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Re: Is it just me or is anyone else quiet?
DrDill wrote:
What I am saying is its no good burying your head in the sand and then moaning on a forum.I’m not burying my head in the sand, you might be making a living right now but in my view that may not be for much longer, if you can’t see the writing on the wall that is your problem.
A lot depends on where you are in this game location is everything. I moved out of London for a better life with my family, this area is nowhere near as busy and it is getting worse, I have no desire to own a shop or get into retail so for me the game is nearly up. I was not moaning I was just stating a point of view based on 27 years in this trade and another 13 years in the brown good trade. Things in this trade will never improve, only get worse over time.Re: Is it just me or is anyone else quiet?
DrDill wrote:Same old same old, people talking about stuff they know nothing about or experience of. I am an independent retailer and I have no trouble at all competing with the internet, my sales are consistently rising and so is my profit margin. You have to adapt and offer what others don’t. Moaning about it is futile.
There is a lot of repair companies out there that also make a decent return as well.Well I’m glad it is working for you. I’ve been in the trade nearly 30 years and spent 17 years as a sole trader, I only did repairs I never had a shop can’t say I ever wanted to go down that route and I have no regrets about no having one. I strongly believe how well you do depends on the area you cover, You can only adapt so far, you can’t make the customers have repairs and as a sole trader there is only so far you can travel to a call to remain profitable.
I worked in a well off rural area, the people in this area are replacing appliances these days and not repairing them.
If a was a retailer I may find like you things are OK, but I’m not. I personally feel like I’m flogging a dead horse around here so it will be time to hang up my tool box very soon certainly before next year.Re: Is it just me or is anyone else quiet?
I have thought for some time this trade is dying a slow death, it is going the same way as the brown goods trade. Who would have thought back in the 70s and 80s that no TV repair shops would exist in the future. They were on every high street back then and profitable.
Technology advances in this trade has done away with many repairs and the cheap appliances make a repair something a lot of people no longer consider. I no longer repair anything other than refrigeration and I won’t be doing that much longer. For me it is time to move on thankfully I have other skills that I can use to earn a living.Re: Masterpart Again.
Martin wrote:Are we witnessing a firm in financial difficulties here?
They seem to be selling a lot on eBay, if they are in trouble then it is self inflicted by letting a crap website go live that is much worse than the one it replaced.
Bad practice and a lack of customer care. When I called them asking why half the stuff was not sent out, “sorry out of stock, I don’t know when we will have them in” Was the reply.
Then I was asked if I wanted the items put on backorder! No I need them here, appointments have been booked for tomorrow I have customers taking time off to wait in for our engineer, now I have to cancel calls and order from somewhere else.
I may as well been talking to a brick wall.Re: Masterpart Again.
My last order was for two rs21 evap covers and two evaporators
Got the evaporators but the covers were out of stock yet the website say in stock the conformation email showed all items and the total for the order.
To crown it all I paid by credit card and spoke to someone within half an hour who still do not mention that half the stuff I ordered was out of stock, unbelievable.Re: Masterpart Again.
I have been let down three times by them, there will not be a forth. As many have said the prices are good a shame the business is let down by that awful website lack of stock control and poor communications.
Interesting point about their large eBay business, pity they do not look after us trade customers that kept them going for years before eBay came along. It seems they do not understand that letting us down is damaging to our business and our reputations that take years to build up.Re: Masterpart Again.
Had problems with Masterpart before had a call from them just before Christmas asking why I had not placed any orders for a while. I told them the website was useless for finding parts and often says part in stock when it is not. I was reassured all was now working well, so yesterday I placed my first order in ages, only five items but all for jobs this week. A few minutes later I received an order conformation by email, so I phoned my customers and booked the calls for tomorrow. This afternoon the parcel arrived, two of the parts are not in stock. Phoned them to be told the conformation is automatic and I had not been charged for the out of stock parts. HELLO! I need the parts tomorrow why did nobody call me to say we only have half the parts. Masterpart get your act together I do not like letting my customers down it is damaging for my business, so in future Connect will get my business.
Do they want to stay in business?Re: What Made You Walk
Walked out of a house in N16 when I took the lid off a hotpoint washer drier and the cockroaches were everywhere, it was full to the top with them, never seen anything like it in 30 odd years.
Had a drunk customer on Christmas eve take a swing at me because I did not have an element for his oven. It ended up in a stand up fight with him in the kitchen. Not the best way to give customer service. The police were called he attacked them and spent Christmas in the nick. I never did get around to ordering his element.
Re: CURRYS KNOW HOW
Gazman1000 wrote:
lee8 wrote:
Just curious, what are your qualification Lee?
I’m afraid it is not relavent to this thread what qualifications l hold,
Don’t be shy, after all you think you know so much better than the rest of us. So why not share the proof of your great wisdom, so far wisdom has been totally absent in your posts but you do provide lots of hot air.Re: CURRYS KNOW HOW
lee8 wrote:
Just curious, what are your qualification Lee?
I’m afraid it is not relavent to this thread what qualifications l hold,
Don’t be shy, after all you think you know so much better than the rest of us. So why not share the proof of your great wisdom, so far wisdom has been totally absent in your posts but lots of hot air.Re: CURRYS KNOW HOW
All the experts are running or working for small businesses, because the dross could not work alone and make a living at it for very long. Most of the brighter people have gone it alone and made a fair living.
Just curious, what are your qualification Lee?
Re: CURRYS KNOW HOW
lee8 wrote:Knowhow also replace compressors on Bosch fixed price FF.
Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2
That’s as long as they get the diagnosis right in the first place. I don’t hold out much hope from what I’ve seen of their expertise in refrigeration so far.Re: Lee’s New Thread
lee8 wrote:Think i’ll join you, too many egos to stroke on here.
Yours being the biggest. :rolls:
Re: Lee’s New Thread
Pointless posting here, if this is the level it sinks to.
Don’t think I’ll bother in future, no wonder it’s quiet on here.Re: CURRYS KNOW HOW
Anyone who bangs on about getting this trade qualified has not really got a clue about the trade, all this trade needs is a little common sense and a tiny amount of electrical knowledge.
Repairing appliances is not rocket science and never will be, no matter how complex the appliances get, because they cost next to nothing to replace, so in time they will become much like the brown goods trade, throw away.I don’t see a long term future for this trade, I think it will go in much the same way the brown goods trade went.
I have said this before on here and got shot down in flames, but this trade is not getting any better.
I was in the TV repair business for many years back then in the 70s nobody would have ever thought it was not a job for life, who could have seen the vast changes that wiped out that trade. This trade will follow and be gone in 20 year if not sooner.Years ago if a kid could not get into a grammar school and gain A levels, to go on to university he or she would get in to a technical college and become a mechanic, TV repair man, chippy or train to get in to another hands on trade. The trouble is the local polytechnic is now called a university, so a lot of younger people think they have had a university education, what a joke, nothing could be further from the truth, most of the qualification mean very little and are just a piece of paper, that only proves an exam was passed.
pointless and costly.
