FAQs

How this works, plainly.

Quoting, delivery, payment, orders and returns. If the answer to your question is "it depends", we say what it depends on.

How we work

What is Gawa?: A contractor supply warehouse and delivery operation at Ngecha, Kiambu, serving sites across Kiambu and Nairobi. We hold a narrow range of fast-moving materials, price them from one list, and deliver them to site.
Can I walk in and buy?: We are built for businesses buying for a live site, not retail footfall. There is a trade counter, but the model is accounts that reorder — contractors, subcontractors, developers, institutions, property managers and fundis.
Do I need an account?: No. You can send a list and get a quote without one. Accounts matter later, for repeat pricing and for credit, which is only opened after a payment history.

How do I get a quote?: Three ways, all the same to us: build a list on the storefront, send a photo of your written list or BOQ on WhatsApp, or send a voice note. A list in by 5pm is a priced quote the same day.
Why are there no prices on the site?: Steel and roofing prices move. A price printed on a page goes stale and a stale price is worse than no price. Every quote we issue traces to a dated source and carries a validity window, so the number you get is a number we will stand behind.
Will I get the same price as everyone else?: Yes. One central price list, one price. Bulk tiers and delivery are priced by the same rules for everyone. No friend price, no stranger price.
How long is a quote valid?: The validity window is printed on the quote itself, because it depends on how the market is moving for those lines. Past that date we re-price rather than honour a number we can no longer buy at.

How do goods get to my site?: On our own delivery, on scheduled loops. The delivery date is confirmed on your quote before you pay, not estimated afterwards. You can also collect from the yard if the goods are ready.
What does delivery cost?: Delivery is priced on the quote, by distance, load and offloading. It is a real cost and we charge it rather than hiding it in the goods. Urgent off-route delivery costs more and is paid before dispatch.
How do I know it actually arrived?: Nothing leaves the yard without an invoice, a numbered delivery note, a destination and a named receiving contact. Your site signs the delivery note and a photo is filed against the order.
What if the load is short or damaged?: Check it against the delivery note before the driver leaves and mark anything short or damaged on the note. That is what the note is for. Once it is marked and signed we correct it against that record.

How do I pay?: M-Pesa or bank, with cash on delivery or a deposit up front depending on the order. Credit is a controlled exception opened only after a payment history, with a limit and a due date. It is not a product we sell.
How do I check on an order?: On the same WhatsApp thread the quote came from. Your phone number is how we find your orders, so keep the conversation on one number and we can pull the whole history.
Can I cancel or change an order?: Before it is picked and loaded, yes — tell us on the thread. Once a load is on a route it is harder, and cut or fabricated material may not be returnable. Ask before the dispatch, not after.
How do refunds work?: A shortage or a wrong item marked on the delivery note is corrected against that record — replaced on the next run, or credited. Refunds go back the way the money came, to the number or account that paid.
Can I set up a recurring order?: Yes, that is the point of an account. If you buy the same basket every week, we keep it and you confirm it rather than rebuilding it. We still re-price each time, because the price list moves.

Ask on the same thread your quote came from. Your phone number is how we find your orders.