The Day After

It will be interesting to see some of the early results that came out of GlassTalk on Tuesday. What will be of the most interest to me is how the SGG interview went, and how they tried to justify monumental price increases throughout the year.

Also, it would be interesting to hear what most people thought of phoenix companies. In my view, we shouldn't be supporting them, and when the less reputable businesses do go under, we should be doing our best to make sure that they don't rise from their own discredited ashes.

I'll be looking forward to RCG's posts at some point on Wednesday, providing he isn't too hung over!

SIGN THE WINDOWS SCRAPPAGE SCHEME PETITION NOW!: http://www.petitions.number10.gov.uk/windowscrappage

Condensation Problem

RCG did a similar post on this not so long ago.

Over the weekend we have a few customers contact us about condensation on the outside of their windows after having A rated windows installed. At least we know they are working! But this is an issue we are now starting to explain when demonstrating the product to customers from the outset.

But it could turn into a bit of a sticking point. Customers hate a bit of condensation on the inside of their windows, so I'm sure they aren't going to appreciate waking up in the winter to fully condensed windows.

SIGN THE WINDOWS SCRAPPAGE SCHEME PETITION NOW!: http://www.petitions.number10.gov.uk/windowscrappage

Kempston

Like the Mansfield appeal, just out of interest I'd like to know who has been viewing my blog in Kempston, purely because whoever has been reading my blog in Kempston has spent the longest viewing what I have to say. It's nice to know that some people find what I have to read interesting!

Thanks.

SIGN THE WINDOWS SCRAPPAGE SCHEME PETITION NOW!: http://www.petitions.number10.gov.uk/windowscrappage

Blogs 3

I've added an 'Other Blogs of Interest' section on the side of my blog so readers can take a look at other blogs that are out there. If anybody has a blog/website and wants to add their link to the three that are already there just ask and I'll put it on there.

It could be useful to build and expand a network of blogs within our industry, try and get better communications between everybody.

SIGN THE WINDOWS SCRAPPAGE SCHEME PETITION NOW!: http://www.petitions.number10.gov.uk/windowscrappage

The Ultimate USP

In economic hardships such as the one being experienced now, it is even more important for double glazing companies to differentiate themselves from the rest of the market. The best way to do so? USP's.

There are a lot of companies on a level playing field now. The quality of PVCu products have greatly increased, from all suppliers. Companies are offering lots of different and innovative products. But therein lies the problem, most companies have diversified so much so that most companies now offer the same plethora of products and services. What used to be one companies USP, is now the same as maybe 20 others in the same area.

What should be the task for businesses now is to look for that ultimate USP. The one big unique differentiation that completely sets you apart from other companies and makes you that much more an attractive option for your potential customers.

Saying you have 'A' rated energy efficient windows is good, but more and more companies are joining the band wagon and offering those also. The USP doesn't have to come from the invention of a new product or service. It should come from within the company, look at the structure and the way the business operates and find that feature that is unique, then it is just a matter of knowing how to market that USP to customers in such a way that it would be of a great benefit to them.

SIGN THE WINDOWS SCRAPPAGE SCHEME PETITION NOW!: http://www.petitions.number10.gov.uk/windowscrappage

Website 5

Providing I get the hours I need, I could have the full and final draft of the new website complete by the end of the week! A lot of the work that is left is imaging work and layout designs. Most of the text is now fininshed. As for getting it live, it could be 2-4 weeks, but the aim is to have it up and running before the start of the Christmas period, to combat the quieter months through the winter.

A double glazing website has to be an online showroom, or as good as. To me, the showroom is as important as a website, both have got to show the best of what you have to offer. The website should be a tool in which to get customers to visit you in the showroom, there you have a better chance of gaining their business. The web however has evolved into one of the main avenues of gaining leads, so to ignore it would be shooting yourself massively in the foot.

As for the windows scrappage scheme petition, now the Government's response is to offload the issue onto the Office of Fair Trading, is there any point in me keeping the link on my posts below?

SIGN THE WINDOWS SCRAPPAGE SCHEME PETITION NOW!: http://www.petitions.number10.gov.uk/windowscrappage

Why Offer Anything Else?

What is the point with offering C and B energy rated windows if you can offer A?

I suppose if your frame isn't thermally efficient enough to achieve an A rating, then a C or B rating is better than nothing. But in reality, there are plenty of suppliers out there now that are able to offer A rated windows. And the cost differences between C and A are minute, it wouldn’t make much sense to offer C if A rated windows cost only slightly more.

There's one great big advantage about the changes to Part L in 2010. All those who are not selling energy rated windows are either going to get left so far behind the catch up will be too long, or companies will just go bust due to the inability to offer products that conform to the rules and are not competitive with other products on the market.

SIGN THE WINDOWS SCRAPPAGE SCHEME PETITION NOW!: http://www.petitions.number10.gov.uk/windowscrappage

The Three Rules Of Business

1.  Take care of the customer.
2.  Take care of the customer.
3.  Take care of the customer.

The most simple rule in business, and yet most companies, particularly some in our industry, disregard this most important of practices.

The disregard for this rule is the reason why the double glazing industry has such a tarnished reputation. When most people think of double glazing companies or salesmen, they immediately have the image of a sleazy, untrustworthy, unreliable outfit. This is due to companies' bad handling of customers in all departments.

We have a policy of making sure that the customer is informed at all times. Even if a minute detail has changed with the order, the fitting date, product spec etc, the customer is always contacted and made aware of what has been altered. And if it's a problem, we work with them to make sure satisfactory arrangements are made. All the time we get comments from our customers telling us how pleased they are with the customer service they have received.

And that is the key, provide first class customer service, and everything will run smoothly from there on in. If the lamer parts of our industry took note of the three points above, we could ditch the tarnished image and attain a friendlier, more approachable one. From little seeds grow mighty trees!

SIGN THE WINDOWS SCRAPPAGE SCHEME PETITION NOW!: http://www.petitions.number10.gov.uk/windowscrappage

Anglian TV Advert Claiming A Government Scrappage Scheme?

Jesus I'm churning out the posts!

I had a browse on www.double-glazing-forum.com just now and Chris from DIY Conservatories has just talked about something which I also noticed the other day.

Anglian's latest TV advert has been claiming of a scrappage scheme. Now whether they are advertising their own scrappage scheme as a tarted up offer, or they are wrongfully claiming of a Government scrappage scheme is not completely clear.

If anyone else notices the advert, let me know what you think.

SIGN THE WINDOWS SCRAPPAGE SCHEME PETITION NOW!: http://www.petitions.number10.gov.uk/windowscrappage

Building Regulation Changes To Have Installers Over A Barrel

I said on RCG's blog I wouldn't write a post about the changes to Document L because Kevin Ahern covered my point well. But I'm going to, and I'm going to be blunt!

I think the BFRC and the GGF had all this planned months ago, it's all too convenient! The BFRC set up the OPTIONAL Authorised Retailers scheme to let installers have WER certificates in their own name, which they have to pay for of course. Then the busy bodies who decide on rule changes decide it's a good idea to change the compliance to Part L to needing to have a WER certificate in the installer’s name. How coincidental, so when the changes come into force in 2010, installers will have to buy the BFRC certification and licences anyway!

This just shows just how bent our industry really is, trying to scheme more money out of us, then changing the rules to make it necessary anyway!

SIGN THE WINDOWS SCRAPPAGE SCHEME PETITION NOW!: http://www.petitions.number10.gov.uk/windowscrappage

Don't Get Too Carried Away!

While the economy as a whole may be on the road to recovery, it is clear to see from the latest report from Palmer Market Research that our sector is far from out of the wood yet (despite all my positivity in come of my recent posts!).

The window and door market as a whole in 2008 dropped by 17%, giving the market a value of £4.32 billion. The market, according to PMR, is not likely to recover until 2011-12.

Conservatories have taken the biggest hit, dropping 27% in 2008, with a predicted further 25% drop in 2009.

For windows, in 2008 the market slumped 14%, and is expected to drop a further 16% in 2009.

Installation values have been predicted to drop 18% this year and 6% for 2010.

Areas like composite doors and secondary glazing have seen a surge, but these niche areas provide no real drive to bring the market as a whole out of the doldrums. The best thing for companies to do at the minute is to keep the mindset of recession, keep the effort levels up, and drive on as if times were as hard as they were 6-9 months ago. That way we don't slacken off because we think things are getting better, we now always have to assume that things could always get worse, very quickly. It keeps us on our toes and businesses operating as efficiently and productively at all times. 

SIGN THE WINDOWS SCRAPPAGE SCHEME PETITION NOW!: http://www.petitions.number10.gov.uk/windowscrappage

Burst In Signatures For The Window Scrappage Scheme Petition

The petition for the window scrappage scheme has seen a sudden burst of well over 120 new signatures in just over day. This is the sort of momentum the cause needs to make sure the government takes these issues very seriously.

I'm going to put the link on every blog post to make sure the petition is always in view, it is important that we all get behind this issue as much as we can. Finally, this seems to have pulled the industry together a little bit and forced us to start to work as a unit, not a fractured, bitter industry.

SIGN THE PETITION: http://www.petitions.number10.gov.uk/windowscrappage

A Problem With The Windows Scrappage Scheme?

It occurred to me while thinking of all the good that the scrappage scheme may bring, there could be one big problem with it. How would it be organised and policed?

It was easy with the car scrappage scheme as the DVLA have paperwork on every car on the road in the UK. So they would know when an old car was going in for scrap. How would the organisation running our scrappage scheme know when an old windows installation is being removed?

I think the most evident way would be to get FENSA involved and have them police the system. They already register all the new installations so there would be nothing new to do there. They would however have to inspect every old windows installation that comes out of a house, and then inspect the new installation when it is complete. The number of man-hours would dramatically increase, but could it also create jobs too? One thing I suspect would happen if FENSA were to police the scheme would be that they would charge for this service, and it wouldn't be a small sum either. Let me know if any of you think of any other ways, but to me this seems like the easiest and most readily available method to hand so far.

Support The Window Scrappage Scheme

It seems the petition for the windows scrappage scheme is gathering pace, as is evident in a recent post on the RCG website.

We received a letter from one of our glass manufacturers this morning asking us to pledge our support (which we already have done) and sign the petition. It is good to see suppliers showing their support for the cause, and not just installers making all the leg work. We are having all our staff register their details to vote, and anybody else they know with an interest in the double glazing industry, they are asking them to sign also.

The current total number of signatures stands at over 1000, but hopefully over the coming weeks and months up to Christmas the petition will gather more pace and collect a more significant number of signatures.

If you haven't already, go to http://www.petitions.number10.gov.uk/windowscrappage and show your support!