Avoiding being overcharged for you Windows

The window industry has had a bad reputation for years for not being set up in favour of the consumer. This in my experience of having worked in sales in national, regional and local window firms confirms this is partly true. In this article I will explain why, and how to avoid potentially paying more than you should for windows and doors.

I want to start by saying there are lots of firms out there that do a good job for the consumer. The crux of this advice is to shop around. Let me break down why some companies/ salesman could get more out of you than you need to pay. It mostly revolves around how the salesperson is paid. I know this because worked as a salesperson on structured commission but decided that was no longer the way I wanted to do things.

In a lot of companies, salespeople are commission only (that is indeed if they have salespeople). N.B. Salaries vary but this below is what to look for and why.

This structure can be either (not exclusively.)

flat i.e., the person gets a percentage of the job no matter how much they sell it for (possibly with a basic salary)

or

structured i.e., the value of the commission is directly related to how much you pay for each item, thus incentivising the salesperson to get more for the windows on each job.

I have worked for a national company (and there are many smaller companies run using the same method). They had a commission structure where the list price was more than double what you could sell it for.

To take this as an example: If you sold for the “list price” you would get 18% commission (higher previously) and £35 for picking up the order.

If you sold it at the “bottom” price – you would get 0 commission and £35 for picking up the order.

I have found that the “bottom” price to be a similar level that a “normal” company would charge – in lots of cases higher, but ultimately still a profitable exercise for the company.

The crux of the issue comes that you could still sell the windows when they are discounted by 60%.

Take the following example:

A list price for the company is £10,000. On that structure of commission, the same windows could be sold for anything from £10,000 to as low as £4,000 – for the same product.

At £10,000 the salesperson would earn £1800 and at £4000 they would earn £35.

I am here to point out that you don’t need to pay that commission.

Another factor – Timing

In the above scenario, the salesman only gets one chance, there and then to sell the job and make his commission. That can lead to some questionable behaviour on the part of the sales team. Essentially if they don’t sell it there and then – they have nothing to lose!

This can lead to bogus offers, discounts, lengthy sales visits, and pressure.

Common tactics:

“It is only this type of window on that offer, but I can upgrade you if you go ahead today”

“I may be able to do something if I ask a manager”

“We have a fitting around the corner on X date, and if we can get you in the diary now – we can offer you X”

“You can have a discount if you take our gold package”

“If we can put a sales board outside, put a pic on the internet we can….”

“This type of job will be good for our marketing…………..!

The thing to remember is that windows are a made to measure item. Any discount is be planned into the cost, as with anything else. There aren’t any real discounts.

There is no reason to rush a decision that day as any discount is extremely likely to be there to manufacture urgency- to get you to buy now – from them.

Summary

Ask a friend for a recommendation. Get at least 2 quotes. Don’t believe any discounts. Don’t’ believe you need to do anything other than in your timescale.