Tell you what, I’m a millionaire now! The amount of damages I have won thanks to those text messages reminding me of all the falls and accidents at work I never had but had forgotten about! I don’t have to work any more!

Of course I am being sarcastic! I’m sure that most of you have been getting those rather annoying spam text messages over the last few months, either about an accident you never had or about reclaiming PPI mis-sold by banks. Well it seems that this latest spate of cold calling may have been the final straw.

The last few days and weeks has seen growing calls for cold calling of all types to be banned. It seems the general public is now well and truly sick to the back teeth of companies badgering the living shit out of the consumer to buy something. Personally, I’m surprised that it has taken this long for the anger to reach this point. But I’m glad it has.

The whole cold calling issue is now reaching the higher echelons of power and hopefully there will be debates and further action to outlaw a practise which has tarnished, unfairly, whole industries.

We know from our own experience that cold callers from the big nationals has added to the overall negative image that our industry has. Those constant knocks at the door asking you if you want to buy double glazing just like that has done some serious damage. And things can get nasty. I have been told anecdotal evidence that some door knockers get rather aggressive and nasty if they are shown the door. We simply cannot have these idiotic and unprofessional practises continuing to do damage while the more genuine side of our industry tries it’s very best to improve the image of fenestration.

Say cold calling does get banned, this is going to cause some serious problems to companies like Safestyle. Their whole business model seems to hinge on cold calling and reps and tele-canvassers bugging the hell out of people just to make appointments. What happens when they’re not allowed to do this? They don’t have showrooms so it’s not as if people can walk in off the street as see what they have to offer? They could use the website but it’s not the greatest so that won’t act as a good selling tool either. The reality is companies like Safestyle will find it very difficult to trade in a cold-calling free market where for the last 15 years they have built a business shaped around cold-calling.

If you have built a business around a good reputation, word of mouth and recommendation then well done, the above comments mean absolutely nothing to you and you will continue to trade well in a very consumer-savvy market. However, if you have built a business around cold-calling then I would start to feel a bit nervous. Cold-calling won’t get banned quickly, these things take time. But when it does, unless you change the way your business operates, you’re going to find it incredibly difficult to sustain a business. The act of cold-calling is unprofessional, unwanted and unnecessary. The sooner it is banned the better!