We recently received an email from one of our readers in which he lamented the simple fact that his customers were far happier to splash out several thousand pounds on a two week holiday in Florida than they were to upgrade an inefficient boiler – in spite of all the obvious benefits such as increased comfort, lower bills, warmer home etc.
In reality, it all comes down to a question of priorities and, seemingly for the British public, it is more important to have a nice tan and relaxing break than it is to improve the energy efficiency of our homes – regardless of the fact that we get the money back in cheaper heating bills.
This attitude is just one of the reasons why government schemes are struggling to get traction – far more people will have jetted off this summer than have contacted anyone about Green Deal. So what can we do to change this?
The reader whose email started off this train of thought suggested that the public’s view of tradesmen in general. After all, if the local plumber, heating engineer or renewables technician is more highly valued then so too are his services.
It seems that mainstream media – national newspapers, television etc- are far keener to talk about the negatives within our industry such as ‘cowboy traders’ than they are about the success stories. For that reason, it may be that the only people prepared to make the extra effort to change the public’s opinion are those in this industry.
Only by showing customers the benefits of hiring the right people and using the right products will the skills of installers be worth more than a few extra days on a sun lounger…
[author image=”https://www.installeronline.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Mark-McGettigan-cutout70.jpg” ]Mark McGettigan joined Installer magazine as News Editor in November 2009 and graduated to the role of Editor in late 2011. Mark also edits Installer’s sister publication – ECOInstaller. [/author]
