Over the course of this year we have been contacted by various media outlets over the delays in carrying out modifications to recalled appliances and, the answer is always the same, there simply aren’t enough field technicians to cope with these huge recalls.
We have not been shy in telling folks in the media that this is not only a UK issue.
Now Samsung in the USA has been hit with exactly the same problem that we face here in the UK whereby there simply aren’t enough field service technicians to carry out modifications as quickly as people might expect.
These reports below from the States give some indication as to the problems and, Samsung just like Whirlpool is being forced to call in outside contractors to even have a hope of getting these modifications done.
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What the media will often ask is, why is it this way?
The reason is actually very simple, the whole appliance industry is dependent on massive volumes being sold to achieve low prices and as a part of that, any and all costs that can be cut will be. That includes service.
What you see is a position where here in the UK as well as other regions that there simply aren’t enough boots on the ground to carry out normal service requirements the a level that many customers expect let alone piling on mountains of extra work.
The systems in place are geared to just about cope (maybe!!) with the normal service levels, albeit with most service these days booked days if not a week or more in advance. When extra work from a recall is added it just pushes that service further back or, the recalls take second place to fighting the usual fires.
This reenforced by figures emerging out of Europe this week that indicate that these days one in every six washing machines will break down in under five years, that’s more than 16% on average but some are way worse than others.
This is likely why we are constantly bombarded with requests from agencies looking to find field service technicians as large service operations are coming under increasing pressure just to cope in an environment where skilled labour is becoming shorter and shorter.
When a large recall comes along, like the Beko fridge freezers, cookers then Hotpoint/Indesit/Creda tumble dryers and now Samsung washing machines, these fragile eco systems break down just like the machines. They can’t cope, they were never designed to and do not have the capacity to deal with such events.
In an industry that is cash starved that really shouldn’t surprise anyone.
This situation is unlikely to alter until the manufacturers, insurers and ultimately buyers realise that, unless they all pay more for service, they are extremely unlikely get it or get what they might think is appropriate.
In the meantime, when a large recall like this comes along, anywhere in the world, expect lengthy waiting times for the fix and we are talking in terms of months, even a year or more. There’s nobody hanging about waiting to do it.
(NOTE: This will probably be a topic for discussion at the upcoming Whitegoods Conference 2017)
