Ian Short, managing director of Uni-Blinds manufacturer Morley Glass, explains why its new approved installer scheme offers enhanced support for installers seeking to offer integral blinds for the first time or boost sales.

As a product manufacturer, we know how important it is for our customers to understand what we are supplying to them, how to sell them effectively, how to install them and how to handle any troubleshooting or aftersales care issues.

That’s why we’ve always sought to be more than just a product supplier, and be a valuable partner in the success of our customers’ businesses.

Over two decades, we have invested significant resources in making sure installers who are considering ordering any of our Uni-Blinds integral blind systems are fully supported and confident in what they are providing to the end-user.

For us, this is so important because integral blinds are somewhat different to many of the other products and systems normally involved in meeting a homeowner or developer’s window and door brief.

Most accomplished installers will know exactly what is involved when fitting different framing types, standard IGUs and carrying out all the necessary adjustments to handles, hinges and locking systems.

Integral blinds have their own requirements, however. That certainly does not mean they are difficult to fit – they are actually very straightforward to install. But if you are not installing them regularly, or at all, nobody is expecting you to be an expert in these products!

That’s where we come in. We’ve been manufacturing integral blinds exclusively using the world’s leading systems, ScreenLine, for over 20 years. Throughout that time, we have developed extensive expertise across the team relating to their design, manufacture, installation and maintenance, and we are continuously working to find the best ways to give our customers the easiest access to all the resources they need, backed by outstanding service.

The latest stage in our programme of support for installers is the creation of our approved installer scheme. This encapsulates our service commitment to customers in an easy to understand format and clearly demonstrates how we will support them at every stage as they diversify by adding integral blinds to their portfolio, or look to increase their existing integral blind sales.

All window and door installers who sign up to our approved installer scheme become a Morley Glass Trade Partner. There is no cost and being approved brings with it a host of benefits.

Customer support

One of the most important dimensions to our approved installer scheme is marketing and sales support. Uni-Blinds represent the premium choice for integral blinds thanks to the quality of the ScreenLine systems that go into every unit, and the craftsmanship of our team which ensures products are manufactured to the highest standards.

Our marketing materials, including our brochures and website, are developed to convey this market-leading quality, which is why we invest heavily in creating them. These are provided to installers to help them generate initial interest, along with creative point of sale materials, colour swatches and other resources to help convert the end-user’s interest into an order.

We have also developed a specific consumer-focused website, www.directintegralblinds.com, so homeowners can browse our range of Uni-Blinds online to further assist with the sales process.

Rapid response

We’ve always put ourselves in the shoes of installers, which is why we have developed the processes needed to be able to provide quotations in less than 60 minutes and offer a manufacturing and delivery lead time as short as 10-12 working days.

Through this rapid response, we help to remove potential barriers to sales by enabling installers to ‘strike while the iron is hot’, both in terms of giving the end-user a cost quickly and being able to install their products within a couple of weeks.

We know how important it is for installers to have products delivered on-time, as expected. One of the ways we minimise delays is by operating our own fleet of delivery vans, which now includes 32 vehicles. These Morley Glass and Uni-Blinds branded vans transport orders to our customers with maximum reliability at no extra cost to them.

Training & technical assistance

The Uni-Blinds range offers five different control systems which all require a slightly different approach to fitting. The good news is that installing any of our systems is, until the last stages, largely no different to fitting a standard double or triple glazed unit – but you will need to know how to set-up the control mechanism once the unit is in position.

Hence why we can provide in-person training or via Zoom/Teams to any installer who requires assistance, and we have developed various resources including written installation guides and how-to videos.

In addition, our customer service and technical teams are specialists in the integral blinds we offer, and they are available to support any installers via phone and email as and when required.

Aftersales care

Unrivalled aftersales care has always been key to our business. To achieve this goal, we have a customer service team of four people who are available Monday to Friday during office hours to handle any requests for help.

We have also created a troubleshooting guide to help installers resolve the vast majority of issues themselves, quickly and with ease.

Where issues cannot be resolved by our customers, we employ two service engineers who travel to end-users’ properties across the UK as requested to complete repairs or replace units if necessary. All our Uni-Blinds are supplied with a five-year warranty too.

IGU recycling service

Our Trade Partners can also take advantage of our post-consumer IGU collection and recycling service. Our delivery drivers will collect any IGUs removed as part of window and door replacement projects, which are then brought to our factory where we crush them into cullet using our state-of-the-art machinery.

The cullet we produce is supplied to Saint-Gobain as a raw material for new glass manufacturing, and there is no charge for the service to our customers. In addition to helping installers improve their sustainability credentials, the service helps them save money on landfill waste disposal, which for some installers results in a saving of thousands of pounds annually.