Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
kwatt wrote:The letter and comment is on the front page now.
K.I’ve just read the front page, there is nothing in there regards the liability incurred prior Sept 30th, and even less regards the amount the agents are possibly expected to cough up for the parts they bought and fitted re the repairs they will not be paid for. Added to that, any hint of the past, or even a contra arrangement. If there is, hardly visible is it?
You know the by-product of a recession? Out of the woodwork crawl the companies that can use the financial situation to their benefit. If there are other casualties, then blame the recession!
Yeah O.K. MFI has been hit, and maybe by factors out of their control, but now they can capitalise on their misfortune by pulling others down as well. Simple really, close the part of the operation that has greater liabilities than assets, and leave a trail of destruction and misery in their wake. It may be a £-thousand here and another £-thousand there, but can equate easily into a huge chunk of the P&L of any of their service agents. Then as a double whammy, ensure one part of the operation being a small cash generator can still collect revenue from the same little companies that ordered these goods in order to facilitate the repair.
Some of these agents are small family business, and in the current economic climate are barely hanging on, do MFI care about that, highly unlikely.
So, there they are, MFI all at once they have customers with what are conceived to be premium products that need attention. The product, albeit a sub £200 machine in reality is part of a £20k kitchen as and far as the customer is concerned MFI took the £20k and part of it needs fixing. Then along comes the reality of nobody out there willing to take a punt and repair it, unless you Mr Customer would like to pay for the repair yourself.
Quick fix, make it look to the repair network that MFI are victims, we are good boys really, and as from yesterday we will pay you for what work you undertake.
Are you the agents that naive? Are you prepared to add to your current financial woes and loss of sleep on an empty promise? How do we know it won’t happen again next week or Month? Christmas is coming, people don’t buy kitchens at Christmas, they cook turkeys in them, we may be stuffed, but we are not turkeys.
If George Dubya Bush is looking for a job in November, he cannot do any worse than sit on the board of MFI.
Rudi
Re: Hoover/Candy/GIAS Called Me Up…
ISDA Have just passed a Candy/Hoover contract out to their network. I’m sure someone will post a copy of the SLA on here.
You guys that were left high & dry with surplus stock may be able to strike a deal wih ISDA and off-load some of your rubbish. Seems like Gias are off-loading their rubbish.
Thought CDSL were in with a shout on this, or were they putting their agents first on this contract?
Enjoy!
Rudi
kwatt wrote:So, let me get this straight…
You haven’t been paid on time and some of it you’re not getting paid for at all but you don’t get to make that choice or appeal the decision? Is that correct?
Does that not smack of you underwriting the risk that Servicepower took on by taking the contract?
In the meantime said manufacturer uses this to boost their figures, effectively warping their first time completion rate? Does that not make a mockery of the TEQ award that they make so much of?
Sorry, not for me, glad I’m not involved with it and I’m sorry for all the questions, but there seems more questions than answers in all this.
K.All 3 points as above are spot on.
The company involved are a bit of a one trick pony, being they don’t have a vast range of skills, cooking and lately refrigeration. Added to that they don’t make anything, just own a few names, some of which are quintessentially English.
They manage to get in the top 3 on the D&G survey every time, and with the limited range of product types, easily done. However just to guarantee they do that, they then hive off the warranty work to allow more time and resources to concentrate of getting a prestigious industry award. They were “managing” the work for an affiliated Turkish company based in Watford, and they sent that warranty work through Service Power as well, until they got caught by the Service director of aforesaid company.
Not really Service Power’s fault as they are the ones being treated badly, and having to sort it with their agents. Therefore the messenger is being shot.
Maybe the company concerned deserves their own thread?
Rudi
Re: Service Power?
funkyboogy wrote:JUST BEEN PAID.
have been assured all payments to be paid by end of month,
hope they keep to their word…
allyWell…. Did they keep to their word? Month end has gone, and they didn’t pay anyone as promised.
At least that is what I’m lead to believe. Unless anyone knows different the last payment was April 20th, and that was 6 weeks late.
Rudi
Re: Lofra struggling???
What happens now?
Are you confident in doing any work for PABL. O.K. not their responsibility, but if they get pressure, they can apply pressure. What I’m saying is, put the whole lot on stop; after all PABL should at least be in a position to arbitrate, if not, they should not entertain the brand.
Rudi
Re: Service Power?
Well guys……… Been paid yet?
Of course not, empty promises and all kept on a string. Promised payment as from 4th April, and we had 2 working days for them to get it sorted. Is this economical with the truth, or with the purse strings?
The next thing is they will lose agents in the sticks, being the ones that only get a handful of calls from them, and the ones in the areas where nobody else will undertake the calls. These are the guys that can afford to kick them into touch, but then again cannot afford to work for no money. When that happens, then S/Power will have an even bigger problem.
Those in the towns & cities that do a fair chunk of their work will have too much to lose by throwing in the towel. However, can they sustain the lack of income?
Rudi
Re: Service Power?
Latest News 4/04/07 FSSE PAYMENT CONFIRMATION – Please note the extractions of 8-Feb and 15-Feb have been made today. Further news to follow next week. DBernard
This was on their web-site this morning, so it looks like they may have sat up and taken it on board, but all that is so far is a half empty promise. Agents are saying that they receive a payment schedule which is weeks out of date, then the money hits the bank account some 36 days later, and sometimes doesn’t even tally. So does that mean the “extractions” they mention will not be paid out for another 30 odd days, what planet are they on?
However, cheerful news in that earlier posting quoting NESN, says it all really, and what a cracking good idea on their part to reward the faithful. What I cannot understand is why some members of the NESN network, who were there in the dark days should chose to follow what transpired to be a disreputable leader into another abyss? What possessed them.
The message from NESN is clear, and makes great issue out of the loyalty of their members, and the fact that some have indeed undermined the position as a whole. Now these unfaithful repairers who went behind the backs of NESN have been hit by a double whammy. 1 Having to wait for Service Power to find some money. 2 Now not seeing the full potential of earnings from NESN.
They only have themselves to blame, you can’t say they weren’t warned.
Rudi
Re: Service Power?
Interesting tome from Dave Bernard I have to say. (It wasn’t David Brock who penned it, may as well to have been though) Reading his strategy for settling the debt, it was like something by Sir Humphrey Appleby from Yes Minister. It must be said though, well done UKW for getting it into the public domain despite adversity.
Reading it I had a job to stay awake, but nevertheless it does confirm they are skint. I suppose they had to come up with something, as they would be damned if they didn’t, but as it transpires just as damned if they did.
What I cannot get my head around is the play made on the I.T business and that is their station in life. In which case why are they messing around with a repair network in our industry; or is it jobs for the boys? We all know repairs and electrical goods has been the background of most of them, and they have all fallen into the same melting pot.
So if they are predominately an I.T. support company, can it be safely assumed they have little or no allegiance to their repair network, being those who are tirelessly working to build their customer/repair database for them? Makes you wonder who they are willing to support, as it is plain that they are falling short on their obligations and have a cash-flow issue, they are slow in paying, and yet proud of what they seem to be able to do?
Taking it further, I wonder if their work providers are happy that this is going on, being that S/Power are collecting money, yet not giving it back to those that undertake the work on the front line. But there again as long as one such work provider can get away with paying out £20 for “Failed” calls, why care! I’m sure if that “manufacturer” tried to outsource their overflow to another body, and put in a “penalty” fee of £20, nobody else would entertain it. Bit of a marriage made in heaven I suspect.
Finally, who else is there that are not able to pay up at the end of the Month, as they have suggested. Repair-Care for example has just raised theirs, and they are far more generous in the first place. Look at the other work providers, even if it has been stagnant and no raise in the last 18 months, you can still set your calendar by them.
Their agents must feel like mushrooms, kept in the dark and fed on ….. well you know the rest.
Rudi
Re: Service Power?
They are more than a bit behind. It has been 7 weeks since most of their agents have seen any money. By next weekend will be into the second month for some, looks like the kitty may be light.
It seems that several agents have been making phone calls. Some have gone as far as suggesting a time scale, and are watching the clock. They will have problems if they don’t pay up soon, and what is the use of having all this work if there is nobody daft enough to do it for nothing. It has been suggested they may have bitten off more than they can chew.
I can tell you there are issues with one of the work providers Service Power are contracted to; there is a scheme in place where the repairer will only get paid £20 on uncompleted calls. Such calls can be where the job is rendered incomplete because it needs a spare part, and then instead of the original repairer going back via S/Power, it is completed by the work provider.
Most calls are “Subject to Client Review” after completion. That is certainly the case as in the above paragraph; being if the client doesn’t fancy paying, they don’t and there is stuff all you the repairer can do about it. So you as a repairer call and look at a gas cooker, have had no specific product training and do your best. Eventually you close the job at £40 + vat, client reads the notes and decides, “No not having it, the repair has not been completed” and then reject as “Only pay completed work”. If they condescend to pay at all, you get a measly £20. The repairer has already submitted an input vat of £7 than has to arrange a credit on his own system to off-set and reduce the vat to £3.50, as if we have the time.
Of course when you see who is behind this lot, what else do you expect? A leopard never changes his spots.
Rudi
Re: Luxair
Just imagine it from ISDAL’s point of view. They find out probably by accident that Luxair are sniffing around the repairers themselves, perhaps in order to cut out the “middle man”. That in itself would lead to suspicion and distrust, and such a culture would then breed on both sides. In turn that leads to downright paranoia and then the accusations fly. Before you know it one is threatening the other, then counter threatening, and it all ends in tears.
I bet a fly on the wall in either set of offices would bear witness to the above, and like any relationship that falls apart, there is the inevitable fall-out. The repairers are innocent bystanders, and given time are pulled into the argument.
If neither party are part of the solution, then they must both be part of the problem.
All is fair in love and war, supposedly.
Rudi
Re: Luxair
Assume you mean as sent by E-mail to all ISDAL agents last week. See quote below.
Yes you are right, LUXAIR prior to this wrote to loads of repairers, including most of the ISDAL agents, asking if they would like to work direct. There was some urgency in their letter as well. Considering they done this nearly 2 weeks before IDSDAL made it public tells me that they were putting in a contingency plan as one way or another they were preparing to part company with IDSAL. Not an ethical way of doing business I fancy.
Personally with those shenanigans going on, are they to be trusted? Also, they sent out an application form to prospective new agents, then wrote back & congratulated them on being successfully chosen as a repairer. Neglected to say what they might be paying though.
Rudi
Quote e-mail from ISDAL:
If you have received a Lux AIr Cooker Hood call, LA/******, from ISDAL and you have not visited the customer PLEASE CANCEL THE JOB.
We need to know the job numbers of those calls you will cancelling.
If you have already made an appointment, please inform the customer that you will not be calling as the contract has been rescinded by Lux Air.
Any call you have completed MUST be invoiced and sent to ISDAL before 23 March 2007. Invoices after this date will not be paid.
Thank you for your co-operation.
Re: First Inkfish Casualty?
Do we blame Inkfish for this? Maybe a bit speculative, but there again nothing surprises me.
The centre as referred is based in SW London; Kingston-Upon-Thames, Richmond & Wimbledon is the patch. Not a poor area by any stretch of the imagination. If they have chosen to close due to financial constraints, it should shake all of us. For sure their chargeable customers are happy to get their chequebooks out, but if the revenue stream is interrupted by outside forces, then effects will take place. It is sad really as that was an old Zanussi centre, and very well established; so you would think they had a strong loyal customer database. There can’t be many of the original Zanussi Network agents left out there now.
Service Force agents are indeed affected by the D&G Repair + 1 initiative, and some of the centres did not want to be part of it. They however, have a distinct advantage over the Whirlpool partners, being the calls are not pre-booked by someone remotely sat in an office in Nottingham.
I suppose one day we shall only see super-centres, who swallow up the neighbours due to natural wastage. The bigger they are, the harder they shall fall. Some of this is indicative of the way this industry is going.
Rudi
Re: Beko
Some of the Beko work belonging to Glen Dimplex will come via Service Power. I thought it was common knowledge, but as from now G.D.H. pass their excess/overflow to S/Power. It has been taken off N.E.S.N. Officially from today, but has been going on for sometime. Looks like N.E.S.N. are being haunted by a previous employee who now has his feet under the table in S/Power.
I don’t know if there is a sub-assignment clause in the Beko contract, i.e. not to farm the work out, but it is happening.
What then happens is G.D.H. “pre-diagnose” and send the bits out in advance. Problem is doesn’t always work. So they generously give the S/P agent an extra £20 to cover a wasted call. There is nothing in place regards return for the wrong bit, so it gets binned by the consumer. You can be sure that poor old Beko still foot the bill regardless whether fitted or not.
Middle of last year Beko made it clear they were going to rationalise their repair network, and all starts Jan 2007. Anyone got anything out of this? Not likely, just didn’t happen. Now you have Service Force in some areas, direct agents in a few, and of course G.D.H. who are not doing it very well, and passing it onto other repairers. By the time they pay S/Power, and receive payment from Beko, they must be on a loser.
Rudi
Re: D&G and Whirlpool
kheath wrote:I have spoken to a couple of contacts within D&G and I am assured they respect their network of agents and will do as much as they can to support them.
There’s not a chance that D&G will fall foul of the FSA, keep dreaming guys. So it’s wait and see time for the D&G agents, as for the Whirlpool/Inkfish problem, well thats not the original thread and is up to those involved to comment.
KevinAgreed this is not an FSA thing. For a start D&G are making great pains to get the message across that this is a “Repair plan” and not an insurance. Play on words there I suspect.
I wish those involved would comment; maybe they don’t realise the potential effects this will have on their businesses.
Sure enough there is little risk to the D&G general whitegoods repair network. It is the Whirlpool agents that will feel the fall-out of the new scheme where D&G will be intercepting their chargeable work, and losing them customers into the bargain.
They do it with Hotpoint/Merloni, Hoover/Candy Potterton Boilers, and 2 W/Pool agents. Time will come and they will be trying to draw more & more into this scheme.
Rudi.
Re: D&G and Whirlpool
Update:
All Whirlpool Service Partners are aware of this, but how many I wonder are aware of the implications.
At present 2 centres are trialling the way the calls are bing trafficked. What happens regards those centres are all calls to the national number in their area are being mapped to D&G at Talbot St Nottingham, known as Inkfish. The unsuspecting customer is met by a push button option system, and unless it is an on-going repair, under warranty or insurance they end up talking to a D&G adviser.
The call is than managed by D&G and they suggest that the Service Centre is about to charge up to £120 for a completed call plus parts. Then comes the sweetener, they offer a “protection plan”, at £15 per Month, and nothing more to pay.
All well and good, but that customer has already been offered insurance at least twice in the 1st 2 years of ownership, and declined. Now D&G are trying again at a time of Crisis. Sharp practice I say.
Now look at the Service provider. He doesn’t charge anything like the £120 as suggested, but his potential customer has just been told they do. Should that customer decline this “Repair Plan”, he/she will go away with the misapprehension that the local Whirlpool Man charges a lot of money.
Not good for the Service Partners, but brilliant for D&G. They have just pocketed £150 and are ready to settle with the agent less than half that figure.
As I said earlier, 2 centres have been put on this, and not wholly by choice. As from 16 October, this will be put out to more Service Partners, and then will become National.
Well guys, what do you think? There are a few Service partners out there that read this, and there has been meetings, consultations etc. Basically the only profitable work you get is now about to be “Creamed Off” and it will all be out of your control.
Whirlpool agents have diminished greatly in the last 3 years; we are heading towards “Super Centres” now as there will be casualties.
Terrible state of affairs.
Rudi.
