I have been told by a fitter that the Dolphin experience in Scotland is a lot better than in England and I am in Scotland. I booked an appointment with a designer who took me seriously despite my naive, late-20s student demeanour. He saw my dilapidated old suite and thought about saving himself some serious time - instead of starting off with £10k+ as I see other designers do, he said, "It would be about £8k." I was willing to go with them - I knew they were pricey but it was a one-stop-shop and I wanted something seriously classy as I'm that age of trying to impress the ladies....oh and I take pride in my house. Anyway, the final price was £8,900, a couple of hundred added on because that's what his computer calculated in terms of tiling area etc, and let's say £700 because he knew I was a soft touch. I would criticise him for not really exploiting the large range of products on offer. He gave me something adequate which was from the cheaper end for them to buy (better profit margin but as it so happens my small bathroom wouldn't have suited, for example, the larger, more expensive basins). One idea he had as a designer though is worth a thousand pounds to me: he proposed replacing a long bath running the length of the room to one put in sideways, creating a lot of floor space. Sometimes it's worth getting designers to trust you - I couldn't in the end buy on credit so he smoothed my path to a cash deal.

Now I think the real lottery is with the fitters. They seem to be a mixed bunch and I had a great one, father and son team who, fair enough, took their time (10 days from start to finish, not working full days or weekends) but it was a careful approach. Three weeks later and here I am, happy.