There are “days” for donuts, pumpkins, books, charities, construction, cheese, there’s even National Cleavage Day. Yet, given the importance of windows and doors to every building in existence, it continues to surprise me that our valuable and innovative industry is still yet to have a day of it’s own. We need one.
Poll results
I did write about this subject a couple of months ago, and created a poll to go with it, to try and gauge reaction from this site’s readers and see if they would support it. The results were surprisingly negative:
I was quite disappointed with the results of this poll. I was hoping for a more positive outcome, with at least 50% saying they would get behind a dedicated “day” for our sector.
Why we should have one
The whole point about any “day”, be it about pumpkins or construction, is to raise awareness about that particular subject or item, and to educate the public about it.
Now it is fair to say that the industry and the general public have not always got on, and for many good reasons that we are already fully aware of. But by having a national glazing day, or whatever it may be called, provides an ideal opportunity to get together and communicate with the general public, via any media channels deemed suitable, to show home owners that the industry as a whole is a good one, and that not all companies are the same.
For me, there are a few key areas of interest that a national glazing day should aim to cover:
- choice – educating the public that all window and door materials have come a long, long way in the last few years
- energy efficiency – more knowledge of U-Values and how they play an important role in the window sector
- national vs local companies – a chance to show people that the big four are not the whole industry, and that their local installers will be more sympathetic to their needs, as well as offering a wider range of choice and services
There are of course many other subjects that it could cover, but those three would be a good start.
The “they’re just windows” argument
Nothing irritates me more than when people both inside and outside the industry say “a window is a window” or “they’re just windows, not that exciting”. I sincerely beg to differ.
Lets consider the simple fact that windows and doors, no matter what guise, are absolutely vital to every single building on earth. Fact. It’s only over the past few decades in this country that through dodgy selling practices and poor customer service that we have managed to take the shine off an industry that it absolutely vital to every home owner in the country.
Also, I don’t think anyone can argue that the pace of change in the industry has never been as brisk as it has been right now. Our products have never been so advanced. We have never had as many options as we do right now. Our industry is the most innovative it has ever been, with products that can drastically change the look and performance of any home or building. Surely that is something we as an industry can get excited about, and communicate that excitement to the general public?
There is plenty to be positive about in our industry right now. Yes people have their gripes with certain areas of it, and I’ll include myself in that. But, we’re working in a period where fenestration is becoming more and more important to the construction sector and with home owners. Working in our family installation company I have first hand experience at how over the past few years, people’s interest in our industry and our products has been peaked. People know there are more options out there, and can now start to get as interested and excited about new windows and doors in the same way they do about cars, holidays and kitchens.
A day for glazing
Lets stop being so negative and lethargic for a change. A day where the media focuses on us gives us a chance to educate and inform in the same way other industries do. We get frustrated when we get bad press, so why not push for the chance to put that right?
Our industry is exciting, innovative, forward thinking and valuable to the British economy, it’s about time we had a bit of limelight on us for a change.
Jason, the national Home Improvement Council always have a week of home improvement focus every year – could this be a way to drive showroom traffic etc?
I am not sure if they still do the week of ‘focus’ but it was always well publicised.
SEHBAC won the NHIC Best Home Improvement Glazing project in 2014 and are shortlisted again this year, judging is mid way through November.
There is some good content on NHIC web site, particularly on windows and doors.
Tomorrow the 24th January 2018 will see the first #NationalGlazingDay on twitter.
This is Big Energy Saving Week #BESW2018 aiming to get customers to save energy or swap energy suppliers. Well our industry is well placed to save consumers money on their heating bills with products we now manufacture and install. Which is why I thought this would be a good week to have a National Glazing Day.
Hopefully our industry can show case energy efficient products tomorrow.
A Big thank you to everyone who took part, I was pleased that National Glass manufacturers, profile companies, fabricators, industry federation, installers etc supported. A good all round mix. Looking forward to hosting the next #NationalGlazingDay.