In all honesty, with all the research I have done into poptops and the little knowledge that I have.. I can't believe how one product can have so many different fitting procedures.. you would think that as a company all its recognised fitted would fit the product in the same way, using the same products and tools.
For instance,when I phoned one company that advertised HiLo logo, I asked them to explain their fitting process..
It varied to another company.. so then I started to wonder which was right way.
I could not imagine bringing a product to market and have registered fitters using their own products(e.g sika, silicone, etc) it should be uniform thoughout.. that way it MAY limits the so of these issues..
Its the same as products development.. if one fitter, fitted the cassette a certain way because they find it easier, does this get put back to HiLo for review of fitting guidelines / SOP's. Then distributed to the other fitters. HiLo should have the confidence their recognised fitters, from north to south, east to west, their products is fitted in exactly the same way, using their proven products.
Do registered fitters have training update courses?
Don't get me wrong, I honestly believe that HiLo is the best on the market(lowprofile variant) but I have had to really do the research on who fits..and Why!.
And on another point.. if HiLo have promotion on, then this promotion should be the same for all.. there was upto 600£ difference between fitters in the last promotion, when I phoned around.
Hi
@Fish Thanks for your post - it's good to hear your thoughts. I've responded to each point below, marked with a **** so easier to see. I hope the below helps to clarify any uncertainties you may have come across when researching our product and explains a little bit more about us as a company/ how we train our fitters. If you have any further questions though, please let us know, thanks, Kerri.
In all honesty, with all the research I have done into poptops and the little knowledge that I have.. I can't believe how one product can have so many different fitting procedures.. you would think that as a company all its recognised fitted would fit the product in the same way, using the same products and tools.
**** In order to obtain the ultra-low profile that HiLo is based on, compared with the traditional sit-on top style of pop top, which have the rubber gasket ring which compensates for any fit discrepancy, the HiLo is a more complex fit - Because of this, we have a very thorough training procedure that each and every fitter must attend before they are allowed to fit our roof system. The training we offer is a 2 day intensive, hands on course and we also offer the option of a 4 day training course for any potential fitters that we feel would benefit from the extra 2 day’s training.
We also seriously vet all potential fitters before we accept them onto the training course. We don’t just accept anyone who comes along or qualify them as an installer after watching a video on how to fit – if only it was that easy ;-)
For instance,when I phoned one company that advertised HiLo logo, I asked them to explain their fitting process..
It varied to another company.. so then I started to wonder which was right way.
****
@Fish glad you brought this to our attention – could you please PM us the companies you are referring to and we will get in contact with them so we can understand what is happening there. At this point, we’d like to re-iterate if there are any potential HiLo customers out there and you feel you are getting conflicting information from any companies in our fitting network, we’d encourage you to contact us direct so we can clarify any queries you may have and put your mind at ease.
I could not imagine bringing a product to market and have registered fitters using their own products(e.g sika, silicone, etc) it should be uniform thoughout.. that way it MAY limits the so of these issues.
****We’d like to assure people, that we haven’t brought a product to market allowing fitters to use any substitute products they like – we stipulate that fitters MUST use the products (sealants etc) that HiLo supply within every kit– they MUST NOT use their own, cheaper substitutes for obvious reasons.
Its the same as products development.. if one fitter, fitted the cassette a certain way because they find it easier, does this get put back to HiLo for review of fitting guidelines / SOP's. Then distributed to the other fitters. HiLo should have the confidence their recognised fitters, from north to south, east to west, their products is fitted in exactly the same way, using their proven products.
****Yes, in most cases this does get fed back to us and if we feel that it is an improvement in the fitting of the product we will take this on board and roll it out to our other fitters.
Do registered fitters have training update courses?
***We certainly do. If any of our fitters haven’t fitted our product for 6 months or more, they have to come back for a refresher training course in order to be allowed to continue to fit HiLo. Likewise, we take any customer complaint seriously. We monitor our fitting network as best as we can and have done and continue to remove companies from our fitting network should we feel it necessary.
Don't get me wrong, I honestly believe that HiLo is the best on the market(lowprofile variant) but I have had to really do the research on who fits..and Why!.
****We would always recommend anyone who is thinking about getting a pop top to do their own research when choosing a fitter to do their installation – as much as we thoroughly vet and train installers up and do all we possibly can to support them, at the end of the day they are independent companies – we would always recommend reading reviews and testimonials of a company and where possible, visiting them in person to get a feel for them and their quality of work. Plus our own technical staff are more than happy to give any interested party a guided tour of our workshop and manufacturing processes and facilities by appointment, plus our own demo vehicles are always available for demonstration.
And we are always on the end of the phone to answer potential questions about our fitters before being given (in some cases), misguided information relating to any aspect of the HiLo roof system. We genuinely are proud of our product and we pride ourselves on being transparent and honest. We also genuinely take on-board all feedback from our customers & fitters alike – at the end of the day, we strive to be the best and we need our fitters to do an excellent job as this reflects on our product and us as a company.
And on another point.. if HiLo have promotion on, then this promotion should be the same for all.. there was upto 600£ difference between fitters in the last promotion, when I phoned around.
****HiLo run various promotions throughout the year which are available to all customers and all our fitters at the same time. Because our fitters are independent companies, if they choose to run their own offers in conjunction with ours or offer other deals throughout the year when HiLo aren’t running an offer, that isn’t something we have any control over.
We'd like to re-iterate, if there is anybody at all out there with a HiLo roof and are having any issues with your original fitter, please contact HiLo direct who will endeavour to help you resolve your issue as soon as possible. The quickest way to do this is by phoning us direct (Mick our Operations Manager on 07377 369312) or through the enquiry form on our website. Thanks, HiLo