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Re: Nearly 90 Pence A Litre
See the front page for the latest and I am watching this shall we say. 😉
A summary of the morning sentiment from the nationals;
“Anger grew last night over the rocketing price of petrol as some garages pushed prices over £1 a litre,” says The Mirror. “The Road Haulage Association was planning demonstrations around the country.”
“Yesterday, in the UK, crude oil reached its highest price per barrel since its 1990 peak, while in the US it reached a record high,” says the ITV news website. “Crude in the US peaked at 42.33 US dollars per barrel (£22) – up more than 6{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d}. In the UK prices closed at 39.08 US dollars per barrel (£21) – a 6.83{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} increase. In October 1990 UK crude hit a record 40.95 US dollars (£21.75) per barrel.”
Panic on the markets was prompted by the weekend’s bloody al-Qaeda attack on Western oil workers in Saudi Arabia. Since then, chancellor Gordon Brown hass been “hitting the phones”, according to The Times, as he attempts to talk to OPEC’s 13 oil ministers before their meeting tomorrow in Beirut. He will be warning them that no one will benefit if oil prices end up damaging the global economy and is calling for them to lift production quotas.
Meanwhile, The Telegraph has tracked down the most expensive unleaded petrol in mainland Britain to Bispham Van Hire, near Blackpool, where it cost £1.09p per litre yesterday. On the Scilly Isles, punters were forced to pay £1.12p. The UK average is currently 85p.The Times: Petrol price fears prompt plea to Opec The Guardian: Oil price soars to new high The Guardian: Even Opec cannot stem this surge The Telegraph: Petrol soars to £1 a litre amid fears of oil terrorism The Telegraph: Oil drama is no crisis The Telegraph: The most expensive petrol in Britain The Mirror: GREEDY PETROL BOSSES PUMP UP PRICES The Sun: £1.12 for litre of unleaded
ITN: Oil could soar even more
The Scotsman: Fuel tax warning to Brown as oil price hits new US high The Evening Standard: ‘No tax cuts to curb fuel prices’There is already talk of protests being organised on the 9th and 10th of June to distrupt the local elections and this has come froma pretty good source.
K.
Yes, if there’s even a whiff of gas get a competent CORGI registered gas engineer immediatley and isolate the appliance from the gas mains, you should have an accessable isolation tap fitted. Quite simply, it’s not worth the risk of any other course of action.
K.
Re: Free Advice?
Martin,
I have heard this thing about the lack of gas for years, quite frankly it is crap 99/100 and you picked a poor example to fight your case on here and the point wasn’t overlooked.
I know what you’re trying to say only too well, what I’m pointing out is that often times it’s better just to admit defeat and move on. I have said before, my father once told me that as soon as a customer asks for a spare you’ve lost the call. He was correct.
The customer will try to return it as wrong/faulty etc if then try something else, if you’ve ever retailed spares you’ll know what I’m on about. And most of these customers have no intention of having an engineer to the house, even if they did they wouldn’t generally pay for a repair. That’s what I was trying to say.
Other than that, answering every post with “call an engineer” is just daft IMO and actually could well work against the credibility of the information in the eyes of the public, I prefer to give them the information as openly and honestly as I can and let them decide their course of action.
I know that we want to all promote our services through UKW and that’s fine I have absolutely no issue with that at all nor with the use of the database etc., otherwise I would never have bothered with the effort of putting there and maintaining it. I hope it yields results for people and even one call out it is one you didn’t have and may never have got.
Intergrated appliances are worth repairing far, far more than their freestanding counterparts, I fully agree with that and as you have seen from my posts on many of the MFI dishwashers we’ve seen it arrives at the “call an engineer” advice being given. But that does not negate the fact that should a customer come on and tell us that one needs a timer and a motor then they would be better advised to cut their losses and buy a replacement than invest >£200 in a 4+ year old appliance, or how about an ice ball under a chest freezer, do we advise an engineer calls to that too? In other words the advice has to fit the circumstance and you have to take each case on its own merits. Given that, experience and the fact that it is remote diagnosis I think that the advice given was sound enough and it’s now up to the customer as they know the best scenario (which was eliminated) and now they know the worst. I also think that the vast majority of the advice on offer has been 100{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} to date and followed a reasonable path on UKW, including your own posts, so I don’t quite see the problem here other than having a pop at the one that says “scrap it”.
However I did take a look at TDS Online and it is indeed a bog standard built under intergrated produced in year 2000, so four years old with a condensor cooling fan. So there is a chance that Richard is correct about the condensor fluffed up, but I’d doubt it will be as easy as that in my experience, it’s far more likely to be a system failure. Now, at that point it becomes a case of, do you tell the customer the likely cause or do you get someone out and take money off them knowing full well that it will most likely be in vain? From your posts I would assume that you would not inform the customer, go and take the money and run, I wouldn’t.
K.
Actually, 300 members from the trade in under a year is pretty damn good if you ask me and, bear in mind, that many of those are principals of a business and not a mere individual as such. That would probably encompass the vast majority of the independent trade in terms of agents doing contract work having at least someone that is reading UKW.
Getting to employed engineers is a slightly different ball game I’m afraid. The only way is by word-of-mouth as Mr Merloni is hardly liable to tell his engineers to pop along and read this is he? 😉
So you’re left with only the engineers/agents that happen across the site whilst looking for something or those that are informed of it by another site user/member.
I looked at this before and so did Martin at one stage and trying to reach people is a nightmare!
What did come as a shock to me whilst doing some research is that in many areas on Yell and Scoot there are very few people listed, even when it’s free which leads to the conclusion that the numbers are dwindling anyway.
K.
Anyone can register an account.
Not anyone gets access to the Trade Forums or the special forums.
Roughly, there are curently 250-300 trade members registered with each group having specific access rights, there are several groups encompassing DASA, UKW Subscribers, Whirlpool etc, etc.
Guests isa default setting for posters that have no account on UKW.
K.
Re: Free Advice?
Martin wrote:Immediate advice without any suggestion that perhaps an engineer should check it out……….”Your compressor is knackered, £200 plus to fix, go away and buy a new one!”
My actual response was:
Yeah or still more likely the compressor is fried, in which case you can look at a bill that’s the best part of £200 or more.
Leaks tend to be on new appliances, they should show up in the first 6 months or so as a fault, beyond that is usually something else that’s the problem.
There are other things that can cause the fault, depending on whether it’s a frost free or not etc as I’m not familiar with that particular appliance but if it’s a bog standard machine it’s most likely a compressor failure.
Which points out, quite clearly that it is MORE likely than the suggestion that it was short of gas, a tired old cliche that TBH, I’m sick of hearing in this industry. I’m not pointing finger or laying blame, but the information given on gas was inaccurate given that the appliance is obviously outside it’s waranty period. After that, unless some clown has been in playing with it or Mrs has stabbed the evaporator with a knife then the chances of a leak are practically zero. The chances of an under-counter pot overheating, dragging oil into the condensate line and choking solid is extremely high especially since we just had a nice little heatwave to enjoy.
And yes, I do get a bit heated about the “short of gas” crap, after re-visiting many other’s supposed SOG calls because the original engineer simply didn’t know what to look for, and finding not one, yep not a single one, that justified it where the system had been untouched so I’m a bit touchy on the subject. If it gets out of the first year without a system failure then the only real reasons that I encounter with any regularity are as above.
You’ll also note I left it open for other faults and also that I wasn’t familiar with that particular machine.
So yes, if the advice is sound I don’t have an issue but I do think it went off on a tangent that could have lulled the customer into a false sense of what could actually be done, it’s better to prepare them for the most probable outcome, even if you and the customer don’t like it.
Penguin is totally correct about rubbishing the appliance or a brand in particular, although I must admit I’ve taken the odd swipe at one or two as well (guilty m’laud ;)) but just because you know the outcome and why doean’t mean you have to publicise it. I didn’t nor did Dave so I can’t see any issue there. But the heart of the matter for me is that that is maybe the second time that a constomer has been advised to just bin a machine, in fact I can’t recall another occasion of it. However, I have seen as often a “oh that part costs xxxx” but that’s down to the stupid spares pricing by manufacturers, not us and after that it’s the customer’s call.
Anyway Martin, if we did all do that almost every Hotpoint/Merloni/Indesit/Servis/Other Brand XXX job would be a machine in the bin before we went out there. 😆
K.
Re: Free Advice?
As we discussed in IRC earlier with regard to the case in point…
We all know that the appliances are a pile of poo (in this instance and others like Servis/Merloni guff) and that any repair beyond what the chap had already done was going to be basically:
A/ More hassle than it was worth to the customer and the repairer
B/ Expensive regardless of the nature of the fault, with a 1{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} chance of deviation more or less as there’s an outside chance it was a TOC or relay failure.
Had you noticed that the guy had already said that he had replaced the thermostat? No doubt at a cost of £20 or thereabouts that he had already wasted and then comes on here and asks what else it could be so he was trying to save the cash from the outset. In effect, the customer was lost before we even began and was already set on a repair on a budget, therefore very likely to call one of the free estimate merchants and either encourage a cowboy or waste someone’s (or indeed several) people’s time and fuel. IMO, no loss was there all that could be done is to salvage what you can from the situation. Which leads to…
C/ What had he done, had he cocked it up?
Again, given the very nature of the appliance that you’re reffering to the chances are that it was a regass or a pot job, regass what, about £70 or so and a pot over £200? The most probable failure was the pot given it’s out of warranty so no repair would be done anyway in all likliehood as the guy can nip into MFI and get a new one for not a lot more.
So, given those facts it’s better just to tell the guy to scrap it and then he tells others that he got solid, honest advice here IMO.
Now, had the chap simply asked what the fault was if it wasn’t cooling properly then it would have been a different ball game as it may well have been a simple (read good) stat change job for someone which would have been worthwhile. You may also have noticed that all of us, myself included, have advised an engineer’s call where we feel it is needed and justifiable, I think that’s being realistic with the advice given and, in the end, it’s only a personal opinion. But since he’d already changed the stat that avenue was ruled out, assuming of course he did it correctly.
It’s all very well trying to get more work from people like that but if all the advice ever given is “call an engineer” then the public will soon get wise to it and switch off even asking questions. Honesty works and wins every time IME and IMO.
As I explained to you earlier, customers that I take the time to explain such things to may not call me tomorrow or next week but they will (and do) call us when we’re needed and happily pay our charges as they assume we know what we’re about as we’ve already won half the battle by treating the customer in a proffesional manner. Of course, that’s just my opinion and how I treat my customers.
K.
Yeah or still more likely the compressor is fried, in which case you can look at a bill that’s the best part of £200 or more. 🙁
Leaks tend to be on new appliances, they should show up in the first 6 months or so as a fault, beyond that is usually something else that’s the problem.
There are other things that can cause the fault, depending on whether it’s a frost free or not etc as I’m not familiar with that particular appliance but if it’s a bog standard machine it’s most likely a compressor failure.
K.
Re: its fucking quiet
It is quiet, but not for long. 😈
I think I may have some fun at Mr Whirlpool’s expense again. 😉
K.
Okay, I’ll share what I know of it from what I’ve heard…
They are desperately unreliable.
Information is non-existant outside of Dyson, you’d be better trying to get information out of the CIA than them.
James Dyson for some unknown reason doesn’t like the independent trade yet many still sell his products. 😕
There has been quite a few modifications to the machines in the short time they’ve been around.
They should have called it the “Clothes Eater”, not the Contra-Rotator. 😉
Dyson charge a fixed cost to repair (vacs as well I think) including any spares required, hence we don’t see many of them.
If you get one that works you’re doing well.
K.
Na, it was no-one’s fault really.
The database used has something like a 50Mb limit on it and, if we exceeed that, then what happened happens. 🙁 I was talking to Li about it the other day and I’ve spoken to Trevor about it too and, being the stars they are, they’re going to institute a nightly backup of the database in addition to the ones we do as well.
But with the tracking and stats, the volume of posts, the number of hits and in particular bloody Amazon it’s a lot of data to deal with these days, the primary culprit being the Amazon cache. That has already been automated to dump the excess data by Trevor and his coding skills though. 😉
Let me put it this way…Trevor (who IS a code genius) couldn’t believe the database was stuffed in a week so now we’re watching it a lot more closely.
K.
Re: ted becomes kheath
I’ve avoided this for a couple of days now.
The reason that identities are hidden is that it allows people to post what they feel that they should post and not what it is poitically correct or prudent to post when someone is breathing down their necks. Cases in point are NESN and Whirlpool, both of whom have (as far as I am aware) made veiled or direct threats to their agents about posting here. I can understand that and I can see why they are doing it, what I can’t condone is some of the methods employed nor do I understand that, if they had nothing to hide and everything in their respective camps was rosy, why it is necessary to take such a line. I’m sure others would view such actions in the same light.
The other reason is that it also protects the identities of the manufacturers etc that also do read and some post on the site from time to time as well, much of which is invaluable information and advice to us all. Some of the technical information posted has been enormously useful to many of us, makes us more aware, better educated and better at our jobs ultimately. If these parties wish to remain in the shadows then I see no reason to change that, nor will I be applying any pressure on anyone to “come clean” as it were, it’s purely a personal decision and choice that is best left to the individual’s judgement.
There has been some citisism levelled because of the identity thing, basically saying that the site has little or no validity due to that from manufacturers, insurers and work providers, I don’t subscribe to that point of view. I think that the feedback they recieve will be far more honest if the cloud of punishment for comments made is removed and it actually will serve everyone better to be a tad more open about things.
I am so rigid on it that even Kevin, who moderates the Whirlpool forum, doesn’t know who the posters are, no-one bar me and Dave knows who the “Whirl” accounts are! But both Kevin and Dave know why and understand why this is the way it is and both respect the privacy of any individual member.
We’ve all been to meetings and sat and said little, came out and been bumping our gums later about the injustices or whatever but that doesn’t happen here simply as everyone is on a level playing field with little recourse for repercution later should you choose to voice an opinion if your identity is hidden. That is a major benefit of having your identity hidden from view from a service agent’s point of view.
So in essence I have respect for those that sit in both camps and I feel there is a need for both to remain the choice of the individual.
K.
I’m working on several angles, the problem is time as I still have a business to run and a young family to look out for and spend time with, which is a hard balancing act sometimes.
We’ll see what the coming months bring but the suggestion is a valid one and I see the logic in it. The nightly backups I’ll be asking Li about this evening most likely.
K.
