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Re: CDSL
Can I come in on this one? Being a Service Force agent, I’m interested how things are progressing.
The bulk of the CDSL work I assume is the Lux group Coverplan. I appreciate that the work can be slightly complex, but I’m wondering how the account as a whole is working for those that are involved.
Is the call logging system good?
Is it easy to track jobs and are they pre-booked?
Do you have to reconcile ALL parts on jobs as being supplied by CDSL?
Do you have to fit the manufacturers part number; i.e. on LG machines, can you fit any Askoll pump, or does it have to be an LG one?
How much time appears to be dedicated to operating the IT system on a day to day basis?
Do you have to keep the info live as the job progresses, or can you update every now & then?
Are the payments they offer realistic?
Is there room for negotiation or special cases, if there is an out of area call for example they want you to attend? or if they ask you to attend a fault that you know is customer misuse; but they insist you go anyway. Will they still pay you?
Do they have a restrictive contract?
Do they isist upon what they give you as an area, is your area?
Can you pick & chose? i.e. certain makes you may not feel o.k. with or manufacturers that has pulled away from using your service, and then the work comes in the back door from CDSL at a reduced rate.
Do they pay on time? and what are the rejection rates?
If possible can I have answers from existing agents, anyone who would prefer to remain anonymous, of course you can p.m. me.
Reason I ask, I’m not being nosey, I realise that I’m mising a chunk of my work and am prepared to swallow a little of my pride if the terms and conditions are good enough. I may give Dave Parker a ring after my holiday.
Alex
Re: NESN
cookerfit wrote:Has anyone any experience of undertaking work for NESN??
Grateful for any info
Thanks
CookerfitWhere have you been?
Go into Rumour Mill, NESN/Electrue thread, 26 pages or near abouts.
Enjoy!
Alex
Why Men Are Happier
WHY MEN ARE HAPPIER
Why Men Are Just Happier People – What do you expect from such simple creatures?
Your last name stays put. The garage is all yours. Wedding plans take care of themselves. Chocolate is just another snack.
You can be president. You can never be pregnant. You can wear a white T-shirt to a water park. You can wear NO T-shirt to a water park.
Car mechanics tell you the truth. The world is your urinal. You never have to drive to another petrol station toilet because this one is just too icky. You don’t have to stop and think of which way to turn a nut on a bolt.
Same work, more pay. Wrinkles add character. Wedding dress £2,500. Suit rental — £100. People never stare at your chest when you’re talking to them.
The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected. New shoes don’t cut, blister, or mangle your feet. One mood — all the time. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
You know stuff about tanks, aircraft, submarines & motorbikes. A five-day vacation requires only one suitcase. You can open all your own jars. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
If someone forgets to invite you, he or she can still be your friend. Your underwear is £2.95 for three-pack. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough. You almost never have strap problems in public. You are unable to see wrinkles in your clothes.
Everything on your face stays its original colour. The same hairstyle lasts for years, maybe decades. You only have to shave your face and neck. You can play with toys all your life. Your belly usually hides your big hips. One wallet and one pair of shoes one colour for all seasons.
You can wear shorts no matter how your legs look. You can “do” your nails with a pocketknife. You have freedom of choice concerning growing a moustache. You can do Christmas shopping for 25 relatives on December 24 in 25 minutes.
No wonder men are happier!
Re: Patten or Genuine Spare Parts ????
Del wrote:Brian,
It is a shame that Alex has’nt come in on this topic yet (he is probably on another one of his holiday’s ) because he was an ex-merloni service agent like me.
When we and many other INDEPENDANTS were approached to take the merloni service work on, we were told that a fair proportion of the work we could expect, would be chargable work.
I personally was told I could reasonably expect between 5{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} to 10{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} to be chargeable work by both Niel Taplin and Dave Tunicliffe.I can assure you that the actual figure was less than 2{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} averaged .
Regards as ever DelWhat holiday? that is in a couple of weeks, I went 12 years without even a weekend off. Made up for it since though.
Anyway without detracting from the subject. I agree on less than 2{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} Merloni being chargeable. Most customers either took out an insurance, had a 5 year parts cover with the machine, or without trying to sound snobbish, didn’t have any money. We never sold any Merloni parts, even counter sales were controlled by Uxbridge.
I’ve just run my accounts through an excell file and on the number of calls, 28{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} were chargeable. The rest being under guarantee and insurance cover. The great thing with Lux Ins cover there is a small mark up on parts. All this is another story and really doesn’t belong here.
The point of this debate though is on pattern over genuine parts. I do not fit nor would entertain pattern parts. You only need a machine to fail big time, even if it was something else possibly months or years after you called, and if it came to an inspection that some rubbish had been fitted, things could get complicated.
Martin will probably remember the old Hoover word, BOJACK.
Alex
Re: Hotpoint Advertise Franchises!
eastlmark wrote: monthly phone call from Merloni spares accounts office enquiring how much we will be paying them this month? Our reply is “the amount that says current on the statement you send us as we always do.” I called them last month to ask why they were doing this and was told that they wanted to know how much money they would have this month……Bizzarre.
I used to get that phone call every month when I was an agent.
As it usually happened at a busy time, so I used to pluck a figure out the air. The reasoning was the same as above & I could never get my head round that one. I did wonder if I could have got away with paying a lot less, but chose not to even try that one.
I assumed it was just an Uxbridge thing, sounds like little has changed; except of course in the days of agents, there was better service in some areas.
Re: Servis M785 Fridge drain freezing up causing puddles
farker wrote:!does the freezing foam theory still hold if the cooling coils of the fridge are in the upper portion of the compartment? the drain hole being about a foot away from the bottom most part of the cooling coils.
Looks like the fridge is be moved out again tonight!
Most definitely.
You probably have one compressor, (Black motor thing that gets hot), which runs both the fridge & freezer sections. In 90{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} of cases the refrigerant starts working in the freezer section, and then is transferred up into the fridge area inside the rear foam insulation. Assuming this is a fridge freeezer of course.
Think of it like a radiator in your house, but in reverse. The lower section gets cold, and fills to the upper section, being the fridge. The evaporator in the freezer has 2 pipes which must go up into the fridge sector from the freezer area. The link will have to traverse from the lower cavity to the upper one. Therefore they will be in close proximity to the drain area as they have to pass it. Now you get the picture, these pipes will be part of a continous evaporator and you don’t see all of it. Once water of moisture gets in the foam, and near to any cold pipework, being these transfer pipes, the cancer sets in.
Sorry the prognosis is not good.
Alex
Re: Servis M785 Fridge drain freezing up causing puddles
As per my earlier postings, I’m convinced you have contaminated and frozen insulation between the plastic liner and rear panel.
Water from the drain spout will ingress into the foam insulation and create capillary action between the plastic lining and the foamed in transfer pipework of the evaporator. This creates a cold spot where the hidden part of the evaporator then freezes the saturated foam and gives you your fault. Give it time and you will see an ice-ball develop.
Put your fingers onto the plastic liner in the affected area just above the drain hole, give it a good push and you should feel a little bit of flexibilty. Now try in another position to the right or left of the area and see if there is a difference. If the liner feels hard and not pliable in the affected area, Ice has formed in the insulation.
Make a note if possible if there is a temperature change in those areas. If the temperature around the drain hole is colder than 1 degree Centigrade then I’m right in my diagnosis.
If you need a second opinion, I can only advise you ask on this forum if what I’m saying holds creedence and has anyone else has met or dealt with this fault.
Alex
JP wrote:. In the North East they are upto an 8 week service delay!!!!! Our next call was in a Currys store and you should have heard their rantings about them….
Worst thing they did he said was to remove their Independents network….. need I say more
That does say it all. Our local Currys Manager has been asking us if there is anyway we will do the work again, as things are, he tells me, they are not promoting the product in store. Fine by me as long as they sell Electrolux/Zanussi instead.
They made their bed & now they have to lie in it.
Alex
kwatt wrote:I’ve had no issues through MFI Alex at all, they all seem to be resolved by MFI just fine unlike when NESN where doing it were I had loadsa grief.
Speak to Tony or Paul Brooks and they should resolve that for you I hope.
K.
MFI no problem, although Paul Brooks too busy to answer phone lately.
LGH happens to be the sticking point & I’m awaiting a visit from MFI so it can be sorted on the spot, easier that way.
Re: In-Store Repairs
kwatt wrote:So I apply a simple rule, if we can’t test it, we don’t warranty it and, if it’s gas and we can’t test we don’t touch.
K.
We go further than that, unless the fault is cosmetic or transit damage, in which case we endorse the paperwork, visual inspection only taken as no means of testing.
Regards attending a fault:-
If laundry we insist it is connected to a water supply and there are drainage facilities.
If refrigeration we insist connected to a mains supply at least 8 hours before we call.
If gas insist there is a suitable point to connect to the supply, gives them a major problem when LPG where we tell them, no can do if they haven’t the facilities.
If the criteria is not met the engineer is instructed to get the serial numbers etc and abandon the call, endorsing the sheet accordingly and we close the call as unable to ascertain fault as no facilites in place.
Alex
Re: London & General Holdings
We have had this with Allianz Cornhill. Where they paid the customer inadvertently instead of us.
We phoned Cornhill who apologised and promised to pay us by return and sort it with the customer; they admmitted it was their fault and honoured their pledge in paying us swiftly. I never found out if they successfully clawed the payment back from the consumer.
The point is, I would insist LGH sort their mistake same as above.
Have any MFI agents had problems with LGH?
For example, call on a product, fit 2 or 3 parts and send in completed paperwork. 2 weeks later machine fails again, we call back and find a totally different fault, say the motor & LGH write it off. We close the job without submitting a claim, as we feel they will reject anyway. 3 months later we chase LGH for payment on the 1st call, only to be told we are not being paid as the machine was subsequently written off. This has happened on 2 occasions to date, and we are well out of pocket. I will take these issues up with Tony Brown next time he visits.
Alex
Re: Flying toolbox?
Martin wrote: I read the double sided form, they want to know what may labour rates are? postcode areas? products serviced? call rate turnover? agencies covered? bankers? bank account number? blood group? next of kin? nearest A&E hospital etc etc???????????? 🙁
Martin
No worse than any other organisation that want to provide a service. In this case we are talking the biggest & I like to think the best of the bunch.
They obviously need to check your credentials, any existing agencies are a credit in your favour. Don’t despair though, as they get the feel from reading between the lines, if you can reach the criteria, they will take you on as a second tier agent. Then if the existing 1st tier agent fails to deliver, or resigns, they will upgrade you.
Bank account details by the way, is so they can pay you. We can expect settlement in 10 working days by BACS.
The D&G forms are easier than some we get to fill out.
Alex
Re: indesit wg1130t washing machine belt
Tip. The circumference of the belt is written on the outside, in millimeteres. Armed with the size, there is always a belt somewhere, (no matter who the manufacturer is) that will fit.
If the belt keeps popping off, there is a reason, and Martin is probaby right regards bearings. If there is a rumble when the drum is rotated, there is the cause. Another possibilty on that range is a small split in one of the spokes of the pulley.
You may have a 5 year parts warranty so it could pay you to exercise that facility. If not and bearings are your problem, and with an oncoming addition to your family, now may be the time to upgrade to a more suitable machine for your future needs.
Alex
Re: Why do Customers ……….
2 Spare part queries I took in the last few days. The lass in spares had a couple of days off, so I stood in.
Case 1. I answer the spares line to a request for a glass oven door outer to fit a Tricity Bendix cooker. Conversation went like this:-
Customer, “Hi there, I need an outer door glass for my oven”
Reply, “yes sir, I will need product number and serial numbers if possible”.
Customer, “No problem, product number is ******** etc. and Ser No *********
“Brilliant”, says I, “Surprising how many people expect us to find what they want from just the basic model number, expecting all doors to be the same”. As I price it up, I go through the details to arrange a direct delivery as he was 100+ miles away, during the conversation I confirmed what was on my screen, “Door, oven outer, in Green”.
“Oh no!” says he, “My door is Silver”.
That’s odd”, I say, “Definitely Green on here, lets run through it all again”.
So go through the whole process again, and yes, as per the product code & model the door is Green, that is when he sounds confused.
“Oh my old cooker was Green, that was replaced 3 years ago with the Silver one, the numbers I gave you were from the booklet of the old Green cooker”.
“Sir, why did you give me the number off the Green cooker that has since been replaced by a Silver one”.
“Well, I thought it would be the same, as the cooker came from the same store and fitted exactly”.
At this point, sarcasm crept in at my end. “So you are telling me that despite the fact the cooker is Silver and you are ordering a Green door, yet you expect to get a Silver door because you have replaced the Green cooker with a Silver one”.
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Case 2:- Customer phones for 2 shelves to fit a door of her E/Lux fridge. She gives all the numbers and places the order.
2 days later, on the phone, “ The shelves you sent don’t fit, they must be wrong”.
We go through the routine and confirm all is correct, she was having none of it. So to make sure, I ask, “Did these numbers come off the appliance itself”?
She says most emphatically, yes. I make her look again, and sure enough all agrees.
Then the clincher, “Well I couldn’t find a label on the fridge so I took it from the label off the other fridge I keep in the garage”.
“Is this identical to your fridge in the Kitchen I ask”.
“Oh no!” came the reply, “the fridge in my kitchen is a Hotpoint iced diamond.”
You won’t catch me taking spares calls again in a hurry.
Alex
Re: Is This Legal Or Illegal?
More like sharp practice.
Not only illegal I would suspect, but immoral & downright dangerous.
I think a little word with Corgi as well as the appropriate Trading Standards office etc. Above all, what on earth are they using in the way of a repairer who is prepared to even endorse this.
Perhaps a little name & shame exercise may not go amiss.
