by jove---what a rip off..............!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Corgigrouch]

I don't suppose that BG engineers are any more or less honest than anyone else here. Some have the attitude of "I think that it is better to repair this old boiler" others would look at a boiler and prefer to replace it... Especially if the job in hand is an awkward job..Plus if you can sell the customer a new boiler and get a small reward in the pay packet, then all the better... Different guys, different ways of looking at the same problem and obviously different solutions.

BG as a company do seem to abuse the trust that the public have in them by their strong sales techniques and this I find somewhat distasteful , though I do acknowledge that it is pretty much the norm for many large companies.

I too am bemused at the view that a big company should have high overheads given that they do have substantial buying power straight from the manufacturers rather than most of us who have to buy from a middle man.. Same for vehicles and every other consumable item, so why is it that BG are so expensive in some areas and yet so cheap in others... I would never complain at the profits that any company makes, after all that is what a company is there to do, none of us would complain about making too much money.. The customer alway has the right to shop around and for service/repair, find themselves a good independant and stick with him.

 

[Gasguru]

The BG name should have dissapeared years ago, the company should've been broken up into units no more than say 20 installers. Then it would be fairer playing field. I meet plenty of customers (especially the elderly) who still believe everyone works for the gas board and BG exploit this with their name.

It is simply not true that bigger companies have larger overheads, quite the contrary, they have substantial buying power. Boilers, spares, vehicles, tools/equipment, training, insurance, corgi fees etc...everything is cheaper than an individual installer will pay. They can also cut corners and hide behind the "big company..we can't always get it right excuse".
They can also manage their installers far more efficiently moving them from job to job.

People confuse these so called higher overheads with the extra costs of incompetent management...which is rife within BG. What's a typical 1st fix percentage in London, must be pretty low. I've just got another customer off BG who's had 21 visits to fix his Alpha...only 2 years old...that's real inefficiency. Hearing customers tell of half a dozen visits for even the most basic repairs is commonplace.

What ****es me off is the continuous advertising that is simply fraudulant. I'd join BG tomorrow but I know the dross I'd have to work with, the useless f**kwits that pass for management and the lies I'd have to tell customers wouldn't let me sleep at night. 8 or 9 jobs a day done safely...not a hope in hell...corner cutting all the way.

I have only ever met one BG installer (in London) with an ethical and moral attitude towards the customer and a good understanding of the job...why the hell he wanted to continue with BG beats me...his manager was a complete a**ehole (trying to cover up a potential Powermax incident).

 

[gas_man_gaz]

how can ya say bg were in the wrong without seein the job, especially wen ya only goin on the word of someone who says he can hav a new boiler fitted for £200!

I don't think that it adds to the professionalism of this site to see so many spelling/grammar errors.

There is a spell checker to help you!

they are not errors they are deliberate and i cnt see how me leavin a g of the end of a word or using abbreviations would undermine the professionalism of the advice given in a forum... ya luky ive toned dwn my txt talk!!

 

[tonybhoy]

People confuse these so called higher overheads with the extra costs of incompetent management...which is rife within BG. What's a typical 1st fix percentage in London, must be pretty low. I've just got another customer off BG who's had 21 visits to fix his Alpha...only 2 years old...that's real inefficiency. Hearing customers tell of half a dozen visits for even the most basic repairs is commonplace.

What p****s me off is the continuous advertising that is simply fraudulant. I'd join BG tomorrow but I know the dross I'd have to work with, the useless f**kwits that pass for management and the lies I'd have to tell customers wouldn't let me sleep at night. 8 or 9 jobs a day done safely...not a hope in hell...corner cutting all the way.

Not just BG who have problems fixing things efficiently some of the boiler manufacturers' own trained engineers are simply incompetent,Vokera anyone?

Had to call WB yesterday to find out the min flow rate through a 37 CDi combi cause they don't print that info in their technical part of the MI.

Guy on the phone said he had never been asked that question, which kind a begs an altogether other question however I digress,so he would have to put it to "research and development" and get back to me which he did to give him his due,24 hrs later unfortunately.It's 5litres/pmin BTW.

Also remember the time that BG engineers were seen as the cream of the industry within the industry who you could rely on to ensure things were safe but that's long gone now.

Used to be a time when only BG could connect the gas carcass to a domestic meter and carry out the gas test ,as it was called then, so you knew everything was ok the job was safe and that was that.

Now every single one of us are watching our backs,constantly and the ones to suffer are the customers cause it is them who pay for all of that looking over the shoulder stuff.

 

[Agile]

Bout time you is learn spell
"warranty"
den, innit?

I now spell it "warrantee" because you told me that was the correct spelling.

However a Google search finds 60,100 for warranty and a higher 68,400 for warrantee.

Tony

 

[nickso]

BG only have two real problems.

a workforce that dont trust or respect their managers.

a management that dont trust or respect their workforce.

every other problem stems from that, it may seem obvious but i dont think they will ever close that gap again. the managers are now people who have never done the job, they are all public schoolboy fops with a degree in politics. completely untrustworthy and woefully inept at anything outside a meeting with other fops.

one of them tried to say it was, on average, possible to change a pump in 9 minutes. that would imply that the maximum time allowed for any situation would be 18 minutes, no surprise he was a politics man who eventually got his arse booted by an ex-SAS captain who shat himself under pressure from 3 angry gasmen. pathetic doesnt even get close.

if you have a sensible head you can be a good engineer and do a good job for these idiots. if you are lazy and want to chase money then you will be the worker bee that we hear about on here far too often, the ones that routinely lie to customers because they are too cowardly to tell the customer and management the facts.

as far as overheads go, the prices for installs are over the top simply because they pay for a team of salesmen to quote the jobs. nothing wrong with that, i couldnt/wouldnt do it. they have set prices to quote and cant change them for certain situations. joe plumber can waltz in and price a job he himself will fit and if he is told of a rivals price he can adjust accordingly if he wants the job bad enough.

 

[Softus]

The BG name should have dissapeared years ago, the company should've been broken up into units no more than say 20 installers. Then it would be fairer playing field.

Fairer schmairer. You work in purely market economy, in case you hadn't noticed. Do you not remember what Margaret Thatcher led this country to do?

I meet plenty of customers (especially the elderly) who still believe everyone works for the gas board and BG exploit this with their name.

There's nothing to prevent you from incorporating a company with the name "British Gasguru".

It is simply not true that bigger companies have larger overheads, quite the contrary, they have substantial buying power. Boilers, spares, vehicles, tools/equipment, training, insurance, corgi fees etc...everything is cheaper than an individual installer will pay.

I guess my company is unique then, in having no switchboard, no advertising, no vehicle depreciation, no board meetings, no canteen staff, and no idiots on the payroll.

They can also cut corners and hide behind the "big company..we can't always get it right excuse".
They can also manage their installers far more efficiently moving them from job to job.

:shrug:

People confuse these so called higher overheads with the extra costs of incompetent management...which is rife within BG.

Which people?

What's a typical 1st fix percentage in London, must be pretty low.

It's pretty low.

I've just got another customer off BG who's had 21 visits to fix his Alpha...only 2 years old...that's real inefficiency. Hearing customers tell of half a dozen visits for even the most basic repairs is commonplace.

But you said that they were more efficient.

What p****s me off is the continuous advertising that is simply fraudulant. I'd join BG tomorrow but I know the dross I'd have to work with, the useless f**kwits that pass for management and the lies I'd have to tell customers wouldn't let me sleep at night. 8 or 9 jobs a day done safely...not a hope in hell...corner cutting all the way.

But you said that they were more efficient.

 

[namsag]

Lets talk about profits for those who think it is wrong to make one i take it when they do boiler swap or full system how much do they make is it the national average wage NO its not it is far higher(even allowing for overheads) does this make them any worse than BG.
It is simple NO one twists peoples arms up their back to buy, people have freedom of choice a lot of people go to BG for credit how many of you offer finance.
And for those that claim they have poached X amount of customers from BG i take it they would provide a first class service if a large amount of them phoned on the same cold day with various problems or would they be out doing already planned work if not why not.

No i am not a BG supporter but if people are going to moan at least let it be constructive. I could sit here all day typing about horrendous stuff that is done by independents as i would hope you all could if not perhaps you are the people i would be typing about

 

[Soggy_weetabix]

Namsag, Im not quoting out of context. I literally know one or two decent BG guys.
The rest that i have had the unfortunate circumstance to come across will throw parts at a boiler untill the problem is fixed. I even helped one of the local BG guys who was struggling with a blocked pilot light whilst I was fitting a new cooker.

He had already fitted a new thermocouple, overheat and as a last resort was going down the gas valve route. A blocked pilot I would not consider rocket science, and this was an 'engineer' with over 10 experience with BG. I suspect (and only suspect), that a new boiler would have been fitted if a 6 quid part was not diagnosed as being blocked.

But, as you say, whether it be BG or a self employed RGI, there are idiots out there. Its just none of us have the advertising or wealth of BG, and with the name of BG its still comparable to the great organisation it once was.

Sorry for any offence caused.

David