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Hi,
Just finished my training course, and waiting for my tool kit to arrive!!.
I would very much appreciate any advice on a working procedure, so that I don’t meet myself coming back, if you get my meaning.
With regard to call answering,spares ordering etc. Thank you.😉
Matt
Re: Newbie
Welcome aboard the bus then Matt!
Boy! What an opener your question is? Where do we begin I wonder? “Working procedure” eh?
Your shout first mate, are you working for a company or on your own?
Re: Newbie
And welcome from me also. Who was responsible for the training, will you be repairing the full range of whitegoods inc gas ? As Martin said more questions than answers ATM. 8)
Jim.
Re: Newbie
Hi, Martin
Thank you for the welcome.I will be working on my own. Say that makes it sound even more frightning!!
MattRe: Newbie
Hi,
Training was with Graham Dixon
I am aiming to work with Washing Machines/Dishwashers & Tumblers only.
No Gas.Excuse vagueness, this is a new area for me.
MattRe: Newbie
Just out of interest, what area of work were you involved in before you decided to join the mad world of whitegoods.?
Before you think about call answering, spares ordering etc you need to think of generating the calls in the first place. you will need to decided on how you are going to make the public aware of your existance, wether that is via the local paper, free or otherwise, yellow pages etc. Advertising is not cheap but is essential until you become established. Beware of people offering to put you in ‘listings directories’ these are almost always scams.
You will need a reasonable amount of finance to tide you over the first 6 to 12 months until you hopefully find your feet.
Things you will need.
*You already have one of the most important tools in front of you, your PC is your gateway to enlightenment and UKWG’s is the place to find it.
*A vehicle.
*Tools, basic to start with, you can add specialist tools as and when you find the need. Must include a good multimeter or similar.
*Public liability insurance, you must get this sorted before you enter your first customers home. A MUST DO.
*An answerphone if you intend to work from home.
*If you intend to take used parts such as motors, drums etc away with you to refurbish or reclaim parts from, then by law you need to be registered as a carrier and/ or broker of controlled waste.
Form WMC1 from the Environment Agency is what you need, current fee is £140.00 for three years, works out at just under 13p per day, much cheaper than being slapped with a huge fine by some council jobsworth.
With regard to spares, that again is a difficult one to answer. If you intend to cover all possible makes then you would need a very large van indeed.
You would possibly be better of restricting yourself to the four main groups to start with.
Electrolux/Zanussi/AEG/Bendix…..Whirlpool/Philips….Siemens/Bosch and Hotpoint/Indesit/Ariston.
No doubt one or two of the members could come up with a basic van stock to cover those machines.
There are several spares suppliers, some who have links on this forum. Most people use several different suppliers, they all have their good and bad points, you just need to feel your way around them and compare prices and delivery times to find out which suit you best.
Later you will have to think about an accountant, or if not, what measures you are going to take to keep a track of your financial affairs with regard to expenditure, profit or loss, taxes etc.
Then there is the pension, I have no idea how old you are but once you become self employed you are basically on your own, you will need to plan carefully for the future because you can be damned sure that no one else is going to help you, UKWG’s excepted of course. 😉
Take every possible advantage of the help and advice on offer here, we all had to start somewhere, no matter how simple a problem may seem, if you don’t know, ASK.
Even after almost 40 years in the trade I am still coming across new problems, that is one of the attractions of the job, it never gets boring and I am not too proud to ask a question if I get stuck with a problem.
There are doubtless several other things that I have missed due to the late hour and copious amounts of red wine imbibed.
I have no doubt that other forum members will add to this and help you along the way.
Jim.PS. If you are contacted by a Work Provider asking you to carry out repairs on their behalf, ask about them here first, we know all about the good, the bad and the downright ugly. :rolls:
Moved to General Trade forum.
Re: Newbie
Welcome Matt , I know Graham very well, if you have any probs just ask ‘im hes a sound guy! But one rule you should always use is when a customer asks” where is that part you ordered?”you should always blame the supplier, postman,the dog ,his uncle,in fact anybody but yerself! 😀
once agian welcome Chris.. 8)Re: Newbie
Hi Matt.
You dont say where geographically you intend to seek work.
Some areas fare better than others.
My home town has a population of approx 240,000 0f which 100,000 claim means tested benefits so they don’t throw money at you.
There are 10 fewer appliance repairers in the yellow pages this year than 2 years ago and the local newspaper is full of the “free estimate” boys.
My kids have left home, my wife works and my mortgage is almost paid off so I will make it ok to my bus pass.
I have been doing this job for half a lifetime and I wouldn’t like to try to start up in the present climate.
I took up self employment after working for two major manufacturers where I gained a wealth of experience and also made all of my mistakes at someone elses expense. 😉
I would recommend this as the best route into this business if this what you really want to do.Steve
(merchant of doom)ps. Welcome to the madhouse.
Re: Newbie
Welcome to UKW Matt. I would say just read all the new posts every day and you’ll pick up loads of tips and useful information.
If you do meet yourself coming back, be polite 😉
Re: Newbie
I suspect Matt may have access problems to UKW, he has posted a total of 3 times so far yet only one post is registered?? :rolls:
Re: Newbie
Hi everyone,
Thank you for all the advice, every bit will be useful, especially “blame the postman”, ha ha.
I will be looking for work around Basingstoke, where I live.
I don’t think I will be looking for work with a manufacturer, as I am used to being independant, and at the wrong end of the age range. I reckon if I could get around 3 jobs per day, I would survive. Or is this wishful thinking??. 😉
Re: Newbie
Matt830 wrote:I reckon if I could get around 3 jobs per day, I would survive. Or is this wishful thinking??.
Not at all, 3 jobs will be a good starting point. 🙂
Basingstoke eh? My patch for over 33 years now! We may well bump into one another I expect? 8)
Perhaps you could PM me to let me know your trading name? 😉
All the best Matt!
Re: Newbie
Hi Matt. Welcome to the industry. I have been at it now for nearly 20 years and have been on my own for 4 years.
The best advice that I can give is to be honest. Your name will very quickly spread around your neighbourhood and you will soon wonder why you ever worried about anything.
As long as you have a good technical ability, you can make a living in this industry.
A few of my tips:Company name and image. From the outset, set your company as unique from the opposition. Give your company a name that will become easily recognisable and individual. Your company image will also help to give you the edge. Always turn up to your customer tidy and on time. Make sure your car or van is signwritten.
Documentation. Spend some time on your computer to produce some company documents. A well laid out invoice, for example, will speak volumes about your company.
Advertisment. In the early days you will need to advertise. Make sure you get a good return on investment. A box ad in your local free advertiser is a good starting point. Check out the other adverts and make yours stand out.
Stock Difficult one this. You need to carry a resonable level of stock to ensure that you can complete as many jobs as possible on the first visit. Make sure that you have an account with at least one supplier that can give you guaranteed next day delivery of spares. SEME are a good start. Their stock is a bit limited but most of the normal every day stuff is always in stock.
Honesty. If you mess up, be honest about it. We’ve all been there! As long as you make good, your customer will be more than happy.
Don’t be greedy. This industry can be very lucrative, but don’t be greedy. Charge a sensible rate for your work. On the other hand Remember that you are a business not a charity. Customers are quite happy to pay a reasonable rate for your work as long as you deliver the goods. Don’t give parts away at cost price just because you feel guilty that you are able to get the parts at trade price. Your local shop keeper wouldn’t!
Make use of the resources available on this site. There are always lots of us online to give you tips and advice. One point though. Try and work it out yourself first before posting a question here. We get quite a few posts where the engineer has not even been to the house and is trying to diagnose the fault in advance.Most of all. Enjoy yourself!
Good luck
Bob
Re: Newbie
Most of all. Enjoy yourself!
I love this job, you get to meet lots of “interesting” people, Im still working for someone at the moment, but I love it!
You get a few stressfull jobs, but if your only planning on 3 a day to start with, then you have all day to concentrate on them and spend time working on that machine and doing a proper job without the stress of time.
When you have 8 jobs a day and your last is a Fisher and Paykel where you fit a part and can’t get the drawer to fit back…
now thats what i call fun! 😛
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