is it busy out there

igotgas · 8 Oct 2009

hi im new to this forum and have a ? is it busy out there. im a self employed heating engineer an advertise in local free papers as i have for the last 10 years but this seems to be the worst october i have experience in that time. i have work coming from existing customers but also need new custom, but the phone aint ringing. im in the pottersbar hertfordshire area mainly do brakedown service work + boiler changes wots happening!

Agile · 8 Oct 2009

The weather is still fairly warm and so less use of heating.

I am quite busy!

But you should be posting these questions in the trade section of the site, the Combustion Chamber !

Send your registration details to [email protected]

Tony

igotgas · 8 Oct 2009

Agile";p="1361755 said:
The weather is still fairly warm and so less use of heating.

I am quite busy!

But you should be posting these questions in the trade section of the site, the Combustion Chamber !

Send your registration details to [email protected]

Tony[ thanks for the reply tony how do i get into the combustion chamber sent reg details to admin . i take it you meant gas safe reg no./quote]

Agile · 8 Oct 2009

Admin checks your details and then opens the CC to you and it suddently appears on your list of forum sections towards the top.

To get the quote to work properly you must have [/quote] at the end of the bit to be quoted.

Tony

bathstyle · 8 Oct 2009

What other trade sections does the site have?

I have just recovered from the worst September in 7 years so I know how you feel OP

Agile · 8 Oct 2009

Thats the only closed one that I know about so that gas people can openly discuss and answer gas questions.

There is also an open general trades section but the recession affects different trades in various ways.

I have never been more busy with requests for new boilers for example. the merchants also confirm their boiler sales have not fallen. It could however just be that people are using expensive installers like British Gas less.

Tony

Paul Barker · 8 Oct 2009

No OP it is not busy.

Yet only last night I met a mother who was proud of her son for using his redundancy money to pay for a plumbing course in York.

If it's the same course as a guy who came to me for experience was on they won't turn him out knowing about 3/4" pipe, and a lot of other essential stuff he won't have a clue about. But they will have lightened his wallet for him by quite a few thousands of pounds.

And he won't find any work whatsoever.

I just said to her "you do realise that plumbers are finding it very hard at the moment don't you?" She gives me the usual "pull the other one wry smile look".

OK they won't listen to straight talk, let them find out their own way.

mickyg · 8 Oct 2009

I'm quite local to you, and I'm quite busy this month, and hopefully by the end of the week I'll be booked up til mid november. I'm quite lucky in that I also have contracting which keeps me afloat when installs are quiet, but at the moment i'm struggling to find time for it. I don't envy you working in the Potters Bar area. There's alot of money around those parts, but also I imagine alot of "problematic customers" if you catch my drift and a lot of tenanted property. I used to cover those areas for BG some time ago. I have thought about trying to get into cuffley/br park/ngate st etc working on large domestic systems, but I suspect its a tough market to crack. Rich people can be a nuisance sometimes!

bathstyle · 8 Oct 2009

About 2 to 3 weeks ago I was really scratching around for work, incredibly quiet and very worrying to say the least. I even resorted to calling my mobile number to see if my phone was working

- seriously!

igotgas · 8 Oct 2009

i did the same thing

izzy eckerslike · 8 Oct 2009

People haven't got the money & are wary of the high cost of calling in a gasfitter/plumber. This is why this forum is full of DIYers like myself

A guy my sister rang wanted £80 just to turn up & look at the boiler, then he would give a price for the repair , he wanted the £80 for 20 minutes work regardless of whether he got the job of actually fixing it or not.
Then there's the worry of whether the bloke can be trusted to be honest regarding parts required & how long a job should take.

Get estimates /quotes from 3 plumbers & see how wide apart they are.
One bloke will do it for £250 but another needs £480 for the same job.

persiamomolti · 8 Oct 2009

I don`t charge for going out to a job locally then I leave customer with price and tell them to ring me, takes pressure off them and so far has kept me busy. Getting a lot of Bg customers at moment, who are finding out just how expensive they really are compared to private gas fitters.

mickyg · 8 Oct 2009

persiamouth> are you our new forum troll? Just want to be clear for future refference.

persiamomolti · 8 Oct 2009

What the hells a troll? wots your problem mate, your such a dick.

ollski · 8 Oct 2009

Bg are currently finding life a little quiet and when that really hits they will drive independants deep in the brown stuff. Expect them to be rolling out cheap 24 hour fixed price repairs very soon....and advertising them heavily.

diynot

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is it busy out there

persiamomolti

persiamomolti

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