Gas Checker Blog:
5 Ways to keep customer relations at the optimum.
We all want to keep our customers happy, but sometimes you can't see the wood for the trees here's 5 simple tips that will help you keep your customers happy and coming back for more.
2) Keep them informed of any changes, most of the time people can deal with something when they know the script, by keeping your customers in the dark that for example your going to be late, just infuriates them, if they know you're not turning up they can plan to go out etc.
The use of smartphones and tablets in the plumbing and Heating industry
As we begin 2014, we can feel a real shift of the momentum of the use of smartphone, tablet, iPad and iPhone software for recored keeping, business running and gas certification.
5 years ago you may well have seen the adverts in the gas magazines for the very expensive software which would run on a very expensive PDA. You probably phoned up to enquire of the cost and most probably fell off your chair.
Thanks to a small company in America things have changed. This company offered a brilliant platform to create mini softwares using an intuitive platform with absolutely no bounds.
It probably took a year or so before people were thinking of a system that could be built which would make it easier and faster to create records such as Invoices, Gas Certificates, Job Sheets and other documents for the plumbing and heating industry.
Such was the popularity another small American corporation decided to launch an alternative, these are now known as iOS (Apple) and Android (google).
Its inevitable that year on year we will see more and more people shifting from paper to electronic and why wouldn't you? Why would you consider sticking with the mundane paper trail when electronic has so many benefits. If your still cautious or indecisive about the shift you should really read on.
So Why are Electronic Gas Certificates and Reports so much better than paper?
Don't get me wrong we love paper, you can draw on it, write on it and fold it to make paper aero-planes but its time is over in the gas world. Paper is actually a hindrance as you have to file it, copy it, store it, and retrieve it....all these are hard to do when you're busy.
Anything written on paper is a waste of time. The data is static which means it cant be lifted and therefore worthless....Well not worthless but to make it onto something valuable will require an expensive resource called staff.
This is where the power of computers and technology is really making a huge difference - inputting data - every packet of data you enter is then stored and can be lifted and used in future. So this saves time with repeat manual entry.
This data is extremely important as each packet can be stored on the device and in the cloud. The data contains important information about your job and your customer. Gas Checker pulls this data for you and presents it back to you in an easy manageable system.
Gas Checker takes your clients details (packets) and stores them in a customer database, it then also takes the core gas certificate packets and generates annual reminders from those packets so you constantly get fed jobs you did 11 months prior. From this reminder we integrate SMS messaging, email and letter printing which quickly allows you to contact the customer to re arrange the appointment bringing repeat business in one big never ending loop.
These are all automated features that Gas Checker has that you don't even realise is happening. All the big corporations do this and now have automated systems working in the background and processing data that would only happen by employing manual labour if using paper.
Slowly but surely paper will disappear, we can see it happening in every sector.....so are you ready? Or are you going to wait until the very last minute? We ask you to take a serious look at our software. The features already help lots of independent heating companies in the UK to fight the big corporations like british gas, help link and eon who are muscling in on the industry with their big budget adverts and astronomical prices.
Scrap Metal, Recycling and the effect on Gas Engineers and plumbers
2013 saw a big shake up in scrap metal world in the UK, so Gas Checker went to see James Varley (Director) at one of the UK's most successful scrap metal recyclers Morecambe Metals www.morecambemetals.co.uk to find out what this all means for Gas Engineers, Plumbers and Heating Engineers. Twitter @morecambemetals
Gas Checker put a series of questions to James to clarify exactly what's new and what it all means.
2) Why has the Scrap Metal Act 2013 been introduced?
The Scrap Metal Dealers Act 2013 came into
force on 1 October 2013 in England and Wales and replaces the Scrap Metal
Dealers Act 1964 and the Legal Aid, Punishment and Sentencing of Offenders
(LAPSO) Act 2012 (where the banning of cash payments for scrap metal came into
force). The changes aim to remove the rewards that make metal theft such a low
risk criminal enterprise for metal thieves and unscrupulous dealers.
3) How
does the new scrap laws effect Gas Engineers, Heating Engineers and
Plumbers?
Tradepersons will not require a scrap metal
dealer's licence if buying or selling scrap metal is an incidental function of
their business (eg being a plumber).
4) What is
a waste transfer license ?
From January 2014, you need to register as
a waste carrier if you regularly transport waste as part of your business. You
can be fined up to €5,000 if you don't register.
You must register as a
waste carrier, broker or dealer if you do any of the following
as part of your business:
1) transport your own
waste regularly (from January 2014)
2) transport
construction or demolition waste (even if it's a one off)
3) transport or dispose
of waste for someone else
4) buy or sell waste
5) act as a waste
broker (arrange for someone to handle other people's waste)
5) Do Gas Engineers, Heating Engineers and Plumbers recycling Scrap
metal such as copper need a waste transfer license?
Yes
you need to purchase a waste transfer license
6) Do you need ID as in a passport or driving license to to sell scrap
metal?
Anybody selling scrap metal needs to
provide the appropriate identification;
a valid UK passport; or
a valid passport issued by a European Economic Area state; or
a valid Great Britain or Northern Ireland photo-card driving licence;
or
a valid UK biometric immigration document;
provided the document referred to contains the person's full name,
photograph and residential address; or, you may refer instead to one of the
above documents which contains the person's full name, photograph and date of
birth, together with one of the following supporting documents, containing the
person's full name and residential address:
a bank or building society statement;
a credit or debit card statement;
a council tax demand letter or statement;
a utility bill (e.g. gas, electricity, water), but not a mobile phone
bill
provided that the date on which the supporting document was issued is
not more than 3 months before the date when the scrap metal is sold.
The overriding requirement is for transactions to have
traceability and to provide an effective audit trail. All transactions
therefore must be either by cheque or an electronic transfer of funds, both of
which mean that the payment will be linked to a readily identifiable account,
for the payee and the payer.
DON'T let the big boys take over lets group together and fight these guys who try and muscle in your business and customers.
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