Breakdown Engineer question

Just get yourself a pair fella and go for it, they will still make money out of you so don't worry :D
 
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customers are demanding, thats the nature of the job, they will of course expect you to fix it. not all jobs are ten minute repairs though, make them realise that when you are there, above all don't ever panic or get frustrated in front of the customer.....go outside and kick your van in instead. :LOL:
 
cheers for your help guys - I just wanted to getsome advice from pros. I guess it's a question of being confident and you gain experience all the time
 
homeserve don't employ gas engineers, their gas work is done by contractors, we do their work for the southwest. its on a fixed rate, guys without ability or decent experience won't last a day.

rig and orion won't have inexperienced guys either, its not worth them sending a guy out to a company that isn't 100% confident he can handle 9 out of 10 jobs without issue.

Npower are after guys but many of them are for the install side of the business as they've been getting so many complaints from custards who have had a 'all the gear, no idea' guy in their home to fix their boiler.

biggest thing i've seen with guys who want to get into breakdowns who don't really know much about it all is that they often do it at other peoples expense!

i've realised that breakdown engineers and install engineers are very different types and the ones that do both are really rather talented.

my overal advice is to befriend a guy who does breakdowns so you can call him when you're not certain of the fault. read up on here about boiler faults, get a ipad with WIFI so that when a custard calls you, you can enter it in the search engine here and find potential common issues. sooner or later you'll know which boiler fails where.

as a 1 man band, it is hard to get the experience and the companys mentioned are starting to understand they need quality not quantity. however, i understand they still do have a few idiots, but these companies do more breakdowns in a day than an start out independant will do in a month!
 
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thanks for your help - only thing i'm worried about is if i get a fault i cannot diagnose or if i have to change a part i've never changed before!
What do think this forum is for?? :rolleyes: ;) Just make sure you have an internet mobile (iphone or similar) when you go to the job.

PS If you are gas safe registered (you should be), you can join the Combustion Chamber and ask your questions there without embarrassing yourself in front of the amateurs. :)
 
thanks for your replies all

i do know how to test components, using a multimeter etc and operation sequence etc of boilers - i just need to be more confident i suppose.
 
I tend to work no fix no fee, that way it is fair to the customer, but I also charge a proper price, only monkeys work for peanuts, and no one comes round with a hat when your off sick or your van breaks down.
 
thanks for your help - only thing i'm worried about is if i get a fault i cannot diagnose or if i have to change a part i've never changed before!
Speaking as an end user and DIYer, I'll just point out that your attitude already marks you out as better than a lot. Too many seem to be in the "don't know, don't care, swap bits at random and the customer pays" category. Last time my boiler broke down, it took several visits and I still had to diagnose the problem and tell them what to replace :evil:

What you ask, and how you've asked it, suggests you aren't in that group and don't want to be. I hope you succeed.

My experience is in IT, and some of the problems are the same - you can get called out to a bewildering array of different systems, software, etc - and the customer expects you to be an expert at everything, while charging half a peanut. Making friends with others with knowledge in the subject is always good, though obviously there's always the issue of commercial competition. At my last job I was the sole 'techie' in the company, and at times I found it hard - but by going to user groups I was able to keep connections with people that I could ask if I got completely stuck, and at meetings I could throw ideas into a conversation and get feedback on things I was thinking of doing. I don't know if there are any sorts of "get togethers" in the plumbing trade - if there are, and in your area, it's probably worth trying to cultivate contacts.
 
if you want a course to help, you should look at Mr Combi he has a website and his 1 day training course will help, It's a fault finding course Hands on using your own multi meter £120 for the day so not cheap but well worth it.
 
if you want a course to help, you should look at Mr Combi he has a website and his 1 day training course will help, It's a fault finding course Hands on using your own multi meter £120 for the day so not cheap but well worth it.

no it isint.
 
if you want a course to help, you should look at Mr Combi he has a website and his 1 day training course will help, It's a fault finding course Hands on using your own multi meter £120 for the day so not cheap but well worth it.


Mr combi is a clueless ******.
 
that may be so, I don't know but i have heard some good things about the day, I could be wrong though, I guess it had to happen sooner or later, :)
 
PS If you are gas safe registered (you should be), you can join the Combustion Chamber and ask your questions there without embarrassing yourself in front of the amateurs. :)

good advice,join the cc
 

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