There are jobs where the right answer is no. Around ~12 over 2024–2025 — about 1 every 6 weeks. Each one cost us money in the short run. Each one was the right call. Specific addresses, customer names, and dates are removed; the structural reason category is real. We publish this so you can see the bar before you pay a deposit.
Reason category 1 — Non-structural wall (4 of ~12)
Most commonA SBLM wall bed transfers ~750 kg dynamic load through Hilti M10 anchors into structural concrete. Drywall, brick veneer, partition walls, and post-1990s thin-shell walls in some HK estates do not qualify. No anchor system makes them safe.
What we did instead: referred 2 of these customers to floor-mounted Murphy bed systems (cheaper, lower load) from competitors we trust. We did not collect a referral fee.
Reason category 2 — Illegal subdivided unit (劏房) (3 of ~12)
If the unit has been illegally subdivided — and the customer cannot provide proof of structural engineer sign-off on the partitioning — we will not anchor a 750 kg load into a wall whose structural status is undocumented. This is a safety-of-life refusal, not a legal one: an illegally divided wall could collapse the deploying mechanism into a neighbour's flat.
What we did instead: declined and explained why. Recommended Buildings Department complaint or licensed-contractor structural assessment as a path forward.
Reason category 3 — Wiring runs concealed in the install zone (2 of ~12)
If a non-destructive wall scan shows live wiring runs through the planned anchor zone and the customer is unwilling to budget for a licensed electrician to re-route, we refuse. We will not drill blind into wiring on the assumption that "we'll be careful". The risk asymmetry is wrong.
What we did instead: showed the scan output, gave a quote conditional on re-routing, walked away when the customer declined.
Reason category 4 — Customer wants 100% upfront refund guarantee post-handback (1 of ~12)
A customer asked for the right to return the install for a full refund up to 6 months after sign-off, for any reason. We don't have that policy. Our cooling-off is 7 days pre-production; once the bed is built into a flat we cannot un-make it. We declined rather than promise something we wouldn't honor.
What we did instead: referred them to ready-made furniture retailers with stricter post-purchase return policies.
Reason category 5 — Customer expectation we couldn't meet (1 of ~12)
A customer wanted a queen-size wall bed that deploys silently in <3 seconds in a 180 sqft unit. The mechanism takes ~6–8 seconds and a queen needs minimum 220 sqft of floor clearance for safe deploy. Promising what we couldn't deliver was the wrong call — even though we'd have made the sale.
What we did instead: explained the physics in person, declined the order, suggested a single XL with desk-deploy as the realistic alternative. Customer walked.
Reason category 6 — Building management / lift restrictions (~1 of ~12)
An older HK building's lift could not safely transport our largest panel and the building management refused to permit hoist-up via the stairwell. We declined rather than break panels into pieces and field-glue (unsafe long-term).
What we did instead: refunded deposit at no cost, recommended a smaller-format bed from another HK competitor.
A salesperson who closes every quote is either a magician or unsafe. The ratio of refused jobs is one of the most under-published trust metrics in HK furniture. We're publishing ours because we want the buyers we work with to know we'd have walked away from theirs too if it failed any of the bars above.
Customer addresses, names, dates, building names, contract values. The categories above are accurate; the volumes are rounded. The 2027 transparency report will publish an audited count by reason category — see /transparency-report.html.
Worried your flat might fall in one of these categories?
Send us a photo of the wall + the building name. We'll tell you in writing if it qualifies — before you visit.
💬 Pre-check my wall