INSTALLER PROFILE Gareth Williams

GOOD TO BE BACK!

The Installer magazine talks to Gareth Williams and discovers how he and his family have bounced back from adversity when they returned from starting a new life abroad, and how the experience empowered him to build a successful kbb installation business.

“I’ve been installing kitchens for 15 years now beginning in 2001 after taking a voluntary redundancy package from NTL (now Virgin Media) as a Plant Protection Officer. I had a varied background before that working as a dental surgery designer, a kitchen designer at B&Q, a disabled adaptations surveyor, and a handyman to name but a few.”

You say that you fit kitchens why not bedrooms and bathrooms?

“I do now, this was probably a slip of the tongue due to the fact that we only began fitting bedrooms and bathrooms more recently.”

Why the change of heart?

“In truth, I’ve started doing bathrooms again after shunning many offers to install them by various showrooms. I’m sure I’ve lost loads of kitchens fits off the back of not doing bathrooms over the years so I’ve realised that bathrooms are equally important and I actually enjoy it. Bathrooms really are a vital part of the industry and I now embrace the fact.”

How do you think bathrooms have changed since you first came into the industry?

“The bathroom is no longer just a sanitaryware suite replacement. It’s fast 

becoming the room where people want luxury and they want it designed to fit their lives. Lots of customers say they want it to look like a luxury hotel or a spa so that’s what we give them, we realise their dream.”

What area do you cover?

“The area I work within (South Wales) is quite a big geographical area and I tend to stop heading east at the seven bridge and my furthest in a westerly direction is Swansea with my main target area being the capital Cardiff.”

What do you think your main USP’s (ultimate selling points) are?

“Apart from the installation side of the job, my passion and speciality is design and I’m proud to say my designs win lots of projects for me purely because I spend a long time making sure the room works perfectly for each individual client. Many companies won’t come to the house and rely on the customers measurements to make a drawing. Others send out salesmen with no flair for design (it’s all about the commission). In contrast, I offer a relaxed process of survey and design before I even take them to a showroom so they know it’s more about them than the profit margin.”

But you’re a business and it is about making profits, yes?

“Of course profit margin is important but quality of service is right up there as well.”

Tell us about your early years in the industry?

“In the early days I cut my teeth in the industry with the likes of MFI, which provided a good grounding to my career and it was a big eye opener for me. I’d never really fitted a kitchen before so when I jumped into the industry feet first I had to learn really quickly and luckily it paid off. However, I soon realised that working for the big sheds was not for me and moved on to working with local privately owned showrooms, and places like Sigma3.”

So how do you generate business?

“Over the years I’ve worked for lots of showrooms and was actually contracted to one for many years but in the last year I’ve become completely self-sufficient.”

How does this work?

“I do a lot of advertising locally using magazines and social media groups for lead generation and of course recommendation from satisfied customers; I also do a little bit for another 

local showroom and I’ve been working consistently.”

So you would say that you’re selfmotivated?

“Yes of course, it’s easy to become lazy in this industry by only doing what you enjoy but to stay afloat you have to have a ‘can-do’ attitude. For example, I offer a floor and wall tiling service, door hanging, skirting and even on the odd occasion I’ll decorate the room as well just because the competition out there is so strong.”

Ever had any mishaps?

“It can happen! We do have some good fun on the jobs and one story always springs to mind. We were working in a new house many years ago and my labourer drilled all the holes across a stud wall ready for the wall unit hanging plates to go up with cavity fixings. He turned to me after drilling about 18 holes and says “I don’t know but this wall just doesn’t feel right when I drill it” on closer inspection we discovered the wall was actually a honeycomb plasterboard wall and we could see the back of the customers head while he watched TV! Luckily the customer saw the funny side and after a bit of filler and paint the wall on the lounge side was as good as new.”

What do you think you would be if not a KBB installer?

“I think I’d be a designer or an installation manager. I can’t imagine not being part of the KBB industry now. It’s in my blood.”

What’s been your biggest business challenge?

“I think the biggest challenge I’ve faced as a business is keeping a consistency of work while sticking to my self-imposed rule of not working for the big sheds. It works well for some people but out of principle I won’t put myself in a situation where the delivery and quality of the goods is totally beyond my control.”

And your biggest personal challenge?

I’d say the biggest challenge I’ve had was moving abroad just before the recession and losing everything. My wife, 2 little boys and I went to live in Cyprus for a better life 2008. Unfortunately we didn’t like it quite as much as we thought. I lost my job as a kitchen fitter after about a year when the economic downturn started to bite, then when the Euro came in it added 20k to my mortgage while the property prices plummeted. The long and short is we came home and after 4 years we managed to sell the house we owned at a loss and basically had to start again with nothing. But If you let these things consume you you’re finished, so we just picked ourselves up and marched on.

Do you have any concerns for the industry?

“I think my biggest concern is the fact that profit of the big DIY shops could overrule the need for quality furniture, and installation. With their massive buying power they sell cheap furniture and then offer a fitting service which is more expensive than the furniture. I can understand customers wanting to buy things cheaply but then they expect it to be installed perfectly for peanuts. If you’re a proper installer with the right van, right tools, right insurance, and right knowledge you expect to be paid relative to your skill-set. The big shops are not only cheapening a highly skilled profession but are driving down prices making it difficult for seasoned installers to make a decent living. This situation is also inviting unskilled workers into the industry where they undercut the real fitters because they don’t pay tax, run a van, hold insurance etc. Until the right balance is found I think fitters will continue to leave the industry.”

So what does the future hold for you?

“I have decided that in the next few years I want to open a small showroom and come away from installations with a view to building up over the next 5 to 10 years towards retirement.”

So why did you join the iKBBI?

“Joining the IKBBI was I decision I made to add a bit more credibility to the business. It’s hard enough to win work with all the competition but the iKBBI accreditation demonstrates that you have a commitment to what you do which hopefully gives me the edge when trying to win customers. I’ve only recently joined the IKBBI in January 2016 and use the logo on my paperwork, uniform, website, and lead generators so I’m hoping the word is slowly getting out there. I would love to see a day when the IKBBI was as popular as GASSAFE, or NICEIC so the cowboys can be eradicated and only accredited installers can legally be used legally.”

Finally, how do you relax?

“I don’t get a lot of free time as if I’m not working I’m out measuring or on the computer designing. My two boys Josh 13 and Dan 12 go to karate 3 times a week and then there are the competitions we attend to support them. However, on the rare occasion that I don’t work a Saturday I sit at the bar I built in the house and have a few well deserved beers with some friends. My better half Liz also works some crazy hours as well as keeping us cleaned and fed so she deserves a mention as without her support I think I might have left the industry at some point!”