[LJDomestics]

Re: The Other Engineer

Well i’m fully with you on this.
However, To call at a customers house and not take in your tool box, not pull the machine out and try to diagnose the fault BUT basically B.E.R the machine there and then, try and sell them a new machine and warn them they will charge for installation….in my personal view,might not be a cowboy..but should NOT be in the trade AT ALL.

Because if only they had pulled the machine out and tightened up the connectors on the pcb they could of walked away with £40 labour and make a customer very happy indeed.

Now that i have done that job and charged £40 for it and shown the customer it really was NOT ber, who’s gonna get the call next time it goes wrong?

So basically i wouldn’t say the “other engineer” was a cowboy, I would say they are incompetent robbing bas***ds.

But at the end of the day they are doing me a MASSIVE favour, because they are showing the general public what a crap service they are running by trying to sell new machines the customer didnt ruddy need.

I “was” the other engineer 2 weeks ago, a few months ago i fitted a new element to a dryer + belt and supplied a vent hose that the customer never had, took me 5 weeks to get paid BTW.

2 weeks or so ago i got a call saying the machine is now “dead” and the customer has had, yes u got it “another engineer” to look at it who COULD NOT find the fault but assured my customer it has never had a new element, however when she wrang me to discuss i told her i have the invoice for her parts + the old element in my scrap pile and if she wanted i will bring it to show her, i also explained that a broken element would cause it to stop heating, not be totally dead, however it got my blood boiling as he told her it hadn’t had parts fitted i ruddy damn well know it did, so yes my back was up!!, i also asked her that if this “other engineer” was such a clever man then why on earth did he not fix it, she told me he couldn’t find the fault.

But yes ken, I hear what you are saying about not adding fuel to the fire when customers whine about the last engineer, but to tell a customer i didn’t fit a new element, then couldn’t find the fault himself sums it RIGHT up for me.

[LJDomestics]

Re: Worst Week Ever

To be fair my weeks seem to be getting busier, long may it continue.

Went to a machine yesterday that had shredded belt,which wrapped around the wires of motor and element and shredded them all ( quite common with zanussi’s im finding ) , repaired it as customer said shes had enough of taking her washing to her daughters for the last 11 month, billed her £40 and off i went, she wrang me later to thank me for a good service at a good price, first time iv’e had that i must say, mind you shes one of these who just won’t shut up so i guess she wanted someone to speak to.

[LJDomestics]

Re: Worst Week Ever

Theres many out there like that lee8.
Just gotta accept it and plod on!
Imagine having a retail outlet of ANY description and having direct competition opposite you, Wonder what that feels like when seeing customers roll into their shop and your twiddling thumbs.
Ya just gotta accept these things and keep working hard at it.

[LJDomestics]

Re: Sebo vacs are they any good?

I sell people what they need, not what they want.
BTW, I;m also going back 4 to 5 years in that post, when i was in the shop,Out of all the sales i made the only feedback from customers ( as they were all regulars) is how happy they are with their product.
Personally i couldn’t care less what is domestic and what is commercial.
Many restaurant owners came in buying domestic microwaves for restaurant use, i specified we would not support any kind of warranty if they were buying for the restaurant which they were happy with, so basically sold them something we would NOT reccomend for their needs.

I really couldn’t give a damn whats what, as i base sales on each individual customer….
wish i had a pound for the amount of times a customer came in for a packet of paper bags and walked away with a new machine.

Like i say, selling people what they needed and not what they wanted is pretty much how we worked, many people wanting a dc-07 when coming into the shop, many of them walked out with a bissell grab n go.

I really don’t try to get too pationate over vaccums though.
In most cases commercial have twice the components ( 2 motors etc ) in them so i cannot see the point in commercial in a household, unless you live in a mansion.

Anyway i aint gonna started quibbling over them.
lol

[LJDomestics]

Re: Sebo vacs are they any good?

This is the only reason i kinda said i would’nt reccomend for a household, although YES If you want it for domestic but i was using past experience with sales on sebo as many of our customers were getting on a bit and complained about weight, i steared them towards a dc03 or a oreck.

If you can handle(weight wise) a sebo, then go for it, small dwelling?= overkill.

These kind of things is basically what i was thinking of.

henry’s are excellent too, miele also.

Many cleaning business use henry’s, so do betting shops, schools etc etc, yet the henry is a domestic vac no?

I guess its down to the individual then?

Anyway, original question…. yes they ruddy are good, VERY good.

[LJDomestics]

Re: Sebo vacs are they any good?

sebo’s are semi commercial more towards full commercial vac’s ( my thoughts ), no good for the average OAP though, rather heavy and a bit over the top for a domestic household ( unless ur a dirty sod ) 😀

For the price of them though i would of thought they would of stuck the magnet in a little better as ive had many to do with that fault.

Excellent machines though.

[LJDomestics]

Re: Worst Week Ever

I post in a daily paper 6 days a week, Its £184.40 a month BUT it’s bringing in NOW atleast 8 calls a day and its definetely paying for itself, 19000 Business cards delivered through customers doors so far using a gateshead company who are awsomely proffesional at it and that has generated a hell of a lot of calls, another 21000 houses to get done in my area using the company then i gonna get them to start distributing a little further afield.
they charge £25 + VAT per 1000 but they are defo paying for themselves.

I really do like this idea of getting the cards posted as people should hopefully hold onto them for future work.

I know there is many engineers/companies here that have been in their area for many years and have probably got themselves a great reputation and lots of customers on their books but i cannot stress enough just how vital it is to STILL get some advertising out there even if its just a bit, I’m certain it will bring new custom to you with new people moving into your area on a daily basis ( believe me it really is happening like this ) as iv’e had many calls from customers that have not even heard or didn’t know of the others ( my competition) because my competition seem to think that everyone must know they are there as they never seem to advertise ( apart from 1 who does 3 days advertising per week in the local daily paper.

Advertising wether its daily/weekly/monthly or yearly is vital for new custom it really is.

Speculate to accumulate is a must.

[LJDomestics]

Re: Hoover fault EO3

did you take the sump hose off and have a look?

[LJDomestics]

Re: Oldest customer ?

he will need to be to see out the warranty won’t he?

ISE 2 seems a bit overkill for a old couple?

[LJDomestics]

Re: Samsung Microwave

when does the EE show up? when u first programe your time and press start? later in the program?

If its intermitent at the start try looking inside while closing the door to make sure the latch is making on the micro’s ok and the frame of the switches aint loose etc.

[LJDomestics]

Re: Samsung Microwave

I would of thought get the cover off and start testing stuff.

first thing would be mag, cap, door switches, internal fuses sometimes allow power but no function when they blown.

On lot we have done ive found that a bulb blowing can cause all kinds of pcb problems.

I think really u need to start testing components

[LJDomestics]

Re: Who gets most moola

http://www.storyofstuff.com/

penguin is also correct , 1 letting agent we made over £12,000 in one year from ( thats n ot all profit btw)

If you can handle the invoicing etc getting on with letting agents and the likes can be very rewarding.

[LJDomestics]

Re: Who gets most moola

After watching the clip about “stuff” that ken posted i would of thought it a no brainer ( retail,sales etc ) but then that would depend on the salesman also?

Repairs are not that profitable these days i would of thought and judging by the posts about quiet weeks.

Vaccums are ten a pennny in tesco etc these days also , so not many repairs to those anymore unless its a miele or henry, bissell proheats and the like.

Then again that can be debateable also as iadom is none stop in hes neck of the woods.

Others also, but until the industry stops making goods that cannot be serviced and selling them at a stupidly low prices its got to be sales??

commercial can bring good income.
theres a plumber or ten in every street these days ( or atleast it seems that way )

[LJDomestics]

Re: Cookerworks Signature single integrated fan ovens

Don’t quote me on it but i think its Micromark.

[LJDomestics]

Re: Help with TDS

try highlighting everything on the disc and copying it to a folder named tds on your desktop then run the exe from there?

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