A view from the inside! (Double Glazing in General)

Member Name: blackrose_

Product:	Double Glazing in General
Date:	04/01/02 (3133 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good quality product is available, Legal protection exists against being pressured into signing, Double glazing does work!

Disadvantages: Sales are often infinite...don't be conned!, Some product is cheap because it is poor quality, Generally a large financial investment

Although I have never actually worked for a double glazing company myself, my Dad has worked for a couple of them in the past, and I thought I would put a few of the things I learnt about this industry, from his experiences and my own, into an op, so here goes!

First of all must be the salesmen and their techniques. Salesmen for the companies my Dad worked for at least, are sent on training programmes, motivation days, and are offered various awards, from a place in the company newsletter to brand new cars and holidays, all dependent on their sales. Not only are salesmen trained to be very persuasive and good at getting you to part with your hard earned cash, but their livelihood actually DEPENDS on it. My Dad had no basic salary; all he earnt was on commission. This might sound OK, but you have to pay your petrol, leaflet and equipment costs yourself, so if you don't sell you are actually getting a negative income! All this makes for a very stressful job! I say this as I think it helps people to understand why salesmen can be so pushy!

The other thing I noticed is how a lot of the top salesmen seem almost brainwashed by the company they work for. They really believe that your life isn't complete without their product, and are obsessed with the product to the extent that whatever the conversation, windows will come into it somewhere!

This kind of job involves hugely long hours of leafleting (I am a first hand expert at this), and whilst I know we all hate junkmail, some of the language myself and my brother were subjected to, just for posting a piece of paper through a door, was horrendous! We didn't care if you put the leaflet in the bin, we got paid per leaflet delivered, and were in it for the cold hard cash, not to sell anything!

The biggest thing to beware of is the sales these companies have. I stamped the leaflets with my Dad's name and phone number, so saw all of them, and each sale will be worded
slightly differently, but will essentially be the same, for example, the 'January 1/3 off sale' will be followed by the 'Feburary 33% off sale' and the March '3 for 2' offer....don't be conned into thinking that if you don't buy NOW you will miss out, as you often won't.

The other thing to beware of is when a salesman says you have to sign up now or lose money. Firstly, you often save money by procrastinating, as salesmen can get in touch with someone higher up the hierarchy and negotiate more money off for you to get a sale, and secondly, you have a 'cooling off' period, which is your legal right to cancel (I think its 14 days but I'm not 100% sure)after you sign, so if you have signed and changed your mind, don't panic, cancel!

Now, I'm not saying that the products aren't a good thing; we all know double glazing works, which is why so many of us want it, but there is a vast difference between the quality of product from one company to another. For example, some companies 'brown finish' windows is a sticky plastic sheet stuck onto the white windows, which scratches easily and can look awful in no time, whereas other companies make the whole window frame in brown plastic. In this area, you really do get what you pay for a lot of the time, and cheaper quotes should be looked at carefully to allow you to decide whether the quality is as acceptable as the price. Ask to see samples, as 99% of salesmen carry them in their car if not in their hand, to allow you to check the quality for yourself.

Also check guarantee times, which can be as much as your lifetime (so long as you stay in the same house), or as little as 3 years...it may even be less now. This kind of thing is a big investment, so check out the comeback you have to protect your investment!

Well, I'm sure that I have rambled on long enough for one op, so I'll stop here! I hope some of this w
ill be useful to someone!

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