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Might be a problem with the water valve then, if it’s still under warranty I’d suggest booking a service call.
K.
First thing to do is check the water supply is okay.
It won’t pull water in till it gets down to temperature either.
Then you’re into checking valves and more.
K.
Yes, it’s there but, asking that question you’re probably not up on how to check them.
How they work is explained here: https://www.ukwhitegoods.co.uk/help/fix-it-yourself/refrigeration-self-help/3658-fridge-and-freezer-thermostats
K.
Check the fridge thermostat.
If that’s okay then it’s a system problem and you won’t be able to DIY it.
K.
If you look inside, left hand side, on the inner wall there should be a sticker with all the info about it there.
K.
s73400cnso is not a valid number.
Can you get the product code from the rating plate, might be marked PNC so we can see what it is?
K.
Someone asked if you need to be a WTA member to attend the conference.
Simple answer: No.
Anyone in the industry can attend, it is open to all.
K.
Let me kick off with…
They need you more than you need them. If a company like that needs to contract out work, they need you to fill a gap. Keep this in mind.
Taking on work and doing it for or next to nothing will not make your life any easier or better, just more stressed.
One of my favourite counterpoint when providers used to come up with the “We’ll give you volume” or however they phrase it was, “Yeah but if I lose money on each then surely more volume is just losing more and more money”.
Generally, none had an answer to that, waffled a lot but no actual answer.
I fall back to one of the Australian guy’s things (paraphrasing), if you can make as much sat on the beach looking at the sea as doing this, why do it?
Next up, what’s the contract term? What’s the termination? Who can terminate, why? What is the guaranteed level of volume, is there one? What’s the payment terms? What’s the recall deal? What’s the term on spares purchases? What’s the returns deal, procedure? What sort of work is it and this is vital to setting a rate?
I can give you the questions to pose but it’s not pretty and neither party is likely to be comfortable with them but they are the questions if you don’t want to get screwed, that you should be asking.
There are good contracts to get. There are bad ones. There are in-between ones. Then there are those that are in effect little more than using you as slave labour.
Trick is, figuring out what one it is. Then pricing accordingly, not just accepting what is offered.
K.
One of the big delays you get is, the drivers get snowed under, have to do what they can when and often come early and stuff’s not ready to go or, late and you’ve bogged off home.
All this stuff nobody really thinks about unless you’re involved in it, the customer just wants the “thing” there with not so much as a thought as to how hard that can be at times. 😉
Not their problem in some ways, just circumstance.
K.
DPD, Hermes et all have been an absolute nightmare again this year.
Since the whole Black Friday week/weekend deliveries have been slow and I’m sick of hearing “Where’s my order”, this happens every single year over the holiday period now as online sales are massive now on the run-up to Christmas and it really doesn’t get back to normal till early to mid-January as they clear it all. Largely as after the Christmas break, they then get swamped with returns!
People getting slippers from ASOS or whatever is more important, don’t you know? :rolleyes:
I suspect you’ve been lucky Dave as we’ve had the last three or four Connect orders held up for a day or two as well.
K.
No, not in trouble. Rationalising I think.
The problem is that keeping branches open about the country isn’t viable these days; there’s just not enough business to support it. But there are other factors I will try to explain/highlight.
I think that Qualtex has moved away from small traders to cut down costs. I do get that even if many of you here don’t as it costs them more to supply small accounts than it gains them.
What you all have to keep in mind is that many small accounts want to call up on a crackly Bluetooth connection in their van and order stuff over the phone. For starters that is hard and many parts lookups these days needing product codes, serial number and so forth are not really suited to phone sales, it takes too long and ties up a line as well as the person for an age. That incurs a significant cost to the business.
Your time spent mucking about on the phone, to you, is perhaps viewed as free. To them, it is not; they’re paying the wages of the person you’re talking to. That cost gets counted as it needs to be.
Then many in the trade also expect that they’ll get a whacking great discount, free delivery (overnight of course) and at least 30 days credit.
I’m not even going to get into returns, cancellations and other stuff that’s also a cost.
Often for a sale that’s under £50 that a distributor maybe has a few quid margin in it to play with.
In short, it’s not commercially viable or honestly reasonable to expect all that for, virtually, nothing.
That’s why they’re not too bothered about small accounts as honestly, they don’t make squat from them.
This is why it perhaps seems like they couldn’t give a toss. That’s not true really, it’s just the way it is.
Or they go like Connect and charge accordingly, which for many people I speak to is a sore point as well. But again, understandable given the givens.
To put into perspective for you though the £6.95 carriage charge.
DPD on contract 24 hours not guaranteed is costing about £6 excl. VAT so some of that cost is wrapped up into the sale. This does not include picking, packing and packaging materials or labelling all of which carries a cost.
Hermes 2-4/5 days service costs about £3 excl.
The carriage charge I’d say wasn’t too bad, especially if you’re getting a trade price but I’d not expect a guaranteed next day for that.
To get a cast iron next day (from dispatch) delivery you’re looking at double that cost or more usually, even on a volume contract.
For before 1pm etc, add, add, add… every single thing you do with any carrier adds more cost and on a low value, low margin spare parts unless someone’s willing to pay that premium for the service, it ain’t gonna happen.
What they are left with is to do the best they can within the constraints they have.
K.
