New service concept STOBAG for sun protection dealers

‘Delivering service to consumers? We pay our dealers the hours worked!’

When he started in the blinds industry in 2011 as CEO at STOBAG Benelux in Weesp, it quickly became clear that the industry was a visionary richer. Z&R is in talks with Marcel Veeneman, who is introducing a new service concept. “We are going to pay our dealers a predetermined fee when they perform work linked to the product warranty for consumers.” 

As far as Veeneman knows, this concept is unique in the awning industry. “If there is something with our products, we fix it, but the fact is that the dealer also has to put in hours for that. For example, if he has to replace a fabric, which is within the warranty period with us, he has to invest time for that. From a business perspective, it is more profitable for him to install a new sun protection system at another customer. Especially in this period of boom!” 

Marcel Veeneman: ‘We have a responsibility in the chain.

“The hours you invest to solve a customer's problem may not be lost hours - after all, you can profile yourself as a dealer with the way you solve a problem - but left or right, they are hours that don't pay off in financial terms,” Veeneman continued. “To do something about that, from now on we are going to reimburse the dealer for those hours worked by the dealer. We will do this on the basis of times per service operation predetermined by STOBAG. We will pay fifty euros per hour per employee. It's as simple as that! The new service concept we are of course going to communicate extensively to our partners.” 

After all, everything has its value, and even the dealer's time is precious, Veeneman knows. “But financially, therefore, these hours for the dealer are now no longer lost hours. By the way, I find it remarkable that we haven't seen this concept in the industry before. We support the entrepreneurship of our dealers with it. We pull together with them and invest in our cooperation. Literally!” 

Articulated awning Stobag Camabox BX4500.

Responsibility
Or indeed, could we paint a picture now of the state of affairs five years from now? Do we know what the consumer - then - feels and thinks? Nobody can see into the future, but I do see that the consumer - who is also pressed for time; we are all busy-pressure-pressure - is always looking for the ultimate experience, certainly also in the field of service. Of course, you can use phrases like ‘unburdening’ or ‘the customer is central,’ but what matters is how you actually apply it in practice. We at STOBAG believe that we have a responsibility in that chain. It is the basis of our service concept - the payment of hours to the dealer - that we are now starting to use.” 

Intensified interpretation
So at STOBAG, a lot of thought goes into the mindset of the consumer. But of course, technical developments are not standing still either. “For example, it will soon be possible for consumers to take a picture of their facade at home and then scan in one of our awning systems on it,” Marcel Veeneman explains. “Digitalization is advancing. And what about the further development in the field of augmented reality, AR. It all goes very fast and I understand that dealers - who are incredibly busy every day - don't always have the time to deal with this. That's why we do it for them! It's going to be a more intensive interpretation of the term partnership: much more working together to continue to seduce consumers together.” 

A freestanding Stobag Melano TP7100 soft top.

“I can even link this line of thinking to our vision of the phenomenon of slow living,” Veeneman concludes. “How can you help each other in this society to experience less stress and busyness? On the one hand, consumers are consciously looking for tranquility in their own environment, for example in their gardens. For that need, we have to develop our products. On the other hand, the dealer is also looking for tranquility, or if you will: relief. That got us thinking and led us towards the service concept. Incidentally, this is certainly not yet the final step. We see that the entire competitive field in the industry is converging, and so it is important to give our own, distinctive ability a boost every time. I am convinced that we have now managed to do that with this service concept.”