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Re: Electrue/NESN
Del wrote:When they first approached the independant trade to carry out this work the rates set for that time were reasonable. I must confess I even used to make a small proffit on the work, Which like so many of my trade coleauges, I would duley plough back into my business to improve the quality of service that I provided to all my customers both corporate and private.
Okay I have a few minutes Del so I’ll try to give an opinion, not that I’m known for having a big gob on me! 😆
Once again, only my take on it.
Okay, you’re correct you used to be able to make a small profit at this game, that’s getting harder and harder to achieve year on year if not month on month. The insurers are not entirely to blame here though, they’ve only taken advantage of the situation as they see it and, since a lot of them have been pretty cash strapped of late due to the stock markets etc., they simply took advantage. That’s not personal and not just us that have been affected by that, it’s just another nail in the coffin.
I mean, let’s face it…we’ve been stupid enough to go along with it for years now and accept the practise! 🙄 And I’m as guilty as anyone else, I just got off my butt and decided to do something about it.
High spares costs in relation to the appliance replacement cost has suppressed our ability to make money outside of contract work thereby putting more pressure upon that to show a larger profit. The spares issue has also affected the insurers as they are really looking at the average cost of a repair relationally tied to the number of breakdowns in the insured period and, in some cases, they narrow that to the brand or manfacturer.
The problem is that when the squeeze is on the first thing to go are the little luxuries, like trainees and equipment is made to last longer than it should be, be that test, office equipment or vans whatever. Next you start into the biggest cost that you can affect which is salaries or staff levels and tailor that to cope with your own circumstance.
Life for us is pretty simple really, we want to go out, do the job well and get paid enough to allow a decent salary for our employees and ourselves. Personally, what the manufacturer, WP or or insurer makes I couldn’t give a jot about and I’ve said that before, it’s not my problem, my problem is my business.
I just got embroiled in all this ’cause I’m obviously insane or something! 😆
As for NESN and Electrue in this post, they got off, but I do hope they listen. 😀
K.
Re: Electrue/NESN
Del wrote:Mr. Trubshaw has been given his finnest hour by the support and solidarity of the individual agents within nesn I only hope he remembers this when it comes time to review payment rates with workproviders in hopfully the not to distant future.
There’s a load in your post Del, but this one point I kinda thought I’d pick up on first.
I hope Mr Trubshaw also remembers the solidarity shown by his members as he deducts the money from them with no invoices, proof of any wrong doing, information or a so much as a “by your leave”.
I’m not going to dwell on it, nuff said.
K.
Re: Electrue/NESN
Rudolph_Hucker wrote:I think what Ken is trying to say is; as well as us becoming pawns at the rough end of the business this has spilt over to the work providers. It is clear that since these providers have taken on this volume work with such a high criteria, the ethos has been pushed down the line to us.
Yep, this is true.
The work provider or retailer generally make rash promises that they have no idea are possible or not to sell themselves, or the product, then just seem to expect us to perform the tasks they have promised, we are merely expected to comply and deliver those promises. Usually at rates that are below the market rate, as has been the case here for the level of service expected. Hence I told NESN in January that this was unworkable, the conditions, the rates and the product was all wrong from the get-go.
The classic error was made of not asking what was possible before wading in there! 🙄
I tried it for about a week before I’d had enough, after that I was doing NESN work but not the Coverplan stuff. Plus I was expected to sign a direct debit mandate so that spares could be paid for directly out of my account every month…eh, I don’t think so somehow, do I really look or sound that stupid? Without knowing that you were getting paid, or paid in full, that was a non-starter for me so I simply said that I would not sign it irrespective of what promises were made. Apart from that, such an arrangement cannot work at this level for this type of service IMO, too many pitfalls. Anyway that harks back the profitability thing and is a part of that and paying in the timescales that were expected were just not possible, you ended up funding someone else’s business. I’m not a bank and not a charity and I do not fund other companies in any way shape or form and I refused to fund any of the CDSL/DSG/NESN arrangement in any way.
What really cracked me up with this contract and, if you guys all sit and think about this you’ll arrive at the same conclusion, was that I was expected to give a higher level of service that I give to many other companies for less money. Not only that but it’s more than I offer chargeable customers and I charge them 43{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} more for labour and I get paid on the spot to boot! So do I want or need the hassle, errr….no, I don’t think so somehow!
Think through all the angles before you sign on any dotted line and look at it in depth is my advice.
K.
LMFAO! They changed the password for the web forums, if anyone can get it could they let us know please?
Ta
K.
A good friend of mine worked for one of the ditilleries up here, Grants, and they own the Balvenie amongst others. He was sat talking to the head taster of the Balvenie one day who is reputedly older than God with a big red konk, anyway I digress, he said of drinking whisky…
“Don’t know why all those plonkers don’t put some ice or a splash of water in it, without it it tastes like fookin’ petrol!”
When it comes down to it I’ll trust him and stick with my ice in it. 😉
I agree though, I prefer the island malts as well for some reason, not that I complain about the others mind. 😀
K.
Sumphose,
Knowing GIAS as I do, is it not number for number? If there’s no conversion included then normally that’s it.
K.
Re: Underhand
Well from MW’s reply in the NESN forum today I guess you all got your answer…
They intend to do sweet fuck all about it!
That wasn’t even an answer FFS, just a plain old flannel job to try and save the day which answers none of the questions nor answers any of the issues that you guys have with this. Having been told that they would not answer any of the questions directly I have to assume that they are simply not going to answer, period.
Confirmation of this will lead me to another post about it tearing her little fantasy apart as well. You know you’d think by now they’d have learned a bit of something wouldn’t you? You’d also think they’d have gotten smarter, but apparently not.
You know NESN could well end up not liking me much. 😉
K.
Well my suggestion was after 9pm till the wee small hours on Boxing Day since it’s a Friday night anyway which is the usual time. Day off for most of us the next day so the hangover should be more manageable! 😆
As Ted rightly says though, you are warned that the windups and gags go on apace in there and everyone gets abuse, it’s a great laugh at times that’s for sure.
K.
Re: Electrue/NESN
You know I was driving home tonight and thinking about this thread in particular and the thought struck me that it’s actually pretty sad to see this all happening. I don’t mean that it’s just NESN or Electrue it’s an industry-wide problem it seems at the moment, these two just seem to be the major ones of concern right now.
It’s sad because since the inception of the whitegoods network of NESN I had a pretty good relationship with them until about two years ago when it all started to change. It became a culture of volume, volume, volume instead of quality work within a reasonable framework of rules. As I’m never done preaching, being busy doesn’t mean you’re making money, or even a decent living.
The same sort of thing happened with Brandt, I worked with them for years and overnight after a staff change at the top they manage to get the hackles of the entire trade up. Beko have done likewise. Servis, well they’re just Servis really what can you say? 😉
It’s sad, really sad, to see a network that’s almost at war with its agents and over what, I personally, consider to be no more than poor management of the network but more importantly of the people that have made up a network of loyal agents for many years.
K.
If you can find a bottle, which is unlikely, The Macallan 1892 is just a bit pleasant. 😉
Cost £90 a bottle though! 😕
Apart from that I’ll gladly consume virtually any malt, bourbon, vodka, rum, brandy, wine…basically anything except beer or lager, hateful stuff.
Favourites for sitting at the PC are definately Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, Canadian Club, Wild Turkey (101 if I can get it), Makers Mark…the list is endless! 😀
The reason is I can put mixers in them so they last longer than a malt does. 😉
K.
Re: Electrue/NESN
“anecdotal: a short personal account of an incident or event”
I do not think that this thread could be described as that as it is neither short nor a personal account but a collective account from various sources from both current members of the NESN network in addition to ex-members.
And some people are “under alias” for fear of retribution of the threats that are so often levelled at them. 🙄
Others just feed us the information from stranger places than you could possibly imagine.
The people that need to get that will get that. 😉
K.
