I really had high hopes for B&P. After coming across their product in the UK, I purchased a two-gang dimmer set just based on the aesthetic beauty; I had no where or intention of installing them. Fast forward 5-6 years, I move into a new house, and thought I could use their hardware. To my luck, they had opened a US-facing website with US products to use with our requirements here. I started off purchasing a 3-gang switch set and one dimmer for a bathroom remod to see if I liked the product. Man, if I could only go back in time. It's as if 95% of the energy was spent on how the product looked and 5% into the actual design and build quality.
For each switch, you need to set 6 screws... which means for a 3 gang switch you have to use 18 screws! This wouldn't necessarily be a problem, but the design is such that the tolerances needed to get a perfect seal between the faceplate and the switch plate and your switch is near impossible. It took me close to 4 hours to get it right for the 3-gang switch. (I should mention I have experience with machining and metal fabrication, as well as residential electrical, so I'm by no means unqualified to install a light switch.)
What if the electrical box is set too deep in the wall? Well B&P supplies plastic shims that use just hope are the right amount of thickness when added.
What if the electrical box is not 100% parallel to your wall, and a degree or two off? With a traditional faceplate upon tightening it down, it will suck up the deeper part and make it flush. With B&P design, you cannot rely on that. You need to make sure your box is 100% square and level to your wall in order to get your faceplate to sit right.
Speaking of faceplate, be extremely careful when cutting out your drywall for these boxes. There is very very little overlap from the electrical box and the faceplate, meaning that if you aren't cutting perfect box and cut a section too large, the faceplate won't cover it up. Clearly a design born from a building culture that uses plaster primary, and can work the mud right to the box. Not how we do it here in the states...
After all that, I said to myself, well, it's installed and it looks good, what more can I want...
Coming on the 1 year anniversary of the installation, one of the switches decided to stop working. Whatever mechanism was being used to click from the On/Off position broke down inside the actual switch (mostly made of plastic by the way).
Even though this part is not viewed from the outside, it is a completely proprietary part, so I had to order a replacement from B&P website. After successfully ordering the part, it didn't ship for 3 weeks after! At some point during those three weeks I called Customer Service and asked for a shipping update, to only be informed that the product was not in stock, and that the website was updated as such when I placed the order. A bit frustrating, but that's understandable...
What was nor understandable was the attitude from the customer service representative. Being an American and calling the customer service center that was presumable in the UK, based on the gentleman's accent, our phone lines had occasional "break-up". When this inevitably happened and I asked for the person to repeat their question, I was responded with a sassy reply, that shifted the tone of the call from there. Definitely did not feel as those I was being cared for.
I sadly won't be using their products in the future, not unless they completely redesign the guts of their products to a higher quality to match the premium paid.
Buster + Punch response on 11 Jan 2024
Hi John,
Many thanks for sharing your feedback with us today.
I have just emailed you directly so that I can address everything with you and very much look forward to hearing from you soon.
Kindest regards
Melanie
The Buster+Punch Team
Update: 9th January 2024 - 3pm
Hi John,
It was an absolute pleasure speaking with you just now and as mentioned I have emailed you directly with everything following on from our conversation and are delighted we have been able to get everything resolved for you today.
As discussed, please do not hesitate in contacting me directly at anytime if there is anything at all I can ever assist you with.
Wishing you an enjoyable day and look forward to hearing from you soon.
Kindest regards
Melanie
The Buster+Punch Team
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