Cowboy installers. Quite easily the biggest plague our industry has to deal with day in day out. They have been almost the sole reason why our industry has been tarred with a brush that has seen the reputation of the industry languish at the bottom, along with MPs, banks and estate agents. Despite there being many high quality installation companies out there, the industry’s poor reputation always goes before them. So who should be taking the fight to the industry’s deadwood?
Putting up the fabricator barrier
Installer vs installer isn’t going to kill off the bad companies out there. The good ones might steal some contracts away from the rogue installers, but they always have a way of finding business and keeping their clock ticking. So that’s not going to work.
But every installer needs a fabricator. So I believe that fabricators should be fighting the war on cowboys at that point in the chain. Fabricators should be carrying out thorough checks on every single new client prior to signing them up. If they pass the relevant credit checks and have a good history, then welcome them on board. If however credit checks show they’re not to be trusted, then it’s time to show them the door.
I can that fabricators will want to sign up as many new installers as possible. It makes their client base look bigger and will increase the frames being shifted out their factory. From a numbers point of view it’s good. But in the long term, it’s these shady installers that can cost them quite a lot of money. You often hear of companies going bust and taking their suppliers for tens, if not hundreds of thousands of pounds. It only takes a few of those to put a small to medium sized fabricator in danger.
Fabricators have to start weeding these sorts of companies out. Not only to clean up the reputation of the industry and force genuinely bad business out of business, but to also protect themselves and the other good quality installers they provide a product and service to.
Working with the good installers
Instead of signing on as many installers as possible, fabricators should be working on the ones they already have. They need to be making sure they have all the help and expertise they need to grow their businesses. If installers are growing, then the fabricators will be growing too. But crucially, through installers that pay their bills, fit quality products, and are on a sound financial footing.
It’s these companies, young and old, that we need our industry’s fabricators to be working with. Ignore the temptations of signing up hoards of new installation business as there is a fairly large percentage that won’t make it past the guarantee period. Focus on the solid, quality installers that are already doing a good job and help them to grow and prosper.
It would be great to get opinions from both fabricators and installers on this one. So as always, please leave all your comments in the section below.
This is a good and relevant post. One of the issues that we all face in the B2B market is the inevitable ‘churn’ of businesses growing/declining and going out of business. Not all new businesses are going to be ‘cowboys’ and its important to always have a mix of long standing customers and to be trying to pick the winners of tomorrow…..
Hi Mark Totally agree that some new businesses are indeed NOT going to be bad businesses. The difficulty is spotting the bad ones from the good ones. One example of a good new one would be The Window Outlet, the new business Ben Warren has started. They seem to have got off to a really strong and profitable start, and is being run by people who know what they’re doing! But sometimes it can be quite easy to spot a business that is clearly going to be a liability in the future. This is where credit and background checks are… Read more »
I wasn’t going to say anything on this, but your misinterpretation of the industry we work in has REALLY wound me up… How exactly does a fabricator, or any business for that matter, differentiate a decent and honest start-up from a rogue one, from just a credit check? They would read exactly the same! What’s more, even if it was possible to convince EVERY fabricator in the country not to deal with a certain “cowboy” installer, they can still source their frames (and all other supplies) from their local trade counter. Would you suggest that ALL trade counters unite together… Read more »
Hi Patrick Sorry that this post wound you up. But I’m not without knowledge on how fabricators work and run. Indeed, the point about weeding out the bad companies from the good is a sentiment not just from myself, but other suppliers and fabricators that have said to me personally that they need to be doing more to get rid of the bad from the good. There will always need to be a personal element involved too. If reps can spot the winners from the losers at the start, then perhaps bad companies can be avoided. As Mark Hanson of… Read more »
define a cowboy company?.You seem to think it is someone not paying their bills, hence the credit checks .In my role i have seen many customers who i would class as cowboy installers, who i wouldnt let install any products in my house and all have been financially sound as far as i am aware .The trouble is if they pay their bills, we as suppliers have very little influence in their reputation. The problem as i see it is we rely on money making schemes to police our profession who do not support the end user when problems arise… Read more »
How to clean up the industry is very simple if all companies work together. End fabricator or trade counter (who ever deals with the installer) can only supply the goods if the installer is FENSA / CERTASS etc registered or already got the building notice registration for the property where installation will take place. Very simple to check and would stop the supply to non regulated companies safe guarding the public. This in turn would be easier for trading standards or one of our many trade bodies to inspect as they could walk into bigger companies and check that all… Read more »