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Re: Word Count
Not sure whether to publish this or not, first draft of it though…..
Washing Machine Buying Guide
This guide isn’t intended to be an advert for washing machine sales, it is designed purely to allow you, the customer, decide what you need, what you don’t and what to look for when you buy a washing machine. We do sell washing machines, our own brand, but this piece will not extol the virtues of any one brand or producer as that way, it is totally independent. Should you wish more information or opinion on what we think of any one brand feel free to use the rest of this section or the manufacturer section to find out who’s who.
Common Mistakes Choosing A Washing Machine
Wrong!
All the machines are made in the same place… wrong!
All the machines are different if they have a different name on them… wrong!
The washer I buy today will be of the same quality as the last one with the same name on it… wrong!
I know that this may come as a terrible surprise but, when selling on a shop floor, the amount of times that any knowledgeable appliance sales person spends smiling at people and thinking, “wrong, wrong, wrong” is just staggering. People have all these pre-conceived notions about who makes what that XXXX is a good make but YYYYY isn’t when, as we secretly chuckle to ourselves, it’s pretty much the same thing with a different facia on it.
Now that last paragraph may seem a little harsh but it’s the truth. In a poll carried out on this site we found that the top factor in buying a machine was “reputation”. Okay so if you think that you really need to read this article and browse the manufacturer section, but what you find out may come as a surprise to you.
Even when you do find who actually owns the brand you often have no idea where the machine was actually made or what sort of quality it is. In other words, you’re buying totally blind most of the time.
But before we go on the point is that what you think you know is, most probably, wrong!
Energy Labels
This goes for a lot with people looking to buy a new washing machine but really it’s not as important as you may first think that it is.
There is a whole article here on this subject which, while lengthy, is well worth a read.
I always tell people not to get too hung up on the AAA or any energy rating as, while it’s nice to have and means that the machine is energy efficient, washes to a certain standard and spins reasonably, it offers no comfort beyond that whatsoever. It does not reflect the real world use particularly nor does it give any indication of the quality of the washing machine at all or the quality of aftercare that you will receive.
Price
Believe it or not price comes out third in the poll and this is surprising as the majority of machines sold are the cheap ones and the stats prove this. So there’s really only two conclusions that you can draw from this, either people aren’t being entirely truthful with their answers or, more likely, the people that are buying based solely on price are buying more machines, more often.
Now obviously either are bad, that bit is hardly rocket science, but if it is option B then things really are bad as the environmental impact of this is glaringly obvious. Don’t get me wrong, I’m no bearded tree hugger in sandals but I do object to needless waste where it can be avoided as the waste and importantly, the environmental impact of the waste and replacement will far, far exceed any saving you may make on a better energy rated new appliance. To think otherwise would be a fallacy.
But all too often you get that look from people, the one that resembles a rabbit caught in headlights, when you tell them that what they really need is a washing machine that is way over what they wanted or expected to pay. But you see here’s the thing of that, you walk into almost any major chain store retailer and the salesperson is going to have a limited product knowledge in the main as they are more interested in selling you a warranty (that they don’t get paid commission on of course) than what actual product you buy. Wrong approach in my opinion and that of most independent retailers.
No, what we will ask is questions like, “how often do you use the machine”, “how many people is the machine used by”, what sort of washing are you doing” and so on. What we’re doing here is judging the machine that will best suit your needs, not your budget.
Sounds crazy doesn’t it? We’re bound to lose sales by doing that aren’t we?
The answer to the first question is no, it’s not crazy at all. It is showing respect for the customer’s needs, tailoring what is required to what budget you have as we’ll usually give a range of options, not just what happens to be on promotion that week or month and with very good reason.
You see, we want to keep our customers. We want our customers to be happy with their purchase and to remember that we did a good job, remembering us for the next time that they buy a machine of any kind. But a decision not based solely on how cheap we were, but how good we were.
Not so crazy is it?
The second question’s answer is yes, we do lose sales. We lose them to many an internet seller or a large multiple retail chain and, that’s fine. If people want an inferior service and, probably, for the purchase to ultimately cost more in the longer term then that’s fine, that’s the customer’s choice to make and not ours. Bu then that’s buying on price, not service.
Our “moral” choice is not to fleece people, we live or die by our reputations so we can’t, nor would we wish to as we provide a service, often from the cradle to grave as it were and, we often know many of our customers almost personally. Because of this, we look after them.
The point I would make is that our repeat business way exceeds that of any multiple, I wonder why.
Try not to get too hung up on price, shop around, get advice from several people or from a retailer you know you can have faith in that won’t just leave you after the sale is made as, if it goes wrong and you don’t have that safety net, life can be made very difficult indeed. But when you find the right one the help and good advice that you will get will be outstanding.
My advice is to seek out good advice from an independent as the service and advice will be far superior or ask in the forums and someone will normally offer guidance. Just don’t be surprised if you get steered away from what might look like a bargain as we often know only too well that what looks too good to be true, normally is.
What Do You Want, But More Importantly, Need?
First thing you need to do when buying a washing machine is not to have a look to see what the best specification and toys you can have for the money happens to be. What you need to do first is look at how you use the machine.
For the most part, in all the years that I’ve been in this industry there’s a few key questions to ask yourself.
• How often do you use the machine?
• How many people’s clothes does it wash?
• Are there any special needs (skin conditions or suchlike)?
• What sort of floor is it installed on?
• Do you line dry wherever possible?The first question will determine what sort of quality washer you need. After all there’s no point in forking out £200 or £300 for a cheap machine that, if it’s being used twice a day, is liable to only last two years at best before breaking. Even if there’s a warranty on it you still have the inconvenience and hassles of having to arrange for the repairs, stay in for the engineer and so on. As a retailer we don’t want our customers back complaining that we sold them a lemon, it’s better to lose the sale than have the hassle frankly.
How many people that the washing machine washes clothes for tells us if the first question is near enough right and determines what load size you really actually need as you can save money by not buying a large capacity machine if it’s not required. Also have a read through the article about washing machine load sizes to get more information on this, but they cost more to run as they use more detergent and, when there’s only two or three people in the house, it’s generally just a waste of money.
We’d say that the optimum load size for most people is about 6kg, over that is really not required for most people despite what the adverts tell you as, if you separate and wash the clothes correctly, most people will rarely use the large capacity to its full advantage in the real world.
We ask about special needs because, for example, let’s say that someone in the house has eczema or some other skin condition. Then in that case you really want a machine which you can select the extra rinses on to make sure that as much detergent as possible is removed. Or let’s say that you have a bed-wetting problem, then we would likely advise as above but also a machine with a good 60C program that’s quick so that you can get bedclothes washed as fast and as well as possible.
What sort of flooring is asked because, on a wooden floating floor a high spin speed machine is ill advised, unless of course you want it to be bouncing around the kitchen! You also have to bear in mind that, as the spin speed increases, so does the noise and the type of flooring does massively affect the noise levels far more than any rating will indicate.
If you hang your clothes out to dry as much as possible (which is the most efficient and environmentally friendly way to dry clothes) then do you really need that ultra high speed spin? All you’re going to do is crease the clothes up more and then hang them on the line anyway, would an extra few minutes hanging out really have made a difference? On the other hand you can save quite a bit of money by not insisting on the highest spin speed possible.
Here’s another thought for you, people tend to use a tumble dryer as little as possible in order to save electricity which is great and I applaud that. However, that being the case what difference will a thimble full of water less on a load make in terms of how long the clothes take to dry? Answer, virtually none.
Spin speeds are used as a “mine’s bigger than yours” marketing tool and has been for years. Over about 1000-1200rpm there’s very little to be gained.
See also our article called The Great Spin Speed Debate and make up your own mind, don’t be duped by the marketing and then fleeced for a couple of hundred RPM.
Where To Buy A New Appliance
The trouble is that most people just don’t know enough about washing machines unless, like us, you happen to work in the industry. You are left on your own and at the mercy of the person that is selling the machine’s product knowledge or, at best, you do some homework and research all the specs on the internet or brochures before you go to buy. This is fine, but the brochures and all the specs you read on the net just cannot take account of your personal circumstances, they are not interactive and they generally appear to give little help at all to people.
Going into a large retailer you get pretty much the same, with a few exceptions, the quality of advice on offer is just shockingly bad. The staff’s product knowledge beyond the price, the finance deals available and how much an extra warranty will be is, for the most part, almost non-existent. The question I often ask is, would I trust someone who hadn’t a clue about what they were selling especially when you don’t want to be buying another one in a year or so?
Retailer Interests
One thing that has come to light lately is that the large retailers appear to not promote the good, well built machines and, at first, we didn’t think much of this until someone who shall remain nameless pointed out a glaringly obvious fact as we evolved our own brand.
If you’re a retailer that relies on sales then you don’t want to sell any product that will last beyond a few years as you want to sell another.
Stupidly obvious really isn’t it? The same goes for a lot of the lower end appliances as, they are built to a price for the large retailers as they are also in the business of “moving boxes”.
It’s worth also remembering that most of the large electrical retailers make more money from selling you a warranty than an actual product. If you buy cheap appliances from those sorts of stores, you will likely need that warranty.
Internet Sales
I am not kidding with this, a manufacturer recently told me that they had stopped trading with two internet sellers as they discovered that they were being operated from a teenager’s bedroom!
The point being, you have not a clue who you are dealing with in many cases, it could be anyone and you just don’t know. Be careful and make sure that the internet site that you choose to buy from is reputable and actually does have stock, many claim the lowest price but have no stock at all.
The Independent
The independent, as explained earlier, has a different take on things. They are not so price motivated preferring instead to look after people as, customers to them are people, not just a receipt number. But what I have found in dealing with a great many of the indies (as we call them) is that they don’t just offer the best advice and service, their businesses don’t’ just depend on sales.
What you tend to find is that they put a lot of effort into aftersales care, offering service as well as replacement services which means that their business isn’t solely dependent on selling you a new machine. So selling you a decent machine that suits your needs is in their interest as, whether it needs replaced or repaired after a few years, they can service either requirement and both are an integral part of their business.
Take Care
The point of this is to highlight the need to take some care when buying a new washing machine.
Don’t just go for the lowest price, the fastest spin, the biggest load size or any other one factor. Research what you are actually buying since most people keep a washing machine longer than they keep a car, think about that and think about how much effort you would put into buying a car in terms of research and shopping about. And, as with a car, people very often don’t’ simply buy on brand, specification or price, they buy on a combination of these items and, largely at times, the strengths of the dealer and service backup.
K.
Re: Word Count
Very good – I’d add a couple more points for consideration……
“Given that there is no perfect applianace, can I afford to get it repaired in the future?
Will my local independent have access to manufacturer support to keep the repair within a sensible budget?”Just to add a bit more of a stir 😈 ………
Chris.
Good point! Why not stir that hornet’s nest as well. 😈
Other than that it seems okay then? I was worried that it was a bit strong.
However you can see what I’m trying to do, steer people towards us with the repair guides very subtlety and also through the use of buying guides, which will become even more important if all my Machiavellian schemes come off.
K.
Re: Word Count
It is up and live, HERE
I’m sure as usual I’ll get slagged off for any mistakes. 😉
K.
Re: Word Count
Just having a quick read through, did spot this in the ‘Common Mistakes section.
most of the time. Click this link to find out a little more , Which link?
In the ‘Where to Buy/Independent section., next to last line.
whether it needs replaced or repaired after a few years ..should be ‘needs to be replaced’.Aftersales section. Not allowing he public or even the trade
Should be the.Re: Word Count
What it says is , ‘whether it needs replaced’ , it should say whether it needs to be replaced. 😉
Jim.
Re: Word Count
http://shop.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/product_ … cts_id=676
Have a Leisurely look through that :duck: 😀
Greg
Re: Word Count
I think I added a few and didn’t tell you though, I certainly changed sh1tloads of them recently.
Cracking pic at the bottom from our Mr Dales. 😉
K.
Re: Word Count
No probs with that.
Thats pic of Ian’s, its not a Sovereign piece of crap is it 😥
The was a comma missing but mot gonna mention that 😀Greg
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