Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. - Blog

Apprentice Success

2010-04-06T22:27:00.001+01:00

Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. have successfully trained our first apprentice to pass the FICA exam and their apprenticeship.

More details to follow...

Visit Our Online Shop

2010-04-05T14:10:00.002+01:00

We have reopened our online electrical shop which is now hosted on eBay.

Our online shop will continue to develop over the coming months and will have available to purchase electrical wiring accessories - sockets, switches, lights and special offers.

Visit our electrical shop at www.theelectricalshop.com

Easter Holidays

2010-03-31T19:38:00.003+01:00

Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. will be closed for the Easter Holidays on Friday 2nd April through to Monday 5th April.

We will open again on Tuesday 6th April.

Have a happy holiday weekend.

Scott McLean is fundraising for Mary’s Meals - JustGiving

2010-03-28T12:53:00.004+01:00

Scott McLean is fundraising for Mary’s Meals - JustGiving

On 5th September 2010 Stirling Electrical Services owner Scott McLean and friend Alastair Paul will be taking part in the 10K Great Scottish Run.

On that day just like any other day millions of kids throughout the world will suffer from hunger.

This is a worldwide humanity problem but a Scottish Charity called Mary's Meals has a simple vision - that every needy child receives one daily meal in their place of education.

Mary's Meals aims to provides free school meals and other essential help to some of the world's poorest children.

It costs just £6.15 to feed a child in Malawi for a year. So for the sake of two pints of beer, eight litres of milk or six loaf's of bread you could provide one meal per day at school for one kid for one year.

It is our aim in the build up to the 10K race in September to fundraise enough money to provide 100 kids with meals for a year. Thats £615.00 we need to raise...but 100 kids will benefit for a whole year with a hot meal at school.

Mary’s Meals not only addresses the immediate needs of hungry children by giving them a daily meal, it also allows those children to receive an education that can provide an escape from poverty for themselves and their communities.

More information on Mary's Meals and how your money will be used can be found at http://www.marysmeals.org/index.html

Mary's Meals is a Scottish Charity that is endorsed by businessmen Sir Tom Farmer CBE and Duncan Bannatyne.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - We raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Scott McLean is fundraising for Mary’s Meals - JustGiving

New Logo For Building Warrant Certifiers

2010-03-25T20:29:00.001Z

We will soon be able to display the new combined Scottish Government/SELECT Logo to advertise our competence to undertake building warrant work.

A new logo has been produced to promote the companies that are already Approved Certifier's for Building Warrant Work.

More details when we receive the logo.

Details of the work we can carry out regarding Building Warrant work can be found at this link.

VAT v NI Increase

2010-02-18T16:37:00.007Z

It looks like later this year once the dust has settled after the May? General Election that VAT will be increased to complement the already proposed increase in Employers and Employee National Insurance rates.

I have never understood and probably never will understand the reasoning why businesses should get taxed 12.8% on top of employee wage rates (remembering that employees and business owners already contribute with National Insurance payments from their wages.) In other words this is a "tax on creating jobs".

An increase in National Insurance Contribution is set to kick in within 2011 and later this year many experts believe whoever is in control in Downing Street will increase VAT rates to aid the UK's financial deficit.

This increase will likely see the current 17.5% VAT rate rise to anything up to 20%.

This will obviously have an increase in the end cost of the electrical services we provide and ultimately an increase to our clients. Our client based is a mixture of domestic and commercial/industrial clients. Now the majority of the latter will be able to offset their VAT charges against their expenditure VAT but domestic clients cannot claim VAT back.

This will not just result in our domestic clients paying more which is bad enough in these crucial financial times but it will give our competitors who do not charge VAT an even wider advantage over our rates. Various clients are likely to go with these competitor's who's turnover is under the VAT threshold which puts pressure on our business to compete, which ultimately exposes more of a risk to "have we got enough work to employ someone" which in a roundabout way defeats the purpose of the VAT tax increase because if we cannot employ someone they cannot contribute in NI and Tax to the government who will then have to pay out benefit money.

If I were in charge then regarding VAT - if you are a business then you MUST be registered for VAT - its as simple as that and it creates a level playing field. Plus if all businesses were registered for VAT then more revenue for the Government would be created plus if they were playing fair(haha) they could reduce the VAT rate slightly and still create more revenue due more businesses contributing.

So after all that if it were only one of NI and VAT that was to be increased what would i prefer.

Ultimately I would still like to see the Employers NI Contributions removed or even slashed by at least 50%. It is this which see's us contribute tens of thousands of pounds per year to the government just because we employ people and keep them in employment. This Employers NI Tax is my biggest bugbearer in business.

So it would need to be an increase in VAT for me that I would like to see above an increase in NI.

But no matter what I think an increase to both will go ahead in the very near future - save up now folks, the financial clawback by the Government is just about to begin.

Create a Business, Create Jobs, Create Revenue for Government - That should be the motto for UK parties in the lead up to the General Election.

Newsletter - January 2010 - Issue 1

2010-01-30T18:08:00.003Z

To view the first edition of our new newsletter please follow the web link below.

Stirling Electrical Services Ltd Newsletter - January 2010 - Issue 1

2010-01-17T16:55:00.002Z

The first edition of our quarterly company email newsletter will be published this week.

If you would like to receive a copy all you have to do is make sure your email address is on our distribution list and you can do this by visiting this page.

Electric Heating - Our Install & Repair Service

2010-01-08T20:26:00.005Z

We are currently three weeks into the longest cold spell in decades so perhaps its a good time to repost a blog post from October 2007 regading our Electric Storage Heating Repair Service

http://stirlingelectrical.blogspot.com/2007/10/is-your-electric-heating-working.html

Free Electrical Advice Service

2010-01-03T17:40:00.003Z

One of our unique new services for 2010 is the introduction of our email advice service.

Anyone or any business requiring advice on electrical problems or upcoming work can contact us by email where we will respond by email with our thoughts on your query.

This service is open to people and businesses in Scotland only and is limited to domestic and commercial clients and if we can give advice our initial responce is free.

We cannot gaurantee to answer or give advice on all queries. Arranged site visits may be required before we can give advice and these may incur a charge.

You can submit your problem/query to our email advice line at advice@stirlingelectrical.co.uk or by filling in our online form on our website.

Quarterly Email Newsletter

2010-01-03T17:23:00.004Z

In order that we can keep our clients up to date with our company news, special offers and legislation changes we will be producing a quarterly email newsletter starting in January 2010.

We hope that you will enjoy our quarterly bulletins and we encourage our readers to participate and provide feedback not only on our newsletter but also on our company and services so we can continue to provide a service to match our clients needs.

You can sign up to our email newsletter and receive the first newsletter which will be available in a few weeks time.

You can sign up for our email newsletter by clicking here.

Happy New Year

2010-01-01T08:00:00.004Z

All the team at Stirling Electrical Services hope you all had a merry Christmas and we wish you all a happy new year in 2010.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-23T07:20:00.003Z

Everyone at Stirling Electrical Services would like to wish all our clients and readers a very Merry Christmas and a Happy Prosperous New Year.

Our office and services will close down on Wednesday 23rd December and will resume on Wednesday 6th January.

Have an excellent festive period everyone.

Christmas Party Night 2009

2009-12-20T13:09:00.009Z

Our company Christmas night out was held last Friday at The Grange Manor Hotel in Grangemouth. An excellent fun filled night was had by all our staff and the other guests with lots of good food and alcohol consumed.

Below are a few photos from the evening.

How to Reset a Miniature Circuit Breaker

2009-12-17T20:05:00.003Z

Our electricians and myself are looking forward to a "well deserved" break over the Festive Season so I thought I would post this video of how to locate and reset a miniature circuit breaker (MCB) in your consumer unit.

We dont want your Christmas dinner spoiled and we want to enjoy our own dinners in peace ;-)

Merry Christmas.

Charity 5km Run - Santa Dash

2009-12-13T14:22:00.000Z

Well I did it in 31 minutes, I think that was not bad for my first ever 5km run.

Today I took part in the Glasgow Santa Dash where over 3000 runners, men, women and children, dressed in Santa suits ran 5km for charity through the centre of Glasgow.

I only signed up for the event seven days ago and will have over £200 in spnsorship money for good causes.

Thanks to all those who sponsored me and I'm looking forward to next years event already.

Time for a long warm bath though, it was -2 this morning in Glasgow.

Photos from today can be viewed on my Flickr Page

Another Year

2009-12-12T21:16:00.001Z

Well only 8 work days* until the work year ends and after another hectic year we are all looking forward to the break over the festive period.

We are also looking forward to our Christmas Party night which will take place on Friday 18th at The Grange Manor Hotel in Grangemouth.

Next year is already looking busy but before then bring on the Christmas and New Year festivities.

Everyone at Stirling Electrical Services wishes our clients a very Merry Christmas and wish them all a good and prosperous New Year.

* We will have an electrician working in between Christmas and New Year for emergency cover work.

Clean Up

2009-12-12T20:15:00.000Z

Just had a wee clean up of the layout on our blog page - let us know what you think.

Updates

2009-12-10T20:09:00.002Z

Not has much time to Blog recently but you can still catch up with Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. on Twitter - @StirlingElect and on Facebook.

Donation - Parent Education Programme

2009-10-29T20:30:00.003Z

Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. are delighted to forward a £30 donation to the Parent Education Programme which is run in Forth Valley.

The education programme is provided in a variety of settings in hospitals and the community and the programme is an integral part in the journey for parents from conception to the postnatal period.

Test Blog

2009-09-17T13:15:00.000+01:00

We have been setting up our various social networking pages this week,
so this is a wee internal test to see if it all works ok.

Students

2009-09-17T10:26:00.001+01:00

Thanks to all the students who have contacted us so far and good luck with your studies this year.

Details of our PAT Testing service for students can be found below.

Click image to go to our website for full details.

It's that time of year when Students are heading to university and like previous years we will once again be offering our Portable Appliance Testing (PAT Testing) service at discounted rates to Students heading to The University of Stirling.

All electrical appliances students take with them into their new residence at Stirling are required to be checked that they are are safe to be used and this is where we come in.

If you are a student heading to our City over the next few weeks and require Pat Testing carried out please click on the image above.

Facebook

2009-09-15T18:53:00.003+01:00

Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. now have a presence on social networking platform Facebook.
Users of Facebook can keep up to date with our company by visiting:-

our page

Facebook users can also keep in touch with company Director Scott McLean

at this page

Appliance Testing For Students

2009-08-26T20:37:00.002+01:00

It's that time of year when Students are heading to university and like previous years we will once again be offering our Portable Appliance Testing (PAT Testing) service at discounted rates to Students heading to The University of Stirling.

All electrical appliances students take with them into their new residence at Stirling are required to be checked that they are are safe to be used and this is where we come in.

If you are a student heading to our City over the next few weeks and require Pat Testing carried out please click on the image above.

Buy Stirling Albion FC Campaign

2009-07-20T07:33:00.001+01:00

Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. have been proud to sponsor and advertise with Stirling Albion Football Club for a number of years, including official website, trackside and programme advertising, as well sponsorship of tracksuits for matchday ballboy's and Young Reds teams.

Now we are also throwing our weight behind the buystirlingalbion campaign in what is such a critical time for the football club.

Click here to find out more details on the ongoing campaign to purchase the club for the supporters and the community.

New Van

2009-07-12T11:50:00.003+01:00

A new Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. van will be hitting the streets of Stirling and beyond this coming week. Have a look out for it, but watch out, as its identical to all our other vans, its another step in making sure our company uniform and brand is consistant.

AICO Fire Products - Trained Installer

2009-07-12T11:19:00.007+01:00

We have recently been awarded status of a Trained Installer with one of the UK's leading fire products manufacturer AICO.

AICO manufacture domestic and light commercial smoke and heat alarm products as well as hard of hearing alarms.

Our new status will benefit landlords, letting agents and House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) owners as these are the type of dwellings that require alarms under legislation.

Visit our Fire Alarm page on our website for more information.

Latest News is also on Twitter

2009-07-11T22:20:00.002+01:00

Just a reminder that most of our daily updates take place over on Twitter, this is where you will find out what we are upto on a daily basis.

Click here to follow us on Twitter

Steamship Sir Walter Scott

2009-06-22T19:17:00.003+01:00

Today I attended a special sailing of the Steamship Sir Walter Scott on Loch Katrine.

The sailing was to celebrate the completion of a three year refurbishment project and for the 110 year anniversary of the launch of the steamship. 1899-2009.

Click here for photos of the event.

Click here for Loch Katrine website.

Save Gillies Hill

2009-06-21T20:03:00.003+01:00

Today I attended a walk in the Stirling area from Cambusbarron to the Battlefield at Bannockburn in support of "Save Gillies Hill".

Gillies Hill near Cambusbarron is regarded to have played a pivotal role the battle in 1314, when the people who lived on the hill moved towards the battlefield banging pots, pans and anything that made a noise. This in turn scared the remaining English off the battlefield thinking the noise from the Gillies Hill folk was another large Scottish army coming to back up their counterparts on the battlefield.

Gillies Hill itself is now in a battle to survive after quarrying began a number of years ago. This is now on temporary hold after local protests and walks like today must continue to gain maximum publicity to the Save Gillies Hill cause.

Click here from some photos from todays walk.

Click here for more information on Save Gillies Hill.

Cambusbarron Gala Day 2009

2009-06-13T17:17:00.003+01:00

I attended our local village Gala Day on Saturday. Thankfully despite the weather forecast for heavy showers it stayed dry all afternoon with some sunny spells, and it looked like a very enjoyable afternoon was had by all that attended.

Heres a link to some photos from Cambusbarron, Stirling Gala Day 2009.

Photos.....

Are You Job Seeking? - If So, Dont Fail Yor First Test!!!

2009-06-12T13:23:00.002+01:00

I'm going to re-publish below a blog post I made in November 2007 regarding under paid postage from mostly job-seeking apprentices. Its that time of year again when we receive numerous enquiries per week from job-seeking apprentices. Its good to see young apprentices being pro-active and seeking employment but if you enquire to Stirling Electrical Services Ltd about an apprenticseship, you may not be aware that the minute you post your CV to us, you are actually taking part in our first aptitude test.

- Taking the time and effort to make sure that your important CV actually has the correct postage stamp on the envelope.

The biggest mistake made is enclosing A4 paper into a large envelope and only puting on a small first class stamp - Large envelopes at A4 size require a LARGE 1st class stamp. That's your first test and if you fail this basic task and not bother to find out proper postage prices, it doesn't give us a good first impression of candidates who we will be trusting with potential dangerous electricity.

Here's the blog post from November 2007:-

Attention All Job Applicants - especially apprentices

I am very big on attention to detail, so when it comes to job applicants many fail a very important hurdle before we have even collected their CV from Royal Mail.

Since the introduction of the new postal prices and size of stamps in April 2007, we have had to collect and pay for underpaid letters 16 times from job applicants. Most of the applicants are school leavers looking for an apprenticeship who having printed off their CV and do not want to fold their CV and enclose it in an A4 envelope and then fail to correctly put a large 1st class stamp on the envelope, instead they put on a small normal sized first class stamp. Hence, we receive a note in our normal daily delivery from Royal Mail, saying we have underpaid mail at their depot, we then have to fight our way through traffic, wait in a queue, pay a handling fee of £1.00 plus the remaining underpaid postage price which since April is approaching £25.00.
I know this is a lame blogpost but it just irritates me when people who are trying to impress a prospective new employer, cannot at this initial stage pay that little bit more attention to detail and find out which stamp to use.

Audio Visual Work

2009-06-02T17:50:00.005+01:00

I've been kept busy this last week working on audio and lighting equipment at a Visitor Attraction we maintain. The attraction opens next week for the summer season and a lot of the equipment has been switched off for the winter and as well as getting all this equipment up and running again we have took this opportunity to give the equipment a good old spring clean.

Its been fun working with a different type of electrical equipment away from the normal day to day electrical work we carry out.

The photos below show some of the equipment used in this attraction - accent control system, alcorn mp3 players, soundstores, amplifiers and amx controllers. All this equipment is required to play various sounds and narration.

Interesting stuff !!

House For Rent in Stirling

2009-05-19T21:48:00.002+01:00

Our previous home in the heart of Stirling is now available to rent from the middle of June 09

To view the 3 bedroom semi-detached house and contact the agents Clyde Letting - click this link

Bank Holiday

2009-05-18T09:05:00.001+01:00

Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. will be closed for business on Monday 25th May 2009 - Spring Bank Holiday.

In extreme emergencies we can still be contacted on our normal telephone number 01786 813916.

Normal working service will resume on Tuesday 26th May 2009.

Local Paper Story on Ashwood Scam Invoices

2009-05-14T13:03:00.002+01:00

As a small follow up post to my posts below regarding the invoice scam by Ashwood Institute of Industry Accreditation, our local newspaper has run the story on the front page of the weekly newspaper.

Over 80 companies have reported being targeted by Ashwood, with presumambly many more not reporting the scam to the newspaper or to trading standards.

Our local newspaper the Stirling Observer deserve praise for highlighting this scam in such a prominent position in their newspaper.

The article from the newspaper can be viewed here...

Council Now Onto Scam

2009-05-08T22:13:00.002+01:00

Further to my post earlier today about a scam by Ashwood Institute of Industry Accreditation its good to see that our local council and trading standards have now issued an official statement and warning about this scam. Well done to them for putting out the warning to other companies so quickly.

Beware Of This Scam

2009-05-08T12:59:00.002+01:00

Just a quick post to make other businesses aware of this scam.

You could be receiving an invoice from Ashwood Institute of Industry Accreditation asking for payment of a few hundred pounds for administration costs, presumably for listing your company name on their website - see link above.

This is a scam and our local trading standards office are being inundated with complaints about this organisation.

Still the invoices they sent will give our shredder machine a little workout this afternoon.

Twitter

2009-05-07T19:01:00.003+01:00

We've now joined Twitter - What is Twitter?

Well according to Twitter themselves:- Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?

I wasnt too sure whether to sign up but thought what the heck, I might as well give it a try.

So as Twitter can only be updated in a few short words, I will use this to give a quick snapshot of what I and the company are doing and will continue to use this blog for all the main news which will be covered in more depth.

Although both the blog and Twitter are on different sites, I have added a widget to the right hand menu bar of this blog which will feature the last five Twitter posts.

Happy Twittering.

Teach Kids About Electricity

2009-04-30T09:05:00.000+01:00

It's never to early to understand the theory of electricty and how to use electricity safely.

The Electrical Safety Council have built a fun website designed to teach kids all about electricity.

So why dont you call your kids away from their PS3 and show them this informative and educated website which both parent and kid will find useful.

Switched On Kids - Electricity And How To Use It Safely.

Electrical Safety Advice - In The Garden

2009-04-28T19:29:00.003+01:00

Last year I posted about electrical safety advice that is given by The Electrical Safety Council. I thought I would revisit some of those pages and since there has been some good weather of late - Electrical Safety Advice - In the Garden, is a good place to start.

If you would like to discuss the advice given by The Electrical Safety Council in more detail, Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. would be delighted to offer our advice on the subject.
To do so email us at info@stirlingelectrical.co.uk or call 01786 813916.

CLICK TO VIEW THE ADVICE PAGE - In The Garden

Who are SELECT ?

2009-04-26T20:05:00.002+01:00

We have been a member of SELECT for four years now, but just who are SELECT and what are the benefits to our clients that Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. are a member of SELECT. ?

Visit the website of SELECT - Scotland's trade association for the electrical industry.

Public Liability Insurance

2009-01-19T20:36:00.003Z

Due to Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. continued growth and our expanding portfolio of larger jobs we have recently increased our Public Liability Insurance to £5,000,000.

This increase is in line with the minimum insurance cover required by larger public sector bodies.

We Are Based In Fallin - View maps

2009-01-03T21:27:00.004Z

Where are we:-

We are based in the village of Fallin which is only a few miles south east from Stirling.

If you need to visit us please use MAP 1 below.
Our postal address is Map 2.

If you need to visit us our day to day operations are carried out from office premises(Map 1) only a few streets away from our 12 Queen Street postal address(Map 2).

Map 1
We are based in the Dunblane Light Engineering Ltd. building on the main road through Fallin, opposite Gray's Public House.

Use this map if you need to visit us

View Larger Map

Map 2

Use this map for all postal correspondence

Stirling Fire Protection Ltd.

2009-01-02T17:49:00.005Z

Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. carry out installation, maintenance and testing work on fire and smoke alarm system but we use and recommend another Stirling based company Stirling Fire Protection Ltd. for the supply of fire extinguishers, hose reels, safety signage, training and fire risk assessments.

Stirling Fire Protection Ltd. operate throughout the central belt of Scotland and they are a member of the respected British Fire Consortium.

Full contact details can be found on the Stirling Fire Protection Ltd. website

Happy New Year

2009-01-02T16:43:00.002Z

All the team at Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. hope you all had a good christmas and we wish you a happy new year.

The blog will start being updated again over the next few weeks.

Heating Repair Job

2008-11-25T20:53:00.005Z

We received a phone call today at 7am from an elderly customer, who was rather concerned that her electric overnight storage heating had not worked for two nights and that as you can imagine she was beginning to feel the effects of the cold with overnight tempertaures close to freezing.

Our diary for all the electricians was already full for the day but you know that feeling you get when you know you just need to do what you can to re-jig the diary and help this customer. So thats what we did and I managed myself to attend mid-morning and as you can see from the photo, people should never under estimate what electricity in the home can do when things go wrong and why its always a good idea to have an electrician periodically inspect the electrics in your property.

A loose connection within the main switch had went undetected for while which resulted in this nasty burning of the cable and switches, which as you can imagine could have led to a much worse situation.

Thankfully though less than two hours later we had fitted new parts and managed to get some heat back in the home of this elderly customer.

You know after these types of jobs you get a scense of a warm glow that you know that a job you have done had made someone happy and I suppose thats what makes it all worthwhile.

The AA

2008-11-22T10:47:00.011Z

Let me start by saying that when my vehicle did breakdown on two occassions during my initial AA cover, the breakdown service went smoothly and I was certainly grateful for the recovery service they provided me at the time, but I do have a little gripe about The AA now.

If you don't require AA breakdown membership for your vehicle anymore then make sure you cancel the cover and don't suspend cover. Five years ago I had AA cover on my car and when I changed that car in 2005, I called The AA to say that I did not require the cover anymore as the new car I was purchasing would have breakdown cover as part of the agreement.

Well seemingly I did not cancel my AA cover I only suspended it for 3 years. Years on I am supposed to remember this, so much to my surprise I have just received a letter and full membership pack with new membership card etc saying that my cover has been reactivated.

So without warning and checking with me first they have reactivated my old membership cover, so not only is the membership pack addressed to my old home and registered to a car I no longer have, the annoying part is they say money will be debited from my bank account within the next two weeks.

How can they justify reactivating a membership, even if I did only ask for it to be suspended as this is what they are saying to me now that I have complained to them, without getting in touch to see if a) I still lived at the address they have on file, b) do I still have the vehicle the membership is set to cover and c) is my payment method still valid.

If ever there were a waste of money, paper and other costs then this must rank up there.

Obviously when I telephoned up to complain and make sure they cancel the newly re-activated membership and make sure no payment is debited, I get told its all my fault for only suspending membership for a number of years and that I am supposed to keep them up to date with change of address and change of vehicle etc.

Yes like I am going to remember to do that when I know I don't have AA cover for any of my current vehicles.

So remember if you no longer require AA cover and you don't want to be surprised in a few years time, make sure you cancel the membership and not just suspend it, or further down the line in a number of years, you can look forward to receiving a shiny new membership pack with probably out of date details and an unexpected expense about to be debited from your bank account. And thats not taking into account the time you will have to spend getting in touch with them, which took me two phone calls for nearly 30 minutes to eventually cancel this reactivated membership.

Apprentice Story in the Press - cont...

2008-11-21T18:49:00.004Z

Our press release regarding one of our apprentices Murray Smith receiving the Apprentice Of The Year Award for Clackmannan College has been printed in Stirling's biggest newspaper.

The article which appeared in the Stirling Observer Newspaper is below.

Hospice Dinner

2008-11-15T12:03:00.003Z

I attended a very enjoyable Sportsman's Dinner on Friday evening at Glenbervie House Hotel, which is situated in the outskirts of Larbert, Stirlingshire.

The evening of dinner and laughter had a very serious note to the event as it was a fundraising event for Strathcarron Hospice - The hospice gives free specialist care to patients with active progressive illness and also provides support for patients families.

Annual running costs total £4.3 million and although partially funded by local NHS boards the hospice has to raise the remainder of its costs through fundraising and donations. This means the hospice has to raise £45,000 every week of every year to maintain the level of service it currently provides to patients and families from all over Forth Valley.

Sportman's dinners are one way the hospice can raise funds and in doing so it involves local businesses and celebrities in as a i say a night of "dinner and laughter", but there are many other way's people and businesses can become involved in fundraising events and even donating without talking part in an event.

Further details of this hospice and the excellent services it provides as well as details in how you can help by fundraising and donations can be found on the Strathcarron Hospice Website.

Apprentice Story in the Press

2008-11-10T17:38:00.004Z

Our press release last week about one of our apprentices Murray Smith being awarded Aprentice of the Year for second stage electrical work at Clackmannan College has been printed in various local newspapers. Below are some of the articles in the press.

Wee County News
Alloa Advertiser

Apprentice Wins Award

2008-10-31T09:42:00.004Z

Press Release:-

LOCAL ELECTRICAL APPRENTICE WINS AWARD

An apprentice with Fallin-based electrical contractor Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. has won the Apprentice Of The Year award, following in the footsteps of company director, Scott McLean.

Murray Smith from Alva has been awarded the Apprentice Of The Year award for 2^nd year electrical apprentice work at Clackmannan College by electrical training organisation, the Scottish Electrical Charitable Training Trust (SECTT).

The award for Murray follows a similar award to Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. owner Scott McLean in 1993 when he was awarded 1^st year electrical Apprentice of the Year for Central, Fife and Perthshire Areas by SECTT.

Murray was presented with his award at a recent awards event in Perth and speaking afterwards, owner Scott McLean said “This is a fantastic achievement for Murray and is justified recognition for the dedication and hard work he has put in over the past two years. Murray has now set a good base for his future training and opportunities for development within the company over the coming years.

Having benefited from a good apprenticeship myself, I understand the importance an employer can play in the development and training of apprentices and how apprentices play an important role in the development and shaping of a company. Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. has grown steadily over the past twelve years, and I believe that this award is not only recognition for Murray but also to our other electricians and apprentices who have all played a part in the growth of the company.”

----------------------------------------------------

For further information please contact:-

Scott McLean
Director

Stirling Electrical Services Ltd., 12 Queen Street, Fallin, Stirlingshire, FK7 7JG

Tel:- 01786 813916
Email:- info@stirlingelectrical.co.uk
Website:- www.stirlingelectrical.co.uk

Note to editors:-

Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. undertakes electrical installation, maintenance and testing work throughout Scotland.

Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. was established in 1996 and now employ seven people working from our Fallin based office and store premises.

Stirling Electrical Services Ltd owner and director is Scott McLean.

Scott McLean is also co-owner and co-director of Stirling based taxi company Albion Taxis Ltd.

House For Rent in Stirling

2008-10-20T20:32:00.002+01:00

Our previous home in the heart of Stirling is now available to rent.

To view the 3 bedroom semi-detached house and contact the agents Clyde Letting click here.

Appliance Testing For Students

2008-09-07T15:41:00.002+01:00

Need To Blog More

2008-09-07T15:37:00.002+01:00

Was it really June that I last posted on this blog. It's about time I got more disciplined and posted more reguarly.

House for Sale - Stirling

2008-06-22T12:28:00.008+01:00

Fancy staying only a five minute walk from Stirling city centre in a modern three bedroom semi-detached villa with conservatory. Our house is on the market at offers over £145,000 and can be viewed through the selling agent Clyde Property.

Electrician Required

2008-06-16T20:18:00.004+01:00

Due to continual expansion we require to employ another fully qualified electrician.
A summary of the vacancy is posted below, so if your interested in joining our team of electricians and apprentices, then forward us your CV and we could be in touch with you.

Vacancy - Electrician
Location
FALLIN,STIRLING,STIRLINGSHIRE
Hours
Minimum 37.5 HOURS PER WEEK, MONDAY - FRIDAY, 8.00AM-4.30PM. Overtime available on occasions.
Wage
£11.50 - £12.75 depending on experience.
Work Pattern
Week Days with occasional overtime in evenings and at weekend
Employer
Stirling Electrical ServicesLtd.
Pension
Not presently
Duration
PERMANENT ONLY

Description
Electrician required for installation, maintenance and testing work in domestic, commercial and light industrial premises located mostly in Central Scotland but on occasions throughout Scotland.
Applicant must be fully qualified to current edition of BS7671 and time served with valid SJIB card.
Inspection and Testing experience is essential with 2391 city and guilds qualification required.
Applicant must also have good fault finding skills.
Portable Appliance Testing experience preferred.
Applicant must have clean full driving licence.

How to apply
You can apply for this job by sending a CV/written application to
Scott McLean at Stirling Electrical Services Ltd, 12 Queen Street, Fallin, Stirling, Stirlingshire, FK7 7JG.
or email info@stirlingelectrical.co.uk

Initial Electrical Fault Finding Tips

2008-05-13T08:12:00.001+01:00

If something goes amiss with your plugs, lights or sockets then follow the advice given by The Electrical Safety Council on THIS PAGE.

If these initial checks do not solve your problem then you will need our help - our fully competent fault finding team at Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. are always on hand to help.

To contact us visit our website at www.stirlingelectrical.co.uk or call 01786 813916.

Electrical Safety Advice - Top Tips For Garden Safety

2008-05-08T10:06:00.001+01:00

Over the past few weeks Stirling Electrical Services Ltd in conjunction with The Electrical Safety Council have been linking to various Electrical Safety Leaflets to help with advice on using electricity safely.

Today's advice is titled TOP TIPS FOR GARDEN SAFETY and contains some excellent advice.

If you would like to discuss the contents of the leaflet with Stirling Electrical Services Ltd we would be delighted to offer our advice on the subject. To do so email us at info@stirlingelectrical.co.uk or call 01786 813916.

CLICK TO VIEW THE ADVICE PAGE - Top Tips For Garden Safety

Building Warrant Work in Scotland

2008-05-04T15:13:00.001+01:00

In May 2005, a new system was brought in to enforce the Building Regulations in Scotland.
It aims to improve the standard of building work. The new system includes rules for electrical installations, which has been controlled by the Building Regulations for many years.

Under the new system, any electrical work carried out under a building warrant (the legal permission you need from the local authority to start building work) will either have to be approved by a registered installer (known formally as an ‘approved certifier’) or be checked by the local authority. What is the building standards system in Scotland?

Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. are an Approved Body and employ Approved Certifiers - full information on the service we provide for Building Warrant Work can be found on our website

You can find full details about the building standards system in Scotland on the Scottish Building Standards website at www.sbsa.gov.uk.

For even more information you can download this excellent leaflet by The Electrical Safety Council on the Building Standards in Scotland.

Electrical Safety Advice - Using Electricity Abroad

2008-05-01T09:23:00.001+01:00

Over the next few weeks Stirling Electrical Services Ltd in conjunction with The Electrical Safety Council will be linking to various Electrical Safety Leaflets to help with advice on using electricity safely.

Today's safety leaflet is titled USING ELECTRICITY SAFELY WHILE ABROAD and contains some excellent advice.

If you would like to discuss the contents of the leaflet with Stirling Electrical Services Ltd we would be delighted to offer our advice on the subject. To do so email us at info@stirlingelectrical.co.uk or call 01786 813916.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD LEAFLET - Using Electricity Safely While Abroad

You may need to download PDF viewing software such as Adobe Reader

Electrical Safety Advice - Guide to Fire Safety in Home

2008-04-28T12:00:00.001+01:00

Over the next few weeks Stirling Electrical Services Ltd in conjunction with The Electrical Safety Council will be linking to various Electrical Safety Leaflets to help with advice on using electricity safely.

Today's safety leaflet is titled ELECTRICITY IN THE HOME - GUIDE TO FIRE SAFETY and contains some excellent advice.

If you would like to discuss the contents of the leaflet with Stirling Electrical Services Ltd we would be delighted to offer our advice on the subject. To do so email us at info@stirlingelectrical.co.uk or call 01786 813916.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD LEAFLET - Electricity In The Home - Guide To Fire Safety

You may need to download PDF viewing software such as Adobe Reader

The Season Is Over

2008-04-26T20:46:00.000+01:00

The 2007/2008 football season for Stirling Albion is now over in what has been a frustrating season in The Scottish League Division One.

Relegation back into Division Two was confirmed more than two weeks ago and we now have a three month wait until the new competitive season starts in late July.

In the meantime The Stirling Albion Official Website will update fans with all the latest news in the close season.

Electrical Safety Advice - How Safe Is Your Home?

2008-04-25T12:00:00.001+01:00

Over the next few weeks Stirling Electrical Services Ltd in conjunction with The Electrical Safety Council will be linking to various Electrical Safety Leaflets to help with advice on using electricity safely.

Today's safety leaflet is titled SO YOU THINK YOUR HOME IS SAFE? and contains some excellent advice.

If you would like to discuss the contents of the leaflet with Stirling Electrical Services Ltd we would be delighted to offer our advice on the subject. To do so email us at info@stirlingelectrical.co.uk or call 01786 813916.
CLICK TO DOWNLOAD LEAFLET - So You Think Your Home Is Safe?

You may need to download PDF viewing software such as Adobe Reader

We Recommend - Appliance Repairs

2008-04-23T15:39:00.002+01:00

If you require repairs to household appliances such as washing machines, tumble driers, fridges then Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. recommend you contact A1 Appliances* on 01786 464748.

If you have problems with your cooker, then give us a call on 01786 813916.

*Other trades/businesses recommended by us have no financial or other partnerships with us and we cannot be held responsible for any problems resulting from recommendations.

Rogue Trades- What About Some Rogue Customers?

2008-04-21T09:03:00.001+01:00

Heres another news item on Cowboy Rogue Builders - this time by The BBC.

I'm not disputing there are rogue tradespersons and companies out there, and I'm not disputing the gentleman in the BBC video but do you think The BBC or programmes like House of Horrors or Rogue Traders will ever produce a news feature or a tv episode on Rogue Customers.

Maybe if I show these tv companies our Bad Debtors list where we have carried out work and the person we have worked for disappears into thin air before settling their invoice, we could be first on a new tv show called - Hunt Down The Rogue Customers.

There are many excellent reputable tradespersons and companies out in the so called big bad world, just the same as there are many excellent trustworthy customers only too happy to pay for services carried out, its just a pity tv companies don't highlight the few rogue customers the same way they highlight the few rogue tradepersons, instead of tarnishing all companies involved in trade work with the same brush.

Electrical Safety Advice - Using Equipment Outdoors

2008-04-20T14:43:00.005+01:00

Over the next few weeks Stirling Electrical Services Ltd in conjunction with The Electrical Safety Council will be linking to various Electrical Safety Leaflets to help with advice on using electricity safely.

Today's safety leaflet is titled Using Electrical Equipment Outdoors and contains some excellent advice.

If you would like to discuss the contents of the leaflet with Stirling Electrical Services Ltd we would be delighted to offer our advice on the subject. To do so email us at info@stirlingelectrical.co.uk or call 01786 813916.

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD LEAFLET - Using Electrical Equipment Outdoors

You may need to download PDF viewing software such as Adobe Reader

Home Videos of DIY Disasters

2008-04-20T14:08:00.005+01:00

Always call or seek the advice of experts in whatever building work needs done - DIY can be dangerous and as you can see from the video it can also hurt

PAT Testing

2008-04-16T09:47:00.001+01:00

We do lots of PAT Testing, all over Scotland, but we'd love to do more.

We do PAT Testing for landlords, housing companies, nursery schools, factories, tourist centres, restaurants, letting agents, owners of flats that are rented, mobile discos, in fact any workplace, business or public place, where owners must ensure their electrical appliances are maintained in a good safe working order.

We'd love to offer our PAT Testing service to you and your business. We believe our service is very competitive and also provides a service in which we constantly review our prices and technical service that we provide to clients.

So if you need PAT Testing done ? - then give us a call on 01786 813916, email us at info@stirlingelectrical.co.uk or visit the PAT Testing section of our popular website at www.stirlingelectrical.co.uk

Stirling Albion FC Official Website

2008-04-15T14:00:00.002+01:00

Im also involved in the Stirling Albion Football Club Official Website.

To visit the website please click this link.

Poor Stirling Are Relegated

2008-04-15T12:00:00.002+01:00

Its been nearly a week since the inevitable happened, Stirling Albion were relegated from The Scottish League Division One. To be truthful its been on the cards for a couple of months, but nonetheless it still hurts when it becomes a reality.

So our status as the Yo Yo team of Scottish Football is continually confirmed and its back to Division Two football, where in truth thats the level the club deserve to be, as our lack of ambition off the field doesn't merit a higher place in Scottish Football.

Theres only two matches to go this season, before a three month break and then the competitive matches begin again and if its anything like our last season in Division Two its sure to be an exciting season - I'm not certain though if we will enjoy that same success. Time will tell though.

Lightning Strikes

2008-04-13T19:50:00.005+01:00

This Sunday was spent unexpectedly working at one of our main clients premises in the Trossachs. Late Friday afternoon various parts of their premises was struck by five strikes of lightning resulting in loss of power.

Just as work finished on Friday having received a telephone call from site, I managed to determine by phone that the loss of power was external to our clients site and the next 24 hours, saw the electrical power company install new transformers and cables throughout the Trossachs to restore power to various areas of the Trossachs.

Unfortunately power being restored on Saturday only brought to attention a multitude of other problems. There was no live telephone lines on isdn, analogue or broadband lines - the internal nortel telephone exchange system was fried, various parts of the security alarm system were affected and alarms were going off everywhere, cctv cameras were down and the internal computer server and network was all over the place - what a mess.

Thankfully during Sunday the alarm and cctv problems were on their way to being rectified and are now back up running. The computer system was 90% back to normal by end of day Sunday, but there was no way BT engineers were going to get out their bed on The Sabbath Day, meaning BT would not start investigating the dead lines until the start of the week.

The thing is, these thunderstorms must have been isolated to a very small area, as 25 miles away in Stirling and even only 10 miles away from our clients site, there was not a hint or any indication of what was happening over our clients site.

Hello Aprille

2008-04-11T12:00:00.001+01:00

I can confirm that we have appointed a new Office Manager.

Aprille Mitchell will begin her employment with Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. next week.

Aprille brings to the company a wealth of experience and will be in control of all our office duties including customer relationships and job scheduling.

We are all excited about the appointment and are looking forward to the work planned to progress the company in the coming months and years.

Clients telephoning us will have been used to the energetic voice of Maureen over the last few years but don't worry Mo will still be around, as she will be slotting back into her old role working in our Taxi business. Maureen has been a star over the past few years, juggling a number of roles within the two businesses and has played a big part in moving the electrical business forward.

I'll bring you more news on the progress of the development of our office structure in the coming months.

SELECT INSPECTION

2008-04-10T20:45:00.000+01:00

We recently had our routine Technical Inspection by our electrical trade organisation SELECT and I am delighted to announce that we passed and can continue to work under the umbrella of SELECT.

SELECT Members are recognised and respected for the safety, quality and technical excellence of their work and as a company we are proud of our membership of SELECT, which we believe gives our clients and prospective clients reassurance that our company strive to deliver an excellent standard of electrical work.

We believe the standard of electrical work we undertake must be coupled with providing a high standard of customer service, which must be consistent throughout our relationship with clients.

Where Does The Time Go

2008-04-10T20:16:00.003+01:00

Was it really mid-February I last posted - where does the time go. I better get back to posting regularly before I forgot how to.

Isle of Mull Photos

2008-02-17T17:18:00.002Z

I travel to the Isle of Mull, Western Scotland, a number of times throughout the year. I was on Mull again last week working for a couple of days and I took advantage of the lovely February weather and took some photos.

Click here to see the photos.

Operations/Admin Co-Ordinator Required

2008-02-11T19:14:00.000Z

We are looking to fill the below important position within the company

* OPERATIONS/ADMIN CO-ORDINATOR

Location
FALLIN,STIRLING,STIRLINGSHIRE
Hours
37.5 HOURS PER WEEK, MONDAY - FRIDAY, 9.00AM-5.00PM
Wage
£15,000-£17,500 PER ANNUM DEPENDING ON EXPERIENCE
Work Pattern
Week Days
Employer
Stirling Electrical Services
Pension
Not presently
Duration
PERMANENT ONLY

Description
Essential requirements are of a similar working experience in a service industry company and previous production/Job scheduling experience. You must be able to deal with Customers and build client relationships, have a highly competent level of IT literacy (Word & Excel in particular) and an excellent telephone manner. Financial or stock control experience is desirable. Training will be given on our job scheduling software. Duties include maintaining and updating company procedures, scheduling electrical jobs and trades people's time allocation, administration of job details and management of diaries, invoicing and credit control duties, reports management and forecasting, dealing with wholesalers, ordering stock and materials and dealing with customers.

CV by post or email. The email address is: finance@stirlingelectricalservices.co.uk

How to apply
You can apply for this job by sending a CV/written application to Scott McLean at Stirling Electrical Services, 12 Queen Street, Fallin, Stirling, Stirlingshire, FK7 7JG.

or email finance@stirlingelectricalservices.co.uk

Kentallen, Lochaber

2008-02-10T12:50:00.002Z

Well our two day break to celebrate my Birthday in Kentallen, Lochaber is over with already. Kentallen is situated on the shore of Loch Linnhe, south west of Ballachulish near Glencoe on the road to Oban.

As I posted last week we stayed at he Hollytree Hotel and Leisure Club and we had a fabulous time just chilling out in the swimming pool enjoying excellent fine dining in their seafood restaurant.

We read mixed reviews on Tripadvisor about this hotel, but to be fair most of the bad reviews were from when they were carrying out renovation and extension work at the hotel last summer, but I can thoroughly recommend this hotel, especially at this time of year as a short break.
Photos of our short break can be found here...

Booking Accommodation

2008-02-06T19:25:00.000Z

Im heading away over the next few days for some relaxing time away in the Scottish Highland's to celebrate my Birthday, so its over to Maureen and Co. to keep the wheels turning back in Stirling. Work takes us to the Scottish Highlands and Islands throughout the year, so as Im heading that way again, I get the feeling I must like that particular part of the World.

We are heading to The Holly Tree Hotel and Leisure Club in Kentallen - I'll review the hotel when we return.

It took me only a few minutes today to book this hotel, but try booking a accommodation in Aberdeen. It took me nearly two hours today to find a Premier Inn/Travellodge type of place that had vacancies for two of our electricians tonight.

PS - I've been told to leave work at home over the next few days, but Im planning to sneak our new Electrical Wiring Regulations book into my luggage - do you think that will go down well with the wife!!!!

Changing a Light Fitting

2008-02-04T21:12:00.000Z

Changing a light fitting is the sort of job that a DIYer would expect to do very easy, but on many occasions it isn't. The DIYer might expect to see three wires - live, neutral and earth. But most of the time they will see a whole lot more wires than that.

Depending on how your lighting circuit is wired your light fitting can double as a junction box, so you have one cable coming into the light from the previous light in the circuit, then a cable going down to the switch and back, and then a third cable running off to the next light fitting.

Many DIYer's attempt to change a light fitting themselves and often the wiring is as above, and they fail to take note of where the wires are terminated in their existing light fitting before they take it down or fail to understand the wiring altogether. This usually results in two problems, 1- the DIYer puts all the same colours of wires together and when they put the electricity back on - it goes bang and blows the fuse or trips the circuit breaker, or 2- again the wires are connected wrongly, but this time there is no bang, but lights in adjacent rooms do not work.

At this point this is where we normally receive a phone call and are called to rectify the problem and do so usually within a matter of minutes. I am not the biggest fan of DIYer's carrying out electrical work but taking two minutes to take note of where the wires go in the existing light fitting can save a lot of problems when installing new light fittings. If DIYer's take note of the wires and are still not sure of the theory behind where the wires should go in the new light fitting please do not attempt to guess, as this can be very dangerous and can damage your new light fitting, not forgetting damaging themselves. It usually takes only a few minutes for us to install new replacement light fittings and usually at a cost much less than your new light fitting.

Do not take any chances if you are not sure.

Photo Updates

2008-01-31T21:37:00.000Z

January is nearly over and 2008 is already one month down. This time of year is always very busy for us at Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. and I have not had much time to blog. I'm determined to find time in our busy schedule to post on here so look out for more posts in February.

Until the next post here are a couple of links to photos.

The first link is from my New Year trip to Isle of Bute with my wife Jennie, where we stayed at St Blanes Hotel, Kilchattan Bay. click to view photos

And one of the many jobs in January was to carry out the electrical, networking and audio visual work in converting a foyer space at the Falkirk Wheel into an Information Centre - click for a few photos of our work

Vacancy - Electrician

2008-01-18T21:21:00.000Z

Due to further expansion an Electrician is required for installation, maintenance and testing work in domestic, commercial and light industrial premises mostly in Central Scotland but on occasions throughout Scotland. Applicant must be fully qualified to BS7671 and time served with valid SJIB card. Inspection and Testing experience required preferably with 2391 qualification along with good fault finding skills. Applicant must have clean full driving license.

Minimum 37.5 hours per week over 5 days - rate of pay £11.48 - £12.50 per hour depending on experience.

You can apply for this job by sending a CV/written application to Scott McLean at Stirling Electrical Services Ltd, 12 Queen Street, Fallin, Stirlingshire, FK7 7JG or by email to info@stirlingelectrical.co.uk or by fax to 01786 811447.

We're All Back

2008-01-07T19:14:00.000Z

Technically today is our first official working day of 2008, so it would be remiss of me not to wish you all a Happy New Year and wish you all the best for the coming year.

I say today is our first official working day as its today when we are back to a full workforce after most of the team arrive back at work since the festive break. For two of us though and that includes myself, we have been working over the break, either on stand by or on designated working days within the break.

So it was good to be back to a full workforce today and any hopes that we would be eased back in gently were wishful thinking as its been a hectic day with many jobs and enquiries coming in thick and fast - infact it seems as if everyone had their phones on a timer and scheduled to call us today - but would and we have it any other way? - of course we wouldn't.

Its good to be back, so if you've been putting off that little electrical job, well now is the time to call us.

Happy New Year

So yes its good to be back and

Standards and Demands of the Electrician

2007-12-26T12:36:00.000Z

A recent survey has found that almost a quarter of the country has employed an electrician in the last two years, while another survey has found that only 0.2% of complaints by consumers to the Governments advice service Consumer Direct were about electricians.

I have always had a bee in my bonnet about the low entry level required to set up an electrical business. Its so easy in this country to advertise yourself as an electrician and be set loose on the unsuspecting public. Thankfully over the last few years though trade organizations such as SELECT have been more proactive in the public domain in driving the message that it is best to choose an electrician that is part of organization such as SELECT.

So does these stats above prove that the message by SELECT is getting through to the public - well in some ways yes i think it is, but there is a long way to go. Personally I believe there are far too many easy opportunities for the public to openly buy electrical items that they have no knowledge of installing themselves but you just know they will try - this issue though is for another blogpost, so lets look back at some of the stats found in the surveys above.

1.5 million complaints were made to Consumer Direct last year on a whole range of topics, but top of the list with 74,000 ( 4% of the 1.5 million ) complaints were for "Home and Maintenance Installations". Drilling down the data though of the 74,000 complaints in this sector Electrical Services and Installations was 8th on the list with only 2,997 complaints. Other trades in the list were Plumbers(6,661), Bathroom fittings(6,117), Roofing(4,610), Central heating installation and maintenance(6,995), Fitted kitchens(12,819), Tarmac and paving(4,448) and General Building Work(17,503). So of all the complaints to Cosumer Direct, only 0.2 % were about electricians and 4% were in the Home and Maintenance Installations sector.

Another survey by YouGov has found almost 25% have employed the services of an electrician in the last two years just behind Plumbers, with builders on 16%. 1 in 5 people had difficulty in finding skilled tradesman in the last two years.

2997 complaints about electricians is still far too many though and thats why as part of our own drive we will always be focused on Customer Satisfaction coupled with High Standards of Electrical Work and that will continue to be our motto in 2008.

Merry Christmas

2007-12-23T12:48:00.000Z

Its been a busy 2007 for Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. and we are looking forward in continuing to build the company around good quality workmanship and customer service in 2008.

So to celebrate 2007 most of the team attended a night out on Friday at the ten pin bowling centre in Stirling, where we tucked into food and drink, while trying to bowl straight.

We all enjoyed the evening and are now looking forward to the festivities over the next few days and I would like to thank the team for their efforts in 2007 and to wish them and all our clients a very Merry Christmas and here's to a happy 2008.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Photos of the bowling can be found below.

Look Out For Our New Vans

2007-12-15T21:18:00.000Z

Wow, thats been a busy few months and we still have one week to go before our Christmas break ( but you can still contact us if you need us as we will have emergency cover throughout the festive period ).

One of the projects over the past few months has been the purchase of two new vans which will be sporting our new van livery and over the next month or so our other vans will have the new livery installed.

So wherever you are in Stirling and indeed Scotland, look out for our new vans and livery which will be driving down and working in a street near you soon.

10% OFF

2007-11-24T15:56:00.000Z

We are offering 10 % off all bookings for Fixed Wiring Periodic Inspection Reports and Portable Appliance Testing (PAT Testing).

All bookings taken for the above services until 2008 will receive 10 % off the final invoice.

Thats just one other reason to choose us.

Attention All Job Applicants - especially apprentices

2007-11-23T18:05:00.000Z

"Complain for Bad Service and Praise for Good Service"

2007-10-22T18:25:00.000+01:00

In amongst the daily grind of running a business and trying to deal with all it can throw at you, it really is very satisfying to receive a phone call from a very happy client. I would like to think that we have many satisfied clients as our number of repeat clients is very high, but sometimes just to receive a phone call or be told face to face from a client praising our service makes it all worthwhile.

Last Thursday I posted about receiving several phone calls the day after the first night of frost from people who's electrical overnight storage heaters were not working.

One client called us at 2.30 pm stating that storage heaters in her house were not working. The client was not expecting us to attend that day and was expecting us to attend the next day at the earliest. But realizing that the client had several heaters not working and that another cold night was forecast, we readjusted our schedule and managed to attend the clients premises just after 4pm. We soon had the problem fixed, tested the heaters with a temporary electric supply which meant we confirmed that when the off-peak heating came on overnight the heaters would heat up.

We were soon on our way from the clients premises a little over two hours from receiving the initial phone call.

We don't offer a timed emergency service but we would always try and accommodate jobs we would consider emergencies and try our best to attend asap, so attending, repairing and leaving this job in around two hours is not unusual ( if we have electricians in the area ) and we would certainly look upon it as part of the service we provide and would not look for praise.

But like everyone else, whether you are an employer or an employee it is always pleasing to receive praise and this is what happened when the same client called us at 8.30 the next morning.

The client praised us for the short space of time between her calling up and us attending and the service we provided and told us that she "complains for bad service but always likes to praise good service" and that we would be "recommended to family and friends"

But you know it wasn't the praise of our service that satisfied me the most, what pleased me the most was when she said that she "lived alone" and that she was "lovely and warm and the house was the warmest its been in years".

Is Your Electric Heating Working?

2007-10-18T18:38:00.000+01:00

It was minus 2 and the first widespread frost of the autumn was upon us last night here in Stirling which meant we were all reaching to the heating to either turn it on for the first time in months or turn it up a notch or two. Unfortunately its at this time of year, where homeowners find out that their electric heating or one or two heaters are not working.

Within a few hours of business today, the day after the first main night of frost, we had four jobs booked in to investigate storage heaters not working.

Homeowners who find storage heaters not working shouldn't panic about costly repairs, yes storage heaters to replace can cost a few hundred pounds, but on most occasions faults are within the heaters and these parts can usually be replaced for as little as £20-30.

We don't want you to go without heat for long, so all our electricians are trained to diagnose faults and repair storage heaters, and we carry spare parts for all the main brands of heaters such as, dimplex and creda and can source very quickly many other manufacturer spare parts.

Don't leave it until the frosty nights to find out your heating does not work as we can also give your heating system a once over to make sure it is working properly.

If you have any electric heating problems then call our telephone number 01786 813916

Hampden Roar

2007-10-14T14:04:00.000+01:00

So what is it like attending a Scotland football match, well-

The Grand Old Lady of Mount Florida was at her majestic best yesterday as Scotland took another massive stride towards qualification for next summers Euro 2008 football championships in Austria and Switzerland.

The 3-1 win against Ukraine, means qualification is still in Scotland hands, requiring 4 points from the remaining six available, with matches against Georgia on Wednesday 17th October and then on Saturday 17th November against World Champions Italy at Hampden Park.

Having decided to kick start our day in Glasgow early, my wife Jennifer and I set off from Stirling just after 9am arriving in Glasgow in enough time for our first sip of lager for the day before the clock struck 10am. The Counting House near Queen Street Station was our first port of call, before we headed closer to Hampden to Strathies Pub where the music for the pre-match entertainment was by Ted Christopher, a local musician from here in Stirling.

Strathies was our meeting with old friends and fellow travel companions to many a Scotland away match. I have always stated that if you are to take up the challenge of following our national football team to away games, you obviously must have a desire and passion for football, as that is always the focal point of any trip abroad, but by god the fellow fans you meet from all over the world and friendships that are born and the fantastic cities and countries you get to see all over Europe and beyond, is something special and at times can be hard to describe.

Having soaked up the pre-match atmosphere it was off to Hampden, just in time time to witness the playing of the National Anthems and then within 15 minutes Scotland were in dreamland. 2-0 up against the last World Cup quarter finalists and Scotland were off to a fantastic start in the quest for the 7 points over the next 3 matches that would secure qualification. Ukraine pulled a goal back just before half time but midway through the second half Scotland restored their 2 goal lead and eventually cruised to an excellent 3-1 win as fellow fans- men, women, boys and girls most of them all strangers hugged, danced and sung their hearts out in unison.

Post match was in O'Neills close to Hampden before heading back into the Glasgow city centre for a planned meal with our group of friends in Cafe Uno. Afterwards it was onto the Iron Horse on West Nile Street to end the day before our train back to Stirling, where we arrived just before midnight, tired, sore from walking, a little worse for the wear, but we were totally satisfied with the result and day we just had.

Following the Scotland football team is a joy- the people you meet, the places you see, the euphoria of a victory and the despair of a defeat, but it is a fantastic experience, one that is well and truly recommended.

Changing a Light Fitting / Wiring a Light

2007-10-10T20:05:00.000+01:00

I enjoy reading Bruce Greig's blog.

Bruce is Managing Director of 0800handyman Ltd and I see from a recent post from his blog that he like most electricians has had the phonecall from panicked clients wishing us to attend to finish installing their recently purchased ceiling light. Yes there can be more than one cable and three wires at your existing light.

Heres Bruces post on the subject

Electrical Testing for Landlords

2007-10-10T19:12:00.001+01:00

We do lots of electrical testing and thats not just because we are required to by our electrical regulations.

The number of enquiries regarding electrical testing we receive from landlords, companies, and students to name but a few has increased dramatically over the past few years, to where now our testing services has become a large part of our everyday work.

The three main types of electrical testing are :-
Periodic Inspection Reports - now becoming widely known as fixed wiring testing
Electrical Installation Certificates and Minor Work Certificates
PAT Testing

A large percentage of our new work has come from landlords looking to rent out a recently purchased house or flat. Landlords are required to prove that they have taken reasonable steps to ensure that the electrical appliances they provide and the electrical system of their house/flat is maintained in a safe working order.

We are asked on nearly every occasion by landlords to provide an "electrical safety certificate" - but in the electrical world no such certificate exists.

What do exist is the following and this is what we recommend :-
A Periodic Inspection report is carried out on the premises which will provide a visual and test results using calibrated test equipment on the electrical system in a report format, which will list any deviations from the current electrical regulations with recommendations if any to bring the electrical installation up to current safety standards. Once the required standard is met, the Periodic Inspection Report should be carried out at least every five years and we would recommend on every change of tenancy. Within those five years we would suggest a yearly visual electrical inspection to check for signs of wear and tear on sockets, lights etc.

Further to the Periodic Inspection Report, which is the required and correct document for landlords, Portable Appliance Testing (PAT Testing) should be carried out on any electrical appliances the landlord provides to their tenants. PAT Testing is recommended to be carried out every year.

Further details of our Inspection and Testing Service - which includes Periodic Inspection Reports can be found here on our website

Further details of our Pat Testing service can be found here

A good resource for Landlords is a website called Landlordzone

We are always delighted to discuss with landlords and other customers the requirements regarding electrical testing and I personally would be delighted to discuss this further with anyone.

So if you have any questions regarding electrical testing and how our services can work with you, give us a call on 01786 813916

Electrical Appliance Testing for Students

2007-09-04T19:38:00.000+01:00

Gnome Rescue

2007-08-06T20:14:00.000+01:00

First strange request of the week - "Can you rescue our gnome"

One of our tourist attraction customers rang this afternoon where thousands of people a day attend to sample some fine Scottish History.

We carry out electrical and audio visual maintenance work within the building and one of the audio visual displays which is a full figure of a historical character in Scottish history with a projected talking head display. The character is cordoned off form the pubic with a wooden surround which is 6 feet high with the character display within the surround and rising to 10 feet.

Seemingly a customer has went to this building with various garden gnomes and has been placing the gnomes in strategic positions within the building and next to various features then photographing the gnomes, presumingly either they have a strange sense of humour or it could be one of these stories you occasionally read in the newspapers about people removing garden gnomes from other peoples garden and then sending them postcards of the gnome spotted in various locations throughout the world.

Anyway, whatever the reason for the person taking photos of the gnome, seemingly a gnome had been placed on the ledge of this wooden surround around the character in preparation for a photo opportunity but had then fallen into the 6 feet void towards the characters feet and this person was ever so upset that their gnome had fallen and was demanding the gnomes immediate rescue.

The customer knowing that this was an audio visual feature of the exhibition called us asking what they could do to rescue this poor gnome, thankfully though we didn't have to dash and become the 4th emergency service, as with the correct ladders you could access this void without causing any harm to the electrics or audio visual equipment.

So perhaps I should add Gnome Rescue to our list of services.

Give me Jobs Over Gates Anyday

2007-08-06T19:55:00.000+01:00

Today reminded me why I just love Apple Mac Computers.

Unfortunately not every piece of our office software can run on Apple Mac's, namely PAT Testing software or Sage software etc, so I have to have the dreaded beige lifeless PC boxes in our office running Bill Gates Windows software

In preparation for Kerry our new office team member, I thought I would get our email spam filter and anti virus software up to date - Man I wish I never bothered. After installing the updates and one new program, there were .dll error messages here, and .dll error message there. I've just spent nearly all of my working day, trying to solve this problem and thankfully after about two dozens attempts, the PC decided it actually liked doing something instead of freezing up and I managed to restore the PC to a date last week.

It is just a simple yet powerful life over on the Steve Jobs led other side - so give me my Imac and Powerbook any day of the week, infact now that as well as running the super OSX operating system, Mac's can now boot up and run Windows with so much ease these days, that dreaded beige lifeless PC feeling in our office could be a thing in the past the next time we upgrade of office computers..

New Administrator Starts

2007-08-06T19:43:00.000+01:00

Our new full time administrator started today. Kerry will play an important role within our team with her tasks ranging from our customers main contact person, job organising and scheduling through to general administration.

I would like to personally welcome Kerry to the team in what is a major milestone in the companies history, as Kerry becomes our first ever full time office member of our team to compliment our 6 electricians.

I will also use this opportunity to thank all the people who took the time out to apply for the position.

I Despair

2007-07-23T21:18:00.000+01:00

Proof that the time and effort we are spending just now on setting up our new scheduling and database software will be worthwhile hit home today. We believe our new software will keep us ahead of the game in terms of customer service and allow us to track and keep up to date with all our jobs - I just wish other companies did the same.

On Friday afternoon we received a call from a heating manufacturer, who earlier on this year we started carrying out fault finding work on electric boilers they manufacture that are still under warranty. This customer asked us if we could attend a property in Fife (approx 25 miles away), having agreed that we would attend on Monday, they proceeded to give us all the contact details, which we then in turn contacted the property in Fife and arranged to call this afternoon.

Having attended and diagnosed the problem, which was very evident as it was a burnt wiring loom caused by loose connections, we called up the manufacturer to report the problem and order the spare parts, only then to be told why are you calling us about this, another company are dealing with that job, they attended earlier today and that they have reported burnt connections.

Well yes!!! that is the problem but why are another company dealing with this when you arranged it with us?

Incidentally it was the same person I reported the fault to today, which called us initially on Friday afternoon to ask us to attend the property.

So without even an apology, they made it clear the other company would deal with the remedial work - so without even an apology from me, I asked for a purchase order number and said to expect our invoice in the post.

Talk about the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing.

The Football's Back

2007-07-16T19:29:00.001+01:00

It's been two months without it but it finally returned on Saturday - Yes my beloved Stirling Albion were back in action.

That last match two months ago saw Stirling Albion defeat Airdrie United to gain promotion to Division One, the second tier of football in Scotland - what a day that was and a day that will live in the memory for many many years.

Last Saturday saw the first of a number of pre-season matches as Premier League Hibernian came to Forthbank. The higher league opposition proved too much to the experimental Stirling side as the Edinburgh side ran out 5-0 winners as Stirling prepare for their opening Division One league match at the beginning of August.

This season will see better teams and bigger crowds at Forthbank and it would be great to see many new faces down at Forthbank cheering on Stirling as they try and defy the odds and stay in Division One against full time teams.

There are plenty of Stirling Albion information on the internet with reports, photos, message boards and info all updated daily by the relevant websites.

So get down to Forthbank, buy a pie and bovril, grab your red and white scarf and prepare yourself for the rollercoaster ride which is supporting Stirling Albion.

For match photos visit www.stirlingalbionfc.co.uk
For match reports visit RedWeb
For club information visit www.stirlingalbion.com
For the fans message board click here

Administrator Required

2007-07-02T21:16:00.000+01:00

Stirling Electrical Services Ltd. are looking to employ a full time administrator.

This position within the company is crucial a) as the first point of contact with our customers and b) in scheduling and maintaining the back office duties of our steadily growing business.

Details of the vacancy are posted below and interested parties can contact us on info@stirlingelectrical.co.uk for more information.
...........

ADMINISTRATOR

Location - FALLIN, Stirlingshire
Hours - MONDAY to FRIDAY 0900-1700
Wage - £15,000 per annum (to start)

Duration PERMANENT ONLY

Description

Maintaining and updating company procedures. Scheduling electrical jobs and tradesmen time allocation. Dealing with customers in a polite manner. Administration of job details and management of diaries. Invoicing and credit control duties. Reports management and forecasting. Dealing with wholesalers, ordering stock & materials and pricing of jobs to customers.

Essential requirements are of a similar working experience in a service industry company. Previous production/Job scheduling. Dealing with Customers and building client relationships. A highly competent level of IT literacy (Word & Excel in particular) and an excellent telephone manner.

Sage or financial control experience is desirable although not essential as training will be given. An ECDL and previous stock management/control experience. The successful candidate will be using general office equipment.

Training will be provided on our new inhouse job scheduling software.

How to apply: You can apply for this job by sending a CV to info@stirlingelectrical.co.uk or by post to Stirling Electrical Services Ltd, 12 Queen Street, Fallin, Stirlingshire, FK7 7JG

For more information please call Roberta on 01786 813916.