Firstly, and most importantly, The Guild of Glass Polishers is a tool to benefit our industry as and those working within it. That may sound like a noble cause, but to be blunt, the main objective is to increase sales for all of us. The only reason for you to join The Guild is to benefit you and your business directly.
We do this by promoting high standards of quality and service, ensuring that our customers recieve the very best of both, and increasing recognition for the glass polishing industry as a specialist trade skill and those working within it as true specialist contractors.
As a Guild Member, your input is key in making this happen. The chances are that you are already an industry professional and your skills and experience are our most valuable asset. By working together, pooling our experience and resources, we will all benefit.
Note: Ours is a small industry, most of us are one or two man operations and although we do not want to upset anyone when we say this, as an industry, we tend to be very small minded. We worry about the competition, we are very guarded about our work and clients, even about our day rates.
This is very understandable – we have all started from nothing and worked bloody hard build our little empires and the idea of someone else muscling in on our turf is worrying.
But here’s the thing – although we have all been working as individuals, collectively we have built an industry that is becoming a mainstream trade skill and an industry that has a growing reputation and to this point, we have all done a really good job. As our industry continues to grow, more and more people see the potential glass polishing offers and the money that can be made in scratched glass repair.
As more people ‘get in to’ glass polishing, three things happen;
- Standards drop drastically – Glass polishing may not be rocket science, but it is a specialist trade skill, one that takes time to master.
- The day rate drops drastically – As the competition for work grows, people drop their day rates to secure contracts. Over the last two years we have seen the average day rate drop from £520 to £395. We have heard of some people going out for a little as £175. If this continues, it will destroy the industry before it has reached it potential.
- As both of these things continue, Glass Polishing will no longer be seen as a specialist trade skill and that affects us all.
Another point to consider is that the success rate for those coming into glass polishing is very low. Around 70% of people starting up as glass polishers will give up within 12 months. Ours is not an easy industry. The more glass polishers that fail, the worse our industry reputation becomes, as failure tends to mean bad workmanship, uncompleted contracts, unpaid invoices and general bad feeling.
The Guild is not looking to become a controlling force or managing body for our industry. Our aim is to bring the best of us together. By promoting high standards across the board, we can protect our businesses against these pitfalls and secure a profitable future for us all.
It is important to remember that The Guild will only be successful if it helps its members – YOU – be successful.
During the course of setting up The Guild, we have been asked some very pertanant questions from like minded polishers – read them here.
Recent Comments