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Not really sure where to post this and I insigated these forums but here seems the best fit! 😕
I was sitting this afternoon after talking to a few people today, some of whom have access to these forums and some do not, interestingly those that do not have access to these forums agree with virtually all the sentiments in here on various topics but the one that re-occurred again and again today was people going bust. Not really a surprise as many people in the service sector have been stung by recent bankruptcies but there is one recurring commonality in all those that have gone. They’re either retailers or work providers.
Given that history there are a lot of nervous people out there, nervous even to the point of not wanting to do work or immediately putting on stop those that don’t pay on time or don’t pay in full. One person said, “yeah ******** (WP) doesn’t pay in full almost every month, that’s hardly a good sign, we just stick them on stop every month.” I think that sums up the groundswell of popular opinion these days.
But why?
All these big guns supported in some cases by some serious financial clout are going under or reporting falling profit margins and there can only be one, simple, explanation for it. They’re not making enough margin on the products they sell, many are virtually reliant on the sale of add-ons or bolt-ons as they are known, like delivery, installation and of course the perenial favourite, the extended warranty. When will they all realise that unless they sell the product at a decent price with decent margins that they will suffer from these problems?
The problem I have with it and, to be honest, I don’t give a stuff what the retailer makes as it’s not my problem, is that it is devaluing the rest of the industry and as a by-product, threatening my livliehood and that of every other decent repairer in the country. I’m all for saving money in my business as well but, if the services or products you require simply cease to exist to support your own business how short sighted is that and how can you continue trading? We are one such service that other companies need and rely upon and we are being pushed into accepting rates in some cases that don’t cover the cost let alone allow for a profit.
Anyway, it’s scary out there at the moment and I can’t really see an end to bad news until a lot of people get a bit more realistic on many fronts.
Glad I got that off my chest! 😀
K.
agreement
Well said …
The real scary thing is that it will require continued investment by each of us into our own business to survive and comply with forthcoming rules and regs…but where is the profit to enable us to do this.It certainly is not generated by £30.00 per call, even £35.00 will be tight unless 1st time fix is spot on.
The expected hike in interest rates today and in the next few months will only drain us more and hit all our customers in their pockets.
Best tighten your belts for a very cold winter….
regards
Ted
Spot on,
As Ted says not only interest rates, Fuel prices have gone up again, road tolls or congestion charges are going hit in some areas. Not only is this going to hit our bottom line but the retailers as well.
The only way we can give the service is to get paid a reasonable price for the job we do . But, at the beginning of the chain the consumer has to pay a reasonable price for a product so that this can finance the service they expect.
A washing machine costs £169.00 a sack barrow costs £250.00 need I say more
Wrinkles wrote:A washing machine costs £169.00 a sack barrow costs £250.00 need I say more
No, Wrinkles that just about sums it up really 😥
As Ken and Ted have said, we all need to look closely at our own businesses to ensure that they are profitable, in many cases the money we are paid by the WP’s, insurers and manufacturers has not just stayed the same for many years, in some cases it has reduced while our costs have risen significantly.
That’s not to say that it is all doom and gloom. I may stick my neck on the line, but, in my view, this website and the fact we all talk has actually made a difference, notably certain WP’s etc are now asking our opinion, talking to us and manufacturers are wanting to work directly with Independants rather than let “Mr. Middle Man” take his cut to do a job, which in many cases is very poorly done indeed.
The quicker those that can help make changes by negotiation rather than threats and lies the better, we can help at this end, we are all ears those who would like to talk, those that don’t, well, I’ll leave that to you’re imaginations, suffice to say, I will not let my future be dictated to me, and I’m certain most others on this site will share that sentiment.
Those people know who they are, so if you’re sick of hearing the rumours and moans, do something about it ! We have opened the door to communication, you’re reading it now.
Dave. 8)
****ing expensive sack barrow, is it motorised! But I get the point. It’s the same one we’ve all been ‘complaining” about, eventually the work providers who haven’t been listening, will realise we are not ‘complaining’ but simply talking basic economics and looking to the future for our businesses and theirs.
Our company has had 3 work providers/insurance companies go belly up in the recent past. What worries me is that because of this dilution of providers I have now got bigger eggs in a smaller basket, If one of these eggs breaks,I wont just have egg on my face we will probably follow them.
Who’s next to go bust a retailer. a workprovider, or a manufacturer.
None of us can insure our debters because we can’t afford to. So we just have to risk taking long term debt on, or we risk losing the work because we end up putting people on stop all the time.
It’s a piss poor situation that have to put up with – or do we!18 Months ago I had a shop 2 engineers ,one call handler,and a very stressed wife who was working too hard because she had to!,I was on the road ,in the office sweeping the workshop with a broom up my a**se,And sitting at a desk seemingly all at once because I had to 😡 .I then lost both engineers and couldnt replace them so guess who took up the slack yep that will be me then . 😥
all the time I had WP’S pushing work at me ,so I used sub contractors which was great until they are too busy.
In the end I figured it isnt about volume of work its about Quality of life , 💡
We made the desicion to shrink ,we went studied our overheads ,worked out what we needed to make per call ,Then looked at the contracts we had at least three didnt meet that criteria so they went ,my thinking I might as well lose money at home with a cup of coffee,but because my time wasnt being swamped by low margin jobs I could respond to cash work much quicker ,which by definition improved cashflow.
on top of that we closed our shop and moved the office and stores home
And lost another contract because it was a fixed rate that wasnt realistic to the work we had to do for that fixed rate
result happy wife (Result !!) I Can sleep at night and my kids see me (bonus) I once had dreams but I am afraid because we chased any work and not the right work it soon became a nightmare
I have been in this industry all my life but I am saddened by the way in which its going but hopefully ther will be enough of us left to do something
in the long run
in the short term I am afraid very afraid
Regards LawrenceI’m amazed at the quality of the replies to this thread and really glad that I started it now.
Maybe some manufacturers and WP’s will see that, from this thread alone, we are not a bunch of uneducated militant nutters that want to cause trouble, that’s not the intent at all. We simply want a fair crack of the whip and not to be getting shafted, which we are in many cases.
It also shows quite clearlythat we are reasonable people that only wish to make a living and have a reasonably secure future, right now I don’t think that anyone in this industry could say that they are secure? We also feel as if we’re often left to carry the can and risk for other people’s shortcomings.
I saisd recently, in respect of the threat of strike action against a WP, that if the WP in question actually sat and thought about the situation that they were in where agents may well stop working, what did it say to them? The point I was trying to make was that these guys needed that work to make a living and pay wages, it had to be a pretty damned desperate situation to make them take such drastic and radical action, or even to contemplate it. Whether they got and understood what I was trying to tell them is another matter, some people just won’t listen to reason sadly and work with others as opposed to dictating.
Sad state of affairs indeed. 😕
K.
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