It's Cold, Now We Have To Deal With It!

As if I have to remind people, it's cold in Britain right now. It's been cold for some time, and will continue to be cold for some time to come, well into the New Year. My big worry is how truly prepared businesses are to cope.


When it's this cold, snow is always a problem. It causes HUGE travel disruption. And when people can't get around, it means they don't spend. Shopping centres around the country have reported falls in footfall in their stores, which comes at the worst time of year with Christmas only days away now. Also, companies who take online orders only a few days ago dropped their promises of delivery before Christmas to Scotland due to the weather and their current backlogs. The first cold snap at the end of November and into December was estimated to have cost the UK economy £4.5 billion. Imagine what this one is going to cost if it is to last as long as is forecast!


We've had just about all airports closed at some point during the cold weather. The roads become car parks too quickly. People are too quick to call in to work to say they aren't going in. All this is costing us millions of pounds a day, and it can't go on. Planes need to fly, trains need to run, and cars and their drivers need to get to their destinations.


Businesses need to look at the upcoming situation and start to plan ahead. Not only do we have the weather going against us for the start of 2011, but we have a rise in VAT on January 4th. The start of the year is always the quietest in terms of leads and sales. Fuel costs are rocketing and the Government cuts start to kick in at this time too. Our industry is facing a perfect storm. 


So what can we do? Well, weather wise do your best to keep your showroom and offices open. Use shovels, keep pathways clear and easy to walk on. Lay grit and rock salt down regularly. We have to make sure we make it's as easy as possible for our customers to get to us. From a business point of view, every company will be in a different position. Some may have to plan for the worst, some may have to consider how to save money if they do find that revenues start to suffer.


One thing that is certain, we have to get to grips with the situation we are in, adapt, and get back to normal programming. Preferably before the 29th December, I have a plane to catch to New York for New Year and I intend on getting there! 

Next Week's Forecast!

With the weather being such a focus on the news, and it causing the window industry HUGE problems as it is with the rest of the country, I thought I'd see what we have shaping up for next week.


Monday looks set to start dry, but there's a weather front coming down from the North, and looking at the maps and what the weather men and women are saying, this could leave some more significant amounts. Luckily, this looks due to arrive during the latter part of the day, so it shouldn't cause too many problems. Will just be a pain in the arse for the commute home!


The rest of the week looks set to be drier, quite bright, but flippin' freezing, literally! Temperatures for the North of England (the toughest part of England might I add!) don't look like they are going to get above freezing, meaning the snow that is here now and what will fall on Monday will stay with us.


This is the third winter in a row where we have had consistently low temperatures and snowfall, each getting worse. I know this country hasn't been used to long hard winters like the rest of Europe, but there are things we can do personally to help us get through. The council can't do everything for us!


You'd be surprised by how many people I saw today in Leeds city centre not dressed right for the conditions. People walking about in jogging bottoms and furry Ugg boots and a top. They needed at least 3 more layers on! We all also need to get used to shovelling and driving a lot slower. People not going to work is a scenario that can't last forever, it's too damaging to our already fragile economy. We should be pulling our socks up, clearing our drives, paths and streets (the last one needs a bit of a group effort I know) and getting ourselves into work. Businesses should also be stocking up on grit and rock salt. During the past week we have been clearing our yard so people and cars can use it. Get some grit down to stop the ice and frosts winning.


Hot drinks may sound simple, but plenty of these will keep a miserable workforce going. Nobody likes working when they are cold, so turn the heating up and keep the tea, coffee, hot chocolate or anything else warm coming. This also goes for fitters. If any customers are reading this, make sure the window fitters are well supplied with hot drinks, they work far better when they are warmer!

Cold Weather To Kill Off Weaker Companies?

This is the time of year when business goes quiet, cash flow becomes more like a cash-trickle and so it's even more vital companies make it through the winter months. However, for those companies who have struggles all the way through the year, this long and severe cold weather is the last thing they will have wanted.


Cold weather naturally stops people from coming out on to the streets to shop till they drop. They stay in, keep warm and don't drive. In fact online business is probably booming right about now. Problem is windows and doors aren't really bought online. People come in to buy them. We have noticed it becoming much quieter in terms of new leads over the past few days. Providing the weather stays dry things should pick up. We have been signing up plenty of business from previous leads. 


The worry now is those companies who have struggled on during the rest of the year, if they remain quiet or worse over the next few months, this cold spell could tip them over the edge into bankruptcy. By January we could see a big rise in the number of companies becoming insolvent.

The Cold Snap

I thought I'd show some of the pictures I've taken over the last week or so:

These images are of the yard at work, Leeds city centre during a heavy snow shower, our street an a rare gritter. The last 5 images are pictures of the road outside our office and our garden when I got home today.


What we have been having is significant. This is the most snow we've had in 30 years. The snow in Yorkshire is due to stop by early Friday morning. But despite this, the isn't going to be any thaw as we are set to stay in the cold air into next week also (according to Paul Hudson from Look North!).


I'll try and find a way for you to post your pictures on here!

To Fit Or Not To Fit?

As if I need to remind you, the weather is bad. Really bad. Sub-zero temperatures, snow and biting winds do not make for good conditions in which to fit windows and doors. But we are coming up to the end of the year, and if your order books are full, how easy is it to cancel pre-booked work?


We have a full order book up until we finish, and into January of next year. We also have no space left. If the snow means we have to cancel jobs, then we would be pushing work into the New Year, something which both us and our customers will not want.


Last night we've had the most snow so far, but all our staff managed to get in roughly on time despite the un-gritted Wakefield roads. More importantly, our fitting teams got out on to site. We have had to swap some fitting around, but as of yet nothing has been pushed into next year. Though if this weather holds up any longer, we may not have a choice in the matter.


The other factor which we have to take into consideration is our customers. It's all well and good us saying we want to come fit, but at the end of the day it's the customer who has ultimate choice in the matter. They won't want big gaping holes in their home for the snow and icy wind to come through. 


We're going to have to hope it doesn't snow as bad as the forecast is showing for tomorrow, and make sure we can charm our customers into letting us fit...providing we can get there!

The Snow Is Back!

Just when you thought the spectre of last winter was dead and gone, the past week has seen the return of more freezing cold weather, just lots earlier!
     
Remember this? Scenes which look like this set to continue for a while. The image above was a street from within our estate. It's not as bad at the moment, but after watching the weather forecast for tonight, we could wake up to something similar.


The question is how is this going to affect our businesses? I'm hoping that it won't cause too much fuss. The roads have been gritted far better than last year so far. Traffic is free to move, which shouldn't stop people from freely moving about. One of the reasons why businesses suffered at the beginning of the year.


Hopefully the cold weather might spur people into thinking about replacing their old, inefficient windows and doors. There's nothing better than severe cold to highlight draughts and leaks!


So far we've seen -18 degrees in Powys in Wales, -17 degrees in parts of England, and the forecast says that it's due to get colder than that overnight in Scotland. Let's just hope it doesn't last as long as last winter!                               

One Hell Of A Winter

As we are all fully aware, last Winter was a hum-dinger. It was the worst for 31 years, which makes that the worst in my lifetime!

These are some of the pictures I took of the garden, main road, street where I live and other places:

It's pictures like these that we should be using to emphasise the advantages of our energy efficient PVCu windows. Yes it was bad, yes people couldn't get to work, deliveries couldn't be made etc. But we can use these things to our advantage. So lets hope we get another cold one this time round!

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.

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!

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:

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?

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!

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!

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!

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.

Everything Grinds To A Halt!

This country's inability to deal with a bit of snow is astounding! Canada, Russia and most of Europe must be laughing at us right now. 50-60 years ago we used to have dumps of snow measuring in the meters, not a couple of inches and we coped fine then! What’s gone wrong? We have become a nation of soft touches, reliant on so many home comforts. And when something a bit extreme comes along we all wither and complain! This is a bit hypocritical coming from me though, I do love the central heating, and the fact that I live only minutes from work, and have always had a car from the age of 17, so I guess I have no room to talk. But at least I don't take the weather situation for granted, like teachers!