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Thought I’d start a new thread as this is not specific to one work provider although one alone at the moment is calling for it. Whirlpool are trialing with Inkfish the call handling for whirlpool agents and will roll that out soon to them all, whether they like it or not. It will not cut down on the administration of the agents call handling, just shift the emphasis from call booking to call re booking. A much more difficult scenario.
Reading in another thread that Alex is about to trial for CDSL pre booked calls and without knowing all the details of his arrangement I thought I’d put thoughts to the forum, for debate.
I have refused to accept pre booked calls and have invited CDSL to come and explain to me how they can pre book calls that:
a) will save me money
b) reduce the nusiance calls
c) eliminate “not ins”
d) give me an adequate break down of what is wrong with the appliance.
e) allow me to pre order spares with me taking the risk that I get it correct.
f) allows the calls they book to integrate with the calls I have bookedMy area is covered by three engineers, as its 80 kilometers by 74 kilometers and according to mappoint is 5907.8 square kilometers in total area, its easy to understand why we dont cover every postcode every day, or even 2 days. When 1 engineer is off on holidays my speed of service is definately 3 days in most areas, 5 in the out lying areas.
So far in nine months CDSL have not accepted my invitation and have stopped bugging me to try “pre booked” calls. I think they will never crack the problems posed by call operaters who know nothing of an area booking am or pm calls.
And thats without throwing into the pot all those customers who want;a) notice on a mobile phone, who then don’t have it switched on.
b) avoid school times 0830 to 0930, 1130 to 1230, 1430 to 1530 just when the hell do you call to that?
c) increasingly, weekends and or after 6pm
d) after 10am but before 1130am cause its a school run and she goes to work as a dinner lady.
e) the nasty ones who want you the same day (always de dietrich) and curse the service company when all you are trying to do is be polite and as helpful as you can.
f) and those who book in advance, I have 1 on the 17th and one on the 23rd of January already booked, meaning those areas are secured for the day by those advanced bookings.Interesting thread this should be.
KevinRe: pre booked calls
Lets face it you are all two years on from when they took over from NESN
and as such this is a ligitamate time to review the rates.Some of you may have feeble memories but I can still catagorically remember D.P. skulking round the DASA meeting rooms with his heads of agreement contract in hand, looking for it to be accepted as a “fair and equiable document” for all parties. He was also dropping heavy hints that the repair rate then would soon be £40 per call. Well that was two years ago and it didn’t happen.
You may eventually get it but you can allready start to see the strings that will be attached.
By rights any increase that they offer should at least cover the inflation and the increase in labour and fuel cost’s, for existing terms and conditions.
But as we all know they will force you to accept futher terms and conditions just to attain a raise that you will be lucky to cover your increased cost’s with.They see themselves as the only game in town and as such will bully you all one by one into compliance.
Perhaps we need to look up the word Equitable in the Oxford concise as I’m pretty sure CDSL seem to have their very own unique deffinition of it.
Two years ago we thought that nothin could be worse than Trubshaw and we ( yes myself included ) asked the troops to give R.F. a second chance
as like Himmler he was only following the orders of his leaders when he worked for mastercare.He’s got nobody to hide behind this time as CDSL gave him a free hand to
set up their service operation.So how can we now kick off again with egg covered faces (my own included) and expect the troops to take us seriously.
Direct call booking is only the start of an endless wedge. and when he does eventually go, you have Gary to look forward too.
Oh! you lucky people
Sean
As I said to Kevin yesterday Sean, CDSL are shifting the goalposts to suit themselves and justifying it in part through the use of that agreement. Sadly, DASA ratified it and lent it a lot of credence so now attack on that front is out of the question really. So far as I am concerned that was silly without proper deconstruction and legal guidance, but that is of course only my opinion, the council voted for it and what’s done is done.
I’ll need to re-read it but I’m sure that direct call booking was briefly mentioned.
As far as I am aware there is no mention of rates, or rate rises.
K.
Re: pre booked calls
They are talking about the End of this month.
I’ve been told that several are now doing it, and it is “Supposed” to be working. For whom remains to be seen.
It has been said that ALL appointments will be home all day only, and we will ensure of that believe me. We got very smart with that in the past when we used to receive same day pre-booked calls from Nottingham, they used to come in by fax up to 11.30 and I would have great pleasure in advising customers that, “No Madam, it won’t be today”.
If it is a fridge and they demand we call as arranged, we offer to send a cooker engineer, and the opposite applies if it is a cooker. Once the customer realises that they are a prisoner in their own home for up to 12 hours, and won’t have working machine at the end of it, they soon climb down. Then of course there is the pre-order bits routine, that will slow a few calls as well. If of course it suits us, then we will oblige. Only a third of my area are we the agents for CDSL in any case, and they have a second tier, so if we fall short, they will pass it to another repairer.
The only advantage I can see is that it will save us trying to get hold of customers that have been passed through in the present system. We had a load of calls come in today, and haven’t been able to contact all of them I realise the same will apply if the call is pre-booked, but we will make it clear to the customer we did endeavour to make contact to advise we would not be able to keep the unrealistic appointment.
There is worse to come, and regretfully it is a culture some of us may have to fall into. I don’t like it either, and if it causes too much of a problem, then good night Vienna.
Beko are heading the same way, and there are bound to be others that will follow suit just to keep up.
The rumour is that CDSL are looking at a web-based call logging system. This will allow the consumer to log onto the customer sector of a web site, put in a postcode and be directed straight to the designated repairer, who will then receive an e-mail booking the call. That takes the call operative in Brum right out of the equasion.
Will keep you posted as and when.
Alex
Re: pre booked calls
Alex, if I may ask…..
In the third of your area that you cover for CDSL, are you allowing them carte blanche to book calls or perhaps restricting them to a percentage of your calls for the day?
Also, who books the parts fits that you’ve ordered?
KevinRe: pre booked calls
Parts fits, we are to book. Yes o.k. they know when we have the bits, but they cannot guarantee arrival, or whether damaged etc. even after we sign for them.
We have not placed restrictions on where to book etc. but we are going to trim it to suit us. For example the area we cover for them is mainly 3 big towns, and all easily fed by the Motorway, except Exmoor and we don’t get many up there; secondly the customers in that area are so remote they accept that they are traditionally faced with a service delay. Too bad if they won’t. Any calls that come in for areas we don’t traditionally cover for them, but we go to in any case, they will contact us 1st to see what our workload is like.
I’m at a S.F. meeting in a weeks time, and coincidentally will be seeing someone who has been doing this for them since November, this guy is a realist, and if he has any problems, I will be well informed.
I know what I’m doing, believe me.
Another thing, they asked me if my workload could take any more calls, and if so how many realistically. I remained slightly negative on that.
The bad vibes on Brandt are getting through though. I told them that when they get rid of Brandt, I can possibly take on another 25 calls per week.
Alex
Re: pre booked calls
Everyone has to do what they think right for their own business.
It’s just that when you accept a new term or condition from a work provider that acceptance no matter how grudgingly agreed to, is then used to beat other agents over the head with. Some of who do not have the luxury of having a motorway running through the middle of their areas.This particular W.P. was running round telling people that over 60{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} had agreed to it when the true figure was nearer to 6{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} and is precisely why they hate the fact that UKW exists, as their lies get quickly found out.
To sweeten the pill they tell you that all pre-booked calls will be given three clear days notice to allow you to guess what spare is required for you to be able to pre order.
but if you cant get in touch with the customer
becase she has allready been given the appointment and therefore doesn’t have to be in until the day of the call. Then you are faced with ordering everything out of site to get a first time kill. Hence your parts per job ratio will increase dramatically and they will soon be on your case about that. Even though the fruits of any access ordering will be in their coffers not yours.Once pre booking has been universally agreed, how long do you think it will before the three day lead time becomes eroded to two day’s and then one and then eventually their true goal of same day service that they stuffed us all with before, when we were nothing more than busy fools.
You are falling into the same trap that they are, by grabbing at and agreeing to everything for the sake of the chance of a little more work
some of the work they have, as we all know, is not worth having.
Brandt is only one example. yet one way or another they will force you to do it and do it you will.I said no and paid the price but if you all had the nerve to stick together they couldn’t take you all on. Try not to be used as a pawn in their game of greed and deciet.
Isn’t it a shame that they dont fight for better terms and conditions for their service providers with the same vigor and cunning as they do for their customers.
Sean
Re: pre booked calls
Whilst it is not quite the corrct thing to say “never”, its pretty damn close to it as far as I’m concerned.
Long term I intend to ease out CDSL from being my major conract and replace it with ISE sales.
I have just given notice on the Doncaster postcodes (1 month) much to the dissapointment of CDSL. However I am starting the culling of my area to a much smaller size which is more efficient and suitably busy.
KevinRe: pre booked calls
Alex a I right in understanding that you are going to accept prebooked calls, but still ring every one up to confirm the booking before attending and rearrange it yourselves if the call doesnt fit ?
I got asked 6 months ago and at the timer refused ( got another visit tomorrow). At the time I got told all calls would be prebooked within 48 hours and also that they couldn’t do certain areas but had to do the whole area we covered. We also got told that calls could not be moved back only forwards!
Likewise I was advised a number of other service providers where already on the system @ 60{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d}. I asked for some names so that I could talk to them to discuss how it worked. To date I have not been given any names.
Re: pre booked calls
I was given some names, and will be following it up soon as I am at a meeting next week; which although is not related, I will be seeing one or two. I did speak to someone today who is already on this and he tells me that he moves calls as and when it suits him.
I made it clear that I will do the same, and I will push customers on a couple of days should I need to. I was lead to believe that this should not cause any issues as there are times when there is a mutual benefit. We shall see. It ain’t going to work, we all know that, and we won’t let it.
I have this theory that I don’t see the point in refusing wholesale, I will give it a shot and see if it does work. That way if it goes tits up I am more than qualified to protest and throw my toys out the pram if needs be.
As someone said earlier, not all the agents have the luxury of the motorway corridor, and it is around 40 calls per week, so not shed-loads. To be honest I think we can handle at this stage, but you will be the 1st to know if we get a problem.
I am aware that they are taking calls up to 9p.m. so you may go home at 6 with all new jobs off their system and loaded into your own schedules. Then come in 8 am next day and find a few more booked for tomorrow. It may have seemed like 2 days for them when they booked it, but it is not not 48 hours, which is different. I will remind them of that every now and then.
Alex
Sorry but I will book my own work. MFI can work a system to do it whilst the customer is on the phone,why can’t CDSL?
Apart ffrom that, go read your Heads Of Agrement because if you fail to meet an appointment, even if you can’t get the customer it appears, you may have to pay compensation to the customer.
Remember Mastercare Alex? Mastercare is dead, long live Mastercare.
K.
Re: pre booked calls
Of course I remember Mastercare. How could I forget, also had the same with B.Gas, Hoover Gias, and before you say it I terminated all of them.
“Thin end of Wedge” and all that. Excuse me for looking stupid but I have my motives. I didn’t volunteer, I was offered this and the hint was it would happen anyway as that is what some of the companies they offer work for require, or will demand.
Heads of agreement, never had one officially, and Dave Parker admits he has no record of me being presented with one. I am putting out e-mails to RF to get clarification on a few things and if not forthcoming will tell them to put it into abeyance.
Somebody in here needs to trial this set-up, and with a bit of luck blow it out of the water. I’m putting myself up for it. Lamb to the slaughter, not me, to bloody old for that one.
Everyone else should keep up their side of the protest though. It will all end in tears I’m sure.
Alex
Re: pre booked calls
Good on yer Alex, to support you we should keep this in this forum only. As far as my last info goes, Mark, Jason, Philip and myself, who are the other CDSL workers in this room, all rejected the “direct booking”.
Keep us informed and we can maimtain our defence.
KevinRe: pre booked calls
kheath wrote:Good on yer Alex, to support you we should keep this in this forum only. As far as my last info goes, Mark, Jason, Philip and myself, who are the other CDSL workers in this room, all rejected the “direct booking”.
Keep us informed and we can maimtain our defence.
KevinPerzactly.
I purposely haven’t responded to the DirectBooking/Inkfish thread just to make it look that all is tickety-boo.
It may actually prove me wrong, but I’ve got little to lose as the workload is not significant in my case, and still under control.
Will update on a regular basis.
Alex
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