HARDWARE & SECURITY
Q-secure: what you see is what you get
VBH Systems Sales Manager, Rob Norman says homeowners expect their windows and doors to protect their homes from break-ins, and for secure products to be backed by a no-quibble manufacturer’ s guarantee …
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ACCORDING TO THE ONS, THE average person in England has a 2.4 % chance of being burgled. We hear a lot about crime, which drives our perceptions and fears, and that’ s crucial because it is perceptions, not risks, that set the context for selling. The reality is, crime is a postcode lottery and unless you live in a high crime spot, you’ re unlikely to be burgled, whatever your perceptions. If you or someone who lives near you has been burgled, you also stand a much higher chance of being burgled again.
Fabricators and installers shouldn’ t rely on fear and scaremongering tactics to win new business, however it’ s important to focus on preventative measures that would stop any would-be burglar before they have a chance to get in.
If asked, homeowners think they are buying security with their doors and windows, and they expect the locks and hardware on their doors and windows to withstand break-ins. They look for the peace of mind and reassurance that comes from secure products that are backed by a solid and effective manufacturer’ s guarantee. But once you start looking at guarantees from the homeowner’ s point of view, few stand up to scrutiny. Many are vague or buried under pages of small print and slippery legalese, so it’ s hard to see what is really guaranteed. Some are worded with what looks suspiciously like get-out conditions and clauses – so they’ re hard to claim against. Very few inspire confidence in homeowners. Very few give installers the backing they need to sell with confidence.
VBH took the view that if the products perform as promised, as we know they do, the cost of homeowners claiming against you will be small so why not give homeowners the real thing? And why not give installers a strong and effective guarantee in plain English that‘ does what it says on the tin’; one that gives homeowners the reassurance they want and gives installers a powerful selling tool?
THE BEST MULTI-BRAND GUARANTEE
Our Q-secure guarantee is unique and the most comprehensive on the market. It covers all window and door hardware on a window or door, utilising products from across VBH’ s greenteQ range. It also covers windows and doors manufactured in accordance with VBH’ s Document Q specification. Casement window products include the greenteQ Delta friction stay, greenteQ Alpha Espagnolette and Monkey Tail handles, and locking systems from Maco, Roto and Yale. Tilt and turn windows are covered with the Alpha TBT tilt & turn handle used with Maco, Roto and Siegenia security perimeter hardware.
The choices for residential door hardware includes door locks from greenteQ, Maco and Yale, the greenteQ Alpha 2 * and standard lever handle, Coastline stainless-steel lever handle, Sigma hybrid door hinges, the Q-Star 1 * cylinder( when combined with the Alpha 2 * handle), Kappa and Coastline Victorian Urn door knockers, and Yale 3 * cylinders. Our Invisifold Slide & Fold and Clearspan bifolding systems are also covered when the door is made to our PAS24 specification.
In addition to the greenteQ range, Q-secure covers Hoppe, Maco, Roto, Securistyle, Siegenia, and Yale products that have all been included in our PAS24 test programme at BSI, which was carried out on a variety of profiles. Q-secure also helps installers maintain regular contact with homeowners, as a condition of the guarantee is regular maintenance of products – building relationships and increasing the chance to upsell.
If there’ s a break-in due to hardware failure, we’ ll pay out up to £ 3,250 to the homeowner
– it’ s that simple. Best of all, it’ s free for fabricators and installers to sign up.
WORKING TOGETHER TO CREATE BESPOKE SOLUTIONS
VBH also works closely with fabricators to develop bespoke security solutions that meet PAS24 and Doc-Q compliancy. Leading timber fabricator, Glyngary has worked with VBH and Accoya to develop a door specification and security hardware package for doors and windows. The package includes Yale stainless-steel locks and the greenteQ Coastline door furniture range, with the Yale Rapide aluminium locking system on windows – all are corrosion resistant. The furniture has a 25-year guarantee against pitting, on top of the Q-secure guarantee.
www. qsecure. co. uk www. bbc. co. uk / news / uk-41178903
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