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Editorial
The Problem with Installers
The
problem with window coverings installers, really, is that there
aren’t enough of them . . . or maybe it’s that there aren’t
enough available when you really need one . . . or maybe you don’t
know where to begin to look for one . . . or maybe it’s that
when decorators or retailers find one they really like they jealously
hang on to them. Certainly, a talented installer is highly valued.
A good, experienced installer “is really fast and does a great
job,” notes Steve Walton, Shades Of The Future (see this month’s
cover story beginning on page 32). An installer who is a problem-solver
and can create clever solutions to tricky installations certainly
is a prize.
Product manufacturers understand the importance (and self-interest)
in knowledgeable installers—end-user satisfaction with the
products they make rely on it. Top industry suppliers have developed
their own training sessions designed to help installers understand
their products and to teach them how to handle challenging installations
and to make adjustments and repairs in the field.
There seems to be two schools of thought on installers. One is to
hire them as employees. There are many advantages to this: You know
their schedules and so they can be there when you need them; you
can make sure they are fully equipped with parts and tools; you
can ensure they present themselves and represent your company in
the best possible way; you know the talents, specialties and weaknesses
of each.
The other school of thought is to hire experienced, outside contractors,
and there are advantages here, too: You don’t have to worry
about keeping a full-time installer busy; you lessen your overhead
in terms of insurance and liability coverage; you can look to find
an installer with experience specific to your needs (a motorized
skylight installation comes to mind), if an installer doesn’t
work out for some reason, you spare yourself the legalities of firing
an employee by simply not requiring his services again.
And speaking of schools, as window treatments become more complex—and
often more complicated—there are more opportunities for installers
to learn, hone and enhance their craft. There are schools available
to teach veterans new tricks and to bring new men and women into
the field.
The problem with installers, then, might be well on its way to being
solved.
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