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I was going to post this is The Rumour Mill, but it’s factual, so here it is!
Last week, I had a chap from Southampton ring me (I’m in Cardiff) about his mothers oven (She is elderly & lives in Cardiff).
I spent quite a lot of time on the phone with this guy, as he was a genuinely nice guy and didn’t know whether to just order his mother a new oven, or have it fixed (He was stuck a bit as he lived so far away).
Anyway, when asked about costs of repair etc, I explained the 2 options he has if he wants to use us. 1st option is standard repair… Blah Blah Blah, or second option is Fixed Cost (Which I do offer direct to consumer).
He’d agreed the fixed cost was the best option, as he knows it’s ‘X’ amount, and his mothers oven is sorted. For him, problem and worry solved!
He had indicated he had to confirm with his mother, and he’d book online over the weekend when she’d agreed.
So, I come in Monday, looked at new jobs sent from Repaircare (That I shouldn’t have had, but that’s another saga) and guess what… There he is! (Paying a fiver more than I quoted I might add).
When I ring the guy to confirm the appointment, I HAD to ask why he’d chosen to book with Repaircare other than me directly. His response “I’d forgotten your web address so I Goooooooogled oven repair in Cardiff, and up they came. Arnt you the same people”…….!!!!!!!!! 👿
See that last question “Arnt you the same people”…. 👿
Can I repeat… 👿
I know that private customers are taken from us by large companies, I’m not naive, but when it happens in your face… It is most frustrating.
I’ll now revert back to the title of this thread…
Taking bread from a mans hand and giving back crumbs OR WHAT?!
Adrian 👿
Re: Taking bread from a mans hand and giving back crumbs!
washdoctor wrote:I know that private customers are taken from us by large companies, I’m not naive, but when it happens in your face… It is most frustrating.
The title you chose for this thread Adrian couldn’t be more appropriate. And it’s my guess likely as not there will be a certain inevitable irony even in this specific instance when Repaircare BER the job and hand over the crumbs. 🙁
The good news is that the vast majority of chargeable jobs are dominated by the independent repairer. The likes of Repaircare and their fixed price system only serves to bolster chargeable work. Many that visit their site are reluctant in stumping up £108 and start phoning around for a far better deal and a far faster service response to boot! 😀 8)
Re: Taking bread from a mans hand and giving back crumbs!
washdoctor wrote: So, I come in Monday, looked at new jobs sent from Repaircare (That I shouldn’t have had, but that’s another saga) and guess what… There he is! (Paying a fiver more than I quoted I might add).:
What is happening on that? I read somewhere you were finishing with Connect end of October, but you offered to assist with a transition for another 2 weeks. Did that happen, or are you still assisting? I gather you still have access to their repairers site.
washdoctor wrote: When I ring the guy to confirm the appointment, I HAD to ask why he’d chosen to book with Repaircare other than me directly. His response “I’d forgotten your web address so I Goooooooogled oven repair in Cardiff, and up they came. Arnt you the same people”…….!!!!!!!!! 👿
See that last question “Arnt you the same people”…. 👿
Adrian 👿This is where the Google adwords kick in. I suppose in the customer’s eyes you are the same people after all he would get the same repairer in the door, but just happens to be paying someone else. Unless of course you have parted company wth Repaircare.
This is what I’ve been on about and what someone got the wrong end of the stick about a few days ago.
Basically, doing charge work for warranty rates seems, to me at least, to be utter madness.
But heh, what do I know?
K.
Re: Taking bread from a mans hand and giving back crumbs!
Ted wrote:What is happening on that? I read somewhere you were finishing with Connect end of October, but you offered to assist with a transition for another 2 weeks. Did that happen, or are you still assisting?
I am out of notice. I am out of the 2 week ‘Goodwill’ extension I offered Repaircare. I didn’t expect any jobs on Monday, as I thought the new guy would have been set up ready to go, knowing that Repaircare KNEW Friday 12th November was the final day of the 2 week extension.
I had a call from Repaircare on Tuesday, stating that the new guy would be set up Tuesday next week, and will I support them until then. I agreed. After all, I have no issues with Repaircare, it’s only the DSG work I don’t want at the rates & Terms currently on offer, and my COMPLETE termination with Repaircare was only because of the ‘Stranglehold’ they placed on me… Refuse the DSG rates, lose the lot. If I could have chosen to say no to the DSG rates, without losing the good stuff, I would have, without a second thought!
I will however confirm, that the ‘Prime’ contracts such as Caple, Rangemaster, Prima etc are getting the same good service I’ve always given, DSG customers, are now fitted in as and when. If it’s a week, it’s a week! I have other interests & plans that I want to pursue going forward, so I’m just hoping the new guy does in fact sign up next Tuesday, or we’re in a dilemma to say the least!
Adrian.
Re: Taking bread from a mans hand and giving back crumbs!
Why would someone take up the work that others are dropping like a hot spud though, i dont get it, is it just that there is always someone who will do it for less and they know it so tried it on and it worked?
Nige
Re: Taking bread from a mans hand and giving back crumbs!
nigegt wrote:Why would someone take up the work that others are dropping like a hot spud though, i dont get it
Nige
My guess is, there are some engineers that might be able to make the rates & terms pay if doing very small volumes, tight areas, don’t employ staff & do not run an office for their clients… And others that, well, lets just say would ‘Make’ it pay, which I’m not prepared to do!
Adrian.
Re: Taking bread from a mans hand and giving back crumbs!
washdoctor wrote:I’m just hoping the new guy does in fact sign up next Tuesday, or we’re in a dilemma to say the least!
Adrian.I saw last night you were still on the Repaicare forum, so this makes a bit of sense.
Re your closing comment, surely it will be Repaircare who has the dilemma should it go astray?
Alex
Re: Taking bread from a mans hand and giving back crumbs!
Alex wrote:
Re your closing comment, surely it will be Repaircare who has the dilemma should it go astray?
Alex
Hopefully, it wont come to that 🙂
Ade
Re: Taking bread from a mans hand and giving back crumbs!
As per Washdoctor.
If you are like me with an office staffed full time, staff holidays, training etc all the computers networked, vans electricity, four figure phone bills and everything else that goes hand in hand with capitalism, then the contract is poor to say the least.
When I started it was me in a van with a pager, and my missus answering the phone. If a call came in at 4 p.m. and I was in that area, got done that day. I expected to do 13 calls a day on average and the van would be showing over 100,000 miles at 1st mot.
The tight area calls, and if the repairer has a smallish operation it will pay. Even more so when the repairer is the boss as he will manage the calls and engineer the repairs accordingly. On that basis he may well make a job of it, and it gives him the opportunity to grow his business.
Alex
Re: Taking bread from a mans hand and giving back crumbs!
Alex wrote:
The tight area calls, and if the repairer has a smallish operation it will pay. Even more so when the repairer is the boss as he will manage the calls and engineer the repairs accordingly. On that basis he may well make a job of it, and it gives him the opportunity to grow his business.
Alex
I’m in that situation Alex and I couldn’t make it pay so, as you and Ade know, I packed in the DSG contract at the end of July, I agree though that my costs are considerably lower than both of yours but if I had had to carry with the DSG contract because of no other work I could have short term but at the end of the day it’s the profit margin I look at not just my wages out of it otherwise there is no point running your own business whether you are a one man band or a larger operation.
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