It is with regret that I have noticed in the last few years of being in the armored door business a complete ignorance of the buying public towards the subject. No matter how much effort is made to open people's eyes so that they can make the right choice, it raises a wall of negativity believing that telling the truth involves trying to mislead. And worst of all, this negativity stems from ignorance itself.
From the day of its foundation Portareto we had decided that first we would tell the world the truth and then we would sell them our products. Because if a happy buyer is a one-time advertisement, a satisfied customer who knows the reason why he bought that particular product is ten times more advertising.
With this mentality we decided to go into the doorstep business, a business that has few good professionals and thousands of "casuals". At first I was disappointed because I could see that we were going cross-eyed in a space where people like to be misled. They like to have their ears "stroked". But our principle of informing people did not allow us to step back and "get on the train".
Is it only the fault of bad professionals??? It would be a very convenient scenario for all of us consumers. But let's think about it.
- Would we buy a car based solely on its colour and the number of doors, completely ignoring the mechanical parts?
- Would we buy a house just because we liked the colour of the walls without considering its amenities?
- Would we buy a computer because we were impressed by the sophisticated appearance of the mainframe?
The answer to all of the above is "NO", for the simple reason that all the above products, regardless of the variation in cost, are "INVESTMENT". And if we answered no to all of the above, then why do we buy a dilapidated door just because it has a low price and a nice design? Why do the above "bargainers" with Chinese and Bulgarian made doors have a party every day selling cardboard boxes that they dub "unbreakable"?
The answer is simple
We live in a society of appearances and this affects us in all phases of our lives even in our buying habits... Image (with all that it implies) plays a very important role in the decision to buy a product in the first stage...
In the second year and before the purchase, we subconsciously compare the characteristics of the product with items we have used in the past. If it is a product that is widely and frequently consumed, that is fine, but if it is a product that we have never used before, we usually seek the advice of an acquaintance and then the opinion of an expert. In the example of security doors, the downside is that 'acquaintances' rarely know, so the only source of information is the seller and this is where the problem lies. If the salesman is honest and intends to inform and not to deceive, he is fine. But when the seller is aiming for an easy profit with no regard for our safety then the problems begin.
Then the third stage which includes opinion, criticism, evaluation of the product comes from our daily rubbing with it, after purchase of course.
If we give an example of the above
- You evaluate a car by its performance, consumption, durability.
- You evaluate a computer based on speed, reliability, ease of use.
- You evaluate objects of everyday use based on the friction with them. If you're happy, you keep buying them, if not, you prefer some others.
But what about security doors?
Security doors are probably the only object that we encounter every day in front of us, we have it in our own house and we know almost nothing about it, with the exception of the designs and locks. We have to if we put our minds to it. When the critical time comes when the door has to prove its worth it is not the designs that will save us but its armouring and its ability to resist burglary. If we believe that the lacquered tin we bought at a price of SHOCK - CHANCE - DON'T RETURN will save us, then we are deeply in the dark.
Because the "opportunist" mentioned above may have fooled us, but the professional burglar will not be fooled by the "type" of armored car we bought.
This is the key point. That the security door will only prove its worth once - maybe never - which is why we cannot have a yardstick and evaluate the good from the mediocre and the bad. So all we can do is trust the seller who will give us warranties and tangible proof of the product before we buy it, and not just pontificate with parroted arguments.
In closing I will again draw a parallel between buying a security door and buying a car
We were going to buy a car:
- without bail?
- without having passed the crash tests?
- without knowing the manufacturer?
- without a certified manufacturing process;
- without knowing the country of origin?
- without even knowing the seller?
The answer is again no. Because the car, like the security door, in addition to being an "investment" that requires a significant capital, is also a guarantee of safety for our family and for ourselves, and as we know: "It is better to prevent than to cure".
Edited by:
Konstantinos Karalis
Below you can see our security technician's interview in which he tells us what features to look for in a security door before buying.
