We’ve dealt with many prospects in the public and private sector over the past two years and saved over €700,000 for our Irish customers alone through painless energy savings.
However there are always some folks who will not proceed with energy savings initiatives for various reasons. By now, we’ve heard pretty much all the excuses for continuing to waste money so it might be interesting or amusing to summarise these excuses in the form of the top 5 most frequently heard.
#1 Excuse – The No Budgeteer.
Top of the pile is the B word - the budget issue. Generally this one concerns the lack of budget or unplanned nature of the energy savings opportunity presented. In the minority of proposals that are not accepted, this one counts for over 50% of the ‘No Thanks’ responses. This may be a simple ‘we’re not bothered about our energy waste’ or the more polite version we’re kicking this into the next financial year’s budget.
With The Green Button Software our simple maths calculation reveals typically a 700-800% ROI and payback within a few weeks. Even the offer of a Free month’s use and a Pay As You Save payment scheme that spreads the cost over 12 months still fails to swerve the ‘No Budgeteers’ of the energy waste community. The promise of a MONEY BACK GUARANTEE if the client fails to save at least double their costs over 12 months may unsettle them momentarily but those resolute ‘NO Budgeteers’ stick to their guns preferring to cling to the leaking tap of energy waste. The rationale to allay their guilt being that since they asked their Employer for a budget unsuccessfully, their Employer should pay the price in the form of continued energy waste.
#2. Excuse – The busy lumberjack.
Simply no time to implement. (24% of cases cite time pressure). You know the story, the lumberjack is so busy chopping trees he has no time to sharpen his axe. So he wastes even more energy chopping trees as the axe gets progressively blunter and his productivity goes in one direction….Typically IT departments juggle a number of projects simultaneously under various priorities. In the time spent on a coffee break the Green Button Software can be deployed and power down schedules set up. That’s it ! The energy savings then start and continue automatically. So job done, Axe sharpened, tick that ‘To Do’ list item.! Enjoy that Coffee after all and then move on to the next pressing project knowing your savings are now accruing like compound interest in the Bank.
#3. Excuse – The Silo dweller.
There’s no direct benefit to our dept. The savings accrue elsewhere. So no kudos coming our way! (Unfortunately over 12% of folks who pass up the energy savings opportunity cite this reason). It reveals a deeper malaise within the organization in our eyes.
We’ve found this generally within larger organizations where cost savings accrue to a Facilities Dept but the costs are borne by other departments like the IT Dept. From our experience this is an indicator of deeper organizational malaise where shared goals are subsumed into a ‘silo’ mentality. This affects other projects equally and is difficult to solve by outsiders. The way forward is to acknowledge savings within different departmental budgets for the following years and requires the Financial Director to take control in the interests of the overall bottom line. e.g. savings made by initiatives within particular departments may be budgeted for from other cost centres or simply transfer some credits internally.
#4. Excuse -Skeleton crew.
Typical of a small business is the ‘Skeleton Crew’ syndrome. Around 8% of decliners cite this reason.
Related to the Busy Lumberjack excuse, but this time the Lumberjack is missing. There is no internal expertise to do an installation or monitor results or even do the admin. Typically this is cited by small businesses and small schools.
But we’ve sorted this one. Our Schools and SME Green Button Package is tailored for these Skeleton crewed establishments. The all-in , low frills package is a low low price, delivered on site. Our staff do the Admin, set up the power down schedules and deliver an Annual report showing all the savings made (Energy,Money and CO2).
#5. Excuse – The Meldrew answer.
You’ve seen him in many episodes of the popular BBC One sitcom One Foot in the Grave and even a guest appearance in Channel Four’s ‘ Father Ted’ sitcom. ( Victor Meldrew was a fictional character in the popular series portrayed by Richard Wilson). The character epitomised the archetypal grumpy old man. His catch phrase was the high pitched indignant ditty : ‘I Don’t BELIEVE it’ . Well there are still some Meldew fans about who for whatever reasons remain unconvinced about energy efficiency and the power of the Green Button. Ok ,it’s a mere 4% of rejections but it’s there to be dealt with.
These ‘meldrews’ are skeptics. They endlessly recalculate the savings and query details They look at alternatives and spend a lot of time looking at competing products and procrastinating….while the energy waste continues like a dripping tap. (Are you a Meldrew? Find out here).
There are other excuses of course, but,generally these are closely linked with folks who believe that Electricity prices will drop in the future and that Global Warming is just a conspiracy to slow down the development of newly industrialised countries.
Have you got an excuse we haven’t heard yet?
Why not let us know in the comments? If it’s a good one or amusing we’ll add it to our list. If it makes us laugh out loud we might even send you a FREE Green Button Solo pack . It’s a 1 minute download and set up so no excuses!
