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Re: Advice to hotpoint customers
I really dont like the thought of swelling Merlonis coffers with any more cash, simply because i hate their products with a passion. I hate to see any machine being scrapped when the paint is barely dry but giving the bandits another £100 to replace a 3 year old sealed drum with failed bearings say, is just rewarding them twice for spewing out badly made landfill fodder IMO.
Re: Advice to hotpoint customers
I’ve tried to refrain other than the earlier quip but…
I can’t see why any of the independents or even a lot of company engineers would support a company that offers them little to no support and, in fact, places obstacles in their way of doing their job. It makes absolutely no sense to do so.
I know that it could be viewed that you’re doing the customer a favour but really, are you? Think about it, you send the customer back to Indesit to fork out £100 or they get brow beaten or scared into taking an insurance policy which makes the £200 pile of **** cost a hell of a lot more which is the only way you can make them last anywhere close to a “reasonable” length of time.
Now, ask yourself, is the best for the customer to advise them to continue pumping money into rubbish or, is it better to cut your losses and buy something decent?
I know which path I’d respect more irrespective of the product that you want to discuss, in any industry arena. I might not like getting told I’d bought said pile of ****, but I’d respect the fact that I’d been told the truth and that it was a pile of ****. It would most certainly make me do two things, research what I was buying and also to research the WHOLE cost, not just the price ticket in store.
But that’s just me perhaps.
However just in case there are some other basket cases like myself out there I’ve written a whole load of stuff on this site and others as well as in print and other media to try to get people to actually think about what they’re buying. Make an informed choice and not to be confined to restrictive pricing or practices.
If enough of us keep telling people maybe, one day, they’ll actually listen and not buy the cheapest tat they can.
We can hope.
K.
Re: Advice to hotpoint customers
For whats its worth the customers I have dealt with are more than happy to be educated about something different like the ISE and many of these customers are themselves sick of poorly designed machines that last such a short time. In addition the customers are grateful that we as engineers can give them excellent advise and backup which others cannot
Re: Advice to hotpoint customers
All too often, I go to Indesit Group products at 3, 4, 5 years old. The customers are all too aware of the 5 year “free” parts deal, but by that point, many have had enough. The delay in service from the Indesit Company can be a major tipping point for many. I recently attended a 4 year old WMA autowasher, where they had been quoted 10 working days for a call out and the family had 13 month old triplets…….. Just not good enough. Fortunately, this was just a brush failure and the job could be brought in for considerably less than £99. An ISE brochure was left……..
Let’s do some maths.
A company engineer on £24K pa is earning approx £11.50/hr. We know that a pcb really costs £7-£12, a drive motor less than £20, brushes, pumps, door seals are penny parts. I’ll accept that a drum assembly is more – what – £30-£40 at most? There is absolutely no way, even allowing for admin and the van that Indesit will ever lose one penny on aftermarket service; assuming they can nail most of their problems first shot.
We know from the Public Forums that they can’t always do that.
This may well be why the “card” type boards are becoming the norm. Engineer needs only carry the four or five basic board types and a reader. Literally hundreds of read-once cards can be stored in an envelope – so much more space freed up for other spares. Oh, and our job just got a heap more complicated.
No accident, I would suggest. How much of this is our own fault is impossible to call. In some ways, we may not help ourselves – UKW is a freewheeling, outspoken and somewhat anarchistic beast and our likes and dislikes are pretty obvious throughout the Trade and Public Forums. However, manufacturers (not just The Indesit Company) seem to be gradually edging towards restrictive practices to guarantee their own service work. At £100 a pop round Leeds, all that will happen is that our local landfill quotient will rise and rise. As a sole trader, I can pick up a small proportion with the ISE machines, but it is a small proportion who appreciate what the brand offers. The rest of the sheep will buy the next “value for money” brand they spot. And probably regret it. And then complain in the Public Forums. As usual.
Anyway, as things currently stand, I would suggest that we owe The Indesit Company nothing. If your customer is prepared to pay out for your prompt and accurate service, take the money.
And educate your customer, ready for next time.
Chris.
Re: Advice to hotpoint customers
10 days to wait for a repair……..it may be £99 but few will wait that long. Few will wait 3 days…….. 😉 Indesit cannot carry that level of work for long and the stocking of spares for all the older machines is not feasible. The ranges and colour variants available in the last ten years will make spares allocation a mammoth task. It sounds as if Indesit are desperate for work ATM and this seems like a good idea to rake in some cash. And the new PCB’s and their smartcard – Tony at EMW has said in the forums time and again that they can code boards for us without us having to have all the gear………..that’s covered!
I have faith in my customers judgment; with guidance and information (from us) most will not buy Indesit products. I try not to worry about what the manufacturers are plotting as I can’t change it – the answer is to be faster, more conscientious and courteous than the manufacturers service network; well, TBH, most of us indies are all that already.
Indesit are happy to be economical with tech info, happy to crush us indies and take our market share, they don’t care about us………but with such crap products they make it easier for us to advise the customer to migrate to other makes. (ISE!!) 😉
Seven bearing jobs in the last ten days at £110 each; the customers are repairing more now rather than just replacing on a kneejerk reaction. I’m perfectly happy to do bearing jobs though……Steve.
Re: Advice to hotpoint customers
Hi all, just to update the prices, its only
£99.98 for under 5 years,
£109.98 for 5-10 years &
£119.98 for over 10’s,not much diff i know,
also on the £24k a year for employed engineers, take a peek at this great job opportunity for a white goods technician!!
Re: Advice to hotpoint customers
K wrote;
Now, ask yourself, is the best for the customer to advise them to continue pumping money into rubbish or, is it better to cut your losses and buy something decent?
I, like a number of indies, still make a living repairing those hotpoint machines 5 years and older. Now you can’t tell me you class the 95 series or wm range as rubbish can you?
My point to this topic was what is deemed the correct advice to give to a
customer.I’m suprised that, it seems, people don’t even feel it necessary to mention the 5 year part cover. To me thats wrong. Even more so if you
are a member of the WTA. I hope it never comes back to bite you.If a customer phoned and told you their machine was 6 months old would you tell them they were still under the years guarantee??
Re: Advice to hotpoint customers
Hi Tim
If a customer phoned and told you their machine was 6 months old would you tell them they were still under the years guarantee??
Yes we do,it keeps that customer with us as we havent charged for work that should have been under warranty.And they keep coming back.
Bryan
Re: Advice to hotpoint customers
Yes we do,it keeps that customer with us as we havent charged for work that should have been under warranty.And they keep coming back.
Do you tell them about the 5 years parts cover on hotpoint machines ❓
Re: Advice to hotpoint customers
I would normally tell them about the 5 year cover where it was appropriate. Obviously, any job I can do for under £100 parts included (i.e. around 90{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} of all Hotpoint jobs I look at) it would be pointless to mention it. That really just leaves the WMA bearing/spiders which I am not interested in anyway. I either advise them of the Hotpoint deal or tell them to call another local independent.
Mike.Re: Advice to hotpoint customers
In my opinion I have no moral obligation whatsoever to tell a customer that somebody else will do a repair cheaper than I will. I charge a minimum of £50 labour charge whereas a friend of mine a few miles away charges £40. I don’t have any moral obligation to tell my customers this and if I did I wouldn’t have any customers! This is no different to telling customers about Hotpoint. Suppose all manufacturers had the same arrangement; would you tell every customer to ring the manufacturer as it’ll be cheaper? 😆
If you’re selling a washing machine in your shop, do you tell customers that they can buy the same machine £10 cheaper down the road?
As my children would say, ‘Yeah right!’
Re: Advice to hotpoint customers
hotpnt wrote:
also on the £24k a year for employed engineers, take a peek at this great job opportunity for a white goods technician!!http://jobs.thisiscornwall.co.uk/cgi-bi … src=search
😆 Free on-site parking; that clinches it; I think I’ll apply! I assume from the salary offered that the generous holiday entitlement is 20 weeks per year.
Re: Advice to hotpoint customers
timdowning wrote:
Do you tell them about the 5 years parts cover on hotpoint machines ❓The advice you give should always be in the best interests of the customer.
If the machine is under 12 months old, then obviously, you would advise the customer to contact the manufacturer. If it was over the year , then I would inform them only if the repair was over the £99 – if it was, then the choice is with the customer. If the bearings had failed or the PCB had blown then, yes, why not pass it on to Indesit; you know you can’t bring those jobs in under £99 anyway. BUT – if it’s under the £99, what would be the point of jeopardizing your position – the customer won’t gain anything. Most customers, as I said earlier, will not wait a week for a repair, so more often than not, we get the job on convenience alone. Therefore, I am not going to walk away from the job because I morally think that the manufacturer should do it – I will let the customer make that choice as it is their money and therefore their right to choose. If they choose me then that’s OK. That is not dishonest or immoral, it’s open and fair. I’m not about to argue with them.
It’s up to the individual, of course; and yes it’s true that moral fibre is a great personal attribute; sadly lacking in most industries (banking 😆 ). But as a member of the WTA, I would be protecting the interests of the WTA member and their customers but I would also trust them both to make fair and informed choices. I would not condone dishonesty in any way.
Inform your customer appropriately and let them make the decision.Steve.
Re: Advice to hotpoint customers
Steve wrote;
If the machine is under 12 months old, then obviously, you would advise the customer to contact the manufacturer. If it was over the year , then I would inform them only if the repair was over the £99 – if it was, then the choice is with the customer.
Exaclty as I do.
Therefore, I am not going to walk away from the job because I morally think that the manufacturer should do it –
My viewpoint is always from the customers not the manufacturers.
Steve, its nice to feel there is someone on a similar wavelength!
Steve, what would you do in this scenario:
9 years old WM52 with drum and bearings shot, door not locking easily and motor hovering around the 1Mohms?
would you write the machine off?
advise them to go back to hotpoint (due their new pricing scheme?)I would have always written off the machine with the intention of selling them a new one.
Considering I’m selling 3 to 6 new machines a week I’m obviously concerned for the implications of this new pricing scheme, especially if it becomes more widespread.
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