Here at Timber Composite Door we try very hard indeed to give our customers the kind of service we believe they deserve, quality product, quality sales, aftersales and administration services and quality installation service. We may not be able to supply and install a new front door quite as fast as some of our competitors but we try to ensure our service is timely and efficient at all levels a fact supported by the many glowing references we receive from satisfied customers in our Trust Pilot reviews.
Working with the internet everyday we are well aware that it has both its good and bad points – it has changed the face of shopping forever and for many provides the fast efficient service they expect – for others it can raise their expectations to levels of their service suppliers to unachievable levels – for a well-known large distributor with warehouses the size of a small planet and a distribution network of suppliers to deliver stock items the next day is pretty much the norm and very impressive the service is too. However, for companies such as ours who provide a bespoke supply and installations service expectations of “next day” delivery have to be somewhat tempered – we have to measure for your door, manufacture to your specification deliver and install and that cannot be done overnight if you want the job done correctly.
As we state in the text of one of the statements on our Premium Installation page ( a page which sets out step by step the exact service you can expect) –
“Typical lead time of 15 working days from order to completion”
If you decide to proceed with the purchase of a door from ourselves you will be advised every step of the way of our requirements for access to your property – survey and installation – so effectively within reasonable time parameters you are in control of your actual installation date.
For most individuals our web site is easy to follow and the expectations of our customers are achievable but unfortunately the dreams sold by that “well known large distributor” of next day delivery for everything are considered the standard for some users of our services. Your writer occasionally during extremely busy periods answers the telephone on behalf of our Sales Team (multi – tasking is the norm in a company such as ours) and even I have lost count of the number of times a customer has asked –
“Are your doors off the shelf”? or “Will your doors fit”?
These are the sales we normally lose when we explain what a “bespoke” service comprises.
One recent phone call had me questioning my own belief in our web site and the quality information we provide – the prospective customer made reference to having reviewed the web site and liking certain doors and then proceeded to ask-
“are you close to Middlesbrough?”
“yes Billingham” I replied
“and do you sell doors?” he responded, to which I replied
“yes, we offer Solidor Timber Composite Doors “on line” as you have viewed on our web site” his response to this statement even took me by surprise –
“If I pop over now can I buy a door and can you have it fitted this afternoon?”
After explaining our procedures and why we provide a bespoke service and pointing the prospective customer back to the aforementioned Premium Installation Page this prospective customer became a none customer.
The internet is indeed a wonderful thing and here at Timber Composite Doors we try to cover all bases and answer all questions as accurately as possible when we create our web pages so that we guide our customers as smoothly as possible through the intricacies of buying a new door, after all it is a major purchase for many of us – and yet even now after ten years of trading, we still receive calls from individuals, who although they acknowledge that they have viewed our web site and understand it still ask the questions –
“Are your doors off the shelf”? or “Will your doors fit”? and “can you have it fitted this afternoon?”
We must try even harder to make our website more user friendly
PS If you are confused by the photograph at the head of this blog referencing “First Class” rather than “Premium Installations” – we stole it from our sister company Global Door web site