Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Re: Customer Charging
Del wrote:You see guy’s
Call out charges = Barbados
No Call out charge= BlackpoolSean
😆
Re: Spreading the word
Ive drafted this up for the subs forum, Title was…..
WTA (Whitegoods Trade Association), The Future!
“Hi all,
The WTA is here, and it is now that we can all start to work towards a better future for our Industry. Now, we need some input. Everyone is invited to comment and air their thoughts on what they see is affecting our Industry. Have people got concerns about various issues that may affect the future of this Industry? What would people like to see addressed by our association? Basically, consider this to be a blank page in a scrap book. Lets get our pencils out and lets hear your views so we can all understand….
What do YOU want from it?”
Is that Ok for the first post in the members area? (please feel free to edit if you want)
Adrian 🙂 .
Re: Customer Charging
winker wrote:I should add that all new customers and a lot of existing ones are told of our charging as they enquire and book service visits.
That’s the best thing to do to cover yourself. As advised by RCT Trading Standards when developing our website, it’s not up to the customer to ask about any potential charges, it’s up to us to ensure that they are aware of them.
winker wrote:The reason for this posting is that possibly the understanding of no callout charge and what the customer expects for this may have changed in recent years or maybe its me and have got it totally wrong
Well, I’m fairly new in this trade, and I for one, used to advertise ‘no call out fee’. I found that I were going everywhere, for free, and people used to look at me as if I had 2 heads when I used to charge them for an estimate!! Stopped that straight away!!
Adrian.
Re: Truly Independent……
100{e5d1b7155a01ef1f3b9c9968eaba33524ee81600d00d4be2b4d93ac2e58cec2d} Agreed Lawrence 🙂 .
However, and apologies if I appear to be a PITA, but as this thread is titled “Truly Independent” I cannot help coming back to the, more less important factors if you like, such as the Logo etc. Ken has quite kindly put an idea forward in another thread about Membership application forms. Supurb :tup: On that appliacation form, I’m presuming that there will be a logo of some sort? If, as the website currently displays, we use the UKW logo, then from the start, we appear to be the same thing.
Minor points as they may be, but I think that before we seriously start marketing the WTA, exactly in the same way that if we were all starting a Business together, we would all agree on wanting individuality and we should be getting the basics set up first. Then, we can market ourselves as being “Truly Independent”Adrian.
Re: Spreading the word
Lawrence wrote:why don’t we send an application form with a welcome to WTA letter to every member of the WTA asking them to return it with two passport photo’s and there info .
They in return get an ID card FOC everyone thereafter £10 per go,& a membership certificate for their office wall,plus a quarterly newsletter.Fantastic idea 😀
aqualectric wrote:The application form, (apart from the obvious database type questions) should include a section for the applicant to state what they think is affecting the industry and their concerns for their future. Also their opinion on how to address the issues raised. This could act as a barometer for the sole traders who often moan at the trade counter but are not actively seeking or knowing how to change their situation. The multi engineer companies input will help to gauge opinion on WP’s, employment problems and legislation. Even the people who are not regular contributors to UKW will probably have a view or three.
Again…. Good idea, it’ll be a good information gathering excersice 🙂
Adrian.
Re: Customer Charging
winker wrote:ok so let me be clearer in order that you can be also.Is no callout charge expected to cover the cost of arrival,diagnosis and the refusal by the customer to have the work carried out…..totallly free!!
In the eyes of the customer… yes, they will expect arrival, diagnostics and quaotation… all for free 😯
To me, I think it does what it says on the tin…. You will not have to pay for the tradesman to travel to your house, end of story!! People sometimes confuse the ‘no call out fee’ with ‘diagnostic charges’ or estimate fee’ but these are totally different statements! If I were advertising a ‘no call out fee’ policy, I would certainly make sure that the customer knew that the charge meter starts ticking when the toolbox has been opened 😉💡 If you are experiencing ‘I don’t want it done’ or I’ll think about it’ quite often, perhaps you could advise your customers something like the following….
“We do not charge a callout fee, however we do charge £XX for the diagnosis of the fault. Should you decide not to go ahead with the repair, that is all you will be expected to pay”
Adrian.
Re: What’s Reasonable I wonder ?
squadman wrote:is it reasonable that I charge a aborted call fee, bearing in mind that she was out previosuly and I made no charge then
Moraly yes. Legally.. No. We had an instance like this and when we looked into it, we were advised by Trading Standards that yes, by all means we can charge for a broken appointment. However, the customer must be made aware of this at the point of booking the call. We have since written that into our t&c’s and all customers get told on the phone that if they break the appointment, they will be faced with a callout charge for that appointment. I would leave this one go, but before you book the next appointment, give her a warning of your intentions.
richardable wrote:ring either befor i start out or when on the way, no answer or answering machine i don’t go
What happens if at the end of the day, she calls in to see where you are and you tell her that you didn’t attend because she didn’t answer the phone? What if she were, lets say in the shower, or mowing the grass etc? Do you then get back in your van and attend as agreed? If not, could she look to charge you for his/her wasted time? There is two sides to a coin afterall 😉
Adrian.
Re: LG WD 1255FHB
Personally, I’d rather spend 10mins getting the panel on and off. The spring is very strong, so it’s worth the extra effort just to make sure your boot and retainer are both fitted correctly.
The panel comes off very easilly, almost the same as an older Hotpoint WM series. When the front is off, the retainer is on in seconds.
You wouldn’t want a recall over that, especially as it was a ‘while you are here’ job 😉Adrian.
Re: Issues to be addressed.
Del wrote:p.s Any chance you can go one topic at a time in future Adie as you’ve given me a soddin’ headache here especially as it’s quite obvious that i dont know how the bloody quote gizmo works lol
Sorry Del 😆
Del wrote:What about REPAIRS@ is this not sharing work oppurtunities it is work that the customer had the oppurtunity to approach manufacturers service but chose not too. You have a lot more to gain than you stand to loose here. No one is going to hold a gun to your head to make you do this with the guy in the next village but what if you get a whisper that a national company or manufacturer is looking for independent national coverage is that not an oppurtunity that you could share with collegues via the T.A. ?
Firstly, although I personally have not recieved much from Repairs@ (which I’m not knocking at all Ken, any work for free is much appreciated by me 😀 ), it is a bl@@dy good bit of kit, no-one can say otherwise. I agree with what you say regarding sharing of work between collegues via the TA, but I can’t get my head around the fact that alot of us have worked our butts off, in the face of it and behind the scenes to get our Businesses going and maintaining the flow of work, by working hard and trying to get a good reputation, yet there will be people with absolutely no interest in the wellbeing of the TA, that will be able to pay £60 and get work offers from that.
I kinda want to see the TA in more of a support role to the trade, to entice training, freedom of Tech info etc, whilst avoiding the giving of work to rogues who will try to hang you with it!! I appreciate that I’m new in this game, and I have a lot to learn, and I am keen to learn more about the DNA of this industry, that’s why I feel I should air my thaughts, good or bad.
Adrian 🙂
Re: What’s the difference ?
I kinda agree with both here!! I posted a while ago a question asking why people don’t advertise their details, locations etc on their profiles. I personally like to know who I’m speaking to, but I realise that if forced to advertise your names etc, some people may not want to post.
The only issue way me have here is though is (and please correct me if I’m wrong), if lets say we start a debate on ‘WP’s paying less that others’ and under nicknames (such as sean pointed out… big bo11o@ks 😆 ), we get 200 people giving their views and support, would that count if we took that anywhere?
Adrian 🙂
Re: The Important Stuff
I personally think that we should have a Treasurer. Firstly, (IMO) There needs to be a specific person responsible for the financial side of the WTA that we all can approach (council members and members) if needed and if anything needs clarifying.
Secondly, I agree with Ken that Sage can roll off whatever report you want at any time of day or night, and I personally don’t have any issues with UKW accountants sorting things, but as we have to be seen as a ‘stand alone’ organisation, we should employ our own accountants and banking facilities 😕 .
As with VAT registration, yes, I think that the WTA should be VAT registered from the start.
Adrian 🙂
