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NOVEMBER 2008 Issue 1
Scaremongering and rumours seem to pop up everywhere when economic times are like they currently are. Farfetched stories can easily seem like they have an element of truth about them and can be easily believed without rational reasoning.
When the jungle 'blogs' start beating, things can go from bad to worse for the 'accused' in nanoseconds!
Irreparable damage can be done to any company these days. We all have the power to publish and distribute masses of information to any audience we choose through the greatest of all inventions. Whether that information is substantiated or not leaves reason to question.
Further damage and unjustified comments were aired on Channel 5's new home makeover programme 'The Home Show' last Wednesday night. The Architect / Presenter was commenting on how he hated uPVC and suggested that people were obsessed with uPVC, he also emphasised the fact that uPVC is very environmentally unfriendly! So thanks for that "Geordie Architect Wanker"!!
For those of you who weren't fortunate enough to attend the fantastic Glasstec show in Germany, I've captured all the best bits for you and put them on my blog: www.clearview-uk.blogspot.com
Best Regards
James Snow
Your feedback is welcomed: news@clearview-uk.com
Below is a letter from Mike Rigby of Michael Rigby Associates, Thanks for your letter Mike.
Dear James
Recently I heard as fact that two companies had gone into administration. Nothing remarkable about that, except they were two of the industry’s aristocracy, a couple of fabricators I admire.
We’ve all got used to large banks and apparently solid institutions melting away in the course of a few days. Even countries are vulnerable. Anything seems possible. We are getting used to the hot exchange of stories. Did you hear, do you know, can you confirm?
It isn’t just pandering to gossip. Some companies take a lot of others with them when they fail or go into administration. Being slow to react can leave you at a disadvantage. Who hasn’t been caught by a bad debt in the last twelve months? If you aren’t alert to the signs of trouble your own business could be at risk.
But it’s a question of balance. This time the information was duff. Dave Ruzicka, the joint Managing Director of one, Sash UK, issued a statement which appeared in the Glazine, but the stories continued. I am relieved to know that Sash is fine, because they are great people. If Sash had failed, then anyone was at risk, which is a worrying thought. Fortunately one of the three I told was able to correct me, Sash confirmed the story was false, and I was quickly able to inform the other two that it wasn’t true. But were others in the industry grapevine corrected as quickly? Rumours spread fast in this market. Careless talk and perceptions can do a lot of damage, as we have seen in the stock markets. Banks and others have failed because people thought they were failing. Their failing takes others down, and so on. No one is safe from falling dominos.
Not all rumours prove true, and over the years we’ve always checked before repeating them. We should all be taking extra care now, before accepting them as fact and passing them on.
Yours sincerely
Mike Rigby
MRA Marketing
Other Letters This Week:
Dear James
The advice given to householders in the Telegraph’s Ask the Expert (Property Clinic) is accurate and useful. However, in the Telegraph’s Saturday October 25th publication, David Snell made the astonishing claim that, “a good thick curtain that fits tightly within the reveal and comes down to the window board or floor is better at retaining heat than double glazing.”
I would be extremely interested to see proof of that statement, because it flies in the face of all the considerable research that has been done on windows and energy saving. It is complete nonsense.
Most homeowners wish to save money and slow climate change, but a fifth of the heat lost from the average house leaks out from the windows. This wasted energy contributes unnecessarily to excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and hastens climate change. The BFRC’s Window Energy Rating (WER) scheme was introduced to give homeowners a choice of energy saving windows to help them reduce their fuel bills and carbon footprint. Heavy curtains and bodging using rope or twine will not match this scheme, let alone better it.
The Government through improvements to building regulations, the Energy Saving Trust and the BRE, among others, have made great efforts to provide the means to help homeowners save energy and money. And the window industry has also invested a considerable amount of time and money in it. My own company, Masterframe Windows, was the first sliding sash to achieve an ‘A’ rating and offers customers a choice of ‘A’ to ‘C’ rated windows.
Energy saving is important and homeowners should be made aware of how to save energy. But it isn’t the first time that media experts have got their facts wrong when talking about windows. I’ve written to the Telegraph to suggest it talks to experts from the window industry before misleading the public.
Yours sincerely
Alan Burgess
Chair of the Glass & Glazing Federation HIE
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