British Gas…time to tell all

[Flipper]

Re: British Gas…time to tell all

kwatt wrote:I did do a post but it’s gone. 😕

We could also do with a high profile thread “BG Steal Another Engineer” sounds a good topic to me, explaining that we could not compete with the salary on offer.

K.

Would think that would be a good thread,especially if everone went on and added their losses. Sort of a name and shame , may even open the eyes of manufacturers and workproviders and the likes of Comet ( who must have had some losses to BG). Could help push rates up as well,especially when BG are competition………

[Penguin45]

Re: British Gas…time to tell all

For what it’s worth, we have been contacted by BG. They were aware that I am a sole trader and got our details through UKW. Shades of the mass Hotpoint eMail last year……. Anyway, they started off offering work, then offered employment – Julia is not daft and played them along a bit. When she pointed out that we run at a damn near 95{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} 1st time completion rate she was told “What does it matter?”!!

Anyway, she blew them out. Only mistake is she didn’t get the name.

We lost Transpart, our local Qualtex wholesaler, last year solely due to their BG contract. Took on engineers – then lost them to BG! Finally knackered by non-payment and delays. Great shame IMO. Leeds engineers are now rather restricted in their choice of spares suppliers.

Regards,
Chris.

[Dave_Conway]

Re: British Gas…time to tell all

Penguin45 wrote:We lost Transpart, our local Qualtex wholesaler

Want a disk ?

Totally off subject…..

And I’ll start another thread if anyone’s interested, all the previous attempts at spares help to sub’s etc has been either ignored or rebuffed, it’s up to you guys, I *AM* a Qualtex wholesaler and have negotiated on behalf of UKW, but as there’s never been any take up …..

….let’s carry on slagging BG 😀

Dave.

[kwatt]

Re: British Gas…time to tell all

Doing our own spares is not such a stupid idea and Dave and I have discussed it on many an occasion. The problem is the take-up on it and everyone has their own friendly rep etc. but for fast movers it’s all too possible to do.

Thing is, if there’s enough interest and we can forward order we’d look to buy direct from factory, which is one hell of a lot cheaper.

We have the contacts and the motivation, just not the orders. 😕

If we do do that though the prices will only be open to subs, not the general trade, stick another 5 or 10 points on for them.

As for BG I think that the getting poached thread is the way to go, IIRC they approached Lawrence Carey in the same way as well Chris, it’s not the first time that that’s happened that’s for sure.

I am thinking on a retaliatory move, but give it a short time as I MAY have an ace up my sleeve, but it has to be done at the right time and in the right way.

K.

[Martin]

Re: British Gas…time to tell all

Well the GOOGLE EFFECT has taken place on this (5th place on Page1), which my customer (bless her heart) has posted into the public forum :tup: (I must admit I too thought Kens reply was a bit, shall we say..confusing for a public forum 😕 but hey! We are up and running on it 😀 )

YOU WANTED THE PUBLIC TO START THE THREAD…YOU GOT IT NOW!!!

We really need to push this to get it to work, perhaps asking your customers that have fallen foul of BG who could also post something on the same thread to really make it ROCK THE BOAT 8)

I’ve done my bit, my conscience is clear, over to you guys :tup:

Martin

[Martin]

Re: British Gas…time to tell all

Alex,

A bloody brilliant post my friend, just what is required, detailed testimonial that fully explains the situation for all to see, public, Wp’s and all. Can you get any of your customers to post their tales of woe, or can anybody else for that matter? It would really help our case 🙂

Martin

[Alex]

Re: British Gas…time to tell all

Pourings from the heart I’m afraid.

You take someone on, start the training then they piss off to the likes of B. Gas.

He left a legacy of recalls, so he will be in good company with that lot.

What also jars me off is he “Borrowed” a sensitive manual of electronic fault codes and fault finding that were issued to all engineers that took a course. Now I can’t get it back. 1st of all he promised he would leave it in his front porch, but it wasn’t there, now he is not responding to my calls.

You can bet your ass B.G. now have a chance of getting hold of this info.

What I’m looking for is evidence that B.G. engineers are being encouraged to poach other techs.

Alex

[johnmac11]

Re: British Gas…time to tell all

There is no doubt in my mind Alex that they are being poached.

My 1st one to go to British Gas was about a 18 months ago, engineer was in Birmingham. Within 3 months 2 others went who were also working in Birmingham.
Then in August last year one went in Leicester and I was told almost immediately that he would get a bonus from BG to convince others to move( £500 was the quoted figure ), upshot was the engineer that lived 2 miles from him left a month later and the next area engineer is going this month.

Now the guy that is going next month worked for Whirlpool for 13 years and for me for 3 years, in the 3 years I have had him his salary has went up by 12{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} and I also paid him full pay last year for 4 months when he did his back in, so I thought I would get a bit of loyalty from him but sadly no. He has said that he was approached by BG and the only way they could get him was through an ex engineer giving his details.

What really pisses me off with this situation is that they are leaving me for about a £1000 more a year but they have to do weekend standby for that and it has been said before they are working blind on every bit of crap out there with no technical knowledge or parts.

Mark my words this outfit wont be on the go in a couple of years and when they go I for one will be having a party/wake 😆 😆

John

[patches]

Re: British Gas…time to tell all

To add insult to injury we received a fax from B.G. this afternoon asking us to make a call on a Whirlpool. Of course I gave it a high priority despatch to the bin. They can get one of our exes to deal with it.
Kevin

[Alex]

Re: British Gas…time to tell all

Without a doubt one for the Agenda on the Friday meeting at Sibson.

We also need to watch Comet, sources tell me they will be finalising their roll out of in house service to encapsulate the whole of the UK by end 2005.

What we need is a B.G. engineer or even better an EX-Engineer to have the balls to put up on the site how this is actually being operated.

I have a meeting with Steve Clarke on 26th Jan and it is related to rates and the fact this is happening and is beyond our control due to poor returns, being we cannot reward and indeed contain our biggest asset, the engineers.

There may be a good side that perhaps the likes of Service Force & Whirlpool will become a little more realistic.

Like you I fail to comprehend why an engineer feels better off getting an extra £20 per week and suffer the regime they have to endure in order to get this. I would like to think my team have a little more respect for me and remember where they are well off.

2 of them are ex Electricity Board and one ex National Nightmare, so they have the tee shirts and bruises. By the way one of those is 64 next month, your old mate Rodney that is. Still leaves all the others behind on performance.

I bet if it all goes tits up with B.G you would not have those techs. back again!

Alex

[johnmac11]

Re: British Gas…time to tell all

No way would I have them back. If, sorry when, it goes tits up we will have a glut of engineers looking for jobs and I would probably, if I was looking, go for the ex homecare engineers who at least know how to spell ohhm 😀

Not too current on the Comet situation, though I new a guy who worked for them a couple of years ago and he said he was on £15,500 max with the insult of having to buy his own tools and toolbox. Comet did kindly give him a megger and multimeter though. For comet to become a player in this they would probably need to increase salary by £3k to compete and that wont happen.

Going by their past history Comet seem to go through phases where they want to do all their own in guarantee work and then find they cant handle it and pass it back to the manufacturer.

John

[Penguin45]

Re: British Gas…time to tell all

Comet is a bit of an enigma. Traditionally they had a comprehensive service network in the Newpol/Proline days – the end of the Kingfisher business saw it disbanded. Result – glut of engineers on the market – rates fall. I assume with its re-establishment the current shortage of engineers will be exacerbated as they also join in with the collecting of independent engineers.

The upshot is likely to be a draining of our pool, which, let’s face it, is not refilling in the way that it used to. Taken to its logical conclusion, we may be able to shed a lot of the idiots into BG and Comet, leaving us a clearer field for chargeable work. After all there are still plenty of people who do not wish to pay company call out rates, but will pay our more reasonable rates.

The trouble is for those of you reliant on contract work is that if the BG strategy is to take the market, they may well bid for contract work purely on price and the wimps in the insurance side of things will probably buy into it. As soon as they consider that they have full coverage, I’d bet money on this.

If they gradually take over, the punters will eventually become accustomed to the situation – sloppy, unreliable service and attendance, poor parts availability and untrained personel unable to make the diagnosis.

In one way it’s an opportunity for us to ram home our superiority by emphasising our greater abilities and skills -NOW, before the machine really does start to drown us.

Regards,
Penguin45.

[kwatt]

Re: British Gas…time to tell all

The only way that we will combat and win against BG et all is to take them on, head on, on their terms.

I have been working towards that goal for over a year now and, without boring you all to death with just how I intend to achieve that, we have to basically become a coherent and effective force in that marketplace. There are ways to do this and compete but we have to resolve to do it and LEAD the industry as the independents always have done.

Dunno about you, but I for one am just so pissed off with these fucking twats like BG, Comet, Merloni and all the rest that I’ve had enough and I will not give up in my little crusade. But bear in mind here that I’m talking about changing the industry entirely out of all recognition from where it is today and getting a cohesive and effective force of independents that can combat these people, as well as keep them in check.

So, you all still up for a fight?

K.

[johnmac11]

Re: British Gas…time to tell all

The main problem with B.G. pitching for all the insurance work is that it has already been tried and failed.
Kevin Moat & the posse from National Homecare had at one time 33 different accounts ranging from large (D&G & Mastercare etc) to small insurances and promised the earth including same day appointments up till 12.00 or £100 if we fail in this.
Once the engineers found they were working all hours and travelling great distances in order to meet the demand they started leaving in droves causing failed promises and crap work to the point of Nat Home going bust.
Can we all joyfully hope the same fate will befall B.G.
Kevin (not John)

[Martin]

Re: British Gas…time to tell all

kwatt wrote:The only way that we will combat and win against BG et all is to take them on, head on

I applaud your sentiments Ken and we are up for it all the way. Thanks to the postings from you guys so far, I at least am fully aware of the situation facing us all in the long term.

Now the way I see it is the only possible way we can overcome B Gas or anyone else that matter (We ranted on, big time, about Merloni last year in the same way) is simply to use UKW by telling the facts to trade and public alike for them to decide.

Currently I am working on the Public aspect, to get them to join in, tell us their sob stories. I will (when I get the policy details from BG) explain the overall COST ANALYSIS of what a Homecare policy in real terms will cost each and every subscriber. (i.e £12 per month equals £144 each year, therefore 2 years =£288 and so on!) Get a mass of folks slagging off BG on the Internet will be the first step.

Beyond that I don’t know what we can do without UKW encompassing the majority of the trade, and as we don’t as yet have anywhere near that ideal, we will be pissing straight into a force 10 gale quite frankly, and BG the ones laughing at the thought.

Martin

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