Conservatory and Orangery designs on an iPad screen

Several years ago I spent a lot of time training and setting up sales software for Conservatories, Orangeries and Window and Door sales forces. One of the things that became immediately apparent was that sales reps struggled with their customers to sit at ease and view a laptop screen and they struggled with the viewing angles and light issues on laptop screens and always seemed to be uncomfortably huddled together around the laptop.

Customers have to feel at ease with the sales environment and to overcome this was easy in showrooms

“The Perfect Survey” Stage Three Complete! The survey is only complete when the installation is concluded successfully.

Here we go, Stage three Complete! is the final part of the perfect survey, which if adhered to and used in conjunction with stage one and two, will ensure that a successful profitable installation will take place.

I like to get the survey reviewed by the manager that will be overseeing the installation prior to the order process. This way the manager is aware of contracts that are coming his way and the contract is checked by a fresh pair of eyes, you also get a second chance to pick up on any sales or surveyor errors and any oversights.

It is always better for an installation manager to take an hour to go through a survey with a surveyor, rather than take days to sort out chaos during and installation.

• Surveyors must have full knowledge of consents required and building regulations.
• Surveyors should have an understanding of good building practice regarding base construction.
• Surveyors must have full technical product knowledge in respect of frames, roofs and glass designs colours along with maximum and minimum manufacturing parameters.
• Surveyors must fully understand your pricing structure and be able to accurately second cost all contracts

“The Perfect Survey” Stage two Confirm! “The only way to confirm something, is with a signature”

Following on from my last post “The Perfect Survey” Stage two Confirm!

This area has the greatest percentage of sales and survey related errors and without any shadow of a doubt is where the highest amount of financial loss to all companies originates.

Why you may ask yourself ?….. The answer is pretty straight forward….. Poor Confirmation!

How often have you heard a customer say “I am not paying because, the door is opening the wrong way or the glass is wrong” and then “I told the sales rep” or “I told the surveyor” followed by “I’m not going to pay a penny until you put it right or you give me a substantial reduction in the outstanding balance”, and then they pluck an extortionate figure clean out of the thin air that they would be willing to accept.

Isn’t it odd that a reduction in price makes something that was totally unacceptable become perfectly acceptable?

Most good surveyors for want of a better term can “read the tape”, In other words they can measure competently and design and draw conservatories to fit accurately on customers properties, barring any human errors, but for reasons unknown they don’t perfect the art of confirmation. One thing’s for sure, you need to confirm all contracts and surveys accurately and correctly if you don’t it will undoubtedly cost you a lot of money. Again follow the procedure I have laid out below and it will definitely protect your margins and increase your profitability.

“The Perfect Survey” Stage one Check ! “You only get one chance to get it right”

The Survey of a Conservatory or Orangery contract is the one element that can make or break a contract. It is the single area that can cause the financial catastrophe of a contract if it is not carried out accurately.

Over the next few posts I will be outlining a survey procedure that is a tried and trusted, unbeaten process that I have used very successfully during many years of surveying myself. I have further tweaked this procedure when I have trained and managed surveyors. This reliable process could be easily modified to suit your company specific company requirements.

I have split the procedure up into three areas, Check, Confirm and Complete. This post will deal with the first part of the survey procedure which is headed, “Check”

If the procedures I have laid out below are followed, your survey process will undoubtedly cut down sales and survey errors and subsequently eliminate any financial loss to your company allowing your surveyors to carry out a professional survey and ensure the successful profitable installation of a conservatory contract

Confusion in the Ranks, have some building regulations for conservatories been relaxed?

There has been a lot of talk in the industry on whether or not the rule below has been relaxed for exemption of building regulations

“A conservatory has not less than three-quarters of the area of its roof and not less than half the area of its external walls made of translucent material”

I can tell you categorically that some people are saying it has been relaxed in their areas around the country and have had clarification of that from their respective building control departments.

Do you know if the rules have been relaxed or changed in your area?

Today I have emailed my local building control department for clarification

Conservatory foundation designs are determined by ground conditions! Not you!

This is an area, where surveyors need to be actively vigilant, get it wrong and the associated costs to rectify could be astronomical, not only at point of build, but years later if the conservatory moves or subsides and is covered by your warrantee.

Your company may have clauses in the contract to cover unforeseen works. In other words during the build if you come up against bad ground conditions, and you need to carry out more costly foundation works, you can go back to the customer and ask them for more money to cover the costs of any additional unforeseen works.

The problem is depending on the costs of the additional works your customer could refuse to agree the additional payment, leaving you with the choice of carrying out the extra work at your own expense, or cancelling the contract and returning the site back to its original status again at your own expense.

What choice do you make, especially if you have the frames and roof in stock?

Both the options above will massively reduce your profits and in some cases you will make a total loss.

There is no science behind ground conditions, and you don’t really know what’s in the ground until you dig the hole, it can be a calculated guess unless you go through the expense of employing a professional company to carry out tests and a ground survey.

The choice of foundation design is ultimately your call. It must be of correct design and bear on suitable strata

I have highlighted some precautions you can take during the survey process to minimise the chances of getting it wrong, and increase your chances of getting it right

What consents do you need to add a conservatory to a property ? Do you know what consents you require ?

This article may appear long winded, but do surveyors really understand all the consents which could be required for a conservatory installation, it’s not only planning consents that are required. The laws are there to protect us all! Would you like to be prosecuted and on top of it all loose a fortune. Would you like to live next to an eyesore!

The majority of the general public are under the impression that you don’t need planning for a conservatory, but it is not only the planning consents you need to look at.

You need to remember that these consents are law and if ignored can mean,  at best the headache of applying for retrospective consents  to be granted after completion, with no guarantee of success, or at worst prosecution incurring fines, court costs, compensation and the conservatory being totally removed. Remember that the cost to put back as original, could be astronomical, that’s without the cost already incurred on product, materials and installation.

We have all read about prosecutions and conservatories being removed, don’t let it be you we read about next  !!

I have tried to break this down as a simple outline guide covering most of the permissions that could be required.

Conservatory Surveyors and Sales reps working in harmony

A good conservatory surveyor is worth his weight in gold, when working in harmony with a good sales representative but, only if he has a sales contract to survey. The surveyor can make or break a company, but he will invariably run down the sales team as having done a poor job with a sale, associated design and contract information.

On occasions some surveyors will walk away from a survey saying the design is incorrect, or will not fit. And then he will have to get the sales representative back to site to redesign and re cost a contract. This will put the element of doubt in the customers mind as to the experience of the sales representative, and the company.