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Sorry Bryan I don’t understand.
The rule of thumb is that if you wouldn’t tell the customer what you do over the phone then don’t tell them. Detailed blow-by-blow accounts I’ve rarely seen here and when someone has done it they usually don’t do it again.
If Repairs@ was continually recommended people would simply stop asking and regard us as merely trying to line our own pockets. Which we are, but we could at least be a little bit subtle about it. I liken it to me asking advice on something andif I get help from someone I go back there again and again as I know I’ll get honesty.
Typical example, someone was onthe phone today as he blew up his WM Hotpoint and didn’t evenknow how to check continuity onthe heater, long story. But he ended up gettingthe number for a Repairs@ member and, if the machine’s scrapped then he really fancies an ISE now. It took me five minutes to secure a customer for five years just because I helped him. Whether or not I get the sale or Tony, who I recommended, is irrelevant to me, the point is that we keep the customer with us, the independents.
K.
kwatt wrote:Sorry Bryan I don’t understand.
The rule of thumb is that if you wouldn’t tell the customer what you do over the phone then don’t tell them.
That`s why I rarely answer any public forum questions but don`t get me wrong in general the guys who do the answering do so in a professional and excellent manner but the question is being asked if we`re giving away too much info. and on occasion I think we are.
To say if you don`t like it , don`t read it is certainly no solution to a healthy debate and I think this subject merits discussion every few months 💡 .
Bryan
Re: Public Information
Another thought here is that the recently organised and appointed “Advisory Council” could also create a ‘rulebook’ as far as the amount and content of public advice given?
It is fair to say that many trade members are not best pleased at the amount of advice given by us as it stands at the moment. Judging by the poll results that equates at least to 20 members at the very least, possibly triple that amount if the truth be known?
Just a thought 🙄
Re: Public Information
Well I for one will hold my hand up and say that I freely give advice (and will continue to do so) to anyone who asks, but that advice is tempered with the understanding of the motives and technical knowledge of the person asking….
We have all been at some time at the position of requiring information to ease our worries and often to ease our financial position too, and with that understanding I will happily give the benefit of my knowledge (as small as it may be 😆 )….I am certainly not worried about the reduction of income that results from this, it is very small and insignificant compared to the number of paying customers I have, the ‘feel good’ factor far outwaying any other disadvantages.
The word magnanimous springs to mind 😉Re: Public Information
DIY…………. “A little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing”. A competent person should be able to work things out. Anyone can learn to change a spark plug on a car, but that does not make them mechanics.
We all have seen DIYers (Destroy It Youself) have a go at repairs, when we get called in to sort out the mess we find simple things, like poorly fitted plug tops, wiring the wrong way round, earth wires loose.etcWe cannot judge of the competence of people who log onto UK /W, even if they are asking the “right” questions technicaly. But from experience some DIYers are very good, others we just stand back and shake our heads at.
Should we ask Joe public what there experience is when they log on and ask questions?My first call today was to Zany W/M. The guys is there and tells me the “drum aint going round”. A quick check on spin, and I hear the motor screeming up to speed, no belt connected, thrown off. A quick check of the inner drum confirmed the obvious, bearing failure.
Anyway to justify the call out I proceeded to split the cabinet.
When I took out the plastic plugs to get at the lower side screws, the guy says, Oh thats how you get them out I have been trying allen keys and all sorts to get into it. Obviously he had been trying to have a go himself. So I asked him what he did for a living, he replied that he was a stone waller (wall builder) “A little information” as I said.Oh I forgot to mention the 13A plug had been changed and had the earth wire hanging out. 😳 ” There rests my case”
Re: Public Information
Have a nice chat chappies. The Viking is off for a few tankards of mead and hes taking his battleaxe with him , she doesn’t get out much.
Re: Public Information
Dejavue right enough.
This old argument comes around time and time again and in all honesty I’m getting a bit tired of typing the same replies again and again. But here goes…
It’s this simple, the person that’s going to come across UKW wil just as soon find twenty other UK sites with forums purporting to fix things, usually these are filled with people who like to think they know a bit. Those are the people that are dangerous with a little knowledge as they will encourage people to try things that arequite obviously beyond their means in an effort to save a few quid. And if the UK ones aren’t enough there’s quite a few worldwide that I’ve stumbled over that will also try to help the poor old UK punter and they don’t even know the products, at all!
Now, you stumble over UKW and get good, proffessional and specific advice from people that see the products every day. When they tell you to give it up I’d suspect most people would. Those that don’t and continue to do themselves harm, ignoring all common sense and best given advice, are only poluting the gene pool anyway and will probably, at some point in their lives or the end of it, get nominated for a Darwin Award. These are the people that simply will not be detterred and will try it themselves whether we help or not, I suppose if we save one from inadvertantly killing themselves (or more importantly someone else that does listen to sense) then there’s nobody to blame but themselves.
In the meantime…
All the people that do have a brain and do listen to good sense and reason which will encompass most of the population, will be grateful for the advice freely given and remember it. They may even tell their friends, who tell their friends and et voila, we have personal recommendations.
Is this not the very core on which most of our businesses are built?
The point is that those that are going to try it themselves will do it anyway and everyone else just wants a reassurance quite often that it’s not a blocked filter/on auto/fill valve off or some other silly problem before calling someone out I think.
Anyway, if they really wanted the answers they could go and get the Graham Dixon book out the library or off Amazon which will detail it all chapter and verse and that draws a really funny parrallel for me. I remember when that book first came out and all the guys whinging that it signalled the death of the repair trade and how dreadful it was that this was coming out.
When I asked how many had used a Haynes car manual every one had. Funny, they hadn’t caused the garages to all go bust.
Stranger still, the washing machine one didn’t cause all the repairers to go bust either.
Oh no, the manufacturers pandering to the retailers punting out cheap washers did that very nicely thanks with no help at all from Haynes.
The point of it all is this, people that are going to attempt it themselves will anyway. The people that aren’t so sure or ust plain don’t want to know about going near a screwdriver will call someone anyway. What we say or do on here will make very little difference one way or the other bar perhaps sway some one way, hopefully our way. But what it does do is show a caring and willing to help trade that’s not out to rip people off, something of a reputation that we’ve suffered from for years, I mean, just read the thread about how long a job takes and you get a sense of how “valued” we are.
How many detrimental comments have we had about well over 2000 calls made successfully from repairs@ or anyone selling spares from UKW…
Zero.
I think that says it all.
K.
Re: Public Information
Yes Ken , I fully appreciate and understand your views on this subject but the fundamental question of whether the trade members think too much information is being given out , still remains.
Maybe having read your post a few have been swayed that the info. is about right but I still feel we give away too much on occasion but as you say it`s not directly affecting anyones individual business one way or another really.Interesting topic once again.
Bryan
Re: Public Information
When I started this subject of, you will see that that I pointed out that this one call was lost to me, the “Guy” had pointed out that he had found me in Yellow pages. Presumably if he had not recieved info on repairs to his appliance, he would have used the Yellow P to ask me to do the repair. Lost income. Its not that big a problem for me, as I have enough work to keep the wolves from the door, but I worry that to much public info. will in the long term be detremental to one man bands. If I lost work for one day a week, then I would worry (although it would give me good reason to be on the golf course) For larger companies 8-10 jobs a day is not as harmfull.
Re: Public Information
This kind of puts it in context to me.
Yesterday I had a customer ring up for a float switch for an indesit dishwasher. I asked why as I’d never had to fit one and she didn’t sound that clued up.
She had rung Indesit to find out what the fault code on the dishwasher meant and she was told its the float switch.
Rather than sell her a float switch I explained about leaks, water in the base, why the switch works etc.
She rang back to book a call in.
Later a guy rang to say he wanted a belt for a Hotpoint WM. I asked a few questions and decided it was the bearings gone. He said ‘ Oh I’ll just scrap it and buy new, thanks for that I’ll call you if anything else goes wrong’. He has mates, family, other people will hear that you are helpful and know what your’e talking about, i.e they’ll reccomend you to others.
It promotes your business.
Doesn’t matter who the info comes from (if it’s the right info) people remember where it came from and reccomend.
They don’t always act on the information given. I’ve had people ring me with quite a detailed diagnosis they’ve got off UKW and when asked why they didn’t want to do the (quite simple) job themselves they were just curious as to what caused it.Tony C
Re: Public Information
Yes Tony that`s all pretty much as most of us here would do on a daily basis I would imagine. The point I`m trying to make is if you had someone call with a Hotpoint WM totally dead , you don`t tell them to go and check the door interlock. No , you book the call , do a good job at a fair price , get paid for doing a good job and get recommended to all their friends , neighbours and relatives.
The type of people who are always looking for free advice have friends and family who are also looking for free advice and quite frankly I don`t need them because they don`t pay my wages. Now some of you obviously see this as short sighted but over the years that`s the way I see things and the advice given out in the public forums should be as if you were taking a call from one of your own customers IMO.
Bryan
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