If anyone out there is thinking of getting into the sales game, especially in double glazing, don’t. I can’t begin to describe the amount of stress and number of issues that this job throws up in your face to make sure what could have been a good day at work become a thoroughly shit one.

First of all, a signature on a legally binding contract now seems to mean absolutely nothing to the general public. You can spend hour after hour doing your very best to make sure they are sure of what they want and that they understand fully what product you are selling. But when it comes to the day of fitting and they have a discrepancy which is rather unfair on you and unjustified, trying to explain to the customer that what they have is what they SIGNED for is a total waste of time. Even trying to explain that they signed the final survey report prior to ordering the products means nothing. They know that they have you by the balls because you only asked for a small deposit and have thousands of pounds in their bank account which they won’t give you until they are satisfied. So what is the point of a written contract anymore?

Second: you are not just a salesman anymore. You’re an architect. You’re a planning expert. You’re a designer. You’re the after sales department. You’re the finance department. Despite the world now being an amazingly open place of free information almost everywhere you turn, people will still call you, YOU, the salesman, to report a problem with their door. They will still ring you up to ask YOU to speak to THEIR architect. They will still ring you up and ask you to do a million different things for them, despite the fact you probably have departments other than your own which deal with those sorts of issues. But you do it. You do it. You do it because it’s seen as good customer service and being generously helpful. But then you get the crap. A customer of yours will ring you up to complain about how disappointed they are that their door is dropped or the low threshold isn’t as low as they ‘thought’ it was going to be. You get the angry phone call because you are the only person they have ever seen from that company, even though they know you have a service department.

Third: despite your very best efforts to make sure every door is closed with your customers and you don’t leave any loose ends untied, if there are any issues with a job you’ve sold, it WILL be your fault. It will be your responsibility to put right whatever is wrong. And forget about referring back to the contract your customer signed because remember, a signed contract means nothing! So, instead of trying to focus on your quotes trying to earn a living, you get a pile of problems instead. They might be tiny things, but those tiny things add up and get well in the way of your productive day.

Fourth: no customer on earth will trust you. Despite the best efforts of the industry to try and raise the profile of our sector, you will still be looked down upon. Yes there has been a rise in the percentage of people viewing the industry as more reputable. But that’s the industry. Being a double glazing salesman still has the untrustworthy, grubby, cheesy and slimy label. You’ll going into house after house, being held at arms length from the customer. Then you’ll come across those customers that I am sure just exist to make other people’s lives a misery. They’ll ask you the most unnecessary questions which have nothing to do with the type of job you’re on. They’ll accuse you of lying and that “you’ll say anything”. And god forbid you look younger than you already are. I am 23 years old but look about 18. The amount of people that have looked me up and down and wondered whether to even let me in their house is enormous. I even had one customer almost refuse to give the cheque for their balance because I didn’t look my age!

I could go on, but I think you see where I’m going. This job, more often than not, is not worth the money. The good salesmen in this industry try their damned hardest to scrape a living, but year after year it gets harder and harder and the stress gets worse and worse. The general public’s perception that they can do whatever the hell they want makes sure that this job is not an enjoyable one.