessert café ‘The Bee Lab’, he was on a short timeframe so finding the right equipment at the right price and which could be delivered pronto was of huge importance. Luckily, he found Cafeideas who helped him to open on time to spread honey goodness to all who ventured by.

“We had a short lead time for our fitout and needed to take delivery of our fridges, our icemaker and other equipment as quickly as possible,” Michael explains.

Having already researched what was needed, Michael had received quotes from various suppliers and then heard from other business owners and friends in the industry about Cafeideas. Without the time to drop by the showroom, he called and was connected with Daniel who immediately focused on fulfilling the order without delay.

“I never went into the store,” Michael says. “I had ideas of brands that I wanted and I knew the dimensions of our floor plan so the specs were all sorted. I was able to tell Daniel what I was looking for and he walked me through the whole thing. He set up a quote that was reasonable and he was able to promise that what we ordered would be delivered by when we needed it all.”

With timeframe the most important consideration, Michael was unable to purchase the exact fridge he had decided upon but Daniel was able to supply a different one on time that has turned out to meet expectation. Also, there was an issue with a blender that was meant to arrive on a separate delivery but which failed to materialise and Daniel personally delivered it to The Bee Lab to avoid any problematic delays.

From the beginning, Michael had emphasised his short lead time to opening. He says Cafeideas went above and beyond to ensure all items arrived by the promised date. “I was surprised when Daniel turned up with the blender himself,” he says. “Stock availability was crucial but I never expected hand-delivery of one of the lower cost items. It made a big difference, knowing that they were keen to be there for us all the way. Even if there were small problems, they were all resolved to my satisfaction. Daniel is a great guy; he literally went out of his way to make sure everything was done right.”

Michael was pleased with the easy flow of communication between him and Cafeideas. “There were a lot of emails back and forth and lots of phone calls but to get a large order like ours through takes a good level of coordination. Daniel kept me in the loop the whole time.”

Additionally impressed by the quality, product range and customer service, Michael says that even though he had been in contact with other suppliers, he had ultimately chosen Cafeideas for the way his enquiry was managed from the beginning, as well as the pricing and timeframe promises.

Having found Cafeideas himself through other people’s recommendations, Michael says he would have no hesitation in recommending Cafeideas to others in future too.

From Cafeideas, The Bee Lab purchased: a Turbo Air under counter drawer freezer, an Eswood under counter glass & dishwasher, a Scotsman under bench ice maker, a Semak microwave oven, a Lassele under bench fridge, and a Hamilton Beach blender.

Cafeideas