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Comments:
This company is one of the most professional I know. They do what they say they will do which is to stop "pentrating damp" on any wall they apply the product to. They give a full 20 year guarantee on their work and product and in the main any house treated with the product is much better to look at when finished.
If you consider the cost and divide it by the guarantee period it works out to be very inexpensive indeed. Couple that with the increase in house prices over the same period of 20 years and you tell me a better investment in your property. You can't because there isn't one. People buy brand new cars, then immediately lose the VAT element (17.5%) and initial depreciation of at least 10%, you wouldn't really call that a sensible investment would you? No! It's all about your personal perception. I'd always rather invest in bricks and mortar, at least there is more than a fighting chance of a high return on my investment when I come to sell.
Also, how many builders do you know that will give a firm price for the job and explain exactly what they will be doing for the money and what materials will be used to do the job. Can they give a 20 year guarantee, obviously not because even with a brand new house you only get a 10 year guarantee which is supported by a building federation.
Finally, what does it matter if the salesman earns 20K or 200K year. You are reading this on a computer, the people who develop and sell these to the large chain stores probably earn considerably more, so, good luck to them. You bought yours for whatever need you wanted to satisfy, price wasn't an issue because you had a need. We're all born equal with exactly the same chances in life. Why knock those who go out and earn more than others. As one contributor said earlier, if you don't want the product after hearing all about it, then say so, the salesman is there to assist you to make a decision one way or the other. In the end choice is always yours.
Don't decide just on price, look at all the potential benefits, damp free walls, warmer living environment, return on investment, low maintenance, 20 year guarantee period.
Inflation seems to be rife! My 'marketing manager' stayed a full three and a half hours and spent an awful lot of time explaining 'before' and 'after' photos and reading out!! letters from satisfied customers. My 'quote' started at around £17,000 for a small house, reduced to £13,500 with the 25% off as a 'display house', then he offered to 'buy back' my possible future referals for £2,500, which would have still left me with a bill for £10,990....and, of course, this offer was only valid that night. Sign now, before you read any of the small print! He was very keen on me taking up a credit agreement...no doubt he would get commission on this). As some have said, a disgraceful strategy ('NON-ethical' should be one of the favourite words in their spiel) for which many 'old ladies' and vulnerable couples have surely fallen. Of course the salesmen have to earn a living, but a company which prides itself so much on its product should develop a much more straightforward, honest sales policy.
some 6 months ago i agreed to have this wonderful coating at the time i chose above the kitchen/bathroom that was required.. all my friends and neighbours have praised the look etc.. a friend who is an estate agent advised the unique benefits of protectacoat will help the value greater than a new kitchen etc.. great company to whom i would recommend everytime...
I don't understand some of the negative comments on this thread. My brother had Protectacoat fitted and has been very pleased with it. Yes, he does have to wash it down with a hose once a year, but that's hardly high maintenance! 10 years down the line he still thinks he got good value for it, tho' it wasn't cheap. The beef seems to be with the quality of the salesman, not the company, and surely that applies to all professions! I've met some Doctors I wouldn't allow in my house! And some salesmen who have been fantastic and bent over backward to help me buy something I needed! If you don't need wall coating, why make an appointment to see someone about it? And if the salesman follows a script until you end up with his best price, so what? I bought a mobile phone over the telephone today on a cold call because the salesman knew his job and saved me £10 a month compared to my existing tariff, but I could tell he was following a script too. If you're not comfortable making a decision on the day, then don't make it - but I bet your home is full of things you bought on the day! It comes down to do you like the person you saw/see, and that's your judgement call!!
Firstly, I note that this site runs adverts for competitors of Protectacoat, so hardly likely to be trusted about comments on P. Secondly I’d like to redress the balance somewhat!
Saw a salesman last Sept.07. Yes, he did call himself a Marketing Manager, but so what? He was a really nice guy, told me immediately it would take 2 hours to describe the product & company and measure up for the quote – we couldn’t spare the time then, so he re-arranged for next week. He saw us promptly as re-arranged. He had a folder which, as he admitted, helped him to ensure he’d covered everything about his product, and he followed it through, answering our many questions politely and truthfully. He’d updated some pictures to local houses he’d done recently, and gave genuine names as references – a nice touch I thought. This took an hour, but was worth it, and yes, he did ask permission to carry on half way through. This format seems designed to answer all a customers’ questions without too much verbiage, so I don’t mind that it’s obviously scripted. Why not? The guy must see two couples a day every day - is he expected to describe the product in a different way each time? I think people here are being very harsh on a guy clearly just doing his job. Anyway, he then measured up and gave us a quote. We’d told him we could only afford a certain amount, but he quoted us for well below that anyway, for the front only. He admitted that they only quote for the front first as people are often reluctant to spend much when they don't know the product, but that they often do the rest of the house once they have lived with it a while and know how good it is. Yes, we did get the display property discount, “quelle surprise” – but he went beyond that ‘cos I then said we’d like to know how much the whole house would cost. He measured up again and then suggested that we do the front now to close down the discount (and his deal, no doubt!), but then he would come back next month and finish the whole house for us. He quoted £2,500 for the front, but only £5,750 for the whole house. Now I checked this afterwards as I work for the MOD in contracts. We’ve got a big house – the best price I could get for render alone was £3,500, (no guarantee) and this product is far better than that, with a 20 yr guarantee.
We asked him for time to think about it and he said we could, but only overnight, which I thought was fair enough – how long does one need to think about a deal anyway?
Rang him next day and said he could do it, and he came over that day specially. I know he lives 50 miles away, so fair’s fair, this was good.
Sure enough, he and the company were true to their word. The front was done within the week, and I didn’t even have to pay them until they came back a month later and did the sides and back, then I paid for the lot. They used scaffolding and went out of their way to avoid damaging our garden, even bridging our glass conservatory really well! Brilliant deal, and we’re really pleased with the product, the house looks superb! If anyone wants to see a photo of our house, I’ll happily send it to them, and am also happy to tell them more about the benefits – they’re exactly as the salesman describes in his spiel!
So I say, give the guy a break, he’s there to make a sale if he can (who isn’t?) and will do his best within the parameters set for him by the company to help you buy the product – if you don’t want it, tell him so!! I’m sure he doesn’t want to waste his time any more than you want to waste yours, but you’ve got to listen before you’ll know if it’s any good! We’re sure glad we did.
A satisfied customer.
PS. And if a salesman has driven miles for an appointment YOU arranged, the least you can do is offer him a cuppa tea! He's human too, you know!!
Everyone turns up on appointments as a Marketing Manager as the sales rep could not make it. They spend 15 - 20 min trying to soften you up then start there pitch with there fancy certificates and customer feedback before going on to explain about weather damage other coatings ie Render, Pebbledash ect. Before they discuss there product. Now as I said at the top it is a great product. They will then start to plant the seed about you becoming a display property and about how they market. They will then show you some before and after pictures with dscriptions of what they did and how much as a standard property and how much as a display and of course how much finance costs. At the end of this part of the presentation they will ask you can you see why our customers see it as a great investment also get you to agree that if it was affordable to you would you like to see it on your house. They then start there finance pitch and highlight the good points and get you to agree that it is something you would look at using. They then bring out there biggest weapon to use. The RBF (responcible budgeting form). They will get you to tick a box stating how much you could afford on a weekly basis. When they have this and only when they have it the will conduct a survey. The survey is being carried out by a salesman and not a structural surveyor. The salesmen are only shown how to identify problems and trust me they find them. They will then do a water test ie throw water on your wall to show it is either absorbing it all or your wall is not breathing. Up until this point they will have been very friendly Marketing managers but when they come back in the house they are out and out sales people. They will show you a scetch with the problems they found then explain that your house would be a fantastic display property and they will expalin what is involved with being one and then start to give you the price.
They have a fantastic formula for working this out as it is geared around you being a display property as the discount is only available tonight. The standard price will for a normal front of a house be about £9000 and the discount will be 25% off this which gives you the price as a display. If you say no at this point they will agree with you that you could not of planned for the expenditure but they have a way of getting you to say that if they came back in 6 months you would do it. this is when they start to use the referal income against you they will offer to send you your first 3-4 referals as a way of you funding the first 6 months if you still say no they will offer to gice you more referals back which should work out enough to fund the so called investment for about 14 months. It is at this point they either have a sale that counts towards there target which they call white business or they then drop even further and offer to give you back all the referals they think you will ever get. Buy this time the price will be down to about £2500 to wich they can still take it down another 20%.
Now to get the coating on the wall for that price is ok. The sales reps are on commission and bonus and even if they get you to buy at there bottom price they will still make about £100 plus £500 bonus. Not bad for a nights work.
There top salesman will earn about £175,000 this year.
I used to work for Protectacoat as a 'manager'. Basically, all the sales people that work for them pretend to be Managers ('I'm sorry, our sales guy couldn't come out tonight but I am from the Marketing Dept!') Does that sound like something you have heard before??
A few things to look out for. The 'managers' work through their pitch book in a very practised and regimented fashion. If they think they are looking good for a sale, they will pretend to make a phone call to the office. Whatever they say, all they are doing is cancelling their next appointment.
When the price is pitched, this is only the first of 4 they could offer (it may be 5, i can't remember). Basically, the less they sell it for, the less commission they get. Potentially, a £10k first quote could go down to less than £3k!
So whatever stories they come out with, they have got margin to move on a massive basis. If you turn down their first three quotes and they offer you a fourth (or go for a fifth?!) you can ask them why they were happy to take all your money with the first quote.
Finally, don't touch their finance. Go to the bank, get a loan and pay it off as quickly as you can. The product is actually very good (although it makes your house look like its covered in icing!).
Don't take any rubbish from the sales people. if you don't like them, tell them to get out of your house. If they don't get down to 25 - 30% of their original offer, send them home.
And remember, some of these guys are earning £200k plus!! Good luck.
I can only echo the comments of hthomas of 18th August. The guy was here for three hours and it really was pressure sales. Originally when my partner was in hospital he would not speak just to me, presumably he thought her presence would increase his chance of making a sale. While the product seemed to be a good thing the price was not. The price I could afford was for just the front of the house. A reduction of 25% was there if I signed up on the night, yes evening calls only. Noone in their right mind would commit that amount of money on the spur of the moment. If he was really concerned with protecting the house why only mention the front?
I had similar experiences to others who have commented.
Only evening appointments are made, the guy was there for several hours and left very late and made you feel sorry for him that he had a long way to travel that evening. All photographs of the examples looked they were taken in the 1970's. The price was heavily reduced and only available for that evening. I wanted the opportunity to go and view other properties the following day but I had to sign up there and then.
While the guy was very pleasant, I felt it was a hard sell and indicated that after signing up, that while he didn't have the sack last time someone cancelled, you never know what may happen next time.
I did sign up but cancelled promptly the following morning after a sleepless night and couldn't believe I'd been talked into it. I cannot comment on the quality of their work but don't like their sales technique particularly as I would consider myself normally a level headed person. I would be very concerned for anyone living on their own or anyone more vulnerable.
Protectacoat are a very ethical company, myself and some friends have had the product installed onto our properties & we would reccomend the company & product to every one.Their after sale service is second to none & i am amazed that any one would write detrimental comments about them (probably disgruntled salesmen) who were let go because of low achievments.I would give Protectacoat 10 out of 10 for their workmanship & product.
Im sorry taht you seem to have had a bad time wiht the protectacoat rep, maybe he didnt explain it properly.
The only reason he would have been there for that amount of time would have been if you wanted more information about the company, as he would have definatley asked you if you wanted hom to contnue telling you more about the company.
Reduction in price?
Protectacoat is sold by the square yard and is set in stone. So there would not have been a price reduction. This is not a double glazing company!
The only time the price would have possibly been reduced if you was lucky enough to have been selected as a display property where you would have been offered a discount for this.
As for pressure, The Managers at Protectacoat never, under and circumstance pressure anyone into anything. We simply offer a price QUOTATION which is set for 12 months, Take it or leave it.
Intimidating salesman who was here for two hours! I was told it would just be a quick quote, that's not my idea of quick. He kept lowering the price but frankly even if it was a fraction of his final offer I still wouldn't have bothered. He even tried to make us feel sorry for him that he'd come miles out of his way! The photos we were shown were very old which has got to make you question why. Don't be a mug unless you've got money to burn would be my advice to anyone thinking of using this company.
Ex employee of Protectacoat so won't say too much at present since I'm trying to get the rest of my commission out of them - that's right, another of those promised high earnings from sales.
The leads are usually there okay but whilst they say high earnings and some over £100,000 In December last year (2005) I was on the leader board at 14th nationally on only £12,800 product that earned me £2,600 - but the top guy was only on £36,000 product and he had been there all year!
Worcester. I have tried to arrange for someone to give me a quote 5 times now and they keep failing to show up, meaning that I am forced to stay in waiting for them for nothing.
Add a comment about this blagger
Visitors to the site are reminded that the details contained within user comments are uncorroborated and as such should not be read as fact but as the opinion of the person who left the comment.
Comments:
If you consider the cost and divide it by the guarantee period it works out to be very inexpensive indeed. Couple that with the increase in house prices over the same period of 20 years and you tell me a better investment in your property. You can't because there isn't one. People buy brand new cars, then immediately lose the VAT element (17.5%) and initial depreciation of at least 10%, you wouldn't really call that a sensible investment would you? No! It's all about your personal perception. I'd always rather invest in bricks and mortar, at least there is more than a fighting chance of a high return on my investment when I come to sell.
Also, how many builders do you know that will give a firm price for the job and explain exactly what they will be doing for the money and what materials will be used to do the job. Can they give a 20 year guarantee, obviously not because even with a brand new house you only get a 10 year guarantee which is supported by a building federation.
Finally, what does it matter if the salesman earns 20K or 200K year. You are reading this on a computer, the people who develop and sell these to the large chain stores probably earn considerably more, so, good luck to them. You bought yours for whatever need you wanted to satisfy, price wasn't an issue because you had a need. We're all born equal with exactly the same chances in life. Why knock those who go out and earn more than others. As one contributor said earlier, if you don't want the product after hearing all about it, then say so, the salesman is there to assist you to make a decision one way or the other. In the end choice is always yours.
Don't decide just on price, look at all the potential benefits, damp free walls, warmer living environment, return on investment, low maintenance, 20 year guarantee period.
Saw a salesman last Sept.07. Yes, he did call himself a Marketing Manager, but so what? He was a really nice guy, told me immediately it would take 2 hours to describe the product & company and measure up for the quote – we couldn’t spare the time then, so he re-arranged for next week. He saw us promptly as re-arranged. He had a folder which, as he admitted, helped him to ensure he’d covered everything about his product, and he followed it through, answering our many questions politely and truthfully. He’d updated some pictures to local houses he’d done recently, and gave genuine names as references – a nice touch I thought. This took an hour, but was worth it, and yes, he did ask permission to carry on half way through. This format seems designed to answer all a customers’ questions without too much verbiage, so I don’t mind that it’s obviously scripted. Why not? The guy must see two couples a day every day - is he expected to describe the product in a different way each time? I think people here are being very harsh on a guy clearly just doing his job. Anyway, he then measured up and gave us a quote. We’d told him we could only afford a certain amount, but he quoted us for well below that anyway, for the front only. He admitted that they only quote for the front first as people are often reluctant to spend much when they don't know the product, but that they often do the rest of the house once they have lived with it a while and know how good it is. Yes, we did get the display property discount, “quelle surprise” – but he went beyond that ‘cos I then said we’d like to know how much the whole house would cost. He measured up again and then suggested that we do the front now to close down the discount (and his deal, no doubt!), but then he would come back next month and finish the whole house for us. He quoted £2,500 for the front, but only £5,750 for the whole house. Now I checked this afterwards as I work for the MOD in contracts. We’ve got a big house – the best price I could get for render alone was £3,500, (no guarantee) and this product is far better than that, with a 20 yr guarantee.
We asked him for time to think about it and he said we could, but only overnight, which I thought was fair enough – how long does one need to think about a deal anyway?
Rang him next day and said he could do it, and he came over that day specially. I know he lives 50 miles away, so fair’s fair, this was good.
Sure enough, he and the company were true to their word. The front was done within the week, and I didn’t even have to pay them until they came back a month later and did the sides and back, then I paid for the lot. They used scaffolding and went out of their way to avoid damaging our garden, even bridging our glass conservatory really well! Brilliant deal, and we’re really pleased with the product, the house looks superb! If anyone wants to see a photo of our house, I’ll happily send it to them, and am also happy to tell them more about the benefits – they’re exactly as the salesman describes in his spiel!
So I say, give the guy a break, he’s there to make a sale if he can (who isn’t?) and will do his best within the parameters set for him by the company to help you buy the product – if you don’t want it, tell him so!! I’m sure he doesn’t want to waste his time any more than you want to waste yours, but you’ve got to listen before you’ll know if it’s any good! We’re sure glad we did.
A satisfied customer.
PS. And if a salesman has driven miles for an appointment YOU arranged, the least you can do is offer him a cuppa tea! He's human too, you know!!
Great product, Great service before and after.
Totally over priced and hard sell.
Everyone turns up on appointments as a Marketing Manager as the sales rep could not make it. They spend 15 - 20 min trying to soften you up then start there pitch with there fancy certificates and customer feedback before going on to explain about weather damage other coatings ie Render, Pebbledash ect. Before they discuss there product. Now as I said at the top it is a great product. They will then start to plant the seed about you becoming a display property and about how they market. They will then show you some before and after pictures with dscriptions of what they did and how much as a standard property and how much as a display and of course how much finance costs. At the end of this part of the presentation they will ask you can you see why our customers see it as a great investment also get you to agree that if it was affordable to you would you like to see it on your house. They then start there finance pitch and highlight the good points and get you to agree that it is something you would look at using. They then bring out there biggest weapon to use. The RBF (responcible budgeting form). They will get you to tick a box stating how much you could afford on a weekly basis. When they have this and only when they have it the will conduct a survey. The survey is being carried out by a salesman and not a structural surveyor. The salesmen are only shown how to identify problems and trust me they find them. They will then do a water test ie throw water on your wall to show it is either absorbing it all or your wall is not breathing. Up until this point they will have been very friendly Marketing managers but when they come back in the house they are out and out sales people. They will show you a scetch with the problems they found then explain that your house would be a fantastic display property and they will expalin what is involved with being one and then start to give you the price.
They have a fantastic formula for working this out as it is geared around you being a display property as the discount is only available tonight. The standard price will for a normal front of a house be about £9000 and the discount will be 25% off this which gives you the price as a display. If you say no at this point they will agree with you that you could not of planned for the expenditure but they have a way of getting you to say that if they came back in 6 months you would do it. this is when they start to use the referal income against you they will offer to send you your first 3-4 referals as a way of you funding the first 6 months if you still say no they will offer to gice you more referals back which should work out enough to fund the so called investment for about 14 months. It is at this point they either have a sale that counts towards there target which they call white business or they then drop even further and offer to give you back all the referals they think you will ever get. Buy this time the price will be down to about £2500 to wich they can still take it down another 20%.
Now to get the coating on the wall for that price is ok. The sales reps are on commission and bonus and even if they get you to buy at there bottom price they will still make about £100 plus £500 bonus. Not bad for a nights work.
There top salesman will earn about £175,000 this year.
THE INSIDER
I used to work for Protectacoat as a 'manager'. Basically, all the sales people that work for them pretend to be Managers ('I'm sorry, our sales guy couldn't come out tonight but I am from the Marketing Dept!') Does that sound like something you have heard before??
A few things to look out for. The 'managers' work through their pitch book in a very practised and regimented fashion. If they think they are looking good for a sale, they will pretend to make a phone call to the office. Whatever they say, all they are doing is cancelling their next appointment.
When the price is pitched, this is only the first of 4 they could offer (it may be 5, i can't remember). Basically, the less they sell it for, the less commission they get. Potentially, a £10k first quote could go down to less than £3k!
So whatever stories they come out with, they have got margin to move on a massive basis. If you turn down their first three quotes and they offer you a fourth (or go for a fifth?!) you can ask them why they were happy to take all your money with the first quote.
Finally, don't touch their finance. Go to the bank, get a loan and pay it off as quickly as you can. The product is actually very good (although it makes your house look like its covered in icing!).
Don't take any rubbish from the sales people. if you don't like them, tell them to get out of your house. If they don't get down to 25 - 30% of their original offer, send them home.
And remember, some of these guys are earning £200k plus!! Good luck.
Only evening appointments are made, the guy was there for several hours and left very late and made you feel sorry for him that he had a long way to travel that evening. All photographs of the examples looked they were taken in the 1970's. The price was heavily reduced and only available for that evening. I wanted the opportunity to go and view other properties the following day but I had to sign up there and then.
While the guy was very pleasant, I felt it was a hard sell and indicated that after signing up, that while he didn't have the sack last time someone cancelled, you never know what may happen next time.
I did sign up but cancelled promptly the following morning after a sleepless night and couldn't believe I'd been talked into it. I cannot comment on the quality of their work but don't like their sales technique particularly as I would consider myself normally a level headed person. I would be very concerned for anyone living on their own or anyone more vulnerable.
The only reason he would have been there for that amount of time would have been if you wanted more information about the company, as he would have definatley asked you if you wanted hom to contnue telling you more about the company.
Reduction in price?
Protectacoat is sold by the square yard and is set in stone. So there would not have been a price reduction. This is not a double glazing company!
The only time the price would have possibly been reduced if you was lucky enough to have been selected as a display property where you would have been offered a discount for this.
As for pressure, The Managers at Protectacoat never, under and circumstance pressure anyone into anything. We simply offer a price QUOTATION which is set for 12 months, Take it or leave it.
If you have any questions ask me!
A very happy ethical marketing manager.
hees at 9th Jun 2007, 12:53AM
The leads are usually there okay but whilst they say high earnings and some over £100,000 In December last year (2005) I was on the leader board at 14th nationally on only £12,800 product that earned me £2,600 - but the top guy was only on £36,000 product and he had been there all year!
David@imnp.co.uk at 28th Feb 2006, 05:14PM
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