This Page

has been moved to new address

Double Glazing Blogger

Sorry for inconvenience...

Redirection provided by Blogger to WordPress Migration Service
Double Glazing Blogger: January 2010

Friday, January 29, 2010

Can Blogs Be Dangerous?

As readers of this blog will be aware, I'm not scared to post information, rumours or stories which may cause provocation. If there is a company going under, I will report it. If there is inside information worth posting, then it will be posted. But this doesn't necessarily make me many friends. I won't shy away from posting my opinions or any information company related. If I do write about other companies, I try not to write offensively, and do try and write informatively. If I ever do write something that is incorrect I will always apologise and ask to be pointed out where I went wrong.

I understand also that some of the things I may write can get me into a bit of bother. I know that if I write about a company going bust and I'm wrong, then it could cause me difficulties. But, with blogs being a free and (almost) unregulated form of media, I will always continue to publish my thoughts and information in my own fresh way.

I do also think many blogs shy away from saying what they really want to say. There is a lot of political correctness and politeness being posted, but not enough strong opinion. There's lots of wishy washy blurb on blogs, and not jst double glazing ones.

Case in point is the latest rumour to be banded about. The name of the company thought to be in question has been posted on here by an anonymous reader. But why the hell not! There's a rumour, it's interesting and worth knowing, it keeps blogs like these worth reading!

Labels: ,

Thursday, January 28, 2010

How Hard Is It To Produce Shaped Sealed Units?

A job I have just recently finished pricing involved trying to produce some very intricate sealed units to fit into the stone work frames of an old chapel being converted into flats. I contacted both our suppliers for sealed units and at first both neither was keen to produce the designs I had sent to them. There were plenty of very small circular designs, as well as something which resembled a three leaf clover, plus the typical church-like arched units. The first of our suppliers came back to us with a rediculous price. But whether that was becasue they didn't want to do the job or because they didn't have the specialist equipment I don't know. The second supplier however did seem more helpful. They did have to use something call a 'water-jet', never heard of one of those before, unless I heard him wrong! This jet they said was particularly expensive, but despite that, they were £1000 less than the other price I received.

This led me to thinking, how hard/easy is it to make unusal/intricate designs? I am going to a factory tour of our suppliers soon so some of my questions should be answered there. But for any of you who work in the sealed unit manufacturing sector, please feel free to educate me further!

Labels:

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

National Companies Create False Customer Hopes

Recently we have seen campaigns by Everest and Anglian Home Improvements advertising their own scrappage schemes. From their point of view, the campaign to get the government to introduce a scrappage scheme design to benefit the double glazing industry provided the perfect advertising gimmick, and no doubt it may have swung a few customer's their way by now. But their campaigns in my opinion are mis-guided and have been a waste of energy. With the size of the companies involved with this type of campaign, I would have thought it more beneficial to have all the employees of both companies sign the government petition to introduce such a scheme nationwide. At the moment, the number of signatures on that petition stands at just over 3700. How many more could there be if there was a concerted effort by both Anglian and Everest to get as many new names on there as possible?

My second thought is that the campaign is not so believable. Because there seems to be just these two involved, when customers start to shop around for prices they will come to realise that no one else is advertising a scrappage scheme, and realise it is just another advertising gimmick, feeding off the success of the car and new boiler versions. To me this puts the validity of the campaign in doubt. It won't have the effect on customers that it wants to achieve because it's not a government scheme. This is why energies would have been better placed in putting thousands of signatures on the government petition website.

We risk the petition falling through and not being noticed because of this. While Anglian and Everest were thoughtless and only saw a 'quick buck' benefit for themselves, they have put the success of the petition at risk. Personally, I now think that we won't have such a scheme introduced because the heavy-weight influence of the national companies hasn't been put to good use, and has instead been used to feed greed, much like the bankers in fact!

So, if there are any readers who work for a national company, why haven't you instructed your employees to help the industry they work in and sign the petition for a national windows scrappage scheme?

Labels: , ,

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Wakefield To Get It's Shopping Centre

Today it was announced that a new consortium has taken over the project to re-start the building of Wakefield's new £220 million pound shopping centre. This will be a huge boost to the local economy as it is predicted to create 1500-2000 new jobs. So employment will benefit. But it's not just the direct jobs boost that will come from the development. There is a healthy pub industry surrounding the project. As workmen clock off for the day, there will be many more pilling into the pubs for a pint or two after work. This hopefully will boost the pub industry in Wakefield.

There was worry that Wakefield was going to be left with a huge steel structure for years to come. But luckily this will not be the outcome. Meaning the huge developments happening in Wakefield right now will ALL be finished. There should also be a boost to Wakefield directly. With a price tag of £220 million pounds, you can expect a pretty good shopping centre. Hopefully this will bring new people into the city spending their hard earned cash. The new centre provides high street chains with yet more outlets to advertise their products. With plenty of high street stores in the centre of Wakefield either closing or closed, this is vital to recover what we have lost.

I know the country has just scraped out of recession, but this is another positive sign that a recovery is under way, albeit a slow one, but it is better than no recovery at all.

Labels: ,

The UK Is Officially Out Of Recession...But Only Just!

The figures for the last quarter of 2009 have just been released, and with growth of the UK economy of 0.1%, the country is now officially out of recession. But only just! Financial experts thought we would have growth of at least 0.4%, so 0.1% is a bit of a disappointment. The other factor to bear in mind is that this figure is the first estimate. Over the next few days and weeks, more data will be available to analysts, and as the data comes in, revisions will be made. Most revisions are usually between 0.1-0.2%, and that works either way. So it is important to remember that this figure could go either up or down.

As a business, we have to look past that and promote to the consumer that the UK is officially out of recession. Positivity and energy is going to be the key here. The better we push the end of the recession, the more positivity we can convey to people.

More specifically with our industry, I think most of us are noticing a much improved sector compared to last year.

Labels: ,

WER's Save A Stagnant Industry

What would have happened to the window industry if WER's hadn't come along? Before window energy ratings showed their face, companies were trundeling along, selling their windows and doors on the same selling points: security and aesthetics.

What used to split companies apart was the security that was used in their windows and doors. Luckily for us we always had a fantastic product with great security features. This helped us win orders against companies at the lower end of the market. However, as the industry progressed, other manufacturers began to catch up and the playing field become more level. The market began to merge together again, lines blurred and it became harder to win orders.

When security wasn't doing the trick, the next road to go down was the aesthetics of what you were selling. There was a lot of plain out there. Lots of flat, chunky, boring PVCu frames. Then sculptured frames came along and became a game changer. We were one of the first to start using the sculptured frames, and that immediately set us apart from other competition. But, as with everything, over the years companies caught up and sculptured frames became the norm. The playing field levelled up again. Companies had to search for other selling points to win orders. That came in the form of things such as company history, white/cream/black woodgrain, age of the business, reputation, freebies etc. But nothing was significant.

That was until WER's came along. Suddenly, here was something that was simple, was a clear advantage to installers and customers alike, and something to point an industry lost within itself back in the right direction. And it came just in time. Just as WER's came to prominance, the industry started to decline in a very serious manner. WER's gave struggling companies a lifeline. Something to help promote their products in a new 'green' light. WER's mean't profit margins could be restored, falling conversion rates could be boosted, and optimism grew. However, over the last 2/3 years it has been introduced, still only roughly a third (maybe less) of businesses have taken WER's on board and actively sold the advantages. We use the energy efficiency of our products as our main selling point. When replacing windows in the future, energy efficiency is going to be one the of most important factors. So what has confused me is why so many companies are taking so long to get on board. When sculptured frames came out, companies quickly got on the band wagon, as they did with different coloured wood grains and break secure door cylinders. So, if any one reading this isn't pushing WER's, why? It's given the window industry the jolt it needed, and is going to be the main driving force for many years to come.

Labels: , , , , ,

Sunday, January 24, 2010

If You Value British Industry, Read This, Then Pass It On To As Many People As You Can!

The following is a heart-felt plea by Felicity Loudon to the shareholders of Cadbury to fight against the take over deal by Kraft:

Dear fellow shareholders,

In 1824, John Cadbury started commercial production of chocolate and founded the Cadbury brand. Then in 1879, his son George opened the family's factory at Bournville, on the outskirts of Birmingham, with its famous model village designed to house the workforce in rare comfort, with access to parks, gymnasia, lakes and gardens.

They even had one of the world's first factory canteens. Thus it was that, just as Cadbury's chocolate became renowned, so too did their ethos of philanthropic management of their hard-working staff.

It happens John Cadbury was my ancestor and that I was born a Cadbury, but practically everyone in this country was brought up on Cadbury's and that's the point.

We now stand on the verge of seeing this famous company, emblematic of so much that is good about Britain, sold to the giant American food company Kraft.

I oppose the Kraft bid on a number of points and the first of them is on grounds of taste.

I have no doubt that once Kraft's corporate chefs get to work we will lose the wonderful creamy, delicious Cadbury blend for ever. While Kraft produces cheese slices reminiscent of plastic, Cadbury makes premium bars of chocolate that are sought after all over the world.

Job losses for loyal and committed workers will follow a takeover and Kraft will inevitably move production out of this country to Poland, as they did with the last British chocolate maker they gobbled up: Terry's, sadly no longer of York.

I also oppose this bid on the grounds of national interest. There are, doubtless, many companies representing the best of British business that have been sold abroad in the past decade or so; I would suggest too many. We are now eroding our manufacturing base at a rate that is unsustainable and all this in the name of the global market.

I'm afraid the view of the global market and iconic national brands is quite different in other countries, including the United States, where they are quite fiercely protected from foreign predators. I think Cadbury should mark a line in the sand for the loss of our own manufacturing icons.

I've never claimed to be a financial expert but, importantly, I also contest this bid on the grounds of business prudence and best-value for shareholders. Cadbury is a successful, rapidly growing, vibrant brand while Kraft is a sluggish, unimaginative and low-growth conglomerate.

For me, shareholder value would best be achieved by continued investment in the British-held Cadbury model which envisages high growth despite difficult trading times.

Kraft represents only one thing and that's a disruption of the successful Cadbury brand and its manufacturing base to pay for the very bid that the board has accepted.

Cadbury will become just another division in the lumbering Kraft dinosaur. Kraft needs Cadbury but Cadbury certainly doesn't need Kraft.

The second string to my opposition is unashamedly patriotic and sentimental, at a time in our history when it is unfashionable to be either. That is why I mention the fine heritage of the Cadbury brand; bids may be made on the basis of financial imperatives but great brands are founded on genius, hard work and endeavour. My view is that Cadbury should remain in British hands.

My disappointment at the performance of the Cadbury board in all this is unqualified. At great expense to the company and the shareholders, they brought in City advisers and glitzy PR machines to 'fight' the Kraft attack. A stand-alone strategy was unveiled and I was heartened by its vision and positive stance. But then a small tweak in the unattractive Kraft offer saw the board capitulate and their seemingly robust defence of Cadbury was proved to be a sham.

How disappointing then, when it was revealed that Cadbury CEO Todd Stitzer stands to pocket a huge 'bonus' - around £20m - from the Kraft deal. He ostentatiously built a barricade around the company but then failed to fire a single shot from it. I hope he uses his cash for a flight back to America, where I trust he will stay.

Then, after the board acceptance was announced, the British public was treated to the unedifying sight of Roger Carr, the chairman of Cadbury, being interviewed on the BBC by their business correspondent Robert Peston. Could the chairman explain why Cadbury, a superior company, is being bought up by Kraft, an inferior company, asked Peston?

Trapped like a rabbit in the beam of headlamps, the chairman could barely answer and it was left to Peston to point out that the deal will leave all Britons a bit poorer in the future.

They say these takeover deals are sealed with the board's recommendation; we are told that the die is cast - but I wonder. Do we really have to carry on with the ghastly ritual wedding dance of this takeover? It is up to the shareholders to decide whether they will vote for this deal or not and I urge all my fellow shareholders to reject this bid on the grounds of price and future value.

Do not follow the advice of a board that has accepted a bid well below that which the company is worth. Do not let Cadbury, a distinctly superior company, be taken over by Kraft, an obviously inferior one.

Yours sincerely,

Felicity Loudon

One of the things that frustrates me most is that in earlier attempts to take Cadbury over, their CEO robustly attacked the Kraft offer. Yet when they tweaked their offer slightly, they caved so very easily. It seems that greed took over and was just waiting for the offer to be improved for his benefit.

We need to start an interent campaign if we are to put any pressure on the shareholders of Cadbury to vote against the take-over. If someone hasn't already, I'll start a Facebook group to protest against the sale. But we need bloggers and Twitter users to join in the campaign too. 

Labels:

You Know It's Getting Bad When...

On Friday night I went to Mumbai Indian resturant in the centre on Wakefield for a curry with my girlfriend. Afterwards we went to our local (Inns of Court) to meet a few friends and properly let our hair down. And who should I see there? The husband of the customer I signed up not 5 hours earlier! You know it's getting bad when you start seeing your customers drinking where you drink.

This isn't the first encounter with customers while I have been out and about. But they seem to be becoming more frequent. And they all seem to be in bars! It's not so bad when you meet them in the Co-Op for example. I'd be in my suit and able to keep my professional apprearance up. But when your in a pub with a pint with black skinny jeans, blue checked shirt and surrounded by mates, you lose that proffesionalism until they see you in a suit again. But is it a bad thing that they see you in an ordinary environment? He did say to me that it was good to see I was just like 'one of the lads'. I think he was hinting that most people in sales tend to live a life controlled by work and never able to let their hair down or relax.

I suppose it would be worse if you saw a customer in a bar/pub which you fell out with as a company. The atmosphere may be awkward or worse!

Labels:

Phoenixing Not So Difficult

In some of my previous posts I have been detailing... (again removed for legal reasons).


On the evidence of this, it may not be so hard to start a new company from the ruins of an old one, despite the difficult trading conditions and tough new banking criteria. I have stated myself that it would be much harder to phoenix a company because of the pressures of the recession. But it seems that it may not be so difficult after all.

Labels: ,

Friday, January 22, 2010

How Much Will Oil Influence Our Industry?

Over the last few days the price of oil has been heading back down from $83 dollars a barrell to just over $74 today. One thing I was banking on happening was when the price of oil really rocketed up, that profile and systems companies would have taken the opportunity to raise their rates and use that as a very timely excuse. However, much to my surprise this has not happened.

This may not be sustained in the long run. Long-term, oil will only go up in price as supplies start to fall. And because PVCu is half made from oil, surely the price will go up in the future. Based on that hypothesis, the industry has two ways to go. The first path is to heavily invest in recycling old PVCu frames to be used for the same purpose. The downside to that is the public may not take to buying 'used' PVCu when the idea is to replace old tired frames with 'new'. The other tricky problem is that you would almost be trying to create and tool up a whole new industry when the funding isn't readily available. To recycle old frames into new ones on mass will require huge upheaval and expansion of the whole industry. But because we are such a lathargic industry and don't ever move quick enough, that will struggle from the beginning.

The second path we could take would be to start producing polymers from sustainable oil supplies i.e. sustainable crops earmarked for oil dependent industries. There are hectares of land springing up all over the place with crops destined to become oil to fuel other sectors of industry. The same ploymers PVCu needs can be made from these sustainable crops. More investment and research should be carried out to see if this really could be a successful alternative to gutting the earth of it's limited natural resources.

On a completely different note, I'm thinking of (and probably going to do) starting a second blog. The content of the blog isn't going to be industry related in the slightest. Just wanted to get that in there first! I do a lot of thinking when I get spare time, and a lot of that thinking goes on human history and the human condition. Quite a difference from double glazing I know. But I do quite a lot of philosphical thinking, and I think it would be nice to get some of my thoughts about the world, and not just about the job I work in, out there for people to study. There won't be the uber regular posts on my new blog like this one. If I feel some reflectionary thoughts coming on, then it will go straight on the blog. I want you to let me know if this is something you would be interested in reading. I'll put out more specific information about it soon.

Night all!

Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, January 21, 2010

The Break Secure Door Cylinder, Isn't So Break Secure Anymore

Since March 2005 we have been using a Break Secure door cylinder to combat burglar break-ins through cylinder attack. And up until this point we thought they were pretty much burglar proof. Well to a point. We knew that at some point burglars would find a way round to break the Break Secure door cylinder. Unfortunately that time has come. Over the Christmas period we had a speight of break-ins through cylinder attack. Some through normal Europrofile cylinders, but a couple were through Break Secure door cylinders. I'm not going to publicise how they did it for obvious reasons. But from this point we have dropped the Break Secure door cylinder for an updated model, for roughly the same cost too.

Again for obvious reasons I'm not going to say what we are using, otherwise our selling advantage would disappear! But I would suggest those using similar models at the moment look into changing them. News like this travels fast in the criminal community, so it won't be long till customers get wind that the first generation of Break Secure door cylinders aren't so burglar proof now.

Labels:

I Was Supposed To Be Doing Paperwork Tonight!

We're busy. Busy enough to the point where I really should have been working tonight rather than writing this. But, mistakes were likely at this time of night so I decided to leave that till the morning.

The leads we have been going on have all been quite large, one is so large and complicated (consisting of 88 frames, all of which are going to be black or cream woodgrain, and a lot of them circular and oddly shaped) in fact that it's going to take 2 weeks just to prepare. The rest have been full houses and just today a primary school has just gone ahead with me. It really does seem that the weather kept people indoors till the thaw came.

I want to share a bit of news with you all regarding pensions. We spoke to our accountants today and they informed us of desired changes the government want to make within three years. If they were to get their way they want to make it so that every business, in every industry, has an employee pension set up. This would consist of a portion of the employee wage, with the rest topped up by the company. This change could cause some serious repercussions. RCG informed us of the plan for the government to make it so that fitters were 'on the books', meaning weekly wages, holiday pay, the buying of tool etc. So couple that with the potential changes to expand company pensions to everybody, and you have yourself a great big pile of trading difficulties!

It does seem that the government is out to get from our industry as much as it can. We've had no relief, unlike other home improvement industries. So all we need now is the glass cartel to raise prices, and for Pilkington to shut down a couple of plants to create an artificial glass shortage to raise prices even further. They may as well, everybody else shit's on our industry!

Labels:

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Bankruptcy Numbers Up In December

December's figures for companies going bust went up to 195 from 176 (figures courtesy of http://www.double-glazing-forum.com/) in November. Not much of an increase you may think, but with the bad weather that came early this month, and many tax bills to be paid by the end of January, I think we can expect a big rise for this month and the next. All this will come as good news for others in the industry as this will make some room in an already crowded market place. 

December brought the curtain down on a very turbulent 2009. A year which many hope will not be repeated for a very, very long time. Some might say the industry needed such a jolt, to get rid of deadwood suppliers and installers. And in some respects they would be right. Too many bad companies were drifting about, undercutting other companies and stealing business as they were sinking under. Leaving unwitting customers with worthless guarantees.

However, when a company does go, and is forced to without any fault of their own, it is a sad day. Thoughts have to turn the the employees and their families. The businesses that we don't mind going are the ones that duck and dive their way through business, phoenixing every five minutes, making trading difficult for others around them.

Labels: ,

A Sad Day For British Industry

This post isn't about windows, in fact it's about as opposite as it could be!

Today we saw the beginning of one of Britain's finest companies being handed to the Americans. This is a sad day as it means a few things. One, that hundreds of jobs will probably go when Kraft take over. Creating jobs in other countries or America where wages will be cheaper. Leaving the unfortunate British to cope with yet more unemployment unfairness. Second is that a great industry and great company of this country will fall into foreign hands. This just compounds the issue of so many businesses, companies and industries in this country not actually being owned or run by this country! The more businesses that fall into the hands of foreigners, the worse our employment situation will be. Take for example the depot strikes about a year ago in Grimsby (think it was there, or at least somewhere near ther!). That was due to the company in charge not giving the British workers the chance to win the employment contract. Instead the contract was given to the Portuguese, despite the fact that the construction of the new depot was in the north east of England!

Even in this industry a lot of companies that provide the raw materials are foreign owned. Our manufacturer is British owned, and we make a point of that. The reason behind that is we know that there is an increasing attitude of disgust that everything we buy in thic country is either foreign made or the company producing it isn't British. There is also a swinging attitude change to buy local and buy British. The more we can aid to this cause the better it will be for the country as a whole. We have to bring industry back to this country. This will help the unemployment situation and help the economy overall. This country used to be THE becon of industrial and economic development. But now, we rely on everybody else doing well, otherwise we suffer! Something doesn't add up there!

Labels:

Monday, January 18, 2010

Business Gets Brisk

As the worst of the weather has passed, this week is shaping up to be very promising. The appointments haven't been hammering in, but they have been quality ones, which is the most important. We are positioned to be signing up quite a number of customers, and personally I could be on one of my best weeks of my career so far.

Today I also went on the biggest job I've measured as of yet, which was an old chapel being converted into flats. That took me two hours with the help of one of the fitters making sure I didn't miss any potential fitting issues out. Needless to say there is an abundance of work just in this single job, and will take me a while just to prepare the paper work for it.

The quality of the leads that have been coming in so far is what has given me most of my optimism. The beginning of 2009 brought very scrappy leads with perhaps only a couple of windows or just a door to measure up for. Not that that was to be sniffed at when they came in, but it wasn't really enough to earn a decent wage. But this time it's all been full houses or similar. I'm now in a much better position to make good money.

What would still be interesting to know is how hard the industry is going to be through January. The weather may have killed a lot of struggling companies off. Christmas will have been a hard for a lot of companies, but with such a slow start to 2010, that may have been the straw that broke the camel's back.

While it is getting busier, I'm finding less time to work on the modifications to the showroom. We want three new doors, two of which will be black, one of which we will be designing with our own new glass design that will be unique to our doors. As well as that we want some bi-folding doors and tons of new glass designs to go into our existing doors in the showroom. Lot's of late ones needed I think if I'm to get all this done!


Labels: , ,

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Warning Shots

In recent years, with the surge of the internet, it has become much easier for unhappy customers to vent their frustrations about particular companies or bad installations. And as we have seen, some become very enthused by the matter and take things much further by waging online campaigns against particular companies. I can understand customers' frustrations, and I can pretty much understand that some of them want to air their views. I do think however that waging online campaigns against certain businesses is a very precarious bridge to walk. Now free speech allows people to say anything they want, through any website, as many times as they wish, which forms the backbone of an organised campaign. In reality, companies can do nothing substantial about it. They could take people to court for slander, but that process takes a while and benefits nobody. Reputations don't recover, and if you're a double glazing company the court house is the last place you want to be. Which brings me to my point. With such accessible media now available, installation companies must do their best to get the job done right first time round. If that is not possible, then they must bend over as backward as they can to rectify any remedial work, and do it quickly. This of course puts more pressure on companies and fitters. But there is nothing that can be done about that. Customers now have way too many rights (apologies if you are a consumer reading this but it's true!), and as we have seen on YouTube, there are a lot more videos showcasing the bad installations around the country, doing the reputation of the double glazing industry no good.

Labels: , ,

Double Glazing Industry Is Still Shakey In Places

My last post touched on a couple of developments within the double glazing industry.

The first bit of news was the confirmation of... (the rest of this section has been removed for my safety reasons!).

My second bit of news was about Safestyle. Some may already know this but their fitters are now on 3 day weeks and have taken a 20% pay cut. For a fitter who has to pay for a lad, and provide for his family, how is he going to manage on those sorts of work levels. It does beg the question of how well they are actually doing. Whenever you hear them talk they are always doing well, but in reality they can't be if they can't provide their fitters with a full weeks work. They did also shut down the Bradford plant not so long ago. How is this company still trading. I know from older salesmen in the industry that everyone has wondered how they have managed to carry on trading this long.

One thing that I've been wondering about is this; do we really want the biggest in the industry to go? When the bigger companies start advertising, that tends to generate leads for everyone in the industry. They are the ones to start the ball rolling in the New Year and get everyone back into the swing of things.

This tells me that our industry is still shakey in places, and that there are more companies that are due to go bust sooner rather than later. But I think for those who had a good last three months of 2009 and good beginning of this year then things should be looking up from here on in.

My last bit of news was about a company/branch going under in Castleford, but I am yet to hear any solid information about that so I don't have anything new on that front. But when I do it'll be on here.

Labels: ,

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

Quick Industry Updates

We had our first FENSA inspection of the year today and confirmed something that I mention in an earlier post. TWS of Leeds have officially gone out of business. TWS were based in Garforth, Leeds and Thorp Arch which I think is Hull. We weren't their biggest competitors but we did come up against them often enough, luckily we had a good percentage against them. There were rumours of money and advertisement mis-management and they did lose their best salesman to one of their competitors, plus they were struggling with debts.

The inspector also told us that Safestyle has put their fitters on 3 day weeks and they have taken a 20% pay cut. How they can be earning a decent wage I don't know. And I suppose the big question many people have asked now and in previous years is how are they still going!?

Another company/branch in Castleford has also gone under. I'm trying to confirm the company name so as soon as I get confirmation I'll let it be known.

This is just a quick update, I'll analyse and pick it apart in another post later on this evening.

Labels: , , ,

Removal Of Last Post

Dear Mr Phil Jennings

Last night I published a full post based on the comment you left me yesterday. Whether you saw this or not I don't know. I posted your comment and your videos in full in a new post. However, I have been informed by other members of the double glazing community that there is on-going legal action with Anglian Home Improvement, and due to this I have had a change of heart and wish not to publish your comments. This is nothing against yourself. I just feel that it is best not to get involved while there is legal action in progress. The purpose of my blog is to air my views on the industry. I don't want it to become an outlet where the public get to victimise certain companies or organisations.

However, thank you for taking an interest in my blog.

DGB

Labels:

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Back To Normal

Things seems to have quickly got back to normal as the freeze eases it's grip on the UK. Now that traffic is able to move a lot more freely now, consumers seem to have quickly got back into the swing of things and we've noticed it over the last couple of days.

Leads have been coming in a lot quicker and in better numbers. Deals are starting to be finalised and completed much more productively, which always improves the cash flow situation. And as pointed out in RCG's latest post, the search numbers for 'double glazing' on Google seems to have picked up dramatically, which means we should look forward to a brisk beginning of the year.

This year is going to be the year of challenges and rewards. For those who want the business badly enough, they will get it. For those who still haven't managed their business through the recession properly they are going to fail. Which is a shame because the economy looks to be coming out of recession very soon. As soon as we get confirmation of that you can expect consumer confidence to rise further and steeper, only making trading conditions better.

I know this is a turn around compared to one of my recent posts where I was predicting a very gloomy start to the year. But after seeing a noticable improvement I've changed my opinion. I do that a lot if you haven't already noticed!

P.S. How many of you follow my Twitter updates? Just a thought.

Labels: , ,

Why Door Knocking Is Never Productive!

I found this interesting article published in the Telegraph back in March 2009. It just goes to show that door to door sales is not the way to be going about business in this day and age:

Frustrated double glazing salesman lashed out at villagers, court told.

A double glazing salesman attacked a man and made an obscene gesture at an elderly woman after his sales pitch was repeatedly rejected, a court heard.

By John Bingham

Published: 6:12PM GMT 25 Mar 2009

Leo Wardrop, 18, lost his temper after spending an afternoon being turned away by villagers in Lingwood, Norfolk, while under pressure to make commission fees worth £60-per-sale.

Great Yarmouth Magistrates' Court heard that the teenager snapped when Hazel Wilcox, a pensioner, said that she was not interested in his wares.

He repeatedly rang her doorbell and banged her gate in frustration, said Fergus Harold, prosecuting.

As the row escalated, he became caught up in a tussle with one of her neighbours, Michael Dack, 67, a retired engineer and former neighbourhood watch coordinator, after he took a photograph of him arguing with Mrs Wilcox.

Vaulting over a 3ft garden fence, he tussled with Mr Dack trying to grab the camera from his hands and blocking his doorway.

The photograph was later used to identify Wardrop, of Wymondham, Norfolk, who was fined £125 after being found guilty of assault and harassment by the magistrates.

He has also been sacked from his job at Anglia First Home Improvements based in Lenwade, Norfolk, following the incident on Feb 3.

"I feel a bit sorry for the poor lad," Mr Dack said after the hearing.

"He was at the end of his tether after everyone had turned him away and he just blew a fuse.

"It is a terrible job going around knocking on doors trying to sell things.

"I think I did him a good turn by getting him the sack so he could find another job."

The court heard that matters escalated when Wardrop made an obscene gesture at Mrs Wilcox prompting her to warn him: "If you come by again, I will clip your ear for you."

Mr Dack saw what was happening and stepped outside to take a picture.

But Wardrop accused him of breaking the law by taking the picture and jumped over the fence and began struggling with him until Mrs Wilcox's husband, Robert, stepped in forcing the salesman to retreat.

Under cross examination, he told the court: "There was pressure on me to get quotations. You get rejected a lot."

You can find the article at:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/5049873/Frustrated-double-glazing-salesman-lashed-out-at-villagers-court-told.html.

Luckily I joined this industry as the door-to-door sales method had died out. A lot of our customers come through the door and into the showroom. A lot of our customers are local to us, but we also have a very good repuation and people know we have a good product. They also know that we are by far not the cheapest, but also appreciate that we sell a superior product.

Labels:

Other Career Choices

Recently I have been told by various customers (and my girlfriend!) that I would be perfect at other proffessions besides selling double glazing.

One of the suggested career changes was to become a journalist. Taking a step back I can see why. I'm always looking on news websites, watching the news on TV, looking for stories that could potentially have some impact or effect. The news does fascinate me, but what really sets my energy going is knowing I could be the one making the stories. I have a passion to make a difference, and I know being involved in journalism I can do just that. The downside is that I would have to study, which isn't practical right now, and the work won't always be interesting or fulfilling. I only want to be in a job I truly want to do and enjoy, which is the outlook I have now. Plus, what I'm doing now comes with great prospects! There's only one position left to fill above me! That's the advantage to being involved in a family run business!

The other popular comment I get from customers is that I would make a good politician. Partly because I have answer for everything! But I think it is also because I come across as polite, confident and being very sure of myself. Skills which are needed for the public side of being a politician. I because I want to make a difference, I can see why I could probably fit the description of being an MP. The big flip side to that choice is the stress, pressure and the lack of credibility politics has at the moment. I've always said something is only worth doing if you enjoy it, and because of those disadvantages, that would affect my job satisfaction badly.

What I'm doing now I enjoy completely. I have drive, determination and goals. I'm able to feed off the pressure which comes with commission only selling, which only helps me to achieve. And on top of that, I have the best job prospect. When my parents retire, I'm able to step into their shoes and I have the opportunity to run and own my own business. Hopefully that won't be too far away!

One thing is certain. While we remain in business, I won't ever leave where I am working now. We are well established, very profitable, have great working conditions and will always have the opportunity the grow and expand the business.

Labels:

Monday, January 11, 2010

All Calm

The worst of the cold snap seems to have passed now, so hopefully we can look forward to a much more productive week at work.

One thing I did notice this week as the latest Everest advert advertising a window scrappage scheme. Looking at the fine print on the ad they will give you up to £2000, £100 per window up to a maximum of 20 windows. What is a concern is if the public start to catch on and think that this window scrappage is a national initiative, just like the boiler and car scrappage schemes. It is going to be up to the rest of the window industry to put customers back on the right path if they start to ask about window scrappage schemes. The risk is that artificial schemes, and not government backed schemes, could back the window industry into a corner.

If scrappage schemes are going to remain talked about, we really need to get behind the petition set up on the Number 10 website. That is the best chance our industry has to get a legitimate scheme up and running that will genuinely benefit the customer.

Labels: , ,

Saturday, January 9, 2010

Snow Day 5

The snow is falling again here in Wakefield. But we have had some life wander into the office so far this morning and some leads have been made for next week which looks a bit more promising. Once the cold snap has been and gone, we have to use it as a fantastic selling point to advertise energy rated windows. If there ever was a better excuse and time to replace old inefficient windows and doors it is now!

All this cold weather might kick a few dawdling customers up the backside into getting their windows replaced. Our industry does struggle in times like this, but we also have to use it to our advantage.

This time next year I know what I'll be doing to earn some extra cash, selling grit!

Labels:

Friday, January 8, 2010

This Is Why We Are Quiet

Here are some of the pictures I've been taking over the last few days, and the reason why we have all been struggling over the past week or so:


Labels:

Snow Day 4

I'm back in the office today. Weh-hey! Not that I'm being put to good use. Phones are still quiet and there isn't much work to be working on.

I think we need to start a nice healthy debate on something, preferably something double glazing related. Like honesty for example. We've just had a rep in from a door panels company. He asked us how we were doing and we were honest with him. We told him that the weather has put a big dampener on things and we would like to be busier than what we are. He then told us how most of the other companies have said they are stacked out, dozens of windows and doors to make, plenty of leads and plenty of work. LIE! There's nowt like spinning a yarn. I know businesses always say they are busy, just so they don't lose face. But at times like this where the whole industry is in a deep freeze, its pointless dressing things up when the obvious is staring everyone in the face. So there's a debate topic. How honest should businesses in our industry actually be?

Labels:

Thursday, January 7, 2010

The Best Picture Of Britain I've Seen

This is possibly one of the best pictures of Britain from space I've seen, and the reason why Britain has come to a standstill:























Spectacular! 

I'll be back in the office tomorrow, I promise I'll try and find something double glazing related to write about next time I post!

Labels:

Snow Day 3

Still cold. Still white. Not much has changed today. Managed to de-ice my car after about 15-20 minutes and drive it about. We live on a rather big hill so the journey down it was very gingerly! I managed to put some desperately needed fuel in the car, get some lunch, and get back up the hill to where we live, which was the hardest part of the journey. But I'm here typing this so I got home safe!

The main concern for businesses now is how long this cold snap is going to continue. While the weather is too cold to get consumers out of their front doors, the bigger the impact is going to become. The double glazing industry needed to have a running start going into this New Year. What has happened is the complete opposite. Phones are quiet, fitters are unable to work, and customers aren't coming through the door despite the best efforts to clear the snow and ice. We have got specially reduced prices on certain doors which we were hoping to push and advertise. But it looks like it will come to no use as there is no one out to advertise to!

I also fear that the month of January will be a severely depressed one. January in our industry is a quiet month anyway. But due to the terrible weather, which looks set to continue well into the middle of the month, all the gains the industry made at the back end of 2009 could be cancelled out. It may take a while for the industry to get back on its feet after this. For the economy as a whole, this is possible the worst start anyone could have asked for. The weather has brought some parts of the country to a halt, 1 in 7 of the workforce haven't been in to work, and in some areas 44% of the workforce didn't arrive at work yesterday at all. Various reports suggest that the disruption could cause the economy to lose £2 Billion pounds.

You never know, we might be in luck by the morning and the snow and ice might have disappeared, but I think we have more chance of Safestyle going bust!

Labels:

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Snow Day 2

It snowed overnight again here in Wakefield. Not as much as the previous day, but enough to cover any tracks that cars had managed to make on the roads. Freezing temperatures during the night made the snow settle very easily. All of this means I'm still working from home. Wakefield seems to have had no snow ploughs or gritters at all. Leeds have managed very well, but where's our rock salt!

So, it looks like this will be another Sky News/BBC News, YouTube, black coffee and paperwork afternoon. If I manage to find my USB cable for my phone I'll put on some of the pictures I have taken, there's some pretty good ones. As I'm writing this it is starting to snow again.

Until I get back into the office, double glazing related stories are going to be thin on the ground!

Labels:

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Freezing Weather Halts Yorkshire, And Our Window Fitters!

This morning’s severe snow and ice problems brought a swift halt to the start of the new working year. Here in Wakefield it had been snowing since 6am, and stopped at about 3:30pm. It's been as deep here as I've ever seen it. The roads and pavements have merged together, in places the snow is 6-7 inches deep. The next problem is over night, any compacted snow from cars is just going to freeze over, and we haven't had any road salt, and are unlikely to get any now as the snow is so deep it won't make a difference.

Fitting windows and doors has been an impossible task today. Silicone won't dry in the snow, and with the snow blowing in, customers will not want it blowing through their house, wetting everything inside. Fitters' tools become a risk with them getting soaked; just driving to customer's houses is such hard work. We could do with a thaw to make conditions easier, but that's not in the forecast. Over the next week daytime temperatures in Yorkshire may not get any higher than -2, then dropping further over night. Further heavy snow showers are set for the rest of the week. On top of that, we'll be in this deep freeze for the next 3 weeks according to some newspapers.

All this means a lack of fitting for some businesses. Cash flow could suffer, appointment numbers will, and this will have a knock-on effect for the coming weeks. We were all hoping for a smooth, uneventful start to the new working year. No such luck! Keep warm and keep safe.

Labels:

Monday, January 4, 2010

Reply From Tyson Anderson From Titon, Trickle Vent Manufacturer

I want to apologise to Tyson Anderson for not publishing his reply any quicker than now. That is down to my lack of checking my e-mails as regularly as I should, and the busy Xmas period I have had. But this is what he had to say in reply to the e-mail I sent him:

Dear Jason/Double Glazing Blogger

Apologies for the delay in replying.

Thanks for your interest in the article and your response.

What my article was designed to do was demonstrate that the argument for or against the fitting of trickle vents shouldn’t one way traffic. Paul Jervis has some valid points but makes these in such a way that attempts to persuade fabricators there is absolutely no need for them. Moreover the focus of my article was on the need for secure background ventilation, as there’s no doubt regular air changes are needed in dwellings. However, when ventilation is required, the energy efficiency of the building has to be compromised in some way or form.

In situations where replacement windows are sealing up a property – thanks to more energy efficient product - to tighter levels than it achieved with its old leaky windows, the provision for this ventilation is important. As the window is the part of the building fabric being altered, it makes sense to be the point where background ventilation is incorporated. However not everyone opens windows frequently enough to ensure acceptable air change rates are achieved. Unfortunately, relying on window night vent positions does not enable someone to live in or leave a property secure, and can in fact be a magnet for burglars. There is a way to resolve this; the fitting of trickle vents.

The typical householder view of trickle vents being un-necessary or un-wanted is down to ignorance. I’m not at any point saying I don’t believe they come back with this response, we - even as vent manufacturers - know they do. They don’t understand the benefit because their supplier doesn’t try to sell it, I think this education should come from a much higher and more academic level, the Government for instance. It takes all our industry vested interests out of the equation. Additionally, when ventilators are perceived as ‘ugly’ or ‘unsightly’ it is down to acceptance of purpose, not subjectivity. A window without a handle would be aesthetically improved but everyone accepts it because they know why it is there and necessary.

From a cost aspect, yes vents and machining slots costs more than not doing so. Surely fitting them as standard through all window production eventually brings economies of scale? Most fabricators are shying away from it because they understandably don’t want to be quoting higher prices than their competition. The quoting procedure followed by most could allow for the cost to be absorbed within the whole quote, particularly with some of the ridiculous price drops that often occur from first quote to the final base price that the consumer uses to make their decision. Some window companies must have taken this step when upgrading to more secure windows a few years ago.

There may not be a straightforward way to break this vicious circle, and it could be those for and against will always be at loggerheads. What is crucial is the need for the industry – and then the window buying public – to understand the differences between a badly ventilated house and a ventilated one, and then again a ventilated house and a securely ventilated one. Anything that deflects from that, for example the angle of Paul Jervis’s article, doesn’t help the cause.

I hope the above helps justify our point of view, impartial though it may seem commercially. Please let me know if you require any further feedback.


Regards

Tyson


Tyson Anderson
Sales and Marketing Director
Titon

Thank you for the reply. I agree with the point made about the situation being a vicious circle. And I completely understand your views, as I know you appreciate our view point too. We as window installers want to sell windows to customers which match their exact requirements, which almost all of the time do not include trickle vents. And you can understand our frustration, when we are selling energy efficient windows, trickle vent holes in the frames do not help that cause. As customer frequently point out to us.

With weather as we are experiencing now, the last thing customers want is ventilation. In the summer months yes householders will want ventilation, but for that they will just open a window. I can understand your view that we should be educating customers more on background ventilation, but when we try, it falls on deaf ear. Trickle vents have such a bad reputation with customers. If education is needed, then it has to be direct from the government. The double glazing industry has a bad reputation already. Customers are already sceptical of what we tell them in the first place. The likelihood of consumers believing what they are being told by the double glazing industry about the benefits of trickle vents is small. Intervention of the government, by way of education via literature of TV may be the most effective way to get the background ventilation message across.

But then there is still the problem of getting window installers and manufacturers to warm to the idea. Or just make trickle vents mandatory and this whole debate goes away immediately!

Thank you for your response, please feel free to leave any comments you have on this blog. Happy New Year.

Labels:

Trade Magazines Are A Waste Of Time

Over the past year the trade magazines have been going way down hill in terms of quality and newsworthy-ness. It used to bring us big news stories. News of who's gone under, big industry changing events. Now, they all seem to have become advertising outlets for the big companies. The same stories are repeated in many of the issues. Reviews of exhibitions and award ceremonies go on much longer than they need to. There is just no eye catching material any more. I find out more useful information from the internet and not from trade magazines any more.

This might just be me and I might not be appreciating the significance of the stories that are being published. But to me the magazines are boring, lacking in significant stories and just another advertising directory.

Labels:

Sunday, January 3, 2010

New Years Resolutions

Happy New Year to you all!

I have a very optimistic view of the coming year, I feel very positive. This is totally opposite to how we all felt at the beginning of 2009.

Customer confidence seems to have rebounded pretty well, and there were good signs of that at the back end of the year just gone. Christmas and Boxing Day sales figures show huge improvement for high street retailers which is also another positive indicator. There now seems to be a bit of momentum in the economy now, which will hopefully provide the double glazing industry with a good start to the New Year. However, this prolonged cold snap could become a bit of a problem. It's a well known fact, no matter how well you sell the benefits of warmer windows; consumers will not go out and buy while the weather remains this bitter.

At the very end of last year we also received word of lower rates from our manufacturers which would kick in at the beginning of this year. So from the word go we will be pushing these to make sure we can sell our products as competitively as possible. Again this is something that was much more difficult to obtain at the start of 2009. Installers were crying out for reduced rates to remain competitive, but manufacturers were struggling themselves. I maintain my opinion that our industry has done a lot better than was expected. Despite many companies falling prey to the recession, the number is half of what many thought it would be. The number of insolvencies this year will be a lot less in comparison to 2009.

2010 is going to be the year of opportunity in this industry. Conditions will remain tough, but, with consumer confidence returning, and less competition now, the chances are there for businesses to cash in and make good money this year. They just have to grab them; I know we will be straight away. Just need that snow to bugger off!

As with the start of every New Year, resolutions are made. This one is no different. I have personal targets and company targets. I have set myself a personal target as to how much money I want to earn this year. I have set myself a higher conversion rate target this year, as well as a higher level of revenue. These are vital if me and my girlfriend want to get to New York for New Years Eve this year!

My other resolution is to stop my anonymity. I don't know when this will be. I have become used to not being known, it sort of feels like s safety barrier. I'm still in two minds really. On one hand it feels like an achievement to have got this far without being outed, on the other, no one knows who I am, and it would be nice for people to know who was writing this! RCG has invited me to write a guest post on his blog, and I was going to use that to show everyone who I was, but I think I'll use this blog to do that. I'm not snubbing RCG though!

Another of my resolutions is to drop the .blogspot format and get myself a proper website hosting for this blog. I know there are problems for people wanting to leave comments. So for now, those of you wanting to leave a comment, please persevere, I know you probably have to type the comment twice to leave it. Just copy and paste what you've written to save time on posting a comment. I do try and reply to all comments that are left.

Looking forward to speaking to you all during 2010. Have fun!

Labels: , , ,