Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Re: Do you get penalised for being good?
Bryan wrote:
These people don`t know anything about running a business and I don`t accept having to pan out jobs just for the sake of it.Bryan
The object is to retain customer’s and their recommendations. It’s a choice we all have to make. Some can afford to be tougher with customers than others I suppose. Depends on your circumstances and the competition faced.
Re: Do you get penalised for being good?
You are spot on Bazza. I long since came to the conclusion that the quicker and more efficient you are, the worse it is for you. You are totally right that they are paying for your skill and knowledge but no matter what you say, customers don’t value us in the same league as solicitors and lawyers who the public reluctantly accept DO charge for their knowledge.
Nothing will ever change this. I used to do things like remove the motor from a Hotpoint and strip it down, clean the comm and reassemble – fitting the brushes to pad the job out. I didn’t charge any more, but the customer was much happier. I also pointed out things like the cowboys would have fitted you an entire (probably not even new) motor or they would have fitted a pump (instead of unblocking it) or taken the machine away and told you they’d fitted a timer when it was only a blocked pressure system.
It used to really get to me that an incompetant who fitted loads of parts or struggled for over an hour to get to the bottom of it and charged £100 would please customers more than me fixing it in 15 mins, honestly and without fitting unnecessary parts for £45
The only real answer IMHO is to either pad things out and make them think they’ve had better value for money (it’s not dodgy as long as you aren’t doing it to increase your labour costs) or point out how much cheaper you are than the manufacturers.
I actually had the following printed prominently on my invoices –
“My prices are currently nearly £50.00 cheaper than Hoover and Hotpoint. On minor repairs the costs are even lower. Hoover and Hotpoint currently charge around £90.00 Labour plus parts for a repair. “
It’s probably out of date now but I believe it’s something customers ought to know and most have no idea how much cheaper we are than the manufacturers.
burns wrote: GDA devised a tool to remove damper pegs, after trying everything I ditched the tool and other methods to lubricate the peg turn with a pair of long nose pliers until I could feel the barb on the peg depress slightly whilst turning, a.
I use a cable tie tightend down onto the barb and then just tap the peg through with a small hammer 🙂
Re: Dyson CR01 F15
I’ve just had one of those freaky experiences. I just got to the end of reading this thread, when my email alert sounded. I looked in my inbox and got this email
“Hi,
I wonder if you know what Dyson FAULT F15 means.
Thanks and best wishes.”Freaky eh?
burns wrote:Think of this the other way round – do Hotpoint tell their customers that you can do the repair for less than the parts warranty inc labour (£89.99) when its only the brushes worn, I think not.
Good point. Also, Do Currys tell customers that they can buy the same product £20 cheaper at Comet? (or visa versa) The onus should be on customers. If they can’t be bothered to read their instruction books which clearly states the 5 year parts guarantee – or they can’t be bothered to remember that they bought it with a 5 year parts guarantee then that’s up to them. The onus should never, ever be on a trader to advise his customers that they can get something cheaper at a competitor. The idea of that is simply ludicrous.
Having said that, I always advise them to go to Hotpoint 😉 But then I hate doing drum bearing jobs 😉 It’s a tricky one, I understand the moral implications, but at the end of the day, no business should have to tell customers they can buy their product / service cheaper elsewhere – the very idea
Re: Black mould on door seals and black gunge in dispensers
I reckon underdosing the detergent will be part of the problem.
Re: Near disaster… Tumble dryer fire!!!
In the old days when back panels and lids were all metal it was very hard for a fire not to be self contained. Are the common lids in machines fire resistant these days?
Re: Unsuccessful Repairs
I usually aim to cut my losses and not to profit from the situation. I usually charged cost price (or near to) it for parts that can’t be reclaimed and charge cut price labour. I just didn’t want to appear to profit from the situation – but there’s no justification for losing out either.
I would usually pre warn customers that I can’t guarantee that it won’t develop into a bigger job once I’ve got the machine up and running, and if it does, then the customer can decide whether to continue with the adjusted repair costs or cut their losses and scrap the machine – paying a reasonable amount to cover my costs.
That being said, pre warning customers that the cost could escalate is likely to put some customers off and cause many to decide against even trying. Therefore it boils down to a calculated risk on our part. We either pre warn, and can charge if it goes pear-shaped but risk losing some jobs, or don’t pre warn, and take a chance that the customer might refuse to pay with the ones that do go pear shaped.
If I feel I have misdiagnosed the fault, then unless I pre warned them I couldn’t guarantee it would fix it, I would not charge anything. My mistake shouldn’t cost customers anything.
Re: AAAAAaaaaarrrrgggghhh!!!!!!!Zanussi door seal.
The worst door seal I’ve had to fit recently are the Indesit ones with the tub weight all the way round and the stupid 3 loop clamp band that requires a special tool. It took me and the customer 40 mins to get it on.
Re: Can anyone repair Gas appliances as long as they don’t..
Thanks guys. That does clarify it for me.
Re: Can anyone repair Gas appliances as long as they don’t..
As you know I work for Comet and they initially told me I couldn’t work on Gas and didn’t give me any. Now, a couple of our engineers just went on a Gas course and they were apparently told that as long as you don’t touch the gas side it’s fine. So now they are giving me gas cookers with faults such as grill not igniting and knobs broken.
I’m not trying to get out of these jobs, I just want to know the proper regulations. I can see their logic that I should be able to fit doors, handles, knobs etc. but If I shouldn’t touch them I certainly won’t . How sure are you Martin. They were told that it used to be as you say, but it’s changed.
Re: Am I doing it wrong?
Yes me too. 🙂 But isn’t it idealistic? It’s impossible to prevent people competing on price. I agree that the only people that benefit from that are the customers – but it’s them that drive everything. Undercutting or competing on price? They are exactly the same thing, it just depends which way you want to look at it. My point is I agree, but ultimatey is it worth losing money for an idealistic principle when times are so tough?
In the original post though it implies that cornwell40 didn’t even quote his price – not that he refused to undercut someone elses. I got the impression he rejected the customer as soon as he found out they’d had someone else.
Re: To whom it may concern @ the Indesit Company
The public get what they deserve. The dumb ones, who won’t pay a proper price, deserve what they get. The only ones I feel sorry for are those that can’t afford a decent one but would buy one if they could. Most people are so greedy and self indulgent it never crosses their mind that a £200 washing might be rubbish – even though their last on cost £350 nearly 10 years ago!
