Reduced Profits For CR Smith

Dunfermline-based CR Smith has reported a profit of just £135,000 for 2010, 80% down from the £672,000 recorded in 2009.


Gerard Eadie, who has run the fmaily business since 1977, is planning to invest £600,000 in new vehicles, after investing £562,000 previously in new IT systems and a showroom revamp. Also in the plans is the upgrading of it's Cowdenbeath factory.


The brand got a significant boost in 1984 when they signed three year deals with both Rangers and Celtic for sponsorship of their shirts. 


Mr Eadie seems to be revelling in the challenge: "But we have always taken a very positive approach to our business and we are investing in what makes us strong and distinctive - our 
product and our presence. We're enjoying the challenge."


The chairman said: "CR Smith operates in a very tough market and current economic conditions have seen sales slow.


I wish CR Smith good luck. Investing during such volatile trading conditions is always a risk, but hopefully it will pay off for them.


You can find further reports at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-12591112 and http://business.scotsman.com/business/CR-Smith-offers-a-window.6725574.jp

Tablets Will Change The Way We Sell

Those with even the slightest interest in technology will know that the recent wave of tablet devices such as the iPad from Apple are revolutionising the way businesses work.


Why? Well devices like the iPad are able to do what the smaller smart-phones can't. They can do everything a laptop or PC can, quickly, efficiently and it does it mobile. Tablet devices to sales people means a lot less paperwork, a more dynamic presentation of what they have to show and they can carry out their work quicker due to 3G wireless Internet connections.


I know some sales reps are already doing demonstrations of their windows and doors to customers using tablet devices. They can easily show the customer their products, possible handing over the device to the customer so they can browse images and information for themselves, rather than the sales person controlling the browsing. Showing your window and doors images on such a clear, bright and sharp display can only help persuade your products are the ones for them. 


I'm torn currently between 2 devices. Apple are due to announce the release date and specifications of the iPad 2 soon. But I've also been looking at BlackBerry's Playbook tablet device. Their Playbook boasts a dual-core processor, the smoothest touch screen of any of the devices currently available, has a HD display, multi-touch interface and is 2 inches smaller than the iPad. This is due to be released in May according to rumours. The easiest thing to do is take a look at both closely before deciding. But seeing as I already have a BlackBerry torch, and both devices can be paired with each other, I'm leaning towards the Playbook.


The tablet device will change how we sell and how we work, because it's mobile and can do everything the old devices like laptops and PC's can do. Those keeping up with technological advancements will benefit. Those currently behind the curve need to catch up with it. Has technology ever moved forward this quickly?

UK Market Report

Insight Data has released it's UK Market Report for the double glazing industry in 2010:


Fabricators:

• 2010 saw a decline in the number of fabricators: 4552 in total, across all materials.
• 34% changed their materials.
• PVCu fabricators declined to 1844 - aluminium fabricators increased in numbers
• The number of PVCu fabricators dual-sourcing their systems rose by 53%.
• 649 fabricators now manufacture more than one material: PVCu, aluminium or timber
• Those fabricating speciality products such as vertical sliders, composite doors, sash windows and bi-folding doors saw a fall of 20%.
• PVCu/aluminium conservatory roof fabricators saw a 20% drop to 449 companies.

 
Installers:

• Window and door installers saw a slight rise, to 12,549 companies, though volume per installer did see a fall.
• 55% of all installers diversified the range of home improvement products they sell.
• The East Midlands region has the most installers: 1595
• Northern Ireland has the least number of installers: 194
• 2010 saw a rise in phoenix businesses. The closure of some businesses and the cutting back of others saw a rise in new start-up businesses.
• 152 businesses closed due to retirements, with no succession plans in place.

Make you you will of these figures. I would have liked to have seen figures showing how many businesses had phoenixed during the last year.

Camden Group Creates Hundreds Of Jobs

At last, some positive news for the double glazing industry in the UK! The Camden Group has made a £16million investment in Northern Ireland, creating 225 new jobs. Here's the report from the BBC:

An Antrim-based company, Camden group, is to create 225 new jobs with a £16m investment.

The company is one of the UK and Ireland's largest manufacturers of PVC windows, doors and conservatories.

The expansion has attracted £1.6m of public grants and most of the investment will be focused on a new research and development plant.

The new jobs will be created over the next three years.

Invest NI said when they are in place, they will create £4m in wages and salaries annually.

Announcing details of the investment Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster said it was "welcome news for the local community and wider economy".

"Camden is among the many Northern Ireland companies that are focusing on new product and process innovation to enhance business performance," she said.

"With support from Invest NI, Camden will streamline its manufacturing process and be best placed to gain new business."

As well as research and development, Camden will also establish a new sales division to target opportunities outside Northern Ireland.

Kieran Lavery, managing director of Camden Group said: "We have identified significant opportunities in the GB new build housing market, particularly in south east England.

"The benefits gained from this project will place us in a strong and competitive position to win new business."

It's refreshing to see the bigger companies involved in this industry really getting stuck in and injecting some serious money into a weak sector of the economy.

(See Nige, something positive!).

Guest Post: Understanding The Supply Chain 2

I'm happy to say that this is now my second guest post in quick succession, courtesy of Ben Warren of Legacy Windows: 


The problem of  understanding the supply chain as mentioned by Nick (AluminiumTradeSupply) is  a very real one. The arrogance of Aluminium Systems Companies is well  documented and they have little or no sympathy for their customers, i.e.  fabricators and even less for the end user. 

Their communication is  poor and they fail to keep the fabricator advised of shortages of revised  delivery dates, thinking that a piece of faxed correspondence the night  before is acceptable. 

When there is a problem  it is difficult to get any help. It is not uncommon for us to make a dozen  phone calls before we can get an answer from an Area Sales Manager and even  then the response is usually something sterile such as: ‘Yeah,  that’s not still happening is it?’; ‘I keep telling them  about that’; ‘I know what you mean, I cant even go to the  software meeting any more, I get too angry.’

They release new  products to the press for which stock are not available and in some cases the  products themselves are not tested to requisite standards.

They issue manufacturing  and pricing software to fabricators (for which they charge handsomely) which  has errors and omissions which cause products to be quoted incorrectly or  specified incorrectly. When this is pointed out they say ‘Thanks, we  will correct that on the next software update.’ Actually they  don’t say ‘thanks’ and they don’t pay for their  mistake either!

I am aware of too many  incidents to mention but a good example occurred recently. A large payment we  made to a particular Systems Company they claimed they had not received. It  had left our bank and the coordinates were correct. We duly arranged for  authority for them to speak directly to our bank to find out what had  happened, but the Systems Company’s response was: ‘Sorry we are  too busy’! Actually they didn’t even say sorry. 

The Managing Director  of the same Systems Company when facing questions about their poor  performance and how they could expect to get any new customers leave alone  keep their existing ones, replied ‘ I am not aware that we are looking for  any new customers currently’! How arrogant and insulting. He may not be  looking for any but his customers are doing so constantly.

My point is that this  is what we, as a fabricator, have to cope with and Systems Companies fail to  understand that Fabricators and Installers have to make money the old  fashioned way. They have to earn it! 
To do this we have to  look after our customers so that they come back willingly and recommend us.  These customers of ours are ultimately the Systems Company’s customers but  we have to do all the work and have all the heartache, including eroded  profit margins, in looking after them. 

So whereas I agree that  helping the end user to understand the supply chain is fundamental in  servicing them and allowing them to plan their project properly, a much more  vexing problem is making the Systems Companies understand the concept of the  supply-chain.

Service With A Smile

Service is one of the most important features between an installer and their customers. Without good service a business simply wouldn't survive. But what about the service between installers and their suppliers?


Ask any installer if they're totally happy with the service they get from their suppliers and if they are honest, most will say no. There are major communication problems, quality controls issues, lack of cooperation and stagnation. And in the face of these issues, nearly every single one has raised prices, or are due to in the next couple of months! The cheek!


When a supplier gets it wrong, the impact is felt all the way down the supply chain to the customer. If units fail, if frames are scratched or if parts stop working, it's not they who take the angry phone calls or disappointment from customers, it's us installers that have to take it on the chin. Then have to nicely speak to our manufacturers to replace the parts under the conditions of the guarantee. You can't get angry with your suppliers, it could spoil the working relationship.


Ever felt you're being ignored? Suppliers don't talk enough to their installers. Whether it be by email, phone calls or personal visits, installers like to think they are thought of regularly by those who they give thousands and thousands of pounds to every month.


If systems companies and manufacturers are going to implement price increases, installers have to see something for the extra money. Improve service, improve product quality and improve communication. And do it with a smile!

Guest Post: Understanding The Supply Chain

I'm happy to say that this is my first guest post, and has been sent by Nick from www.aluminiumtradesupply.co.uk:


If you've been in the supply business for any length of time you will know that the end user can end up waiting for an unexpectantly long time for their order, and when this happens tempers can flair.

The aluminium supply chain is no different.  I'm aware of at least one end user (customer) that is waiting for installation of  aluminium patio door for which he put down a deposit over two months ago.

In another situation, a different customer is also waiting for delivery of patio doors – again they are delayed by the systems company and this customer is having an extension built.  The "second fix" on site is being delayed due to these patios.

How long before customers like these start demanding compensation?

So lets look at the detail.   The Patio doors are usually purchased from a Systems Company in Kit form by the manufacturer, fabricated and delivered to the customer.  It is more often than not that it is the Window Company installing who has the contract with the end user.

In situations like this communication is the key.  Does the customer understand the chain? Does the window company installing the end product understand why delays can occur?  If they don't how can effectively communicate this to the customer?

It is the end user who ends up feeling frustrated with his Double Glazing Company who he is blaming for the delay in getting his patio doors. The end user has a contract with the Window Company he placed the order with and gave his deposit to. From the end users point of view the buck can simply stop there.

However, does the customer understand that his window company will not be the manufacturer and will purchase fabricated product from the trade manufacturer.  The trade manufacturer is then reliant upon receiving a product from a Systems Company – either in bar length or in kit form.

The important link in the chain here is colour.  Coloured aluminium.  Plastic products will in the vast majority of cases be simple white plastic profiles, easily held in stock, easily available.

Aluminium profiles in a non stock colour need to be polyester powder coated.  Here again the end user wont appreciate that the particular shade of RAL colour grey he wanted for his patio doors isn't held in stock and will need to be polyester powder coated from stock mill finish material.

There is another link which can possibly break the chain – Dual Colour Powder Coated.

Here the end user wont appreciate that being offerred the option of white inside grey outside also isnt held in stock and will need to be polyester powder coated and the process is longer still.

Here is why:
Nowadays the thermal break in aluminium consists of a polyamide section which unlike the old pour and cut thermal break enables dual colour on aluminium profiles much easier than before.  Dual colour needs to be polyester powder coated for the inside colour, polyester powder coated for the outside colour and the sections then rolled together with the thermal break.

So unless the Systems Company has its own Powder Coating plant they too are reliant upon another link in the chain – the Powder Coater!

Therefore:

1.Order placed for lovely new dual colour patio with Double Glazing Company by end user
2.Double glazing company places order with Trade Manufacturer
3.Trade Manufacturer places order with Systems Company
4.Systems Company sends Mill finish material to powder coater to be painted two colours
5.Aluminium returned to systems company for rolling.
6.Systems Company rolls sections to produce dual colour bars
7.Systems company manufactures Patio door in kit Form
8.Kit Form patio is delivered to Trade Manufacturer
9.Trade Manufacturer manufactures the Patio door and delivers to Double Glazing Company
10.Double glazing company orders units
11.Double glazing company installs patio (and hopefully is paid by a satisfied customer).
We will discuss timescales for the above in another post.

Therefore an order placed 10-12 weeks ago has still not been delivered to the end user.  It is not the window company's fault that the product takes a long time to produce and it is not the trade manufacturers fault

Is it the fault of the systems company?  Well, one has to know the reasons why the kits are delayed and the higher up the chain you are then you are likely to know.  This doesnt help the Double Glazing Company or the End User, but the truth is that an explanation early on in the process will usually prevent the need for apoligies and excuses further down the line.

One of the challenges facing aluminium trade suppliers is effectively communicating the differences with this type of product as opposed to their mass produced counter parts.  Aluminium patio doors are no exception.

Advertising

Advertising. The selling of a dream or idea. One of the most important parts of a business.

Advertising can be split into two different types. The first is the typical direct advertising. TV, radio, newspapers, magazines, leaflets and now the internet. These are the most upfront ways of getting across whatever message or idea your trying to push. They can be as basic, or as elaborate, depending on what is being sold. More specifically to the double glazing industry, advertising tends to focus more on the cheaper end of the market. The BOGOF's and the 'Free Fitting' offers have cheapened what could have been a market which could have had a more revered image, possibly commanding more sensible, higher prices. However, business's egos to undercut and win every order has had a detrimental effect on this industry.

The second form of advertising is a bit more subtle. Presentation. And not just how you present the product, but how you present the business, the environment in the building, how you present yourself. Everything you have and everything you do is advertising. All the time you are creating an image and impression for your customers. For example, we wear suits to work. We want to create the most professional image the second we walk into someone's home or when someone visits us at our showroom. And because we represent the business and the product we sell, our image is advertising our business and product.


We don't carry around sample windows. How can you tell how that product is going to transform someone's home from a small sample window, which probably isn't going to be in that sample style anyway? All our windows and doors in the showroom are fitted into mock brickwork to show off how they would look fitted. A more subtle form of advertising which works subconsciously. All our offices are clean and organised, every customer gets a welcome the second they come in from our reception staff, all to make sure we give the best impression of ourselves. A lot of the above seems quite simple stuff, but yet some or all of it is ignored by a lot of companies, and not just in double glazing.


Advertising is both in your face and subtle. Use the 'in your face' marketing to pull people in. Use the subtle ways, the things you say, the way you present yourself and your company, and the way you act to cement a sale. Sometimes that works better than the direct approach.  

My Message To Downing Street

I don't know what it is, but my frustration with the utter incompetence of this Government, the last Government and the selfish, greedy banks seems to be over-flowing right now. I can't keep it in, so like all good bloggers, I've sent a message. This first one is to Mr Cameron, and it read as follows:


Hello. I am writing to convey my utter frustration and anger about the current economic situation this country is facing. I'm writing not only on the behalf of a young population that has become utterly disillusioned with politicians and the greedy selfish bankers, but also on behalf of a struggling and stifled SME sector.


Now I understand that the previous Government has a lot to answer for, what with their recklessly high levels of public spending, burdening our younger generation with huge debts for some time. But your cuts are way to fast, and way too much. Your hoping that private sector growth is going to be able to mop up the job losses from the public sector cuts. But I can promise you that it's not coming. There are too many jobless for the slow growing, if not growing at all, private sector to cope with.


Also, the banks have had a big part to play in all this. Their greed and selfishness has impacted on everyone terribly. You MUST put more pressure on the banks to lend in decent amounts, and you MUST do it now. I fear that this Government, the last Government and the recklessness of the banks have now lost a generation. Well done.


It's probably not word perfect as the original message I sent because I forgot to save it so I've done it all from memory, but it's pretty much all there in the right order!


I'm going to work on a scathing one for the banks tomorrow when I get the chance. I'm not daft. I don't expect a reply from either Number 10 or any bank I send this to. But I do hope people read what I have to say and understand why I'm so angry.


People my age are being crippled by the sheer lack of opportunity to get anywhere in life. I'm still living at home like many people my age, without the chance of getting a mortgage for years. Insurance costs are sky high. There's no job opportunities, there's nearly 1 million 16-24 year old people out of work. I'm lucky to have had such a smooth transition into work. Wages aren't high enough and because of all this, our generation is about as turned off to politics as is physically possible.

Pack Up And Go Home

This is just a very short note on the subject of DGCOS.


Simply, if you have to constantly defend yourself from this much criticism and scepticism, you have to take a long hard look in the mirror and realise that you've been rejected.


The best thing to do now is to go away, analyse every part of your operation and come back refreshed, more organised, more transparent and come back with something the double glazing industry truly wants. 

Death Threat Sales Calls

This story on the BBC News website really isn't going to do our industry any favours at all:

Elderly people in Leicestershire are being warned after reports of residents being threatened by a company claiming to sell double glazing.

The county council said it had received 12 complaints about a company claiming to be called Bowater.

Trading standards said some people were threatened with fines, "green taxes" and even a death threat.

Officials want to know if anyone else has received any such calls and urged people to be on their guard.

Continue reading the main story

David Bull, head of Leicestershire County Council's trading standards, said: "It is sickening that older people are being threatened with fictitious taxes or fines, the loss of benefits or even death.

"We are very concerned that this firm is deliberately targeting older people and we would urge people and their relatives to report all cases to us via Consumer Direct on 08454 04 05 06.

"Reputable companies do not pressurise or threaten people."

'Very threatening'

The council said in cases reported so far, callers phoned older people and told them they qualified for a government grant to have their windows replaced.

When the resident said they were not interested, they were told their phone call was being recorded and they would be reported to their district council.

The caller then threatened the resident with a fictitious "green tax" and the cancellation of their single occupancy council tax reduction.

In one case, a resident was threatened with a £1,000 fine if they did not complete a survey of older people in the area.

On another occasion, the caller said the resident would be killed.

Paul Shipman, 68, from Broughton Astley, said: "The salesman started out saying that there were new British standards and I needed new windows but when I showed no interest, he threatened me with a green tax.

"When that didn't work, he threatened to put my head in a vice and watch me bleed to death.

"He was very threatening - in the end, he said he'd come round and kill me."

The Glass and Glazing Federation said it was not aware of any current company called Bowater, adding there was a firm with that name several years ago, but they were taken over and had not used the name since.

This story comes straight after Safestyle UK was fined £22,000 after harassing a couple with cold callers over the space of four years.


I don't know how we are going to do it, but we really do need to force out of our industry. People are going to be less inclined to have work done if they think that this is the sort of treatment they are going to get from us all.


UPDATE: 20:40pm
Sutton Coldfield based Bowater Building Products Ltd wished to disassociate itself with the above story. They deal in trade-to-trade business only and never deals with the general public. They wish to say that the malicious use of their name has nothing to do with them. They have also been made aware that the police are looking into these matters. 


Care should be taken when reporting on this story.
(Hence this disclaimer!).

Shortage Of Cash

Figures out today have shown that CPI inflation has risen from 3.7% to 4%, and RPI inflation has risen to 5.1% from 4.7%.


The rising cost of living versus stagnant wage increases means that people have got less cash to spend, especially so on new windows, doors, conservatories or orangeries.


This squeeze on spare cash is really hitting people's spending confidence. Wherever you go and whoever you speak to in business, they will all tell you one thing, people are hesitant. They are scared of spending money. All this leads to the very serious problem of reduced cash flow. No cash flow equals no bills being paid which equals winding up orders.


Consumer confidence is the most valuable asset at the moment. We need inflation to come down so the public will feel better about spending their cash.


Looking forward, I see very uncertain and tumultuous times for everybody.

Glassex And Best Are No More

There were rumours flying around during the earlier part of this afternoon, but www.the-glazine.com has just confirmed that Glassex and Best are now cancelled.


This is a shame for two reasons. The first; I didn't ever get to go! The second is that this was very much a woeful and disappointing end to what was the industry's show-piece event. Last year attracted just 50 exhibitors and a dreadful 2000 visitors. Compare that to 2000 where 12,000 attended and 250 exhibitors were on show.


Glassex was always going down this route, with various groups running the event, moving to Autumn and then moving in with Interbuild as the last move to try to keep the ailing show going.


There are sounds from within Emap that there are some ideas in the pipeline as to what to replace it with, but that nothing is final and that it needs to be presented to the industry. 


This now leaves Glasstalk as the main networking event for the industry. But are people's appetite for taking a day/days off work in such shaky trading conditions wearing off?

The Big Society: Smokescreen

I don't know about you, but I just can't help but feel that David Cameron's idea of a Big Society is a convenient way to cover up the £5 billion reduction in charitable donations from the Government. 


There's a lot to this so I'll go through it as methodically as possible. First off he's wanting to establish the Big Society bank. To me this seems completely unnecessary. If the Government could have got the banks to agree to some more serious and bigger amounts to lend over the coming years, then the need for what is going to be in reality a very small slush fund wouldn't be there. 


The Government is taking out billions, only to put back millions. David Cameron's hope is that volunteers will all help and chip in for free to maintain swimming pools, town halls, schools, planning departments and housing. The first steps of this we are already seeing. The public has just been given free reign to create the first 'Free Schools'. But what we're probably going to see, and are already seeing in some places, is the creation by well off parents of elite schools, squeezing out the less privileged by creating requirements which suit the better off. Quite Tory don't you think? What the Government is getting drastically wrong here is their belief that during times of financial hardship of many, these same people are going to willingly give their time to voluntary work when their main priority is going to be finding a job and creating an income stream. Hand on heart I can quite honestly say that voluntary work right now is quite low on my priority list. Yes I'd shovel snow for the elderly who can't do so, or do other small tasks such as that when I get the opportunity, but that is as far as I would go. My personal main priority is our business and making as big a success out of that as possible.


David Cameron also has this idea that Britain is a broken society. Now this phrase sort or implies that the people of Britain are a law unto themselves, living in chaos, with running street battles and regular occurrence. Now I will admit that Britain does have problems with anti-social behaviour with some of our teenage and young adult population, but it's not enough the brand Britain as broken. The solution to that problem is education, but that's another subject. Cameron also forgets that the people of Britain are a very giving nation of people already. Just look at all the money people give when there is a big charitable cause to give to. But people also do a lot for each other. Me and my dad helped people clear snow from their cars and drives when the bad weather hit last year. I know he cuts our neighbours grass as they are elderly. I also know that a lot of people use their precious spare time to help in projects such as restoring Hebden Bridge's town hall. Swimming pools have been saved, libraries are being fought for, cinema's are being kept open. People are already doing their bit. They should recognise this and realise that by asking them to do so much more for free, when the country is trying to stave off a double-dip recession is asking way too much.


The idea he has is a nice concept, but to most that is all it will be. People are seeing right through this. They know that when it comes down to it, they are just going to be left with less money in their pockets. Painting public buildings and keeping charity shops open isn't going to fill that void, and for most, maintaining a steady income is going to be the main aim.

500th Post: How Technology Is Changing The Double Glazing Industry

Technology over the past few years has advanced at an incredible rate. And what's more, we have embraced it so much so that if the technologies we have integrated into our lives so completely disappeared, we would find working a much more difficult task.


Probably the biggest focus of our energies at the moment is the internet. As little as ten years ago most companies would have thought the necessity of a company website to be little more than hype. But now in a world of instant information, if you aren't on the internet in the smallest way your going to be left behind very quickly. The old ways of customers looking through their Yellow Pages, Thomson or BT Phonebook for window companies has all but now gone. 


But the internet hasn't just changed the way customers look for installation companies. The relationships between installers and their suppliers has begun to change too. Take for example companies being able to order their products online, just like you can with Door-Stop's composite doors. 10 years ago, being able to specify the finest details of a door and turn it into an order online would have been inconceivable. But with the ever expanding software capabilities and speed improvements, this is now possible, and threatens to change the whole world of ordering windows and doors. I know other companies are close to setting up similar online ordering systems.


Along with the development with the internet, the way in which we can access the internet, namely the devices now available. As the internet grew and developed, phones turned into smart phones and had the capability of displaying full web pages on touch screens. Again this has made it much easier for customers to search for what they want while they are on the move. And it's not just phones. There are iPods, the very successful iPad, and all laptops with wireless internet capability. I can now order a door online, travelling on a train across Siberia...if I felt the need to do so! Again, this demonstrates how far the industry has come with the help of technology and the internet.


But it's not just the internet that has made working with windows easier. We now have laser guided measuring tools, CAD conservatory drawing software, doors that now open and lock without keys, and all the every improving manufacturing equipment. The industry must be applauded for the way it has embraced new technological advances and used them to their fullest advantage. I suspect that over the next ten years there are going to be many more changes, bringing many more new gadgets and online improvements which will shape the way the double glazing industry operates.

How Far Would You Go?

I sat a lead yesterday where I was up against Safestyle UK. Pretty standard stuff, but the tactics their sales woman used were astounding.

She did the usual stubborn, don't want to leave your home without an order act. But then told the customers that she would drive around locally and then come back later on to see if they made a decision. Upon telling her that they were seeing another company after her, she asked if she could sit in and watch the other company's sales pitch to see if they were 'talking rubbish'! The cheek! Actually asking to stay in a house your not welcome in to watch another company!

I was the third company they saw that day. During the time I was there she rang the customers twice, first to see if they had gone ahead with me yet, then secondly to say that she would wait in her car outside, wait for me to leave then come back in to drop the price yet again and see if they would make a decision then.

So, later that evening I dropped the quote back off in writing later on that day, and the customer then told me she was there another two hours, asked if she could stay there while the customer picked her child up from school, and proceeded to make the customer late for work! She also said she shouldn't go ahead with us because we didn't bring a sample window out and that they could be buying anything! The customer then informed her that I invited them both to our brilliant showroom!

At what point do companies think that this harassment is the right way to go about dealing with people? They've said they would never go with them, based purely on how she conducted herself, and the utter rubbish she was coming out with about the competition.

Despite this, I do like selling against the national companies, their hard sell and harassing tactics make it very easy for those who take the more laid back approach and don't make customers feel imprisoned in their own homes.

If there are any sales people who work for the national companies reading this and wish to defend their corner, I'd love to hear what you think of this and what should change. Or if you think this practise is acceptable.


Oh, and to top it all off, they offered them an 'E' rated window, something which has been illegal for four months!

Fair Price Guide: Pros And Cons

Over the past 48 hours or so there has been some great and fevered debate about the prices we should be selling our windows and doors at. This is brilliant, as price is one of the main, if not the main debating point for us all.


Mike Bygrave on Glasstalk brought up the idea of a fair price guide. Bodies like the GGF or FENSA could publish guidelines indicating what items should cost. For example a door ranging between £500-£1500. The advantages from a customer point of view is that they get to use the guideline to help plan their budgets, and they get to avoid the silly tactics of the nationals when they start off at astronomical prices only to come back down again. That's from the customer view point.


There are some problems that installers would have to overcome. One obvious one is differentiation. If a customer sees this guideline, they will be thinking they can get themselves a £1500 quality door for £500, when we know that isn't the case. This would make it harder for those selling at the higher end of the price range to justify their prices. For this reason implementing this sort of thing would probably be strongly fought against by most small to medium businesses, maybe most of us...but not the nationals, they are a law unto themselves!


In times of hardship prices are scrutinised terribly. I don't think we would be talking about price if the years were 2003-2006, they seemed to be the best years most recently. Plenty of leads, plenty of people willing to spend money left right and centre, no recession. Pricing debates probably wouldn't even be thought of, even though there was no Glasstalk back then!


Price guidelines are a good idea, but unimplementable. The best thing for everyone to do is to choose your product, choose your margins, and price based on your costs and quality of product. Simple as that. 

Mobile Format

Blogger has now got it's act together and is now able to provide my blog in a mobile format for all you smart phone users out there! There is no rain-drop background, but it is very clear and easy to navigate yourself round. Let me know what your thoughts on it are please!

Morals, Values And Losing Sleep

A debate about door prices got me to thinking; can a company/salesman have morals and values and still get on in this industry.


I'm on the side of the fence which says you can. When the company I work for started 30 years ago, one of their selling rules was to not do the 'hard-sell'. Be honest with the customer as much as possible and don't take advantage of those who could be taken for a ride.


Customers, now more than ever, are aware of the pricing tactics many use to try and get a sale, dishonestly. I never charge more than the set amount of profit or commission than necessary, but we still make a healthy profit and I do well out of selling that way. I've never been short of money, I've always done well for myself. 


Now for a scenario: a large national company quotes £3300 for a door, my price is way under that. There are some which say I could have charge a lot more than normal, still look cheaper and pocket the the extra. But to me that's just taking advantage of someone who may not be as wise to this. Maybe I'm lacking something but I just couldn't bring myself to knowingly over-charge a customer and dishonestly pocket their extra hard earned cash.


And to show that my way of doing things works, I managed, by selling according to my morals and values, a 56% conversion rate in 2010, in what was a tough trading year. My rates didn't drop below 66.6% for the last five months of that year.

Silly Prices!

I've just returned from York where I was quoting a customer for a single door, and we were up against Everest. Now guess where they started their price at for a single door, in white PVCu? £3300!


Where do they get their prices from?! It might have had something to do with the area where they lived; Long Marston, it looked a very nice, well off area. But this still shouldn't have an effect on the prices companies quote people. They then dropped the price several times and continue to ring her asking for her business. 


I came in at less than £1k, for a black on white composite door. Including extra fuel money for me and the fitters. They also had Anglian out, they didn't tell me how much but from what they said it was a crazy high price as well.


When companies do their business in this way, how do they stay in business for as long as they have? 

Safestyle Fined £22,000 For Cold Calling

Finally we have a bit of justice handed out! Safestyle UK have just been fined £22,000 for four years of harassment by way of sending canvassers to John Wigmore. The full report is below: 

A FIRM was landed with a £22,000 legal bill last night after a householder plagued by its door-to-door cold-callers won a landmark hearing.

Double glazing firm Safestyle (UK) sent a stream of canvassers to John Wigmore's home for more than FOUR YEARS, ignoring his pleas to stop.

Exasperated Mr Wigmore, 63, alerted his trading standards department after about a dozen visits - but the calls continued.

One agent admitted he had seen a notice outside Mr Wigmore's home that read: "Salesmen, do not knock. Leave the premises. Do not return," a court was told.

HPAS, trading as Safestyle (UK), was convicted of engaging in unfair commercial practice by ignoring a consumer's request not to return to his home.

It is thought to be the first firm to face court under the regulation introduced in May 2008.

Mr Wigmore, who lives in Scunthorpe, Lincs, with wife Lavinia, said: "We were afraid to answer the door. We felt harassed and intimidated. I wrote to the company telling them there was no chance of getting a sale so if they continued to call it would be treated as personal harassment.

"I went to the police and trading standards but nothing much could be done for about three years until the law changed."

North Lincolnshire Magistrates' Court heard Safestyle (UK) used about 850 self-employed canvassers who got a fee if they made an appointment for a salesman - plus a commission if a sale followed.

Electrical technician Mr Wigmore first wrote to them to complain in August 2005 but the calls continued until October 2009.

The firm told him it could not stop canvassers visiting because it had SO MANY.

It sent agents a memo telling them to avoid Mr Wigmore's address and warning of disciplinary action, but to no avail.

The court rejected the firm's claims and fined it £4,000. It was also told to pay North Lincs Council £18,013.

Mr Wigmore added: "I've not done this just for me, but for the rest of the country - especially people who feel intimidated by cold callers."

This is exactly what the public and the industry has needed for quite some time. We've needed someone like Safestyle UK to be made an example of how harassing tactics like this is what the public hate the most about our industry, and that it won't be stood for. For those of us who don't cold call or nag our potential clients, this helps us to show how some of us are different and that customers can buy from us with more confidence.

How Not To Run Your Business

Once upon a time we had a couple of fitters who decided to leave us to start their own business in the double glazing world. They set out with good intentions, determined to do as well as possible by under-pricing and over promising.


This worked well for a while as customers were tempted by the lower costs and the promise of excellent fitting. But as the months and early years drifted by, the stack of unhappy customers began to pile up. They were unhappy with poor fitting, poor time keeping and jobs not being completed either on time or not at all. It got to the point where one particularly well off customer threatened to sue them.


Does that story sound familiar? The downfall of the industry is that it is full of ex-fitters who think they can run their own business because they can buy and fit windows and doors. But they forget that they have to guarantee their work, see to remedial calls and be skilled in the customer services department. Unfortunately those last three things are ignored, hence the cowboy image the window industry has given itself.


Until legitimate companies do their best to force these shambolic operations out, we are going to suffer from fly-by-night companies for the foreseeable future. Rob Foy to the rescue I reckon! 

Face To Face

Universal Arches has just brought out what they call a 'revolutionary' new online feature called VEE24. 


The idea behind the feature is that those with online and web cam capabilities are able to talk to a representative of the company face to face, instead of just over the phone or by email. It's thought that by seeing who your are talking to, your customers can build better relationships with the company. Through this they hope to be able to build better brand awareness and sales.

The use of this sort of technology must be applauded. It's good to see a company in such a traditionally old fashioned industry embrace new and modern ways of communication. But there are two stumbling blocks they need to get over if this is to become a success. First is the fact that a lot of people with web access probably won't have a web cam, most see it as unnecessary. Everyone has phones. Secondly, are people going to think this is worth it? The likely hood is that when people pick up the phone to them, they are going to buy anyway, without the need to see who is on the other end of the phone. You can build good customer relationships without seeing them on a computer screen.

Despite those points, I still think this will be useful for Universal Arches. They are going to get good feedback from those who are dedicated to using the most up to date methods of communication technology.

If this does interest you, here is the link: http://www.universalarches.com/vee24

The Bigger They Are, The Harder They Fall

Things are tough out there. Very tough. From speaking to people in shops and businesses, from what people are saying on websites and forums, and from what the experts on TV say, trading conditions have got considerably worse. 


Customer confidence has all but evaporated now. Minimal bank lending has stopped people's home improvement projects. Wage freezes and the threat of job losses have helped polarise the 'saving' attitude. With people very reluctant to spend money, this is going to renew the pressure felt on the double glazing community during the worst of the recent recession.


My personal feelings are that we are probably due for a big company to go to the wall. The bigger companies tend to have the highest advertising bills, the biggest overheads and the biggest outgoings. Advertising, manufacturing and running costs all have to be paid for. But if there isn't the levels of demand to make sure these bills are paid, then difficulties will occur. I think that we are due to see a big one go bust.


Just a thought!

Police Crime Maps Could Help Sell

There were a few grumbles yesterday at the launching of the Police Crime Maps, showing the amount of crime in any area and the types of crimes begin committed.


But I think the industry could use this information to their advantage. Being able to physically show customers the crime levels in their area may give them that extra push to go for new windows and doors. Bit of a scare tactic I know but this would give installers a great excuse to show off their security features to help sell their wares.


After doing a few searches on local postcodes its interesting to see that a lot of the crimes recorded were made up of burglaries, car thefts and robberies. The rest were made up by anti-social behaviour crimes. We should use this information to push our products and get a wary public to buy a bit more swiftly!

Football vs Windows

We saw yesterday how out of touch the business of football is with the rest of the world.


Windows Active magazine yesterday announced Everest had sales of £174 million for the whole of 2010. In comparison, the Premier League in just one day spent £225 million on players. £50 million of that for Torres, £35 million for an injured Rob Carrol. Torres is now earning £175,000 per week, Carrol on £90,000 and arrived at Anfield by helicopter.


The mind boggles when just a handful of football teams in one day can outspend what one of the biggest companies in double glazing earns in one year. The world of football truly is out of touch with the rest of the country.


Wayne Rooney managed to screw Manchester United out of £250,000 per week, which is made even more ridiculous while he's not even scoring! When the public see the amounts these people earn for playing football, and then compare it to their much lower wages for much more manual work, and it starts to anger the public at a time when everyone else is tightening their belts.

Month In Review: January 2011

The start of the year is always the toughest part of the year. That is why it is important to make as much headway as possible before the end of the year. If you can start booking fitting for January during the last couple of months of the year then you can hit the ground running in the New Year.


As is expected, the beginning of January came whimpering in. Not huge levels of activity. People had more important bills to pay, like credit card bills and Christmas. So low lead levels. But we sold much of what we went on, which is the key when things are quiet.


As the month progressed leads came slowly flowing back, as did sales and revenues. But one thing which was obvious was the caution customers were showing. People are still very nervous about placing orders. Presumably this is down to low consumer confidence and the worries about jobs and lower wages. 


Product quality is going to be the key I think this year. Price is going to be important, but as more and more people start to learn that going cheap is more expensive in the long run and it's better for them to buy quality, it's going to become imperative that installers fit the best product they can.