Ideal boilers, customer service disgrace

[Steelmasons]

Vaillant are also in the game of poaching clients from the independent with letters sent out on the back of warranty acknowledgements although vaillant are deceiving the customer as the letters have vaillant heading but are actually from HOMESERVE as is the return stamped addressed envelope.

I won't be fitting anymore vaillants for the above reason also for the fact that these boilers are overpriced for what they are and mostly manufactured using plastic , reliability has also hit rock bottom.

 

[doitall]

Haven't used vaillant since we had a batch of them catch fire.

 

[Richardthe3rd]

And of course it is a flagrant breach of the data protection act.

Never show loyalty to a boiler manufacturer. Let's face it, most installers are one man bands. So it's no big deal to them if they lose a few. Plus, the national merchants don't help, they'll also sell to anyone, at the end of the day they don't give a s.it about installers either.

If you've got a job for 200 boilers for example, just watch as the Reps swarm through your door!! Merchants & manufacturers.

I recall years ago, Grahams tried to play silly buggers with selling to the Public at trade prices. Most of the SNIPEF Plumbers boycotted them. That changed their attitude PDQ.

Grab manufacturers & merchants by the ballox & squeeze hard.

 

[griggs]

How ironic!

I was at an Ideal training course on Tuesday this week and I asked the rep, who stopped by, outright about this practice. He, unsurprisingly, was adamant that this does not happen at Ideal. Seems he's just towing the company line.

Manufacturers need to wake up to the fact that we are their customers, we know their past failures and it is all too easy for us to highlight boiler manufacturers who's boilers suddenly catch fire, PCBS that are on their umpteenth revision, insulation panels that drop down burning holes through burner chamber, heat exchangers that ripple, hydro blocks that pinhole etc etc.

 

[doitall]

Griggs, I being saying for at least 20 years, most boilers are cheap and nasty made to fail cans that are designed for the rip-off spares market

Sell a crap products then rip them off with over inflated spare parts to keep it going for the next 5 years, then along come Homeserve, BG etc and quote for a new boiler as it's not economically cost affective to repair.

Perhaps we should start a thread naming all the cash cows over the last 20 years, starting with the Suprima PCB

 

[newbuildinstaller]

Was talking to the Ideals head of new build.

They have nearly ALL major UK builders on board for the logic, Barratts, Bellway, Persimmons, Gentoo, etc

Also I know most/all local councils near us use the Logic as well as massive amounts of ECO/Greendeal boilers.

Dont think they would care if any one man band stopped fitting their product

 

[transam]

Was talking to the Ideals head of new build.

They have nearly ALL major UK builders on board for the logic, Barratts, Bellway, Persimmons, Gentoo, etc

Also I know most/all local councils near us use the Logic as well as massive amounts of ECO/Greendeal boilers.

Dont think they would care if any one man band stopped fitting their product

Fair point , but builders speccing a particular brand of boiler is one thing
the installer has no choice.

but an installer recommending a brand on there own back , & than getting shafted by ideal is another thing.

ferroli used to do alot of new builds

 

[shambolic]

I'm not getting involved in this guys!
I'll still help you all out when you need it.
I know Homeserve run the admin side of our contracts bu its always an Ideal engineer that calls to our contracts.
I can't comment on the marketing thing but I always say to customers that anyone can service their boiler and encourage their installer to do it as its a no brainer (lots don't like to do servicing??) as you get us out to replace electrodes etc after service if required.
The Vogue also has a facility to put your phone number and details in that come up on display when service is due.
TBH Chris Jessop isnae the worst boss to work for and he's actually very fair, obviously his name on these letters though
I'm not defending Ideal as I don't know enough about "stealing" your customers, but I will give assistance when reqd.

 

[shambolic]

iPhone fail

 

[shambolic]

Ps on the new build against one off guys, I've been pushing our market to one off for ages due to the decline of new build over the last few years(picking up now though).
The social housing is a great market too though.
But getting 10 installers that do 50 each a year has better margins than 500 boilers from a house builder.
It's an area I try not to get involved with as I only want to work on the boiler and train others on them.

 

[Happyplumber]

The independent Installer is the biggest cash cow out there for all manufacturers ,anyone who does not understand this is not a very good business man

The small one man bands pay premium prices for any boilers

The ECO guys and also House builders are buying boilers cheap as chips,all due to the fact they are working on volume .

If you see what the companies actually pay for the Logics on ECO ,one would be laughing ,thats why they mug off the small installer with the same product at alot higher price and call it a premium boiler

 

[Biggles..]

I'm not getting involved in this guys!
I'll still help you all out when you need it.
I know Homeserve run the admin side of our contracts bu its always an Ideal engineer that calls to our contracts.
I can't comment on the marketing thing but I always say to customers that anyone can service their boiler and encourage their installer to do it as its a no brainer (lots don't like to do servicing??) as you get us out to replace electrodes etc after service if required.
The Vogue also has a facility to put your phone number and details in that come up on display when service is due.
TBH Chris Jessop isnae the worst boss to work for and he's actually very fair, obviously his name on these letters though
I'm not defending Ideal as I don't know enough about "stealing" your customers, but I will give assistance when reqd.

Fair play to you, I have no issue with you or the engineers, defend your product not the company.
Personally I don't give a fook who comes out, ideal or homeserve, fact is it should be neither as they have no right to poach customers.

I'm sure Chris Jessops a lovely guy, putting food on your table by stealing it off of the independent installers table!

 

[Richardthe3rd]

Let's face it; if a boiler manufacturer's rep was worth his salt he'd have every installer on his patch fitting his boilers, but they don't have any atomnomy & even less backing by their employer.

Granted, there's a lot of manufacturers out there & the number of reps on the road has reduced greatly over the last twenty years. However, as a British manufacturer Ideal has not covered itself in glory, which is a great shame.

If I were in top management at Ideal, I think I'd try a radical approach with installers, a new approach. Which may actually work in a difficult, complex market.

Final point, I'm involved in new builds & we're fitting Baxi.

 

[Dan Robinson]

Not if you had met or local Baxi rep. I'm sure he's a nice guy, but he thinks he's Danny flocking Dyer. Very annoying. Although he did give me a couple of nice soldering rags - sooey - t shirts, and a notepad.

 

[Agile]

So having got it finally right, Mr Jessop decides yet again to fook over they're loyal installers by sending out letters offering to steal the installers customer for the princely sum of £84 including a 12point yearly service.

At least they have got the price right!

Not only do they steal our customers but they steal my price too!