Quickslide’s Ade explains how you can maximise the service you’re providing your clients
More than half-way through the year and still the opportunities – and orders – for garden doors are rolling in. But how much more competitive could you be? And how much happier could you customers be if you deliver them something really special…?
The window and door industry discovered some years ago that offering something above and beyond ‘ordinary’ puts money in everyone’s pockets. And once again there has been an astonishing number of new developments and special ‘tweaks’ that will excite your customers and encourage them to say ‘yes’.
Having said that, some old favourites are still dominating the market, but quality is something that separates the wheat from the chaff. The good old bi-fold continues to sell in enormous numbers. Following the pandemic we thought bi-fold doors would slow down a lot, but since January 2022 the interest has been consistent. We track the number of searches for bi-folds and on average we’re seeing about 80,000 searches a month, which is pretty much bang on pre-pandemic levels. Sometimes it’s easiest to give punters just what they want…quite literally pushing against an open (bi-folding) door in fact.
An alternative that has been around now for some years but which we predict will surge in popularity with the establishment of a reliable supply chain and greater availability, is the folding/sliding door. A take on the bi-fold, these comprise a series of individual leaves, instead of being hinged along the width of the door. Once the master door is opened outwards, the leaves may be slid into various positions as required and fully opened outwards to provide the unencumbered opening of a normal bi fold, when the weather demands it. Watch this space for more news on availability.
French doors also remain popular, especially for homeowners looking for a little more traditional style for their homes. These look even more effective when flush frames are chosen and matched to a house-full of similar windows. Tap into homeowners’ desire to preserve or add a ‘heritage’ feel to their home – flush sash is one of the most popular frame styles available today and looks terrific as doors.
A further take on heritage-style is now available in the form of steel-looking sliding doors, with ultra slim frames. Now manufactured in thermally broken aluminium, offered in black-on-black and even with a Victorian-style mock mid-rail, skinny is back but without the hideous condensation issues that saw the death knell of steel windows in British homes. We predict that we will be selling a lot more of these in the coming months, also complemented by matching internal dividers. More details on these very soon.
And finally, Integral blinds look great, prevent heat build-up when the doors are shut on sunny days, and although maybe not quite right on Heritage-styled doors, suggesting them on classic french and bi-folds will increase your reputation – and your margin!
For further information on Quickslide visit https://www.quickslide.co.uk/
