Yesterday, a customer asked me a simple question when confirming their order:
“Can you send your best fitter?”
My answer?
We don’t have a best fitter.
Every fitter is our best blind fitter
At Barlow Blinds, every single one of our installers has over 15 years of experience fitting blinds. All of them are fully employed and trained by us.
We would never let anyone drill one hole in your home unless we were 100% confident they knew exactly what they were doing.
How we train new fitters
When we bring someone new into the business, they don’t just get thrown in at the deep end. They work alongside a master installer (someone who has been fitting blinds for over 10 years) for as long as it takes.
Only when the trainee, the master installer, and I all agree they have the knowledge and confidence to go out on their own do we let them. And even then, they start with smaller blind jobs, like a Roller Blind for your kitchen, or a Vertical Blind for your patio gradually building up until they’re ready for bigger projects.
Why we don’t hire “experienced” fitters from other companies
I’ve tried it in the past. Four times, in fact.
Each time, the fitter came with “years of experience” but also with bad habits, a lack of attention to detail, and nowhere near the level of care we expect at Barlows. All four lasted only weeks.
The truth is, it’s almost impossible to retrain someone who thinks they already know everything.
The Barlows way
That’s why we do things differently.
We hire people with good DIY knowledge and the right attitude and then we train them our way. The Barlows way.
Because when you invite us into your home, you deserve the reassurance that whoever arrives at your door is not just competent, but exceptional.
That’s why we don’t have a best fitter.
We have a team full of them.
About Phil Coleman
Phil Coleman is the fifth generation of his family to run Barlow Blinds, a Leicester business that has been making blinds since 1887. With over 30 years of hands-on experience, Phil has played a leading role in shaping industry standards including being part of the team that wrote the only NVQ qualification for blind and shutter installers. He also serves on the Management Committee of the British Blind & Shutter Association (BBSA), helping to set best practice across the trade. Under his leadership, Barlow Blinds has remained true to its founding principle: “It’s not our job to find customers for our blinds, it’s our job to find the right blinds for our customers.”
