Bucking industry stereotype reaps rewards and Award for Sheffield firm
There are a few industries which generate a negative response as soon as they’re mentioned. Perhaps it’s unfair but politicians, estate agents and even journalists all suffer from unflattering stereotypes.
And my own industry, installing windows, has it’s share of negative stereotypes too: how often have you heard of a persistent, annoying approach to sales being described as “like a double-glazing salesperson?”
It’s fair to say that many companies in the double-glazing industry have worked hard to create this negative stereotype. We’ve heard horror stories about people being visited by salespeople who refuse to leave, and just won’t stop pressurising people who have only asked for a quote.
My father has always had an utter dislike for high-pressure sales tactics. When he and my mother asked the Sheffield Window Centre to quote for a conservatory over thirty years ago, its approach was a stark contrast to the way other firms went about business.
In fact my dad was so impressed, he bought Sheffield Window Centre. Our family firm now employees 74 people.
And right now, every one of us is over the moon! Our business was just named the UK’s “Installer of the Year” at the G Awards – the most prestigious awards in the UK window industry.
It was a really proud moment for all of our family and team. But the foundations for winning the award were laid many years ago, when my father took over the business and decided to take a completely opposite approach to many others in the industry by not following up leads and quotes, and instead focusing on the very best customer service.
Our salespeople visit, post out a quote then leave the decision to the customer. We never chase people, I know that costs us sales but many customers say they love how we do business.
This approach, alongside our long-term commitment to employ fitters, rather than subcontracting like many companies do, means we can focus on delivering unrivalled customer service.
This year we’ve achieved record levels of customer satisfaction and the very highest rankings from customers via Which Trusted Trader, and we believe we set the standards for the rest of the industry across the UK.
So I believe our hard-working staff deserve to be proud of working in the glass and glazing industry. We’ve known many of the people who work for us for over 25 years and without their efforts we couldn’t be where we are today – changing perceptions of the window industry.
