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Some us have been working on this one on and off for a while now as there was an obvious call for it. The first of which was when I instigated the “Directories” and wanted repairers to fire their details in there, the critism was that there was no control, the only code of practice that existed was the DASA one which many, myself included, felt was unrealistic and not conducive to the real world.
So, with that in mind we set about the task of making our own charter up which was achievable for any business that was offering reasonable service and actually cared about their customers. But that had to be done without placing restrictions on the business as well to any degree that would not be expected as a matter of course. I think we’ve managed it.
You can view the charter from the URL below, it is not yet activated as a download to the general membership or public until I get a bit of feedback.
http://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/downloads/UKWhitegoodsMembersCharter.doc
Now, here’s the kicker…
What I want to do is this. On the end of that will be a page that the principal of the business signs, dates, states their position in the company and then that comes back to me or Dave either by post, fax or (preferably) electronically along with a copy of the liability insurance certificate and CORGI if applicable. That will be done on an annual basis.
Why?
Dead simple, we cannot police the members by going around banging on doors but we can do this for little or no cost and, once the initial excercise is over with it’s dead easy to keep it current. Plus any business willing to do this is certainly going to be trying to retain business!
It also means that for any contract work you do that all that information, which they all usually ask for repeatedly , is in the one place and easily accessible for them to get to and view.
This also offers a far greater level of trust to be put by the public in us and what we’re trying to accomplish here as well as contract clients as we’re being as open and honest as we can be. And, let’s face it, there’s nothing in the information that’s revealing a state secret!
But the most important aspects are that anyone not signing up would not be allowed to advertise on the site or be a part of a little project we’re working on to use UKW as a vehicle for getting calls off the site from the general public, I’ll reveal that one in Stafford. 😉
Comments and thoughts are welcome before I make this freely available and go live with the idea.
K.
Re: Members Charter
All looks fine by me Ken with the exception of the after hours answering machine which I dont think is possible in my office due to the amount of calls we get at night.
Will this charter apply to all UKWG members or just subscriber members?
JohnAn answering service doesn’t have to take messages you know. 😉
The intention is that anyone wishing to take part would have to, at the very least, sign up to this as it is basic good business practise stuff and probably nothing that none of us already do as a matter of course. That was the idea.
K.
Re: Members Charter
Sorry for not replying Ken, been on holiday for the last two weeks and have just been glancing at the site. I am in the process of replace the back wall of my garden, 45 ft long, 8 ft high double brick, as you can see I am now skint also.
But getting back to business, I still have a problem with the answer machine. I have some technical and political problems in setting a machine up and will give you a call you to explain.
JohnOkay, I understand the reasons so I’ve made a minor change to allow for circumstances like yours.
K.
Re: Members Charter
I think it would be a good idea to have some form of recognition for those of us that have signed the charter. By that I mean each member having the option of showing he is a member by having an additional ‘icon/button’ at the foot of his postings. (i.e like the pm/profile/www buttons) ???
Is that possible?
Martin
Not without a whole lotta coding Martin and possibly upsetting the security and reliability of the forums, which kinda puts me off the notion of messing with it. Don’t fix what ain’t broke, you should know that one. 😉
K.
Re: Members Charter
Fair enough!
Is it possible then and better still, within the ‘Profile Information’ sector (where you have got the “Website” and “Location” boxes) to add another box? (UKW Charter Member – or whatever?)
If the answer is again a ‘Not possible’ would it be regarded as appropriate to tack that on to the “Location” information (In my case Location: Covering West Berks & North Hants- CHARTER MEMBER)
Dunno…just a thought 😕
Martin
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