The good the bad and the ugly.

[secret squirrel]

The bad,

Today has been a mixed day, quoted for a new cylinder, pump and all the gumpf that goes with it, length of 22mm, pump valves (may as well as we're there) new full bore lever valves etc, this was back in July. Well, customer has sourced the pump and cylinder and wants a price to fit. Usual really, have you got all the parts, new immersion, cylinder stat (old one is a real mess, just hanging on but in bits) Oh No, thought you'd get all that. So, new price is old price less cylinder and pump. I know its not as cheap as they want. I don't know why I let it frustrate me.

However, the good. Did a set of taps for a friend, recently divorced, no money, single mum, works. I offered mates rates but she refused, I was chuffed at that but because money is always tight for her, she, like many others has a BG contract to do her heating.

She has a rad in her house that refuses to heat BG have been down twice and have been unable to get the radiator working. It is a Baxi combi boiler and the rad has a trv fitted. The boiler now heats up some of the rads when the hw is used.

:hurray:Luckily, as I was finishing BG turned up, so, I thought I'd listen and learn from the best.:20: Well, a bit of huffing and puffing the boiler was topped up and a bit more of huffing and puffing, then a run round the house and the diagnosis was, yeah, a powerflush:sick:. Usual sales pitch though. Flush not covered under the policy.

I asked, whether it was normal for the two big pipes under the boiler to get hot when the hw was being used. Oh yes came the reply:hurray:

My next comment was 'how can a sealed system need a power flush, it should have been done at the time, by the engineer who fitted it, I think you'll find that was BG and you've maintained it every year or are you saying it wasn't done properly. Surely, the big pipes the flow and return to the heating circuit shouldn't get red hot should they. They may be warm because of transference of heat but they're red hot. While your here can you explain why the pipe leading up to the trv is hot which I would think indicates a faulty TRV, I've checked the policy and they're both covered. Aren't they?'

The answer 'a power flush would help'

How would it help with a faulty divertor valve and a trv?

We'll be in touch.....😛rrr:

And the ugly, I'm back home now.......(I will be trouble for comments like this sooner or later)

 

[Resolute]

Doesn't sound too bad a day, weekend starts now!

 

[Dannypipe]

I think I need to start selling Power Flushes the BG way. My machine gets used once every two or three months. Sell it like this and I wear it out in a week.

 

[stevetheplumber]

I think I need to start selling Power Flushes the BG way. My machine gets used once every two or three months. Sell it like this and I wear it out in a week.

what your forgetting is while they are there getting the poweflush money they also do what was realy necessary under there service contract so theve actually earnt the powerflush as an extra if you just did a power flush the real problem would still be there and youd have to get more money from the customer to fix it which would be a prickly situation

 

[Dannypipe]

Ah, cheers Steve, so I need to be extra sneaky. Do a power flush and change the TRV. Wink Wink.

How come 'Rogue Traders' don't send Matt Allwazzit round to check on their cheating ways?

Oh yeah, because the're worth billions and could ruin the BBC.

 

[GQuigley67]

that is a rogue right there, and he is obviously getting his orders from higher up

 

[secret squirrel]

Whilst I appreciate big companies have far more overheads and therefore can't compete with the smaller guys, they shouldn't even try. What is frustrating is that people go for the larger companies, more widely known brands expecting a better, more reliable, more professional service, time and time again we see on this forum that this isn't the case.

I suppose the other end of the spectrum is people wanting cheap cheap cheap and are surprised when they get it. How many times have we read 'I can't get him back its never worked properly, its always leaked'

For me, its more of a crime if someone has paid very good money for a sub standard service than someone wanting to pay peanuts and shocked when they get monkies.

 

[WHPES]

Customer called me out to look at a job and I said the radiators weren't balanced properly and gave them a price. They said British Gas had told them they needed a powerflush (no reference to needing any balancing).

My quote was 10% of the BG quote. Customer asked me why and I said they have to do that in order to pay for all the expensive advertising. I on the other hand rely on word of mouth, like what you will tell other people after I have sorted your problem!

 

[secret squirrel]

HOW's this regarding my original post,

Engineer from British Gas will attend customers house Friday and both parts covered under the service contract.

BG engineer will make an assessment on arrival.........