The Inner Circle: Window Tinting USA

The Inner Circle

Advanced Film Solutions WindowFilmUSA.COM

The Inner Circle: Window Tinting USA

Window Tinting USA

Whew!

Yet another hectic week handling our USA installations and inquiries throughout the USA.

We won in Cleveland and again in North Carolina and closed a good sized project in Broward County, FL against a 3M dealer who surprised me by offering the client LLumar safety film. (I have their quote.)

It's one thing to knock a 3M window film dealer out of contention based upon the weak 3M film performance; it's more challenging when they lead (bait??) with the 3M logo and switch to a better value solution like LLumar.

Fortunately they can't get their hands on VISTA!

If you do your research you'll quickly find that many of the 3M dealers have had to choose additional window film lines of supply. This begs the question about their portfolio.

It would be one thing if 3M did not carry a security film (for example!) it's quite another when they do.

Maybe that's why 3M window film raised some eyebrows this week when yet another of their Ohio agents announced their exclusive relationship for large retail stores throughout the USA? We did enjoy their PR and the 3M response attempting to explain the agents announcement. (We also would like to thank all the dealers who sent me these notes and responses so quickly.)

That horse ran out of that barn didn't it?

We are a tad more circumspect in discussing our relationships with many of these same 3M dealers.

When Window Film USA earns the business we often partner with 3M dealers to perform the installation.

At the very least we won't lead with a logo and switch to better value films, or limit our customer's to only one film based upon brand recognition only. This is the amazing part of this story. Let's suspend any discussion about film characteristics or comparisons let alone any documented criteria like the NFRC .

It seems they would try to hype the 3M logo and the fact that some ignorant retail store manager has not yet heard of these better value films.

Only we don't limit ourselves to one brand!

Plus when we partner; we actually share the profit as opposed to paying a labor fee. You see that's what went wrong with their depot scheme. Margins are tight enough in this economy and the cost of that particular film is already inflated.

Too many hands in that pie against superior products (or same) with less than 50% of the material costs.

Is any of this getting through??

Our focus, of course is different. We are geared for that residential and large commercial building marketplace.