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Re: Who can shout the loudest and be heard I wonder?
I don`t think anyone is implying that. I think the main point being made is that Merloni are withholding all their technical info and thus p**sing off us Independents.
I certainly don`t think one group of engineers are any better than another as all washing machines are very similar and if you can repair one brand you can surely repair any IF WE HAD THE TECHNICAL INFORMATION!!!!
(breath in, hold,…….. breath out, breath in……..)
Re: Who can shout the loudest and be heard I wonder?
So ask the Merloni engineers in your area!! im sure they would help you all our laptops have printers
can i breathe out now 😀Re: Who can shout the loudest and be heard I wonder?
If a Merloni FSE passes technical information to the independent sector I would think that this would lead to disciplinary action and possible dismissal
Re: Who can shout the loudest and be heard I wonder?
dont really see what multibrand experience should have to do with it though at the end of the day we are all providing the customer with a service and that should be done with a bit of proffessional competance.
It’s not really about multibrand experience, it’s about that customer service you mention. Working for a big company you have limited options about what you can say or do for your customer. (you have to follow company guidelines and procedures etc. of course).
As an independent you can offer services and options that are simply not available to the manufacturers engineers. Obvious other benefits are not having to do anything that you don’t want to do, you don’t have to tell ‘porkys’ regarding the true quality of the machine you’re currently fixing for the umpteenth time. the advantages are too numerous to list.
But there are big disadvantages as well, outgoings such as Insurances, vehicles, fuel, bank charges, no sick pay, no paid holiday leave, what to do when the work drops off etc. etc.
But on the whole I don’t think I’d ever go back, though I did try it about 5 or 6 years ago. Hpt were advertising for engineers (pre Indesit era, I would never go to work for them again after 10 years of grief). and apart from decent pay and benefits, the 6 weeks paid holiday persuaded me to give it a go. I lasted a whole 4 days before I quit (I didn’t want to waste theirs or my next 2 weeks on a training course in minehead).
Just the way I was treated as a number and not a valued member of a team did it for me.
It might be different now though, I have friends who work for BSH and they love it.
Re: Who can shout the loudest and be heard I wonder?
But again, that`s not Kiddos fault,… thats Merloni for you.
I don`t know Kiddo but I`m sure he would make a fine independent engineer but then he would have to survive without any new technical information from Merloni like the rest of us. This is the point this thread is getting at (and numerous other threads).
In my opinion Merloni are very short sighted. They don`t provide tech info so I try and not sell their appliances. I now keep 1 Hotpoint w/m in store because some people insist on buying Hotpoint no matter what you tell them and this is what Merloni are surviving on at the moment.
Now you may think whaaaweee! one little shop in the NE of Scotland isn`t selling Merloni products, but what does that amount to over the whole UK?
You now have hundreds of Independents not selling them and if you think that is not much then ask yourself how ISE are doing when it`s only independents selling them.
Kiddo66 you can now breath out….Re: Who can shout the loudest and be heard I wonder?
bazza500 wrote:
In my opinion Merloni are very short sighted. They don`t provide tech info so I try and not sell their appliances. I now keep 1 Hotpoint w/m in store because some people insist on buying Hotpoint no matter what you tell them and this is what Merloni are surviving on at the moment.
I happen to agree with you Bazza on both counts, and we only sell the occasional Merloni (always a hotpoint) to rentals where only the cheapest will do 😉
Why are they like it?…well, you only have to look at the top two news stories on UKWG for Friday 26th October and you’ll see just why…they are chasing the pound/euro/dollar in the most aggressive and efficient manner they legally can, and in that respect i’m with Martin in that the only way they can be made to change is by legislation. After all, what incentive is there for them to just give away some of their profits by giving out information that enables direct competitors to take away some of their work?
Where i differ from Martin is that i believe this could change…it already has in the car industry and in many ways the issues are remarkably similar, and therefore the solution could be similar too…pressure from interest groups such as ourselves, the TA, insurance companies and the general public, giving a high enough profile to make the legislators sit up and listen to their voters.
So i would suggest this thread should be kept a little more on track from Martins original post (and that’s not a reference to you Bazza 😆 )…there is no louder shout than that from united voices 😉
Re: Who can shout the loudest and be heard I wonder?
clivejameson wrote:Where i differ from Martin is that i believe this could change…it already has in the car industry and in many ways the issues are remarkably similar, and therefore the solution could be similar too…
An interesting comparison you use there Clive but if that were a true parallel then there would be some hope for us all I’m sure. But the motor trade is a world away from this business with it’s big money, expensive goods and hi-tech practices and solutions. The modern car is an expensive complex machine requiring all that goes with it from sales through to servicing. Hi-tech prices and high-tech solutions just to put a brand new Mondeo on the road and keep it there. Hardly a requirement for a Hotpoint Aqualtis now is it?
Neither can I see any point in asking for some short of government intervention toward the business practices of the likes on the Indesit company or for that matter Miele? They choose the way they want to run their businesses and that’s up to them and we have no right to think otherwise. As I mentioned before, we can all choose to walk away from them and concentrate on other products and servicing that gives us less hastle. 😉
The buying public are doing just that, the high street stores telling tales of declining sales month after month. They vote with their feet and no mistake and Indesit have chosen a line of least resistence to ofsett this trend by cutting prices and increasing production. So much so that they are gradually shutting down their UK operations and moving eastward for cheap labour, higher work rates and greater volume. :rolls:
Besides, what the hell is complicated about their products that we can’t fix anyway? If the drum is bust, stick a new one in or chuck it in the bin. Likewise if the electronic board doesn’t work bung a new one in or flog them a nice new ISE 10. Now there’s an idea?:)
Now if Indesit wouldn’t sell their spare parts to us I can understand the argument. But they do, readily available and the fast turnover stuff is pretty darn cheap I must say from loads of outlets. Flogging new Indesits gives a tasty mark-up too for those that take that option. So all in all what is there to shout about?
Re: Who can shout the loudest and be heard I wonder?
Martin wrote:Neither can I see any point in asking for some short of government intervention toward the business practices of the likes on the Indesit company or for that matter Miele?
It is unfair practice and a restraint of trade and that is illegal. End of story.
The law doesn’t care whether it’s a jumbo jet or a kettle, the same principals apply irrespective as they are only referred to as “goods” as is the case with the Sale of Good Act. The “goods” are irrelevant, it is only the application of the principal of law which matters.
The motor industry EC rulings are extremely interesting and, when I get some time back again (hopefully later this month) I am going to sit and look at this again as there are many parallels that can be drawn.
The simple fact is that nothing has ever been done about it because no-one’s ever gotten off their a$$ and said anything about it. And, this is one area where the WTA isn’t going to shuffle off meekly into the night.
K.
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