Con roof completed !

[greenpesto]

As I have said in previous 'postings' I have sold loads of conservatories over the years.
I have made good money doing it. But now that the company want rapid coverage of calls & the calls going through one call centre they can't take the time to put the leads out to the people that can do the job.
A few years ago I'd be doing 4 out of 10 calls as a conservatory. (conservatories are big business here ). Now I see very few. The ones that are 'refered' to me via 'Spec Prods'
are often under valued & under assessed for the number of blinds. I even get Advisers keeping the side blind orders for themselves so that when I go back to fit the roof I find the other Adviser has fitted blinds too high so I can't fit the roof blinds.
A proper structure for lead distribution is essential if we are to grow as a business ( Hillarys & us! ).
The financial incentive for Specialists would also make for a big impact on the market.
Roofs should pay e.g. 25% commission due to the skill & time required to fit.
On that subject I fit most 25mm roof orders within 3 - 5 hours & measure within 30mins - 2 hours. However, I find that one Roof fit a day is all I can do.
As far as cost of roofs are concerned I'd say that we are about 25 - 30% too much.
10% commission to 'fit' doesn't give us a lot for the job.
This becomes more evident when you find that you have to do a complete re-sell as the refering Adviser has done such a BAD job & given incorrect advise.
Sandersons often under cut us but the main competition is the local guys.
Pleated roof blinds that are fitted at right angle to ours ( pleats running sideways ) are becoming very popular too.

[phugly]

How can you measure a roof in half an hour, what am I doing wrong? takes me between 0NE and a half to two hours to do a proper measure. Fitting is usually an all day job, the exceptions being lean-to conservatories.

I will agree though that con roofs should attract a premium commission due to the work involved and as for 10% on referrals - forget it, If I don't think its worth my while i refuse them

[dibsdobs]

I do the pythagoros bit at home, this helps to speed up the measuring.

And before you ask, I'll repeat.
I have never in my many years had a roof mismeasure.

What are you doing, that takes two hours . What if the customer wants to place an order then and there. I bet that messes up the rest of your day!

[russell]

disdobs i also measure inhalf hour never had mismeasure but if you do pyt at home you CANNOT be doing it right or if you are you must have had too revisit a few after checking with pyt i smell a rat my friend are you guilty of using pyt to tell you the size as opposed to you measuring and checking with pyt its right

[blue movie man]

well said russell .....disdobs pythogoros is there too speed up measuring correctly not slow it down if you dont use it at point of sale you cannot be doing it right bet your fits are outstanding NOT no wonder they only take 4 hours only half fit

[greenpesto]

I've always measured & fitted on my own, use pythag' on site, use the measuring pole, use 'dry-board markers' instead of pen/pencil/indelible markers/masking-tape etc with sample rails & angle brackets ( nicked from the 20mm system ) to mark out the size of the blinds.
Still measure mostly under an hour, fit well with-in 4 hours ( mostly!). No mis-measures & I leave the site cleaner than when I got there. I often take photo's of the roof especially if there is something unusual or even common to roofs so that I can explain to the next customer what the finished roof will look like.
The only thing with roofs as I said in an earlier posting is that I only do one roof a day purely because I ache from head to toe after spending that length of time up a step-ladder & holding power tools above shoulder height. ..... FEEEEEEEL THE BURN!!!!!!!

[desmorse]

Been fitting roof blinds today - yes I know it's a bank holiday but I love my job and you can't do too much for a good company, can you?? ;D ;D

Anyway, found some velcro straps in B&Q recently. Wrap them around bottom and centre rails before fitting, then you can pull the top rails and all the cords & filos with the blind firmly held in place. You can even do all the tensioning before releasing the strap and operating the blind. I've done 2 fits this way, it's so much easier.
Got the original idea from someone at the 20mm refresher course who suggested re-usable cable ties. Couldn't find them, but these just as good, and cost around £3 pack. So thanks for the idea

God I hate 25mm shaped and all those poxy open filos - give me side rails any time.

Well, at least this breaks the monotony of all the ranting going on - Only joking - the rantings fully justified before you all jump down my throat

[Blind Scout]

desmorse said:

... Anyway, found some velcro straps in B&Q recently. Wrap them around bottom and centre rails before fitting, then you can pull the top rails and all the cords & filos with the blind firmly held in place. You can even do all the tensioning before releasing the strap and operating the blind. I've done 2 fits this way, it's so much easier....

I just use a piece of nylon cord, pulls out easily, and its free. I use a piece of the tensioning cord.

Oh, and I was out selling all day. How I hate this f******* 3 4 99, quote after bloody quote. Then I realised, the offer ended yesterday. I should have stayed in bed.

[mendipmagpie]

GVM & Blind Scout
Thanks for the tips tried today and works a treat. Should of sussed it but old grey matter not what it used to be,I think its and age thing.

MM