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COVER STORY
It All
Comes Down to the Installation
Story by
Howard Shingle
Photography by Jim Robinette
An installer can
take a mediocre window treatment and make it look absolutely stunning,
or take a beautiful window treatment and make it look, well, less
than mediocre. However you state it, this is “a given”
in this industry and succinctly describes the value and frustration
of this all-important final step in custom window coverings sales.
Where do installers come from? Do I hire an installer as an employee,
or subcontract out installations? How do they learn their craft?
How do I find one? These are questions dealers ask, and we’ve
assembled a cadre of experts to shed some light on these matters.
Installers these days come from all walks of life. That’s
not how it used to be. In the past, someone—usually the new
person, or the most junior member of a dealer’s staff—was
assigned to go with the installer to lend a hand. Eventually, he
might be asked to go it alone and hang a blind, but in the meantime
he filled in wherever was needed: on the sales floor, checking inventory,
making deliveries, or even sweeping floors and picking up lunch.
If he was lucky, he got to follow around an experienced installer
who knew and loved his trade and was willing to pass it on.
Things changed over the last several years, however, as corporate
America downsized and men and women suddenly found themselves looking
for new careers. Many of these educated, middle-aged former executives
wanted out of the rat race and were looking to start their own businesses.
Beth Hodges, Beth Hodges’ Soft Furnishings, Elberton, GA, teaches
the installation classes at the Custom Home Furnishings School in
Swannanoa, NC (see “Back to School”). She says most of
her students began by helping out a spouse who is either a designer
or a workroom.
A few states require installers to be licensed or bonded. This is
one way a state can ensure its public that the installer is covered
for liability and does not misrepresent his services.
A DEALER’S PERSPECTIVE
Steve Walton, president, Shades Of The Future, Inc., Beaverton,
OR, knows the subject of installation from a dealer’s viewpoint
as well as from an installer’s point of view (see D&WC
November 2003, page 20). Walton considers himself a hard treatments
specialist who works on a personal level with each customer. If
he doesn’t do the actual installation himself, he’s on-site
to check on all the details when the products he sold go up.
“There have been a handful of installations done by customers
or other distant contractors, when I haven’t been present,”
Walton says, “but a lot can go wrong at installation and the
dealer needs to be present. I’m pretty picky about the final
product—things like level rails, vertical vanes sticking together
with static electricity, rubber bands and cut strings sometimes
get left on the floor. If the installer misses them, the customer
will notice and if you’re not there you might be lucky if they
call and complain, but they may just be silently unhappy. I want
every customer to be a referral customer.
“Just today I was with my installer on a job and the color
of the verticals looked wrong,” Walton continues. “Back
at the office I used a piece of scrap to check it and the color
was not what was ordered. There’s no way the installer could
catch something like that. [Customers] are counting on me to deliver
what was purchased.”
Walton’s installing experience has taught him a thing to two—things
like: Always carry spare parts. “I have a box of parts for
verticals, parts for specific lines, several cases for horizontal
shades and blinds and they are sorted in compartments,” he
says. “Those spares are used regularly.”
For most products, Walton studies the manuals and attends training
sessions produced by manufacturers, who certainly have an interest
in making sure their products are installed properly (see “Shutter
Installation—A Manufacturer’s Perspective”). On-the-job-site
instruction may be one of the best methods. “When I decided
to carry shutters,” says Walton, “ I traveled, at my expense,
to an area where my shutter vendor had field installers and I went
on installations with them for several days. If you don’t know
how a product will install, how can you sell it?”
These days Walton prefers to hire an experienced window coverings
installer for most jobs. “A good installer is really fast and
does a great job. I use installation contractors exclusively versus
hiring an installer as an employee. You have to have a lot of work
to keep a full-time installer busy,” he says.
Walton readily admits to valuing good installers and usually paying
them more than what they invoice.
But how do you go about finding a good, qualified installer—especially
in these days when most dealers have Web sites and might be working
with a customer well outside his immediate area?
“The online WindowPro group has been very helpful at finding
distant installers,” Walton confides. “An online posting
usually nets a referral in a day or so.
“Hunter Douglas is the only manufacturer I know that has been
actively training installers and building a list of certified installers
for their products. These installers would be useful for standard
window coverings. But there is no list of installers for complex
projects. You have to rely on a referral, if you can find one.”
Even a good referral must pass muster. Here’s what Walton says
he looks for in hiring an installer:
“First impressions are essential, so that’s a high priority.
Also, the installer has to be driving a vehicle that makes a good
impression.
“The installer has to have a lot of prior experience with the
window coverings in my line. They can get their training elsewhere.
“They have to be courteous to the customer, respectful of the
property and clean up after themselves.
“You want an installer that can work through problems, not
throw up their hands and walk off the job. The installer never criticizes
the dealer in front of the customer.
“The contractor has to have a license, bond and insurance.
Their prices have to be in line with their performance and they
have to show up on time!
“Installers with problem-solving and analytical skills that
can help design products and come up with clever installation techniques
are highly desirable. An installer with motorization experience
is a plus.”
Walton also offers this advice: “Make sure your installers
complement your business. They have to be compatible. They are representing
you and will enhance or diminish your reputation by their actions.”
And that’s the point—installers are the last contact
your customer has with your business, and like most customers, Walton
always remembers the bad experiences.
“In 2004, I was referred to an installation contractor for
a challenging, out-of-state project. He interviewed well and was
actually over-qualified. I worked with him on the job site during
meetings with the customer, contractor and electricians, and all
went well. But later he didn’t follow through on promises to
me. When problems arose on the job, he couldn’t get the job
done, wouldn’t take direction from me and wasn’t honest
in what he was telling me. He didn’t even have the skills he
claimed. That job was a major disappointment and took many frustrating
months to finally complete. Since then I have been very cautious
about distant projects.”
But don’t despair; every bad experience can be a learning experience.
“Fortunately,” Walton adds, “such installation problems
are rare and provide opportunities to improve future projects.
WHERE TO LOOK
“We are looking for a qualified window treatment installer
in (name the city/state or region) that has experience installing
(pick a custom window treatment). Please
contact . . .”
These requests are becoming normal on industry e-mail lists such
as Window-Pro and DraperyPro in a time when everyone has e-mail
and a Web site so it’s no longer unusual to make a sale outside
a dealer’s normal marketing area. As Walton mentions, word-of-mouth
is often the way dealers find an installer.
There also is a large field of independent sub-contractor installers—some
available to designers, others available to the industry at large.
The Draperies & Window Coverings 2005 Directory & Buyer’s
Guide lists 120 companies offering installation services for contract
and retail. Many of these are independent while others are connected
with larger dealers and fabricators.
Oddly, while many industry dealers jealously hang on to the good
installers they value, there has been at least one attempt to make
it easier for consumers to locate an installer. Richard Carlan,
group developer and installation manager for National Blind Installation,
Inc. (NBI), has created a Web site that will allow consumers to
obtain a quote on a proposed installation project and will forward
the customer’s name to a sub-contractor installer in or near
the home’s ZIP code.
The idea, says Carlan, is “to improve the American consumer’s
overall experience when they are purchasing window coverings.”
He adds that “measuring correctly and installing properly is
the key to a successful project.”
For the industry, however, the Window Coverings Association of America
(WCAA) offers an online locator for its 1,100 members. Window treatment
installation is covered in the Basics of Window Treatments course
as part of WCAA’s Certified Window Treatment Consultant Program.
On its Web site (www.wcaa.org) “Installers” is one of
the search options provided under “Find a Window Covering Pro.”
In just two clicks, what you get is list of WCAA-certified installers.
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MIND YOUR
INSTALLATION ETIQUETTE
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Once asked for advice
by someone new to window coverings installation Richard Carlan
put together a list of technical and courtesy tips every installer
should keep in mind.
He began by noting, “You learn by doing.” But added,
“Read the manufacturer’s instructions. If you need
to take them out to your work vehicle to read because the
customer is hovering, so be it, it’s OK.”
Another key point Carlan made is, “Measuring is crucial.
Make sure you know what product you’re measuring for
prior to doing so and make sure you understand how the product
works.”
The list continues:
• Be on time, be on time, be on time. Give yourself a
two- to three-hour window of arrival, and if you’re still
behind time call the customer. Buy yourself a decent map;
it will save you tons of time.
• Carry liability insurance. It’s not expensive
and you can write it off.
• Look professional. Have a neat appearance.
• Work with clean hands. Do not be afraid to ask the
customer if you could please use their washroom.
• Compliment the customer’s choice of window treatments
(regardless of how you really feel about them).
• If you also sell retail, don’t leave your card
with the customer if you’re doing the installation for
another retailer. (This is about of being professional.)
• Don’t place any tools, screws or parts on the
customer’s furniture, bed, hardwood floors, etc. Bring
a sheet or drop cloth with you and put everything on that.
• Leave the customer’s home cleaner than when you
arrived.
• Purchase those shoe protection baggies. You usually
can get them from a local hospital supply or maybe find them
online. Otherwise use some hard bottom slippers, this will
protect your customer’s flooring from dirt and impress
both your customer and the decorator.
• Make sure to explain to the customer the operation
and maintenance of the treatments you just installed.
• Be very careful working in the customer’s home.
When in a hurry or running behind schedule, we all tend to
get a little careless. Even if you are in a hurry, try not
to look like you are. Techniques of working efficiently will
come by repetition.
• Buy yourself a tool belt and use it so you don’t
have to keep running up and down the ladder every time you
need something.
• Never use plugs (plastic inserts) in an empty ceiling;
you’ll be going back picking the blind off the floor.
Use toggles (bolts with wings).
• Always pre-drill if you’re mounting a blind on
the customer’s wood molding or use self-tapping screws.
• When measuring inside mounts put the end of the tape
inside the jamb and bend the tape on the other end to take
your exact reading, call it IM (inside mount) or IB (inside
brackets). The manufacturer will take its own deductions.
• When measuring vertical blinds as an outside mount,
never mount on the wood molding unless you have to. Measure
above the window frame about two inches (it will be flat and
you’ll hit the header).
• When measuring mini-blinds, wood blinds or soft shades
as an outside mount, don’t mount above the window frame
but rather on the frame (remember to pre drill). Otherwise
the treatment will hang up on the top molding unless you spacer
block it out.
ADDENDUM
An informal survey of other window coverings professionals
has added the following good-to-know suggestions. Special
thanks to Judi Turner, Domicildesign, Dover, NH.
• Buy a stepstool.
• Keep the cordless drill charging.
• Make notes on each job as to what you could have used
that you didn’t have and fine-tune your toolbox as you
go.
• Look for a hardware store while on route to the customer’s
home (just in case).
• Double-sided tape is handy to hold a bracket up
temporarily until the pilot holes are drilled.
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BACK TO
SCHOOL
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For generations,
the School of Hard Knocks has been the place to learn window
treatment installation. You learned by doing.
But there is a huge benefit to learning the craft by people
who have been there, done that; who have learned by experience
and are making the knowledge available to anyone interested:
male or female, experienced or novice.
Three installation educational sources are among the most
well-known in the industry: the Window Coverings Association
of American (WCAA) Certified Window Treatment Consultant program;
the Lafayette Installation Training Center (LITC) developed
by Lafayette Interior Fashions, West Lafayette, IN; and the
Custom Home Furnishings School, Swannanoa, NC.
WCAA’s Certified Window Treatment Consultant Program
was developed by the association “to establish and disseminate
a comprehensive professional level of knowledge in providing
consumers with quality window treatments.” As part of
its Basics of Window Treatments certification course it covers
installation along with window treatment functions, measurements,
hardware selection and product care.
The objective of its certification program is that a solid
foundation of product knowledge will enhance a person’s
confidence and presentation skills and ultimately increasing
income. Continuing education will help students stay ahead
of competition.
All course materials are provided by WCAA and its certification
exams can be taken online (www.wcaa.org).
Begun 10 years ago, the Lafayette Installation Training Center
holds a regular schedule of classes stretching over several
days throughout the year at the company’s facility. It
offers a 3,000-square-foot teaching center designed specifically
for hands-on installation training (see D&WC, November
1996, page 76).
LITC provides separate shutter and soft window fashion installer
train-ing classes and is able to provide installation training
on other products as needed.
The Custom Home Furnishings School (CHF) presents a seven-day
program of installation courses about every other month and
at the CHF educational conferences and trade shows. The classes
are taught by Beth Hodges, Beth Hodges’ Soft Furnishings,
Elberton, GA (see D&WC, January 2005, page 26).
The CHF school makes a point of being independent from specific
manufacturers and fabricators and of covering all window treatments
installations “right down to what screws to use”
and from measuring to dressing. “We work them pretty
hard,” Hodges says. The school even will arrange consultations
and have Hodges go out and work with a student one-on-one.
The school does not teach shutter installation.
“The classes have been full every time they are held
for years,” Hodges continues. “I’ve had installers
who have been installing for 35 years to women who have never
held a drill.” She says that probably two-thirds of the
students are people who are associated with a workroom somehow,
either their wives are designers or workrooms. Students have
been as young as 18 (and even have included her own son).
“Dressing is very important. Because it’s hands-on,
because they actually install window treatments, they learn
how to dress them out properly,” Hodges adds.
“I teach my installers to take photographs, to take digital
pictures. They don’t have to be great, or magazine quality,”
she says. Installers can’t, or shouldn’t, rely on
memory, she points out.
“I teach them all about tools, what they need to start
up a business. We discuss business, we discuss marketing,
whatever they need, but all those things are also part of
the course,” says Hodges.
“We also talk a lot about attitude and demeanor and professionalism.
We try to teach them to maximize their time, have a schedule,
but most of all how to behave. That really is the biggest
thing to me, not only the knowledge, but the demeanor that
you have to have.”
The one thing she’d really like students to learn is
to watch what they say. “If the client ever gets a whisper
of something’s not going right . . . If they have an
inkling that something’s not right, then they’re
going to pick the treatment apart. An installer can blow that
really quick by saying Uh-oh or Oops.”
“You have to come into it with an open mind,” Hodges
says. “There’s something for everybody to learn.
I learn something every class!”
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SHUTTER INSTALLATION—
A MANUFACTURER’S PERSPECTIVE
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Product manufacturers
clearly have an interest in seeing that their products are
properly installed and operate as desired—end-customer
satisfaction relies on it. Installation training is important
across all product categories, but is seen as most critical
when it comes to shutters.
As the popularity of shutters, wood or otherwise, has skyrocketed
over the past five years, manufacturers have worked to anticipate
difficulties in the ordering and installing process and to
make these steps easier. Still, shutter installation is considered
a specialty among installers and manufacturers do not overlook
its importance.
“Installation is everything,” says Stormy Clements,
of Norman International® Co., Santa Fe Springs, CA. “After
the sale has been made and the shutters have been installed,
the only thing that matters is how well the shutters look
to the homeowner in the window.
“Traditionally, shutters have been perceived as a difficult
product to sell and install. We have invested much to innovate
features that make Norman Shutters™ as fail-safe as possible
for our customers. Our processes, systems and design features
help prevent ordering and installation errors. But installation
is still key. There are so many different variations for different
types of windows. We know that no matter how much we engineer
into our shutters, the installer is the last person who touches
them and plays a critical role in the consumer’s level
of satisfaction. So an experienced and well-trained installer
is still important.”
Norman International offers a multi-level training program
that currently is on a regional tour of the United States.
“The most basic level focuses on our product features
and benefits plus selling techniques,” Clements says.
“We want retailers and installers to be knowledgeable
and comfortable selling our shutters, first and foremost.
In more advanced classes we explore challenging installation
applications not generally taught in other classes. We feel
that installers should know how to handle French door cut-outs,
arches, out-of-square openings, casings, by-pass track systems,
corners, bay windows and other advanced applications.”
Hunter Douglas, Upper Saddle River, NJ, takes the mater of
shutter installation seriously. Three years ago it began offering
a schedule of installer training sessions throughout the United
States. “Shutter installation training is absolutely
critical,” says Christine Kane, brand manager for Heritance®
hardwood shutters. “Every window is different. To look
like the custom job that it is, our shutters have to be installed
by a professional to ensure the best fit and long-term performance.”
Hunter Douglas currently offers two levels of Shutter Excellence
Training: Hands-on Shutter Basics Training and the advanced
Journeyman Training Program. The basic course has been designed
to introduce both dealers and installers to the Heritance
hardwood shutters program and to begin the process of building
confidence through hands-on installation and expanded product
knowledge.
In this course, attendees learn about proper shutter configurations
and applications as well as how to effectively measure and
prepare an order. Each session is limited to 24 installers.
This year marks the second year Hunter Douglas has offered
the advance Journeyman Training Program designed for installers
who have completed Apprentice Level Training or the Hands-on
Shutter Basics program. Attendees receive additional experience
with more complicated installations and learn how to make
professional on-the-job fixes and repairs. Journeyman Training
includes hands-on experience with bi-fold track systems, bypass
track systems, French door, bay and corner window applications.
To date, more than 3,700 installers have been through these
intensive hands-on training programs. Upon completion, attendees
receive a certified installer badge, a photo ID and a listing
of the products they are certified in, along with a Certificate
of Completion. They then become part of Hunter Douglas’
nationwide network of Certified installers “There is
a national database of qualified installers who have gone
through our Heritance Shutter Excellence Training,” Kane
explains. “Dealers and designers reach these installers
through their full-line Hunter Douglas fabricators, who provide
a complete service resource. In many instances the fabricators
have trained those installers and in some cases they offer
turnkey installation. To sell shutters successfully, it is
imperative that dealers and designers ally themselves with
a Hunter Douglas fabricator and work with an installer who
is locally and professionally trained.”
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THE
RIGHT TOOL FOR THE RIGHT JOB
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Nick
Christopulos, Window Visions, Wheeling, IL, is a window coverings
dealer selling to designers and retail end-users. He has spent
the last several years installing all types of treatments: draperies,
blinds and, especially, shutters (see D&WC, November 2002,
page 70).
At D&WC’s request, Christopulos put together
a basic installer’s tool kit based on his experience, along
with specific tools installers will need for draperies, blinds
and shutters. These lists should be considered good starting
points, albeit comprehensive ones. |
BASIC INSTALLER’S
TOOL KIT
Hand Tools
Tape measure
Allen wrenches (metric and standard)
Awl
Chisels (set)
Files (set)
Hammer (12-oz.)
Pencil
Pliers:
Regular
Needle nose
Channel lock
Vise Grip
Needle nose Vise Grip |
Pry bar
Scissors
Putty knife (1 1/2-in. metal and plastic)
Saws:
Coping saw
Dovetail saw
Hacksaw
Miter box with saw |
Screwdrivers:
Flat tip (large and small)
Phillips (#1 and #2)
Utility knife
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Power Tools
Cordless drill
Hammer drill
Right angle drill (or adapter)
Vacuum cleaner
Miscellaneous
Self-adhesive Velcro®
Supply of various wall anchors
Cloth diaper
Drop cloths
Self-tapping screws
Drill bits:
Flat tip (large and small)
Phillips (#1 and #2)
Robertson (“square” #1 and #2)
Countersink bits
1/4-in. hex head
12-in. extension
Set of drill bits |
Extension cords
Inside shoes or shoe covers
Spackle
Tool belt, pouch or holster
Ladder
Stepstool
Level
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DRAPERY INSTALLER
In addition to the basic tool kit,
a drapery installer should have:
Hand Tools
Basting/tacking fasteners and gun
Staple gun
Tack hammer
Rod cutter
Pipe cutter
Power Tools
Steamer (handheld and floor model)
Crease A Way winkle remover
Miscellaneous
Sewing kit
T-Pins
Drill Bits
SHUTTER INSTALLER
In addition to the basic tool kit,
a shutter installer should have:
Hand Tools
Caulk gun and caulk
Bar clamps (large and small)
Plastic mallet
Hand plane
Nail set
Crimper
Paintbrush
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Sandpaper
Wire cutter
Wood wedge/block
Power Tools
Nail gun
Jig saw
Compound miter saw
Circular saw
Router
Palm and detail sander
Planer
Miscellaneous
Fill sticks/putty
Rags
Touch-up pens/paint
Clamping sawhorse or portable
workbench
BLIND INSTALLER
In addition to the basic tool kit,
a blind installer should have:
Hand Tools
Dental tools (picks and forceps)
Miscellaneous
Supply of spacer blocks
Extra brackets of the most
popular installs
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