November/December 2021

Customer Service
INVALUABLE SERVICE
Total Installer talks to Georgie Andrews, director at Dorset-based installer TWR, about the
advantages of Sternfenster’s ‘SFPlus’ customer portal.
a relatively small, family run
firm, so for us communicating with
“We’re
our customers is absolutely key to
the effective running of the business,” says Georgie
Andrews, director at Dorset-based installer, TWR.
“We offer a very personal customer experience,
we’ve built a strong reputation in our area and we
enjoy a lot of repeat business as a result. The only
way we’ve been able to achieve this is because
of the relationship we have with our supplier; the
level of communication we have is brilliant.
“That’s been especially important over the course
of the pandemic,” she continues. “We’ve had a
lot of demand, which is great, but with lead times
being extended and with unexpected delays due
to material shortages or because of Covid, we’ve
been able to manage the situation and explain to
our customers why it is happening.
“As long as we can do that, then they generally
don’t mind having to wait a bit longer for their
new windows or doors.”
Established in 2001 as a window repair business,
TWR (Total Window Repairs) has since flourished,
offering a range of high-quality PVC and
aluminium products. Focusing predominantly on
retail and the home improvement market, TWR
also operates in the commercial sector as well as
offering trade only supply to local builders.
“We’ve been with Sternfenster for over 10 years,”
says Georgie. “I would say that we definitely
feel like part of the Sternfenster ‘family’! From
the customer service and sales team to Mike
[Parczuk, managing director], they will always do
absolutely everything they can for us.
“That level of support is invaluable, and it’s
enhanced by the quality of the digital systems
they have developed, such as Sternfenster
Plus,” she adds. “I like to be organised, so I use
Sternfenster Plus on a daily basis.
“We recently quoted a returning customer, and
I was able to use the system to access all the
information I needed from their previous order –
we didn’t need to survey the job because we had
all the sizes to hand. But I mainly use it in order
to check on the progress of the orders we have
placed or when we can expect a delivery. To be
able to relay that information to our customers in
the current climate gives us a real advantage.”
Nominated for a G21 award for Best Customer
Care Initiative, Sternfenster Plus (SFPlus) is a
unique, online customer portal that has been
designed to give installers everything they need to
run their businesses more efficiently.
Featuring a wealth of downloadable marketing
and training material, including sales and ‘how to’
technical installation videos, it also boasts regularly
Georgie with
husband Darren
updated news as well as the ability to check on
the status of quotes, contracts and deliveries.
A particular highlight, however, is the live,
production capacity feed. Developed during
Covid, this gives users the opportunity to check
on the production capacity of any product in
Sternfenster’s PVC or aluminium factories,
providing much greater clarity on order turnaround
times, from the moment an order is placed.
SFPlus forms part of a package of digital resources
for Sternfenster customers, including online lead
generation, its EasyAdmin CRM system and
the recently launched Proposal Builder, a next
generation online quotation service.
“I’m a big fan of Sternfenster Plus, and my
husband, Darren, who is responsible for
surveying and inputting orders, uses EasyAdmin,”
concludes Georgie. “We’re a relatively small firm,
our resources are limited, so EasyAdmin allows
us to operate much more efficiently.
“We can create quotes, keep track of leads, raise
invoices – together with Sternfenster Plus, it
forms an integral part of our business.”
The Sternfenster factory
Contact Sternfenster:
01522 512525
www.sternfenster.com
@Sternfenster
50 T I NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021 PRACTICAL CONTENT FOR THE GLAZING INSTALLER & HOME IMPROVEMENT SPECIALIST