"Complain for Bad Service and Praise for Good Service"

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?

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

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

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

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

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