They’re very good at putting conservatories up in double quick time 
Posts Tagged ‘Double Glazing Fitters’
Anybody looking for a fitting team?
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010Is it time to train our fitters properly?
Tuesday, April 27th, 2010I’ve just been reading Windows Active magazine and felt compelled to write about one of the articles.
Danny Williams from Pioneer Trading has suggested that 80% of all problems and complaints from customers result from poorly trained fitters. He states:
“Based on my own experience, I reckon the whole industry loses out by about £40m a year. The sort of figures I am looking at for example are £400 to be called back to adjust a door, and £1000 to take out and refit a bay.”
He then goes on to say:
“If the industry launched some kind of training scheme, which gives individual fitters a qualification, then less money would be wasted on call backs. Not only that, but there is no point in fabricating energy-efficient windows if they fitted incorrectly – all the energy they are supposed to save will simply leak out”‘
Well, I have to wholeheartedly agree and would suggest that such a scheme would be very useful.
But, I would add that it’s not always down to the technical side of how windows, doors and conservatories are fitted. I believe that in many instances, fitters need to be trained about how to behave in people’s homes, and understand the implications to the company if they throw their cigarettes in the garden, don’t sheet up properly, play loud rock music in the back garden etc while working.
I suspect that many fitters may be very good at fitting windows, but pretty poor at customer care skills. And, if a customer doesn’t like the fitting team they are more likely to pick faults that they would never mention if they had been looked after properly during installation.
A well trained, polite and courteous installation department is potentially more important to a company than it’s sales force, but I suspect most business owners often forget this.
Cowboy window installation update
Thursday, January 21st, 2010In December, I featured a video from a guy concerned the window and door his landlord had fitted to his home was not entirely satisfactory.
At the time a few readers suggested we should wait to see the completed works before commenting.
Well, now you can:
All window fitters to be ‘on the books’ and no one seems concerned
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010Occasionally, very occasionally, the industry seems to suffer from a lack of communication, total disinterest or a general malaise, especially when there are things on the horizon that set out to fundamentally alter the way the Window Industry works.
Over the last couple of months the GGF, direct and through its FENSA subsidiary, have communicated to all their members/registered companies about the impending desire by government to change the tax collection methods in the industry. This call was first taken up by the Construction Industry Media, and followed by press releases from the Get Britain Building organisation and the GGF. They have all been pushing the message to anyone that would listen, the need to sign up to register objections to the proposed changes via the No 10 Web site.
These new tax changes are said by the government paper to affect some 250,000 – 900,000 individuals.
Going by the number of respondents to the petition on the No 10 web site, less than 1,800 people seem to be interested.
The conclusions we get from that are:
No one actually cares.
No one actually reads anything from their trade representatives.
No one takes their trade media out of its poly bag when it arrives.
No one believes that the No. 10 petition site has any relevance.
People believe as they are already signed up for ‘The Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)’ on self employment it doesn’t affect them.
Or there is just a general malaise, and they have to accept the way the world is changing around them.
The government paper on the subject is full of the usual spin, and contradictions. It tries to say one thing then clouds the issues with double meanings. Slide into law something low key and leave the real meaning to later.
Trying to paraphrase some of it and how it might affect the Window Industry:
Self-employed, even those that are registered via the CIS scheme, will no longer mean just that. Tax & NIC will have to be collected by the Window Company on behalf on the Window Installer unless certain criteria are met. I have tried to outline them in a Window Industry context.
The contractor will in future be seen as self employed for tax purposes only when:
1 the contractor supplies ALL the plant – (in the window industry) tools and van – (corporate identity?).
2 the contractor is responsible for all the costs with the client (customer), they would have to buy the frames in, with the final balance going into their own bank account. (Everest & Anglian will love that).
3 they do not have continuity of work with one company, which in itself would imply regular employment (they would need to be seen to work for more than 1 company).
4 they pay the wages, i.e. Main Installers pays his own mate (presumably by PAYE).
In other words if the proposal goes through all window fitters could in effect finish up on the books, with pay and conditions similar to all other employees. Just think of all the tools window companies will have to start buying – fitters will probably no longer be able to offset them against tax. Then there is the holiday pay, then the pay for sitting around because they can’t get to site because of the weather. So on and so on.
The real surprise is that no one seems overly concerned about these changes to the status of the industry and that all the trade press in recent months has failed to get the message over.
Or is it that everyone is so busy chasing the next order they haven’t had the time to register the information?
Guest post by Ian McDougall
Fenestration News
Happy New Year ???
Monday, January 11th, 2010I’ll supply a write up about Cycle India when I get a minute, but I just wanted to touch base with everyone about the weather.
I’ve come back to a window factory running at half capacity. We’d normally expect a slow start in the first week or two, but the severe weather conditions have seriously affected fitting.
I’ve spoken with a number of our installers, and they were all badly affected last week with the weather. Conservatory bases were virtually impossible to build with the ground frozen, and that is assuming the builders could get to site. Window installations seem to have been tricky also, with customers being quite rightly concerned about windows being pulled out in such inclement weather. One of our dealers suggested they are installing downstairs windows and doors this week, but can’t do upstairs windows as it’s too dangerous putting ladders up.
It has also been tricky getting to site to measure new work, or even quote new work. I suspect that installation departments throughout the UK are currently battling away trying to reschedule jobs, and keep customers happy.
I suspect that this bad weather could well be the final nail in the coffin for some companies in our industry, who may well have just clung on after Christmas, but not being able to fit has seriously affected cash flow at the hardest time of the year.
I certainly cannot remember a cold period like this in my life time, and have certainly never witnessed such delays to installation schedules.
The good news is that new leads seem to be very brisk as you would expect. And, I feel that this cold snap could just be a blessing in disguise as in the Spring consumers may reflect on the winter period, and consider upgrading to more energy efficient windows.
How has your company been affected by the weather?
Is this how it should be done?
Saturday, December 19th, 2009The following video shows a recent window and door installation. The tenant in the property is a bit unsure about whether the work carried out so far is up to scratch.
For the record, I had nothing to do with the measuring here…
Random grumpy thoughts before Christmas
Wednesday, December 16th, 2009For those of you that were concerned that I might be shutting down the website as I took the position as a ‘research officer’ at the University of Leeds need not worry.
I turned up for the interview, but turned around when I saw the queue:
So, looks like I’m stuck in the double glazing industry for a bit longer
BA Cabin Crew Strike
When I first started planning a charity bike ride in India, I was keen to book a reliable airline to take us all to Bangalore on New Year’s Day.
So, I booked with British Airways – the world’s favourite airline!
It’s not the airlines fault, but we’re now stuck in a position where we have 22 people from the UK supposed to be flying out on New Years Day, and we have no idea if we’re going. All the cyclists have been working hard all year, both fundraising and training for the event.
Our Indian organisers have booked internal flights, an overnight sleeper train, reserved hotel rooms, bought bikes, hired staff and all this is in jeapordy. I cannot move the date as all these arrangements are in place, and the charity will lose money if we try put things back. BA cannot pay us back for the tickets as the flights have not been cancelled, and even if they did, I doubt we will be able to book a group of people on other carriers at such short notice and on the same dates.
To say I have no sympathy for the cabin crew is a massive understatement.
Leads
As predicted, potential customers are so wrapped up with Christmas preparations that leads seem to be very thin on the ground. I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but I hate Christmas. The bin at the side of my desk is overflowing with Christmas cards. Please don’t send me any more please.
Weather
There’s sleet and snow on the way for most of the country over the next few days. Luckily, most of it seems to be about to hit the South East which isn’t too bad, as we don’t install conservatories down there.
On top of this, we have short days so fitters can’t get as much installed, which ultimately means less product going through the factory. And all the roads are clogged up with people driving too slowly, or crashing into other vehicles because they can’t drive properly.
Why is it when I’m in the outside lane of the motorway, and I flash the car in front of me to move over, instead they slow down and switch their fog lights on?
If everyone drove 10mph faster than they do now, then congestion would be cured overnight as people would get to their destination quicker, hence less traffic on the roads.
Ride 4 Hope Book
On a more positive note, I have purchased a copy of the Ride 4 Hope book.
You’ve heard the rumours, read the blogs and now you can buy the book! Graeme Bailey, managing director of Business Micros has written and published his personal account of the cycling epic across the USA and it makes for great reading.
In September 2008 a team of cyclists from GM Fundraising cycled across the USA in aid of Hope House Children’s Hospices. Searing heat, poisonous snakes and a broken down RV were just some of the problems encountered and these stories and many more have now gone to print.
The square format coffee table book is 154 pages long and contains over 140 pictures. It is a limited print run and there are copies still available for £25 each, but you need to be quick. To reserve yours, e-mail gary@gmfundraising.co.uk or contact him direct on 07831 608882 before they all go.
5 things window companies should do, but don’t.
Sunday, November 29th, 2009When I travel around the country talking to potential dealers, I often get frustrated with how unprofessional many of them are. I see countless things that they are doing wrong.
Here’s five of them:
1. Price jobs on the night
I understand that on certain occasions a job may be more complicated than usual. Maybe, there are unusual building requirements. Maybe the customer requires pink frames with yellow sashes and it’s just not that easy to price up.
But, in the vast majority of instances, a well constructed price list is sufficient to provide reasonably accurate prices. I can never understand why a salesman would build up desire in a customer, and then leave the customer to post a quote on. I realise it works for some salesmen if they are skilled at keeping in touch with their customers or in setting up a follow up meeting. However, on the whole, the better conversion rates are achieved by sales staff who price there and then.
Normally our industry is renowned for the ‘hard sell’ but I regularly see instances of the exact opposite. Not pricing on the night is leaving the job open for competitors to steal the work with a more sophisticated sales pitch. People don’t like pushy, but they do like to see someone keen for the work, so give your best price and ask for the work!
2. Offer Finance
Following on from the above. These are challenging times, and borrowing money from banks and building societies is not as easy as it used to be.
By not having a facility where you can help potential customers with a finance solution if they need it is just doesn’t make sense. I’m not saying that you should be pushing finance on every customer, as it would in most instances be inappropriate, but it’s a very handy sales tool.
3. Advertise in the right place
If I was running a window company I would not advertise in free newspapers. What’s the point? All the cheap competitors advertise there, so why get your company caught up in fighting for work on price. Also, newspapers are a dying advertising medium.
Likewise, the Yellow Pages and Thomson local Directories are being used less and less. People go online instead. By all means have a token advert for people looking for you, but I wouldn’t waste money here myself.
Another good place to waste money is advertising on the radio. It might be good for building brand awareness if you’ve got spare advertising budget, but if you need leads now, then I don’t think radio is the way forward.
I’ve made all these mistakes myself, and am convinced that there are far more effective ways to advertise.
4. Incentivise staff
I regularly witness installation companies grumbling about employed fitters taking 3-5 days to install standard conservatories. It’s a great selling point stating that all the guys are on the books, but the reality is that the best fitters are self employed.
The same applies to sales staff. The very best sales professionals are commission based, and need to sell to generate a reasonable income. They don’t necessarily have to be commission only, but a degree of commission or bonus as part of the package will certainly encourage a sales person to work harder.
For an installation company, the ability to pay sales staff and fitters only when they perform well allows for the peaks and troughs of consumer demand. Having too many fixed overhead staff does not suit this industry.
5. Create the right image
I hate to see fitters with silicone all over their work clothes, tattoos and piercings. It sends out the wrong message. I also hate to see scruffy, dirty vans. Fitters are representing the company and allowing them to turn up looking like a scarecrow is not good business sense.
Likewise, sales staff need to create the right image at the point of sale. For me, a balance between smart and casual works best. Having sales staff turning up in sports cars with Armani suits is not the way to go as consumers automatically assume they’re going to be ripped off. But you also don’t want a sales team driving around in bangers, and dressed too casual.
A Window Cysterns Company
Saturday, November 28th, 2009It looks like one double glazing company has come up with an innovative way of not taking advantage of customers’ bathroom facilities. They’ve installed a toilet in the back of their fitting van.
You don’t get shitter than a window fitter, as they say.
Double Glazing Customer Is Not Impressed
Thursday, November 12th, 2009Guest post by another double glazing customer
I’ve just been woken up again by the double glazing company that fitted new windows throughout our house last year. I wouldn’t mind if it was the first time they’ve called me but they’ve been pestering us quite a bit recently. Double glazing companies are good at this apparently.
For example about a month ago I had a phone call from one particularly pushy young man who was calling to inform us that as we had displayed their board outside our house and they had received quite a bit of new business in the area, we were entitled to receive a substantial discount against any other windows, doors or conservatories etc. that we wanted to have done.
Well first of all I explained that their company had already replaced all the windows so there was nothing that needed doing in that area and we didn’t have room for, or indeed want a conservatory. I wasn’t getting rid of him that easy though because he kept on and on about this huge discount available to us. I asked him if we could have a free back door as that was the only thing I could think of that they could really do for us at this point in time. I was being ‘a bit cheeky’, he said and although it was a big discount the product wouldn’t be free.
“So how much is in this pot of money allocated to us then?” I asked him. By the way, that was how he put it when he first called me; it was a sum of money to be used buying new windows or doors and I thought it would be good to know exactly what we were supposedly getting. But no, of course the exact figures are never to hand are they? “How about if we send one of our salesmen round to measure up and give you a quote and we’ll take it from there?”
Well I wasn’t having any more double glazing salesmen in the house. Not after the initial lot that came through here before we settled on the double glazing company we used to fit our windows. I ended the conversation there and then. It didn’t stop him ringing back another three or four times though (including this morning) to try and get another salesman round!
Back to those double glazing salesmen though, because that’s another part of this gripe. They’re a right slimy bunch aren’t they? Okay, well maybe not all of them (the first guy from the company we used was okay – a bit older and less pushy), but the vast majority of them just give me the creeps. I’ve got that mental image again, the suit, the car, the big bag with the product samples and the paperwork so they can manufacture a quote on the spot. Their company always has the best windows around and the competition are nothing but a bunch of cowboys. Their windows are guaranteed to last for ever, stay white and they even clean themselves. You’re getting such a great deal here and you’re not going to regret it (yeah right). What’s more we can fit your windows before Christmas – but you’ve got to sign up now or we can’t do you such an amazing deal. Tossers the lot of them! I’d already wasted two precious hours of my evening looking at the windows and listening to the latest salesman drone on about his company. We signed up, we now have new windows. The amazing deal wasn’t quite so amazing (they sucked us in with that which is why we were visited in the first place!).
The surveyor pops round to measure up properly and progress the order. Absolutely no problem with any of them. I forgot to mention that we actually had all our windows done in stages so we had really good chance to see how all this works. One of the surveyors even had time to fuss the cat as it tried to destroy his briefcase.
The window fitters were an assorted bunch though. The first couple of guys were in and out in half a day, but they didn’t quite clear up the mess they made and the young lad made a right stink in the bathroom and opted to neutralise the smell with a can of my deodorant. Okay, not a crime really but opening the window would have sufficed.
It turns out they did a shocking job though because the second couple of fitters had to go round and fix their workmanship. I did notice that the living room window looked like the crossbar was bowing down. I thought it was an optical illusion and I was just being a bit picky. Also, they hadn’t sealed the windows properly, which kind of explains that whistling sound. When they fitted one of the back windows we spotted a flaw in the pane of glass and they managed to replace the unit there and then. This was great until we noticed later on that evening that it was actually the same unit, just turned around.
Somehow or other they managed to mix the double glazed units up and put the wrong one in again. It may have been an honest mistake but the result was it took the best part of a week before someone else could get out and put in another window. Luckily I work from home so was available.
So all in all, I don’t have a very high opinion of double glazing companies or their people. Windows are one of life’s necessities though so I guess we must endure them just as one must endure taxes.
