This week sees Greece go to the polls in what could see their eventual exit from the Eurozone. Saudi Arabia’s Kind died, sparking debate about their human rights record and whether we should be mourning the passing of their late leader. The North had a bit of snow and the EU magically made another 1.1tn Euros to help prop up their ailing economy. It’s been a busy week, and it has on DGB too. It’s time to take a look back at the subjects covered.
We all complain about the bad companies and bad individuals in our industry, and for good reason. Whilst I suspect most of us are professional people running professional businesses, there are always a few out there that spoil the party for the rest of us and we all get tarred with the brush that says we’re all cowboys and rogues and that the general public should hold us at arms length. I’m sorry to say though, that this is the way it will remain, as there is no effective way to police this industry.Summary
Monday began on a slightly frustrated note as I opened the week with my thoughts on how our industry is never really going to be policed properly. I took aim at bodies like Trading Standards, FENSA and others and vented at no matter what we did, until a body of some sort took our industry seriously, the status quo will remain. Needless to say, this one got a few comments.
However, debate erupted after Ultraframe tweeted some research done by a company called Zopa which claimed that the average cost of a new conservatory was £5300. Yes, you read that right guys and girls, just a tad over the £5k mark. Now, as you can imagine, many of us raised an eyebrow at such a figure.Summary
I had some fun with this one on Tuesday! After seeing a report tweeted on Sunday afternoon by Ultraframe which stated that the average new conservatory cost the lowly sum of £5300, I couldn’t resist but to pull that information apart. It’s worth pointing out that I reached out to www.thisismoney.co.uk but I am yet to have a response from them.
The CIN is a group of leading retailers who have all signed up to a Charter of Excellence with the primary objective to deliver absolute peace of mind and reassurance to the consumer that the choice they have made is based on proven quality in products and installation, all backed by a guarantee. It’s not about any one business or any one profile – its USP rests in the customer service and product excellence delivered by CIN members.Summary
Next up was a sponsored update from John Fredericks, explaining and updating everyone on their CIN Membership scheme. After passing 100 registered installers, it looks like this one has legs!
LinkedIn has always been one of those social media platforms I have often wafted over to, but put very little effort into. I had always thought of it as clunky, hard to understand, it didn’t flow well and at first glance it looked like the interaction and conversation within the window and door industry on there was rather sparce. So, nothing to make me want to get involved properly. But if I wanted to expand DGB’s reach and make more industry connection, I knew I was going to have to spend a few minutes really trying to understand it – and I was so glad I did!Summary
As many of you know, I am a fan of social media. Not all, Facebook is total garbage if you ask me, but that rant is for another day. LinkedIn however has impressed me. Everyone has always told me to get on it, and over Christmas I made a proper effort with it. I’m glad I did, and this post explained why I was and why it was worth using. Some good comments on this one too!
Triple glazing is coming, whether you’re a fan of the product or not. I can just imagine the humbugs grumbling under their breath when double glazing came along to replace single glazing or steal some market share away from secondary glazing. Questioning the product, asking if UK houses really need it. Well, here we are, four decades later with double glazing very much the standard and triple glazing slowly creeping up to dethrone double from it’s perch. However, there are three main factors triple glazing will have to overcome to make sure that it replaces double glazing as the new standard.Summary
The last post of the working week saw me take a look at 3 major issues that triple glazing will need to overcome if it was to steal market share away from double glazing. I think triple glazing will have a development period of 5-10 years before it established properly, but you would assume that these 3 issues I mention would be solved by then.
And finally…
You may have seen this week that I am slowly introducing a new feature into the wider DGB ecosystem called Design.
Design is going to be a new online magazine feature that aims to demonstrate to both the industry and the homeowner that the fenestration market does some of the best work in the wider construction industry. I’ll be releasing more information next week, and telling you all how to get involved if you want to. If you want to have a look at the teaser, click here.
