Life as a fitter, surveyor, salesman and office worker..
In other words a One Man Band (OMB)! First off OMB`S haven’t ruined the double glazing industry! This is all I ever hear from the SME’s and nationals:
“It’s the OMB`s fault” because of our:
“Cowboy reputation”– Well I point my finger at the nationals for this one. Bully boy sales reps and a very poor after sales care!!
If I do get a call about a snag, soon as I’ve finished my days fitting I will go and sort the problem out. We live off our repetition, word of mouth is king for the OMB. I guarantee ALL my work, no exceptions! No fancy written contract…TO WORM MY WAY OUT!
“Prices been driven down”– again the nationals and SME’s are the ones with 30/50% sales, on most of the year! I give a quote and thats what it is. Doesn’t matter if my quote is under the others. I have lower overheads. Get over it! You have your showrooms to impress with.
Another bug bear is suppliers. I’ve told one of my suppliers at least twice about things not working or future problems that could happen when they released new products. Even went to see the BOSS! All I got was a wry smile , a look of “what does a OMB know” and the words: “none of our big buyers have complained.”
Both times within 12 months the product gets changed / updated as they have started to receive complaints…
But what really p****s me off is the none tax paying, none VAT paying low lives that aren’t even in a CPS, that everybody chooses to ignore, going round fitting windows. FENSA/Certass and the local govt are you listening?
I’ve always wanted Nigel to put a guest post on here as he is probably the most active and popular OMB on Twitter and I know he has a good following. He does raise some good points above. The point about the showrooms is a good one and something I think all of us with them seem to forget from time to time.
I know this is going to clash with some of you so please leave a comment below!
Well done Nige, a good start to your blogging career. I’m in the same boat as you and agree with your points. Especially suppliers not listening to us OMB’s. Last year was my worst year for supplier problems. My main window supplier, a large well known fabricator, had quality issues with their DGU,s. I spent so much time going back to jobs to change glass. I sent an e-mail to one of the directors listing the problems I had and never got a reply, so as you can imagine I’ve moved on.
Should of charged your supplier for time wasted.I do always.If a unit fails within the 5yr guarantee I want paying to change it.
Well done Nige, you speak for all OMB’s. Our main supplier says that we are the only customer experiencing problems. We document, photo and tell them about about all the issues that we put right on site as we have to get the job done to get paid and can’t wait for them to send somebody to sort it. I tell them that they must be deliberatley making different windows for us, they tell me not to be ridiculous! But we are the only one with problems. Then they try to quote BS tolerances etc. We just need a satisfied… Read more »
Our company is an SME (windows and doors) and we love our OMBs! They bring regular jobs in which is great for cash flow and if we hear of any work they might be interested in we let them know. They are part of our referral scheme so they can get discounts from their jobs etc and we also invite all our OMBs to bring their customers to our showroom so their customer gets to see the product and hopefully the OMB gets their job, and we get to make the windows and doors. If you’re good it doesn’t matter… Read more »
It is very good to hear the comments posted. Your sentiments are exactly those of many of our members. At this Federation we are very unhappy with the appalling reputation the large companies have, and by continuing their aggressive tactics get this industry. The Green Deal is clearly an example of this bias towards large business; for instance,the so called Oversight Body, as we pointed out recently, is operated by the large energy companies! Discretely, of course! Keep up the good work. If you have any ideas how we, as a Federation may more effectively fight your corner, please contact… Read more »
Nothing wrong being a sole trader.Nothing wrong not paying vat if your turn over below threshold.And certainly nothing wrong not joining trade bodies.
If you can’t do the job word will get round and you go bust.Fact !
cash is always king.
Top Man Nige as always. I have always agreed with you that Customer is King. The smaller the organisation and the more the importance of striving for Customer Excellence. Every single Installation fitted as if it was a satellite showroom and the old saying – you are only as good as your last Job. Keep up the good work, keep thinking outside of the box and as always stay one step in front of the competition. A pleasure to work with you.