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Here we all are in 2009 and the daily idiomatic phraseology pervades at an ever-constant rate throughout the pages on UKW. “Crappy machine”, “cheap rubbish”, Chinese junk” “spend little, get sod all” “foreign rubbish”…..and even…”the wan*ers that make this cr&p”…a not too uncommon expression and regular contribution to the database thesaurus no doubt.
I fully understand the frustrations and down to earth feeling expressed in all these sentiments by the many. But there comes a point where it becomes something of an irrelevance perhaps? Oh! Do please play another tune for goodness sake. Try to get real in today’s marketplace and make the best of it you can for all our sakes, why not?
“Spend more and get a better machine” “You only get what you pay for” are two incontrovertible statements of fact we all subscribe to. Those facts can be well-substantiated and proven in many of today’s more ‘up-market’ white goods. And working in those areas of the market will give forth bounteous rewards for all in the fullness of time – fact!
The problem is that the general public aren’t conditioned to such logic. In fact they are of the opinion that “machines only last 3 to 5 years” so they then buy the cheap high street brands and are none less surprised when, after a couple of years (or months), the product fails. No surprises there, they made their choice, they turn the other cheek and buy a replacement.
That in a nutshell is the market force that dominates. Take a moment to browse through the Argos catalogue and see what I mean. Cheap goods, plentiful supply, 5 year extended warranty options for all should you wish? A triple A Indesit for £250, add another £70 for a further 4 years cover. Or a Beko for £180…what a bargain eh?
Well yes, in fact it is at least for the uninitiated that know no different. And will continue in that vein for years to come, buying cheap getting what you can from it then throwing it away and buying another. An acceptable process that provides a product to the customers wishes with an on going after-sales service and ultimately a disposal system ad infinitum.
In the public forums it is all to obvious that the choices of the public at large are based on the popular branded and cheap goods sold en masse in the High street. And in today’s climate of financial uncertainty then selling and servicing the cheap end of the market will ensure a constant stream of custom. Provided you are mindful of the fact that their expectations toward the product they have selected is far far less than had they shelled out for any ‘state of the art’ product. High speed after sales service and high charges do not apply at this product level in any case.
Those that deal directly with the public will do well not to deride the product they wish to buy or request to be mended. To openly insult the intelligence of your customer by informing them that they have bought (typical quote) “a load of cr&p” does little to instil lasting relationships between you both. It can often be tantamount almost to criticising their choice of clothing or their odd choice of wallpaper. To stand in someone’s kitchen ready to fix their washing machine and then state that it’s a load of junk will get you nowhere fast and respect right down the tubes. You’re digging a big hole for yourself and no mistake.
Likewise for someone to make the same statement on UKW does little to command respect. In fact it’s a darn right insult, a cheap shot and a generalised nonsensical and often unjustifiable statement for anyone to make and is best avoided at least by those that should know better.
Accept the inevitable, sell them what they want, fix what can be fixed and we’ll all enjoy a future in this trade. Try telling me I bought a load of junk and that I must buy something I cannot possibly afford nor wish to is not what the general public want to hear nor will tolerate. Those that can make a living out of providing something their customers can afford will do far better in the long run. Better still, those that cater for all products in all price ranges will fair best of all mark my words.
Indesit aren’t cr&p my friend, well not if you want to make a living then Indesit spells money! Money for cr&p eh?…can’t be bad! 😀
Re: A philosophical viewpoint
Hello Martin,
I do agree with what you say, I am due to retire in three years and after many years on the tools I transferred to sales (for a change) progressing to a director of a local company.I had very good training both inhouse and out, one of the rules is never critise your customers decision on a purchase they made, also never decry your own company, I still abide by this rule, although the second one should not apply as I am self employed now and much happier for it.
silverbroom.
P.S. I still wish Indesit UK had not changed from the Hotpoint jockey pulley system on the tumble dryer range, ie, sorry had to get that in.
Re: A philosophical viewpoint
The public will never cease to amaze me with how ignorant and arrogant they are,they want a bargain but never look further than the end of their credit card,then when they come on the forums moaning because their two year old pile of tat has failed , and someone points out to them that its not the best of appliances we get accused of being narrow minded.
If someone wants to buy an appliance for under £200 then thats there call but just dont moan when it fails .
LawrenceRe: A philosophical viewpoint
I see the point and never encourage any of my staff to point out that the poor old customer has bought some cheap rubbish. I guess by the time we get there, they have probably worked it out, and the last thing they want is a supercilious engineer telling them “I told you so” It is very unprofessional to do so, and it is not want the customer wants to hear. Some of us will remember that excellent training video by John Cleese & Jonathan Lynn, “Where did you buy this then”
Mind you, a certain poster telling a customer that they have checked out their local Chinese Takeaway with the suggestion to pass on a message regards quality of a Dishwasher, is none too clever either.
The customer has looked at a white box along with many other white boxes that look comparable and they don’t know nor care what is inside, or the pedigree of the product. They may have been influenced by a salesman on commission, or by the fact that “My Mum Had a Hotpoint/Hoover/Zanussi for years”.
Regretfully it is the nature of the beast, and we have to put up with it. We are living in a different culture than we did 25 years ago, but nobody will change anything.
C’est la Vie
Alex
Re: A philosophical viewpoint
‘The daily idiomatic’.. Is that another simple to use washer from Indesit? They’re being downright patronising with that name IMO. 😉
Re: A philosophical viewpoint
Yep,i agree but why oh why do the public spend more on lcd/plasma tv’s???
Down at my local part center today and overheard the chap behind the trade counter telling the plumber types he was about to buy a LG 42″ @ £650,I’m pretty damn sure he would not spend that on a washer.
Re: A philosophical viewpoint
I was putting a door catch on a Zanussi 919T yesterday.. its second in its 24 year life according to my customer, oh, & a new belt was fitted 5 years ago.
Two things struck me when looking this machine over.. first was the sheer quality of the thing, its only when you hav’nt seen a machine from this era for a while that you realise just how far standards have fallen.
But then i wondered what our workload would be in the repair caper if all machines were still made this way.. selfish maybe, but hey, its my sole income!
If memory serves, when these machines were common it would often be 5 years between visits.. not great for business to be quite honest, you have to respect the engineering standards though.
If it was’nt for the slightly flaky Hotpoints of the same era i doubt i would have had enough work to survive!IMO the two main threats to the repair industry are static retail prices year in year out & the high cost of spares. The plunging pound will possibly help the first problem but exacerbate the second.. :rolls:
Re: A philosophical viewpoint
Today I went to see an old lady with a Candy she’d had for about ten years. The spider was busted and the drum rubbed on the door seal and she got smoke when she opened the door. She asked me if I recommended anything as a replacement. I asked her how many loads a week. She answered one, occasionally two. I explained that I don’t give recommendations because of some bad experiences in the past when I recommended something and had to go back to BER it a couple of years later. I did give her a short verbal list of some makes to avoid. I then suggested she see what deals are available in the sales as I don’t see much point in the poor old dear laying out £400 to do one load a week.
The important thing IMO is to LISTEN to the customer.
Mike.Re: A philosophical viewpoint
Ah the Washcraft range, what a joy they were.
Bearings, door catches, timer knobs, timers and the odd £200 motor made me a decent living when they were around simply because it was worth paying to get them fixed and a new one was over £300 IIRC. Alex will remember.
The point is, people ask for advice and get it. If they don’t like or fail to take heed of it that it pays to buy a bit better then tough really.
And, if they buy decent machines that will cost a lot to replace they’re more inclined to think twice before binning it.
Here’s a staggering fact for you from our own Mr Dales who’s been handling more than a little WEEE lately, about 30{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} of what comes in has no fault at all. Another approx 30{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} needs a simple repair with under £30 worth of parts needed to get it sorted.
So, 60-70{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} of what people are chucking out has virtually bog all wrong with it. But they weigh up what an engineer costs or rather, what they think it will cost, then decide to just get a new one. But then, a new one isn’t expensive enough to dissuade people from getting one of us to have a look at it.
An old Washcraft at more than £300 in 1982 was. Our callout then I think was about £40-45 and that wasn’t cheap in those days.
And people baulk at £800 26 years later for an ISE10. Thankfully many people also get it and understand that you get nought for ought. But, in a few years time they’ll get them fixed because a new one will likely be knocking on for £1000 which allows a bit of scope for repair costs.
K.
Re: A philosophical viewpoint
kwatt wrote:
Here’s a staggering fact for you from our own Mr Dales who’s been handling more than a little WEEE lately, about 30{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} of what comes in has no fault at all. Another approx 30{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} needs a simple repair with under £30 worth of parts needed to get it sorted.So, 60-70{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} of what people are chucking out has virtually bog all wrong with it. But they weigh up what an engineer costs or rather, what they think it will cost, then decide to just get a new one.
K.
I wonder if you’ve put those staggering facts in the public side, Ken?
I daresay you have, I just don’t often look there.
Mike.Re: A philosophical viewpoint
Madmac wrote:
But then i wondered what our workload would be in the repair caper if all machines were still made this way.. selfish maybe, but hey, its my sole income!
If memory serves, when these machines were common it would often be 5 years between visits.. not great for business to be quite honest,But there was a domestic appliance shop in every precinct and every main street……..and as well as white goods they repaired irons, toasters, kettles, cleaners, hairdriers, standard lamps…….. 😉 Machines had ‘little bits’ that broke regularly – not PCB’ s and motors costing 75{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} of a new machine for the part alone. Door catches, knobs, suspension pads, door boots galore, little and often. The customers were less willing to bin their machine for a catch failure. Regular, easy work. 😎
Making machines that last is good in the long run; but it has to be said, I’ve had more £120+ jobs in the last year than at any time in the past.The “Buy it, Boot it, Bin it” culture is a by – product of the credit card but in the current climate, this short term thinking may be the undoing of some and the ruin of others……. 😉
Steve.
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