Double Glazing Blogger: The DGCOS Debate 2

Thursday, July 22, 2010

The DGCOS Debate 2

I feel the debate about the DGCOS is due to run it's course sometime soon, and personally I'm starting to tire of the whole thing.

All of us with an opinion have made their opinions known, and most of those have been negative ones. It's too expensive. It's a gimmick. It's another unnecessary governing body. It will hardly be put to use. It creates an even more negative impression of the double glazing industry by creating the image that the industry as a whole is rotten. It's purely for profit.

Those are some of the reasons why most people believe the idea is flawed, most of which I agree with. But this is where I want to leave it. We won't be joining the scheme I don't think, I won't be writing about the subject again (unless I'm forced to!). If content about the scheme keeps getting published then I fear we will be travelling on the same roundabout for a while, and it's something not worth spending the time and energy doing so.

End.

Labels: Controversy, DGCOS

8 Comments:

Consumer Champion said...: You obviously dont know what you are talking about and have not done your research. Its easy to knock things when you dont know or understand about them.

For some reason you appear to be a mini-me clone of the Glover brothers. There are a few people who on RCG and Glasstalk who have vested interests in the status quo and want to rubbish dgcos before it gets off the ground and a few lemmings who blindly follow.

There are many more who are taking a more considered approach and seeing how things go.

In the short term quite a lot of installers at the sharp end of the business believe it is about time something like this existed with teeth, a credible public face, power to investigate and protect the innocent, powerful marketing tools to help them generate enquiries and secure orders and tools to help them retain their margins instead of discounting them all away.

Membership is not expensive if it makes you more money than it costs!

Any new initiative that can make sweeping reforms can be painful for some and take time to get hold.

In the medium term dgcos will have more members than the GGF.

Did you know the GGF only have 500 members many of whom are not installers. 500 out of 13,500 installers. That’s less than 4% of installers in the UK.

They claim to speak on behalf of the industry. They actually speak on behalf of their larger members and paymasters who they cannot afford to investigate properly or throw out for bringing the industry into disrepute over many years.

In fact, they cant throw them out because these members are on nearly every one of their committees. Would you investigate yourself and throw yourself out of your own club!
No. You’d procrastinate, dodge, misinform, avoid the issues and hope you can get away with it. Well things are changing. Its about time.

In the long term dgcos will have a profound effect in the industry and be the must- have accreditation. It will consolidate the installation industry and put the rogues out of business because consumers will stop buying from them.

Start to use your own brain. Don’t be a sheep. You sound like you might have some intelligence in there somewhere. Lurking.; July 23, 2010 at 4:16 AM
Double Glazing Blogger said...: Right then consumer champion, your confident that this is the best thing since sliced bread, so say on here how much it costs to join, and don't go saying we chould have a chat and hide it away from here, tell us how much it costs.

Your another logo in an industry that doesn't need any more!; July 23, 2010 at 10:26 AM
Conservatory Girl said...: I am really unwilling to get involved in this debate as I too have tired of it and to be honest am being fairly open minded about the whole thing, some things work for some, others work for the rest. So am happy on my perch in the middle of the fence. One thing I am finding increasingly distasteful is the unnecessary and personal derogatory jibes. Is there really any need to behave in this manner? We are supposed to be professionals folks keep it together. Conservatory Girl.; July 23, 2010 at 11:26 AM
Matthew Glover said...: Consumer Champion

Firstly, I speak independently of my brother, although clearly we've both come to a similar conclusion in relation to the DGCOS.

DGB has obviously weighed up the arguments for and against and reached his own conclusion.

Indeed, most of the intelligent, well-informed members of our industry are deeply suspicious of this organisation on so many levels. Most choose to remain anonymous and privately express their concerns.

As you are so well informed, maybe you can explain how the 'ombudsman' can be impartial and independent when he is a company director of a related ombudsman scheme - one which Mr Pickup and Mr Christie are also directors of.

Time of course will tell as to how sustainable and successful the DGCOS scheme will be. If it does offer real benefits to installers and consumers alike then it will flourish.

If it doesn't then the scheme will fail to generate enough members, and existing members will not renew.

If the latter is the case then the DGCOS will cause more harm to this industry than it does good.

So, we will see in the long run.

Matthew Glover; July 23, 2010 at 11:33 AM
David Bingham said...: I'd be more interested in a Double Glazing Industry Champion than a Consumer Champion, consumers have enough rights, we dont!; July 24, 2010 at 8:29 AM
Conservatory Girl said...: Ooooh David, I'm right with you on that, we should set one up!!! We've had some hurrendous experiences with lunatic customers they make me so cross especially as we bend over backwards for them. Some people shouldn't be allowed to by stuff.; July 24, 2010 at 12:19 PM
Double Glazing Blogger said...: I volunteer myself to be the face of that scheme, I would comeout of anonymity for that! I'm better looking than Nick Ross too lol!; July 24, 2010 at 6:10 PM
Mike @ Roseview Windows said...: For what it's worth, the DGCOS protects installers as well as consumers when it comes to arbitration.

As I understand it, either the customer or the installer can put a job into arbitration when there's a dispute. Once the ombudsman has inspected the job and come down on one side, his decision is legally binding, and the DGCOS will back it up in the courts.

So, if the ombudsman decides that the installer is correct, the customer must pay. If they don't the DGCOS will take them to court, while paying the installer out of their slush fund.

Of course, if the ombudsman decides that the customer is right, the installer will be obliged to sort out the problem or give a discount etc. I'm not sure what the DGCOS' legal powers would be though - can they force the installer to sort things out, are their options limited to forcing the installer into giving a discount or accepting non-payment, or is their biggest stick throwing the installer out of the DGCOS?

I'm sure that the DGCOS monitor all these forums for comments on their service, so with a bit of luck Tony Pickup will be on here soon to tell us exactly what they can and can't do (more accurately than I have), to protect both the customer and the installer ;); August 3, 2010 at 10:19 AM

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Thursday, July 22, 2010

The DGCOS Debate 2

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