The Tyranny of the Trade Counter

I was in a plumbers' merchants yesterday there were 6 people in the queue. I counted 5 members of staff in view yet only 2 were serving customers. There was a sign on the door informing us they would be closed on Friday and Saturday for a stocktake ... are you selling the stock or counting it?

The merchant suppliers should be a place where expert knowledge of product can be used to the benefit of the installer and the customer. The suppliers are, after all, able to advise on the most appropriate product, correct methods of installation, suitable installers and likely pitfalls. They should be able to do with and offer a competitive price.

What you get instead is a sigh and a condescending look. My wife tells me if you happen to be a woman you might as well forget it; unless of course you're blonde and wearing a miniskirt.

You get expert help only if you pass muster; this requires having your list written on a broken piece of plasterboard and the ability to pass a short verbal exam testing your knowledge of the equipment you wish to purchase. If you are not “trade” forget it, it's not their job to help you out.

As for the genuine tradesman, you join the queue, even if you have the foresight to pre-order. This waiting time is clearly recognised by the suppliers because they've introduced coffee machines and TVs to entertain you during your wait. How many productive hours are wasted every day while queuing at trade counters?

Staff are as adept as Parisian waiters at avoiding your eye. They do very important work for UNESCO or whatever it is they do rather than serve you.

While I was waiting, about 30 minutes in all, I applied my mind to why there was a need for a trade counter. DIY stores function without one, yet they sell similar products. Why can't the branch (note they are called branches not stores) be open plan with a trade counter for those that need expert assistance?


Tradesmen who know what they want can help themselves and check out. The “amateur” can seek assistance with their purchases.

I can browse and to a large degree inform myself rather than stand at a counter and display my ignorance for all in the queue to see.
The whole process as it stands is manifestly inefficient, with an obvious physical barrier: the counter. Without the counter you can remove the queues, increase the productive working day for tradesmen, and enable the staff at the suppliers concentrate on offering expert advise where it is needed, not fetching a carrying.

The message to the merchants is clear, remove the tyranny of the trade counter and liberate your customers.

Breaking Strain of a Warm Mars Bar

The race is on to find the “cookie cutter” product that will revolutionise the way we manage energy in our homes. At the recent Ecobuild show there were a plethora of gadgets designed to offer new ways to control energy consumption.

But I don't believe all these new products are going to deliver remarkable reductions in energy usage for one very simple reason – we are intrinsically lazy. The majority – that is the silent majority - can't be bothered to do what it takes, i.e. be consistent.

Take me. With the breaking strain of a warm Mars bar I will do only those things that are easy and don't significantly disrupt my lifestyle. Of course I'll tell you that I re-cycle everything including my toe nail clippings because it will make me feel good. But in reality no one's looking, so what the hell.

Some 75% of consumers form the sustainable mainstream and are happy to buy a “sustainable product”, provided that it doesn’t cost more and performs as well as a standard product So many products require you to make a sacrifice and give something up. This hairshirt approach wants you to give something up to save the world. But it has a limited appeal. I might have a go at something for a while but once the first flush of enthusiasm has passed, my interest will fade and I'll revert to my former (bad) habits.

Too many developers of energy reduction products assume that the first thing I think about in the morning is how I can save energy. Energy prices for consumers (with the notable exception of those mired in fuel poverty) are too low and not a significant proportion of incomes to matter.

The systems that will succeed will be very simple to operate, almost certainly on a PC, i-Phone or i-Pad type device. It will set up easily and will learn about your preferences and habits. Adjustments will be one or two touch and will be able to be carried out from any location. Crucially we will value these products for the things they do, other than energy management

The false industry mantra is, that if you give consumers information about energy, they'll modify their behaviour accordingly.

A smart meter does not however make a smart consumer.

Frankly, we would rather watch Celebrity Shopping Trolley Racing from Dubai on Sky Sports 17 than study endless graphs showing a 80p rise in our energy consumption. What we do want is a gadget that is in a familiar format, one that advises us if our consumption is higher than normal and one that tells us of any potential actions to reduce it (automatically obviously, we are couch potatoes after all). That gadget could also tells us that if we delay using the dishwasher until the middle of the night we can half the cost.

Now we’re interested.