As the fallout from the VW scandal continues to widen, one of the issues now being discussed is trust. Trust in the company, trust in the brand, and the trust to believe that problems will be sorted. For a company the size of VW, and the reputation prior to this mess, this is going to hurt them, and continue to hurt them badly for years.
Yesterday’s post posed the question as to whether similar scams may be going on in our own industry. The commentary on social media seemed to confirm that a proportion of people who work in the window and door sector do believe dodgy things are happening.
Trust
So do we trust the bodies and groups in our industry charged with keeping us all in line? Our industry bodies are after in place to make sure we follow the rules and regulations, fit to the right standards, to make sure windows are as energy efficient as possible and so on.
But there is so much negative commentary around the industry bodies and schemes, especially around the new stuff like MTCs, CE Marking, not to mention WERs, the GGF, FENSA and the rest.
It’s worth remembering that the various bodies and schemes that exist in the industry were not created on the basis of something dodgy. They were created to do good things. But it is when these things are created, that’s when personal issues like greed and money start to change the way the bodies operate.
I want your opinions on this. Perhaps if the industry speaks out, albeit anonymously via the poll below, maybe they may start to take note. Honest answers please!
As an industry we have to have some level of trust in the bodies we’re members of, some of which are fee paying. If we don’t, then are we being totally honest with home owners?
Is it time to accept that at any level, at all major companies and institutions, there are practises ongoing that violate either moral or legal codes? You only need to look at the police, the BBC, MPs, banking and others to see the sort of scandals that have besieged those institutions over the past few years. Why would our own industry be any different.
The mood is changing. People want a more open way of living, certainly a more open way to deal with companies and organisations. This may dig up some uncomfortable issues, but it’s the price paid for the wrongdoings that have been tried to be covered up.
Jason, consumers are wanting to talk more and more to the system co’s and the ultimate manufacturers at the end of the supply chain – to ensure their is no distortion in the message being sent by the retailer.
Social media is changing the traditional communication between system co, fabber and ultimate retailer – its more direct, more honest…but should you do anything wrong, they are on you like a ton of bricks and you had better make sure you sort the issue within minutes never mind hours!!
Quoting specifically here DGB ……..[.It’s worth remembering that the various bodies and schemes that exist in the industry were not created on the basis of something dodgy. They were created to do good things. ] This is the bit that I have a problem with . The BFRC were finished in 1999 , their job complete ,nothing to report, an interesting idea that did not come to fruition. Fast forward 3 years and the same guy appears to have a completely different result , a whole WER scheme to promote, Pilks and the GGF to fund it and lobby it… Read more »