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In a time where it’s imperative for double glazing companies to be selling their products at the right price, the industry is still plagued with companies who are too price focused and hence go bust a phoenix time and time again.
How do we educate both the public and financially un-sound businesses out there that for a great product, you have to make the right margins and the customer has to pay the right price for it too. Robert Foy has made the point that the smallest installation companies and one man bands should also be charging the same as bigger companies do. Just because they may not have the overheads they do, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be able to charge the same. People and in business to make money, that’s what they should be doing.
Changing a pricing culture that seems to have been in the industry since it was born is going to be difficult. It may be one of those things where if people keep the issue on the table and as a point of discussion, attitudes may change as the idea of charging a bit more for products starts to bed in. What we could also do with is the bigger companies in this game, like the manufacturers, talking in the same manner. After all, they are the ones raising the prices to start with!
A 3×3 Victorian conservatory for example, should be selling at around the £9-10K mark. For that manufacturers can get a fair price for their glass, roof and frames. The builder and fitters get a decent wage, the company should be making the right amount of profit (bearing in mind they will have to guarantee it for ten years) and the customer is paying the going rate for a conservatory sold in 2011.
I really would like to know if I’m on the right tracks with that, or if some of you think that is too much, or not enough. Either way, our wares are being sold too cheap at the minute and something has to change.
