Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're like

[armyash]

As above. Need to know what they are like as an employer. Thanks

 

[stevetheplumber]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

well my experience with them wasnt good relations between the workers and office were dreadfull only interested in meeting the targets they can ignored lots of stuff that i pointed out was wrong regarding working out of scope told me not to turn of ar boilers claiming the had an arrangement with the HA when i asked for it in writing they just told me to leave it and sent sent another engineer to turn back on most of the problems were with hi rise blocks and flues or gas pipes to big to be within scope of domestic

 

[armyash]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

I have been offered a service and breakdown position but been told I would be expected to do between 10 and 14 jobs a day. Service would only consist of a few checks and analyser test.so that amount of jobs is doable but it would be impossible to do 14 breakdowns. The workload seems ridiculous but I would probably learn a lot on the breakdown side of things just don't know if the extra pay is going to be worth the stress. Travelling all over the south east on social housing. Theres lots of overtime and stuff but I think I might struggle on the breakdowns. But if I don't start doing them regularly I will never learn. It's a tough one.

 

[julesverne]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

It might be a **** job Ash, but think of the experience and better wages mate. Stress is only bad if you let it get to you or don't have an interest outside of of work.

 

[stevetheplumber]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

its definately the way to learn, if your willing to be out late you can earn reasonable money, if you can do ten a day they will pay you on price it was 15 a service but were talking of going down to 12
theres not a lot they want done for a service you dont open any condensers just rate and fga inlet and workin but you will have about a hundred questions on the pda to tick of half of them pointless regarding gas such as how many bedrooms is it a flat or house etc unpaid surveys realy as the ha dont know what they own
they actually knocked me for 300 quid managers will lie to you and then deny the said it

 

[newcastle phill]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

The key will be time management with that I suspect. You will end up getting stuck on a job and time will compound day after day.
It happens.
I used to do 11 calls a day in winter on elec side for BGas.
You get 1 or 2 sticky ones early on and its 8pm before your home.
Id look at your options and weigh it up.
Might be the best thing thats ever happened for you work wise who knows

 

[mfgs]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

Have you thought about subbing to BG to get more experience, you can sub and just do services. You will occasionally come up against a breakdown or ask to take some on. There is less pressure as you aren't on the cards with them. You can generally get about £20 a service, if you finish what they give you for the day you can take more on etc. They expect about 8 a day from you which is quite easy as they generally give you a small area to work in.

 

[Millsy 82]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

If someone said to me between 10-14 jobs a day I would be out of the door. Been there done that no social life whatsoever and permanently tired and the only people who seemed to benefit from it was the tax man and the company.

 

[mutley racers]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

Have you thought about subbing to BG to get more experience, you can sub and just do services. You will occasionally come up against a breakdown or ask to take some on. There is less pressure as you aren't on the cards with them. You can generally get about £20 a service, if you finish what they give you for the day you can take more on etc. They expect about 8 a day from you which is quite easy as they generally give you a small area to work in.

This sounds cool

 

[IDCHAPPY]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

Doesn't sound worth it TBH, 10-14 jobs a day is nuts...

 

[villa_tom]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

This firm sounds like where I worked before I was made redundant

I was regularly give 15+ jobs a day and made to feel like I was in the wrong when it came to 4:30 and I had to send loads back.

Working for firms on social housing is just a numbers game. The office get jobs come in and as long as the job is gone from their screen they don't care about the enginner.

No managers care about quality of work and you will find bodges in every property you go to, which makes a half hour job turn into a four hour job (but you've still got 10 calls left)

Then, there is call out callout for these firms is a joke. You'll have a full days work, then get given all the crap at 5 o'clock that they couldn't shift, then whilst you're doing them, the callout phone will ring.

If you're desperate to leave then I'd try to sub to BG. I've learnt loads since I've been there and I love it.

Id disagree that working for an HA that's gives you 10+ jobs a day makes you learn quickly. I found, and it may just be me, that taking my time and really getting to understand the fault you're looking at knowing that you have all the time you need to fix it works best.

Plus, HA and councils are full of smack heads and slags and every house you enter is a ****e hole

 

[Rickster123]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

Oh here they all come, the B.G brigade! Be careful ash they're like Jehovah witnesses when they spot a chance to sign you up!

 

[rocketmanbkk]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

I have been offered a service and breakdown position but been told I would be expected to do between 10 and 14 jobs a day. Service would only consist of a few checks and analyser test.so that amount of jobs is doable but it would be impossible to do 14 breakdowns. The workload seems ridiculous but I would probably learn a lot on the breakdown side of things just don't know if the extra pay is going to be worth the stress. Travelling all over the south east on social housing. Theres lots of overtime and stuff but I think I might struggle on the breakdowns. But if I don't start doing them regularly I will never learn. It's a tough one.

14 jobs in how many hours?

What about if you don't 'hit target'?

Get stuck in traffic, roadworks, too many in an 8/9 hr day imo. 12/14 hr day ok but they won't be paying a grand a week plus benefits.

Pound of flesh comes to mind.

You'll be a slave, no time to tea, lunch, think, chat.

You'll be running around all day every day,

 

[armyash]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

I have no problem working long hours as anything over my 'finish' time counts as over time I believe so at least I would be paid extra for staying late unlike now. I'm currently on 380 a week take home for 8.30 - 4.30 which isn't too bad (with nothing to compare it to). Some mornings i'm in the office for 40 minutes while the jobs are sorted out. I rarely finish at 4.30 though, like last Friday I didn't get away until half 8 but receive no extra pay. On the other hand I have probably made a few mistakes a long the way and my boss has kept me on so I can't really complain.

Like I said no problem doing long hours or working hard but it will drive me mad if when im on breakdowns and i'm struggling but then still expected to get round the rest of my jobs and then I might have a 90 minute drive home.

Doing 10-14 services like they expect, I can handle but if I have to change an immersion heater, that could go on especially if there's problems draining/filling.

It's a lot to think about, as Newcastle phill said it could be the best thing that's happened to me work wise and I agree. I'm going to speak to my girlfriend later on when she finishes work and go through it all with her.

Another thing, the company where I work now there isn't a lot of pressure all the time. One thing though the labourers have all been getting laid off for a day or 2 here and there since Christmas and things seem really quiet. One guy left just before Christmas and he fitted the bathrooms and kitchens, now as he's gone my boss said we wont be doing that sort of work. The majority of the work I do is general maintenance, CP12's some breakdowns and the odd install.

A bit of everything really but I can't see me becoming an expert in any aspect of the trade unless I get some good experience which this job could provide me with. Obviously the extra money would be nice and i'm happy to work under pressure but only if it's realistic.

The guy who interviewed me was a supervisor and he said if a jobs going wrong and it gets to 3pm I would need to phone the office and let them know and he said they might cancel the remaining jobs or they might not. He said if they are pre booked services they HAVE to be done.

Am I right in thinking that any time after my official finish time I would be getting paid overtime/standard rate or would I be working for free?

The guy at the agency who has got me this position is an A.hole he has been phoning me a couple of times a day and getting on my case a bit I feel he is pressuring me to say yes to the job. Only actually got told today that the job is mine if I want it.

How do call out weeks work for these companies? I basically go and do my normal days work then out of hours i'm on call out? Is that right?

What is the technical support like at these firms?

Sorry about all the questions but this forum is the only place I can ask about this sort of thing and actually get useful replies from people in the know.

Thanks for all the replies so far.

 

[rocketmanbkk]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

It's ok doing long hours if your getting paid for it.

What's the package?

 

[Rickster123]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

Only earn enough to get by, only work the hours you really need to work, you'll never earn enough money, you'll always pay too much tax but you'll never get the time back with the family. Don't miss the special times chasing the coin because nobody wins but the tax man.
Much love.

 

[armyash]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

14 jobs in how many hours?

What about if you don't 'hit target'?

Get stuck in traffic, roadworks, too many in an 8/9 hr day imo. 12/14 hr day ok but they won't be paying a grand a week plus benefits.

Pound of flesh comes to mind.

You'll be a slave, no time to tea, lunch, think, chat.

You'll be running around all day every day,

That's pretty much the way I see it going, £30k starting.

It's the what if I don't hit my targets etc that i'm worried about. The interviewer said I will be given approx. 14 breakdowns in a day and be expected to first fix on at least 50%. Which doesn't sound too bad but for example changing a dhw heat ex on a greenstar 24i jr can be a nightmare and isn't something that I can do in 45 minutes. I know I will get quicker as I gain confidence but still....

 

[Millsy 82]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

From my experience with HA work villa tom is spot on.

The likes of these companies are not worried about quality and your technical support will be virtually zero (or at least it was the company I worked for)

Also find out what boilers they have, all vaillants your laughing, lots of isars you will be crying! The last one I worked on had all sorts of rubbish isars, alphas, potterton, Glowworm all of them not looked after for years.

You will be asked to do things incorrectly and I had someone following me around turning boilers back on after I condemned them doing things like dropping burner pressures instead of replacing flue gaskets.

As villa tom said call out you will get all the jobs passed to you at 5 that everybody else sent back and then all the call outs that come in so expect to be phoning tenants at silly o clock at night to tell them there job is not important enough to be classed as an emergency, otherwise you will be working until 2-3 in the morning.

They will also say that breakdowns will have to be done within 24 hours so they won't be able to move them.

 

[Nostrum]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

You have to be a particular kind of person to do this work. If you can take all the crap that goes with it in your stride, are happy to be over worked and not to bothered about what time you get home, it can be quite a good job for kicking you into shape and experiencing a wide variety of problems.

If not then you'll struggle to fit in. Don't expect loyalty or someone on the end of the phone when you need them, you'll probably find they are all too busy running around like headless chickens to move the thousands of jobs around to take time out to speak to you, you may feel very isolated if you struggle.

Personally, from the little I know about you I would say it may not be the best idea just yet. You sound like you like to run things over with people and take a minute to think about things, that's not going to happen in this kind of role.

 

[armyash]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

I'm going to speak to my boss in the morning and see if there's plenty of work to keep me going long term if there is I will stay, he might say if a job comes up take it as there isn't a lot on.

I haven't been sent a job spec of any kind just been emailed the job offer and it states the pay and that came from the agency desk monkey not the company I will be working for.

I'm tempted to take the job but if it doesn't work out because I can't meet their targets or something then I am out of a job.

 

[stevetheplumber]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

This firm sounds like where I worked before I was made redundant

I was regularly give 15+ jobs a day and made to feel like I was in the wrong when it came to 4:30 and I had to send loads back.

Working for firms on social housing is just a numbers game. The office get jobs come in and as long as the job is gone from their screen they don't care about the enginner.

No managers care about quality of work and you will find bodges in every property you go to, which makes a half hour job turn into a four hour job (but you've still got 10 calls left)

Then, there is call out callout for these firms is a joke. You'll have a full days work, then get given all the crap at 5 o'clock that they couldn't shift, then whilst you're doing them, the callout phone will ring.

If you're desperate to leave then I'd try to sub to BG. I've learnt loads since I've been there and I love it.

Id disagree that working for an HA that's gives you 10+ jobs a day makes you learn quickly. I found, and it may just be me, that taking my time and really getting to understand the fault you're looking at knowing that you have all the time you need to fix it works best.

Plus, HA and councils are full of smack heads and slags and every house you enter is a ****e hole

thats it exactly what i was trying to say but youve written it so much better

 

[stevetheplumber]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

ash swale heating are looking for breakdown and service engineers much the same as tsg but closer to home in your position i would be very tempted to move on, the wages your on sound very poor youll clear 500 a week after tax easy on tsg just dont get wrapped up trying to do a good job all they want is in and out with as little parts as possible
most ha stuff is sealed now so very little draining down nearly half the calls will be no gas or no water in the system loads of vailiants and solos both easy to work on you will probably only hit a pig of a job twice a week if in doubt order a bottle of system cleanse and move on let some one else get the job cos for sure they will be doing it to you

 

[stevetheplumber]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

there is no tech support all youll have is the other engineers numbers generally their all willing to help but most of them will know less than you dont expect the office to do anything for you even faults on the van youll have to sort it with the garage

 

[armyash]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

ash swale heating are looking for breakdown and service engineers much the same as tsg but closer to home in your position i would be very tempted to move on, the wages your on sound very poor youll clear 500 a week after tax easy on tsg just dont get wrapped up trying to do a good job all they want is in and out with as little parts as possible
most ha stuff is sealed now so very little draining down nearly half the calls will be no gas or no water in the system loads of vailiants and solos both easy to work on you will probably only hit a pig of a job twice a week if in doubt order a bottle of system cleanse and move on let some one else get the job cos for sure they will be doing it to you

My wages are not great but if I am ever stuck my boss is always at the end of the phone and he will even give me a hand if he is free.

I'm going to seriously think about it tonight, the money would be good and I would love to get some good experience on breakdowns. Getting stressed thinking about it now lol. Only thing i'm worried about is not being able to diagnose faults quick enough.

 

[Millsy 82]

Re: Anybody on here ever worked for TSG? Please leave comments about what they're lik

My wages are not great but if I am ever stuck my boss is always at the end of the phone and he will even give me a hand if he is free.

I'm going to seriously think about it tonight, the money would be good and I would love to get some good experience on breakdowns. Getting stressed thinking about it now lol. Only thing i'm worried about is not being able to diagnose faults quick enough.

When I did HA a lot of people would order 2-3 parts for the boiler and go and throw them in. When you looked at the job history it was amazing how many parts had been fitted on some of the boilers.

If you can survive without the extra money it sounds like where you are now would be a better working enviroment.

Half the problem is they price everything so tight that they can't afford the upkeep of the boilers. Even the manager from the housing association said to me that the companies now price stupid amounts just to get the work, he hated it and would of rather the HA paid more and got a proper service but it's not up to him the power that be went for cheapest every time.