RE:PLACE Windows was set up by Scott Jeffrey to be a window company with a difference – it is trying to establish itself as a company with integrity in an industry that Jeffrey says is known for its dishonesty. The customer can also choose to give a portion of their fee to charity and it uses recycled materials.
Name: Scott Jeffrey
Age: 30
Position: Director
WHAT’S YOUR BUSINESS CALLED?
Re:Place Windows
WHERE IS IT BASED?
Blantyre
WHY DID YOU SET UP THE BUSINESS?
I ALWAYS wanted to start my own business – it’s in my genes and blood. I had to find an industry I could excel in and enjoy. When you go into people’s homes and take their house apart people put a lot of trust in you. Before working in the window business I was at university doing law. I then worked for a national company that covered Scotland for five to six years doing sales. People were recommending me (instead of the company) to friends and family. My background is in organising and fitting – we specialise in that.
WHAT IS YOUR TARGET MARKET?
RIGHT now the window game is big boys at the top who are over-promising and not delivering. The target is normal folk who are sick of this. Our advertising is aimed at women over 35 who have awareness of energy efficiency.
We have a wide variety of customers and 80% of what we do is word of mouth. If we go to a street we’ll do three to four windows on that street. Some of the companies I have worked for have a staggering advertising budget. I don’t want customers to have to pay for that.
One of my first customers had a stroke and we said if he manages to get back on his feet we will do Ben Nevis with him – something we’ve done a few times. We’re trying to create a bit of unity and there’s a social aspect to it.
HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM COMPETING BUSINESSES?
FROM all of the companies I have worked for I don’t know any that care as much about the job as an entire entity. There’s less emphasis on accountability and pride. There are companies who do a good job but we take time to check and we have only had two remedials since August last year because the job is done right. The feedback is brilliant because we spend an extra five minutes checking it.
I want to be in this business for 30 years and I want it to mean something to me. If we can help then we will so we give part of the customer’s fee to charity – we work with Glasgow Children’s Hospital and Cancer Research UK. The pride that you get in going to Glasgow Children’s Hospital is great. There’s the feel-good factor and the customer feels good in giving back. A customer in East Kilbride gave us the idea – we did £25 off if you recommend a friend and she said “I don’t need £25.” There’s a minimum of £5 given per order at the end of the year.
We use recycled plastic in the core so the profile doesn’t discolour all the time. When we take the frames away all the parts are recycled. You’ve got a responsibility to do it. If you can why wouldn’t you?
WHAT DO YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT RUNNING THE BUSINESS?
FEEDBACK and the gratitude people have when they realise their home is quieter and warmer. People are so unaware of the technology in this industry and are so taken aback when what we say is true. Scottish folk are cynical – they think they have heard it all before and they probably have. We can use a heat lamp to show the heat lost on the window. All glass looks the same so this industry is a dream for a conman. There could not be a better country to be selling something like this. Everything we do is severe weather related. When we do a good job our recommendations go up – people do that in Scotland. People will put their neck on the line for you if they buy into you.
WHERE DO YOU HOPE THE BUSINESS WILL BE IN 10 YEARS’ TIME?
EFFECTIVELY the same place we are now but bigger. If we can get custom then we will be happy. We are the wee men in this industry and it isn’t easy to get the point across when people make the same promises as us. We do things right just now. I want to be Hoover. You don’t Dyson your carpets, you Hoover them. I don’t want people to think of getting their windows replaced, I want them to be Re:Placed. I want people to think of a service and compare it to ours, for people to say something was done “the Re:Place way”.
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