BBC Watchdog - British Gas

[Gary71]

but it is easy to have a dig at them.

BG should be the benchmark for gas service and quality, it's because they are not that makes them a easy target, they are now no better or worse than any large company and should stop pretending otherwise.

 

[tamz]

Give it time. When all the old ones who still think of them as the gas board, a company that could be trusted, die off they will have no option.

 

[Gary71]

so BG pioneered the use of analysers (when some were still testing for leaks with a match) as it was a way of checking if a strip down service was actually required to save time.

Those that didn't have analysers used gascoseakers and pretended.

 

[Doodlebug]

Some of the things you say are probably true to a certain extent, I can only vouch for myself. I know there are some engineers who push for a sale rather than fixing the boiler but these lads aren't well liked within the team as 9 times out of 10 us that do try to fix the boilers and up going back to the job. At the end of the day the customer wants there boiler fixed, and that's what we are there to do. Advise is just something that all engineers should do as common practice not as a substitute for fixing the problem.

 

[tamz]

Those that didn't have analysers used gascoseakers and pretended.

Ha. You are going back a bit there :lol:

 

[Doodlebug]

BG should be the benchmark for gas service and quality, it's because they are not that makes them a easy target, they are now no better or worse than any large company and should stop pretending otherwise.

I think you will find that they are, British Gas quality of service is second to none.

 

[petercj]

Once upon a time there was a gas fitter called Dan who took his van to Stitch Motors for a service, he left it in morning and picked it up in the evening after work, and it cost him £85.

On the way home he called for some petrol and without thinking checked the oil, he then remembered he had just paid for a service, but to his surprise the oil was obviously not fresh.

When he got home he took off the air filter cover, only to find that the air filter wasn’t a new one.

He then had a look at the brake fluid, and surprise, surprise, the level was still a bit low as it had been when he’d checked it last week.

He then took a look at the spark plugs and saw that they weren’t new ones, so he took a plug out only to find that the gap was 3 thou wider than the recommended setting.

The next day Dan called in to Stitch Motors and said to the Service Manager: "hey the oil hasn’t been changed in my van, it still has the old air-filter, the brake fluid hasn’t been topped up and the plugs haven’t been touched!"

“Ah” said the Service Manager, “the thing is sir, we did an emissions test on your van and the result was good, so we concluded that we didn’t need to do any more to your van!”

“So why did you charge me £85 then”, asked Dan?

“Because that’s what we charge for a service sir”, said the Service Manager!

“But you haven’t done a service”, said Dan!

“Oh yes we have sir, that’s how we do Services at Stitch Motors!” said the Service Manager!

Please pick one of the following:-

1/ Did Dan carry on to his work feeling that his van was being well looked after … or

2/ Did he google the word ‘service’ when he got home … or

[FONT=&amp]3/ Did he drive straight to his local Trading Standards office ?[/FONT]

 

[TBServices]

This one "one man defending an evil corporation" schtick is getting old.

British Gas don't offer the service they promise in their marketing, they don't offer value for money, and most of all, they don't care about their customers, or "looking after your world". Money is their only motivation.

Whether you work for them or not doodlebug, it's naive to think otherwise, and blindly defending the bigwigs at the top of the tree is ridiculous in the scenario, your views are not shared by anyone. No one here is attacking you, it's just a job. If they offered me one, I'd jump at it, if only for the experience.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[Doodlebug]

What is a service? Please explain. And don't say as per manufactures instructions, let's have a list of what's expected on a service.

 

[tamz]

Please pick one of the following:-

1/ Did Dan carry on to his work feeling that his van was being well looked after … or

2/ Did he google the word ‘service’ when he got home … or

[FONT=&amp]3/ Did he drive straight to his local Trading Standards office ?[/FONT]

If Dan knows how to check the plug gap he should have done the service himself and saved himself some cash.

The world is the way it is whether BG looks after it or not. A one man crusade will achieve nothing other than a bit self satisfaction.

 

[petercj]

What is a service? Please explain. And don't say as per manufactures instructions, let's have a list of what's expected on a service.

lol

If your not allowed to give the obvious answer, the question cannot be replied to!

What happens during a BG induction?

I did watch the Homeland series, is it similar?

 

[Doodlebug]

lol

If your not allowed to give the obvious answer, the question cannot be replied to!

What happens during a BG induction?

I did watch the Homeland series, is it similar?

Its Saturday night and I'm off out to spend some of my qdos pmsl

 

[tamz]

That is not very fair is it :smile:

 

[Doodlebug]

lol

If your not allowed to give the obvious answer, the question cannot be replied to!

What happens during a BG induction?

I did watch the Homeland series, is it similar?

Can I just say before I go, I do like you petercj, you really do amuse me. Pmsl

 

[tamz]

Btw i know a guy who has 28 years worth. He is saving them for his retirement arty:

 

[Gary71]

What is a service? Please explain. And don't say as per manufactures instructions, let's have a list of what's expected on a service.

Doodlebug, please don't try and defend the use of a analyser in lieu of a boiler service, just when we were bonding.

Analysers were first used on boilers that a strip down service would be detrimental to longevity of the boiler, so it allowed away to prove clean combustion without any drama, it was later that some bright spark decide to cut service times and increase the engineers work load using a analysed "service", customers hate them and they allow chancers the ability to " service" boilers without any skill.

 

[Gary71]

Its Saturday night and I'm off out to spend some of my qdos pmsl

I'll swap you for a turkey.

 

[Doodlebug]

Doodlebug, please don't try and defend the use of a analyser in lieu of a boiler service, just when we were bonding.

Analyser were first used on boilers that a strip down service would be detrimental to longevity of the boiler, so it allowed away to prove clean combustion without any drama, it was later that some bright spark decide to cut service times and increase the engineers work load using a analysed "service", customers hate them and they allow chancers the ability to " service" boilers without any skill.

I hate servicing mate and to be honest with you an analyser can sometimes be a curse, it finds problems you wouldn't normally find.

 

[Gary71]

I hate servicing mate and to be honest with you an analyser can sometimes be a curse, it finds problems you wouldn't normally find.

I'm a manfactures tech(because my 662 wasn't enough for BG, not that I'm bitter), so most of my time is spent hearing "your boilers ****", fixing installation errors, taking calls from engineers and hiding inherent boiler design faults then blaming them on the poor unsuspecting cuddly installer.

 

[petercj]

If Dan knows how to check the plug gap he should have done the service himself and saved himself some cash.

The world is the way it is whether BG looks after it or not. A one man crusade will achieve nothing other than a bit self satisfaction.

I don't go in for crusades - there is plenty of ground between going on a crusade and rolling over, which is the pathway I am taking.

The financial world is the way people make it, and big business often steam-rollers over any opposition. But then even the mightiest have fallen when certain events come together. My efforts may only be one brick in the wall, but that will give me some satisfaction because I will know I made some effort rather than just rolling over.

Most high-flyers get where they are by taking risks, and quite often they fall because of risks that backfire on them.

BG are heading for a fall anyway - the writing is on the wall - the current financial crisis has attracted big money into the world of central heating, the Johnny Ball ad being just one example. The bench mark for a decent boiler, supplied and fitted, is now under 2K.

When financial times get hard the capitalists look for solid investment opportunities. During the last recession of the 70's large amounts of capital were invested in the retailing of food on the basis that people will always have to eat, hence the growth of supermarkets over the last 30 years.

One attraction for capital now is the fact that: 'people will always need to keep warm'.

The big names in the gas industry don't have the confidence of the general public because of the ever-spiralling cost of gas and the tactics the companies have used to capitalise on such increases. I suspect this factor has acted as a counter force to the reputation Centrica took over when inheriting the BG brand.

The Help-Link ad is seriously well pitched and focussed on what is at the forefront of people's minds: £sd, and getting the most for your hard earned cash.

For anyone who doesn't have the ability to pay up front there is the option to spread the cost over 10 years by paying £17 a month with a 10 year warranty (obviously the interest involved takes the total cost over 2k, but I've looked at the terms, and they are quite reasonable)

These people really know what they are about - if I was looking to invest some capital, and the choice was between BG and Help-link, I know where I would put my money.

I love the Help -Link ad because every time I see I think: that's another load of business BG won't get.

Lets face it, most the programs on TV are rubbish, so why not enjoy the odd advert! lol

Rock on Johnny, you're doing a great job!

 

[Doodlebug]

I think you will find, if you do your research, that British Gas are doing very well in this extremely hard financial climate. What makes a company successful is to not stand still. There is a lot of competition out there now but because British Gas haven't sat back and watched, they are now growing as a business. One of the things British Gas have introduced is the promise of getting to a customer if they call before 1pm (obviously not possible in extreme weather conditions). This is just one example of something the competition can't compete with another is the fact that most of the competitors pick and choose what boilers they take on contract, ie: if it's over 15 years old, they don't want to know.
E.on, tried to use there financial muscle to take customers away from British Gas and have failed miserably and I have got a friend who works for E.on so I do know. Customers who do move soon come back when they realise that British Gas are by far the best. I have had customers tell me this.