New british gas tv advert

[on31ll]

Just seen the new british gas tv add ! The one with the a team music ! Just wondering if your customers are over the moon when you give the boiler case a bang with your elbow to close it ?

 

[petercj]

It's a gamble which obviously pays off, for every Job that costs more than £99 there will be 2 jobs that costs nothing. You have to be an energy customer and a lot of these customer decide to join up on a service and repair contract, so it's a way of growing the business.

When I said earlier that the £99 was part of a service and repair contract you said it wasn't - post 44 - now you're admitting that it's 'energy customers' who: "join up on a service and repair contract".

The £99 is an excess payment, not a one off charge.

The one off-deal is from £79, including parts and labour - which just means that charges start at £79, so it could be £400 including parts and labour based on a fixed quote. Which is what most companies do anyway, its just that BG dress it up to sound like a deal.

God knows who does the marketing for BG - but Jay from The Inbetweeners wouldn't be a bad guess.

 

[villa_tom]

When I said earlier that the £99 was part of a service and repair contract you said it wasn't - post 44 - now you're admitting that it's 'energy customers' who: "join up on a service and repair contract".

The £99 is an excess payment, not a one off charge.

The one off-deal is from £79, including parts and labour - which just means that charges start at £79, so it could be £400 including parts and labour based on a fixed quote. Which is what most companies do anyway, its just that BG dress it up to sound like a deal.

God knows who does the marketing for BG - but Jay from The Inbetweeners wouldn't be a bad guess.

Id say whoever does the marketing for BG is doing a terrific job. They are a massive firm and only seem to get bigger.

Im not on here to argue with anyone, and while I totally disagree with your viewpoint, I respect your opinion. We will just have to agree to disagree on this one.

 

[hammers4spanner]

Thats whats marketing is all about tho tom bringing the cust in to the hard sell tactic , i even see it in local mags from small business advertising this that about boilers and the magic word 'FROM' .

My whine about bg is i frequently come across lazy services/repairs or unnecessary orver priced hard sell tactic scare monger boiler upgrades where peeps cant afford it . If i adopted the same tactics i would soon get a rep of a over priced con man.On a more positive note for small business like myself i get regular phone calls from custs where bg have been and i have been contacted for second opinion . The tactics they adopt do make money for me yet are so wrong imho.

 

[Avatar]

This is certainly a sore point and everyone seems to have very strong feelings about it one way or another.

Nobody likes big companies pushing them out of business, but this is the way of the world.

BG is one good reason why I never bothered with gas work - too much competition!

Saying that there are now businesses moving into general plumbing repairs and the like. Might be time to get out personally . . . .

We used to have corner shops everywhere 'when I was a lad' and now we have Tesco express instead.

I have a nasty feeling it is going that way with plumbing too where the little guy is being squeezed out of the market . . . . .

 

[Doodlebug]

@ Petercj, I'm not admitting they are on contract, I'm saying they are an energy customer, we fix their boiler for a fixed one off price and hope they will then become a service and repair customer, simples!

@ Hammers4spanners, have you never had a customer say over the phone what the problem is and you then give a minimum price to fix but when you arrive to the job, you find that its a bigger job than you thought so will cost the customer more?

@Avatar, British Gas are not taking work away from you, a friend of mine owns he's own plumbing business and makes a very good living out of it, the secret to he's success is, he is very very good and all he's customers recommend him to their friends. If there is any gas engineer/plumbers out there who are sat twiddling there thumbs then I'm very surprised, my mate is rushed off he's feet. You'd be surprised how many customers say they get let down by plumbers not turning, or you get some who turn up and either condem a boiler that just needs fixing or are honest with the customer and say "sorry love, don't work on them" because they don't know what they are doing. So before you slag British Gas off, ask yourself this, why do customers continue to come to British Gas.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Avatar]

It depends where you live as well - I have a friend with 40 years under his belt and he advised me to get out of gas work as he did himself when Gas Safe began . . . . .

I would say that dont get bent out of shape as I am well aware that not every guy working for BG is clueless. BG use proper engineer as well - which you very well may be!!!!


My personal experience with them has been bad however . . . .

 

[Doodlebug]

I'm sorry to here you've had so many bad experiences with British Gas, are they all personal experiences or what customers have told you, reason I'm asking is because sometimes the full truth can get lost in translation if you know what I mean.
What area of the country do you work in?

 

[Doodlebug]

@ all BG haters, all British Gas customers now get a phone call after the engineer has left asking for a score of 0-10 on how happy they are with the engineer and guess what, we're doing very well on our customer satisfaction scores. I suggest all the knockers concentrate on their own work, if British Gas are as bad as you all say then they will lose a lot of customers surely which will just make you that bIt busier.

 

[CES]

I don't hate British Gas, in fact I make a very good living going in after them when they quote for a boiler installation.
I used to subby for them like Villatom. Most of the guys I know are decent enough, although there are some chancers, but then again I know some chancers that are self employed too!

 

[hammers4spanner]

I dont think anyone hates BG more a case of people dont agree with their ethics of business , like i stated earlier post if a small business adopted the approach they have your name would be mud before you got to pub on friday after work .

regarding your pricing over the phone i dont generally do it as i always say couldn't possible know without seeing it , however if pushed i use 'FROM' but my from is never anything like £400 to fit a magna clean (mornings work) and then say if you dont have it your boiler will go kaput !!

 

[Destroyer2813]

Especially if its a 20 old floor standing cast hex boiler with big pathways in and a magnaclean is still advisers cos the 20 year old pump has packed up

 

[Doodlebug]

I would always recommend a Magnabooster, British Gas charge £289 to fit an in-day maga on an open system and £219 on a combi. If called out to fit then its £339 and £259. Don't know where your getting £400 from. If the customer doesn't want to pay us that price then fine, they can get you to do it for less and then you can go back every 12 months and service it for them and replace it free of charge if it develops a fault. (Its all yours) ;-)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Doodlebug]

Also Hammer4spanners, if while fitting this Magnabooster the job grows arms and legs, ie: blocked cold feed, do you still charge the same price you quoted or do you give them your time for nothing? And do all the extra work that's now involved free of charge?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Destroyer2813]

Question doodle, if a customer has four star cover are u required to attend a boiler call within 24 hrs ?

 

[Doodlebug]

If a customer has no heating or hot water and calls before 13:00 we promise to send an engineer the same day. Obviously in extreme circumstances this may not be possible for instance, during that very cold winter we did struggle to meet our commitments fully.