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Post by victim neil on Jul 29, 2009 6:33:10 GMT
Why is it that we have fsm's that think they know it all?
And advisers that think they are fsm material?
Silly Billy Hillary.
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Post by brian on Aug 12, 2009 6:45:28 GMT
Like I said, I'm the only one keeping this forum going  And on another note. I think sillarys know I'm making money anyway I can, by being all alan sugar like. But I think they need me more than i need them here, so's they won't do any thing about it, They accept it as a hazard when any adviser gets wise you know what i mean  Oh and yes thanks i had a great hols |
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Post by close it down on Aug 12, 2009 18:58:33 GMT
Like I said, I'm the only one keeping this forum going And on another note. I think sillarys know I'm making money anyway I can, by being all alan sugar like. But I think they need me more than i need them here, so's they won't do any thing about it, They accept it as a hazard when any adviser gets wise you know what i mean Oh and yes thanks i had a great hols THIS FORUM IS DEAD CLOSE IT DOWN WITHOUT FURTHER ADO |
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Post by blindmansam on Aug 14, 2009 18:23:59 GMT
Like I said, I'm the only one keeping this forum going And on another note. I think sillarys know I'm making money anyway I can, by being all alan sugar like. But I think they need me more than i need them here, so's they won't do any thing about it, They accept it as a hazard when any adviser gets wise you know what i mean Oh and yes thanks i had a great hols THIS FORUM IS DEAD CLOSE IT DOWN WITHOUT FURTHER ADO No No please don't - lol |
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Post by brian16 on Aug 14, 2009 19:12:05 GMT
Aga do do do further ado
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Post by brian on Aug 24, 2009 6:55:08 GMT
This forum needs me like a fat kid needs cake. ;D  |
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Post by Yaaaawwwwnnnn on Aug 24, 2009 7:28:27 GMT
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Post by Not impressd on Aug 24, 2009 19:28:20 GMT
Congratulations Brian, you've succeeded in something Hillarys failed to do, you've single handedly closed down the independent forum. Then, on the other hand, just maybe, you're a hillarys plant sent in to do just that  |
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Post by dambuster on Aug 25, 2009 16:14:44 GMT
I think Yul find that all the agents that have anything to say have left hillbilly's and only the twisted and deluded are left.
It is a shame it once was a good company to work for!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by Happywithoutthem on Aug 25, 2009 22:22:48 GMT
It is well known in the industry that Hillarys have lost control of their agent base.
I cant think why.
Could it be the constant shifting of your diary by power mad fsm,s whos only interest is their own monthly bonus?
Could it be the constant drivel sent by clg?
Could it be all the threats made by your fsm,s?
Could it be the low pay for long hours?
Could it be the constant stream of cruddy product?
Could it be the threat of new advisors taking your work without you knowing, again so the fsm can get their bonus?
Could it be the total demoralization of the agent base?
No, probably none of the above. ;D
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Post by Clive Morris on Aug 28, 2009 6:48:23 GMT
Hello
I was an area manager for Hillary's, in the end I could not work with them and their agendas, as I would constantly come into conflict with advisor's. It become virtually impossible to put across any constructive ideas, I would just be met with a wall. Of course I was the guy stuck in the middle, who also had to earn a living.
Anyway, I am happier in what I do now, and am more than happy to help those that need it. Feel free to ask me a question.
Clive
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Post by Guest on Aug 28, 2009 8:28:05 GMT
Hello Clive
I think you will find that people will not ask you any questions on here because you are, like me, logged in as a guest.
If you are who you say you are then great for you and I admire you for getting out.
Most ex advisors work together to build their own businesses and are doing very well thank you and there are a lot of them.
That is one of the reasons this board and the other board died a death.
They have their own board that is strictly by invatation only and each member must meet very, very stringent rules.
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Post by sirkitmain on Aug 30, 2009 13:57:57 GMT
I still look at this site from time to time. One always hopes for something intellegent to be said here. Myself, I was forceably retired by Hillarys 18 months ago after five years of helping them build a loyal customer base with many repeat customers. I still get phone calls from past customers, but am happy in retirement! On my termination I had one brief phone call in my car from my FSM and never heard from him again. I had to write to John Risman to officially end my contract and they never bothered to come and pick up the sample bag or returns. Up until April this year I was able to log on to the Hillarys Advisors site. It made interesting reading with 'newbee's' asking the most obvious practical questions - and that was after getting their expensive weeks training sessions at Hillarys! I miss reading comments from some of those stalwart characters that were committed Hillarys advisors offering advice to those 'nieve newbees' who now pay £1500 to become a 'Hillarys advisor'. I believe they get a bag of samples, some cheap drill, a device called SAM that always needs updating, is notoriously unreliable and expensive to use and needs a costly IT department to keep it going, plus a printer that is also notoriously unreliable with non replaceable batteries, and a good, but cheap Stanley top read rule. Cost should be max about £500. I think a past post from Clive read that advisors were reluctant to change. Your advisors are the front line people and you need to be listening to them. That's where Hillarys has lost its way. At meetings I met some very experienced advisors some who had worked for Hillarys for many years. It appears many have given up over that past year. Hillarys has changed over the past six years, after being bought by two different 'greedy' Capital Venture outfits, one making megabucks and now European Capital trying to recoup their ill advised investment for which they paid too much money. I am amazed Hillarys has survived particularly with European Capital's financial problems. Maybe they are stuck with it having invested in expansion plans. I give it a year maybe two before it is sold on again at a loss this time. I think they were aiming for £100m turnover in 2007/08. Did they make it? It's a shame accounts for companies owned by VC's aren't made public. Anyone, paying £1500 to sign up for Hillarys should seriously think again. Anyone blagging they make a fortune out of selling blinds is telling porkies! That's my view anyway...Good luck to all...
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Post by guest on Sept 1, 2009 14:40:52 GMT
I left a few weeks back.
Had enough. One threat too many.
Too much stress too little pay.
I did it for over 13 years.
Cant say I miss it although I was once proud to be part of it. Not in the last 5 years or so though.
In fact, quite the opposite. Ashamed, ashamed of the quality, ashamed of the high cost I was asked to try and get, ashamed of the way FSMs have carte blanch over an agents earnings.
I could not stand it any longer.
I also see the guy that is now doing my area has 57 miss measures to his name so far. That will do wonders for them.
Still, I am out and far better off both financially and time wise.
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Post by red on Sept 11, 2009 14:18:00 GMT
I have waited a long time to put this posting up. A very long time indeed.
A time of poverty and loathing for the company I work for.
A company I was once proud to be a part of. One that was a market leader in quality.
This is no longer the case. So before my story unfolds I will tell you who I am.
A lot of you will know me and a lot have met me.
I am Red, Agent Stonehills.
So my story.
12 years ago I joined a great company with a great man at the helm. That man was Tony Hillary. Although I never met him, I had great admiration for him. For what he had achieved and built.
His understanding of what it was to be a sales agent for his company and how tough it was and more importantly, how vital we were to the future of his company.
We all worked hard and as such were rewarded financially. My average income then was around £800 a week and this was 10 or so years ago.
Then he left. The history is unimportant as those that have been with them long enough know what it was to be a part of this once great company.
It was taken over, by people who are driven by their own greed for profit even though most of them have probably more than enough for 3 lifetimes.
They had no real knowledge of the way this unique business ran.
They decimated their advisor network and I am talking about the ones from 10 years or more ago. The ones with the knowledge, the professionalism to do the job correctly and they had a great back up from head office.
Agents were left to run their own agencies and most flourished. I was close to nearly £300.000 in sales before the inception of the big brother system they now call Sam.
Sam is where any FSM can and does rule over an advisor like an unseen god. Deciding whether they like you enough to allow you to earn enough to put food on your table for the children to eat.
Sam is also where CLG will send you out to one in the morning, one in the afternoon and one in the evening so you cant do anything else with your time and you find they are in the next street as the one you did the day before, 20 miles away, Priceless.
FSMs have only one personal, selfish goal and that is to secure their own monthly bonus by keeping leads down to under 4 days no matter what the cost to an advisor.
When I ran my own agency, I was constantly booked up 2 weeks in advance. People who knew me and the job I did were always prepared to wait. As a result, those not prepared to wait or only after quotes or the cheapest just went elsewhere. It suited me because I was not after those customers.
So my sales ran at around 90%. Not the 50% to 60% they are now and dropping.
4 years ago, I was almost made bankrupt by the pathetic income I was getting from this company due to the Sam inception. The constant meddling by FSMs. The drop in quality. The lack of control over my own life. The pathetic things we are told to do like asking for time out of our own diaries. The mopping up after bad, new advisors. The telephone manner of some of the CLG staff. The list is endless and I don’t need to spell it out.
So, 4years ago I was almost bankrupt. They could not have been more uninterested. My own company started to take form. Not through wanting to but by being forced to.
1 and a half years ago I suffered a minor stroke, brought on by the stress of dealing with the constant aggravation caused to me by the machine. That was my turning point. I had dithered for far too lone expecting things to get better and I could give up trying to get my own business going It never came.
That turning point made me realise that if I stayed I would end up either bankrupt or dead from a heart attack. Things were never going to get better under the management you have now. It would need a massive restructuring to do this and that was not going to happen some time soon as they were milking the cash cow and had no regard for the future of advisors and their well being.
During this time I learned how to build web sites, graphic design work, data base building and handling. I built up a network of contacts and friends and started to trade under my own name.
I did not dual trade and by that I mean, I never sold any of my own product to a lead supplied to me.
I built it all up on my own.
It was not easy but I wanted to be sure that I could generate the work needed to keep me and my family in the home we had. If I had not done this I would have lost my home around 2 years ago. I would certainly have been declared bankrupt.
So, where am I now? Well, my own business slowly took off. I won’t tell you it was easy. It was not.
My income from this now outstrips anything I was earning as an agent. My sales are now back to around 90%. My profit margin is around 50% constant. My self esteem is back, my love of life has returned and I have taken back control of my life. I once again love the job I am doing but more importantly, its mine. I control it. I make the decisions. I don’t answer to any FSM for a stupid school boy problem. I don’t have the dor problem any more. I am my supplier’s customer and as such they treat me with respect and my goods are top notch. Way in advance of anything this company can do.
Sitting on both sides of the fence has given me an insight into what customers really think of the set up and it’s not good. I also got to know things that my Fsm would not like me to know, like other agents going out to jobs that were in my area.
During my time with them I was privy to a great deal of insider information. Information that made me shudder. They say ignorance is bliss. I am so pleased I was not ignorant of the internal goings on within the company.
I always said that I would either go when I was ready or they would find out when I was ready for them to find out. I have been ready for some time now. Everything was in place for me to be what I once was, Successful, but more so now than ever and you know what. No one can meddle any more and decide how much or how little I can earn. Where I can go and where I can not. What I can sell and what I can’t.
Working as an advisor saps all you confidence. You never really know if it’s quiet because you are not much good, the economy is flat or because you’re FSM has decided to give your leads away to some other agent.
They think we don’t know. They lie to you and tell you they don’t, but they do.
What ever happened to this once proud company?
Nothing will change. It has gone beyond that now. They had their golden opportunity some time back when advisors got together to try and thrash out some sort of agreements. What happened? Well it was twisted round and nothing positive happened. They choose to ignore what was being said. It was an arrogant mistake.
The repercussions of that were dual trading on a massive scale and the loss of a vast amount of experience and with it, customers.
I know personally at least 30 ex advisors that are now doing well for them selves and work together to better each and every one of us, we work as a national team. There are many more that I know of and others I don’t know but have heard of. Each of these advisors would still be sending the work to their old company if they had not been treated with contempt and forced to look elsewhere.
They are a laughing stock in the industry now.
Customers are not stupid. They know the quality of the product has deteriorated as has the advisors mind set and the service they get because lets face it, when you are looking at earning £10 to measure, fit, drive twice to a customer then put it right after dor,ing it then take responsibility for a miss measure fine and do all your admin, then who can blame an advisor for being disinterested . You can earn more washing cars in a local car park without any of the stress associated with it.
Customers can read and most can use computers now so all the complaints made on the web are easily findable and people do look and base their decision on those findings. I run my own business with very little advertising overheads compared to the vast machine and Ill tell you what. I get more customers from Word of mouth than I have had for years. I get more customers than I did with massive advertising but I don’t give false promises. No 50% off call outs attracting all the dregs of society. I choose my areas well and am not after every single penny I can lay my grubby hands on.
I do not advocate going down this route for everyone. You need a strong will, a need to survive and you need the experience or you will be eaten by the sharks.
So, I wish you all the luck in the world as you need it with them. Especially if you put everything in to it as I did those years ago.
I met some great people in the time I was with them and built some good long lasting friendships from all walks of the business be it H/Office staff, advisors or the old school FSMs, remember them? They were the ones that actually did come and see you and help you to build your business up and not knock you down. It was good working with them in the early years, prior to share holders and Sam. I can not say the same for the last 5 years. It has been a nightmare. Chasing departments for the least little thing. Using that stupid little machine and getting children’s pocket money for what is a demanding and highly stressful job. No professional sales person would work under those circumstances unless desperate for the money.
My biggest regret in life is building up my name under their banner. Life is too short to be wasted on a company that has only one interest at hart and that is the share holders.
So now it is onwards and upwards.
Oh and just as an after though, No I am not Brian but I can well believe his claims.
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