After we are done with cheap, and surely there must come a point when we realise that stuff can't get any cheaper, all that is left is service.
For the second xmas in 3 we have no central heating. We went 3 weeks in 20014/15 with none and so far we are 3 days into this stretch.
This is entirely a 1st world, middle class problem and I do know that but it gives me the chance to explore here some concepts of consumerism and service.
The biggest issue we have is that we had the brand new boiler installed 2 years ago by a one man band (on recommendation), he had installed the previous one 9 years earlier and on reflection the fact that it needed changed should have raised alarm bells.
He is a nice enough guy but is obviously focused on the big prize and maintaining stuff is a low level priority.
We had some issues with it and also some work needing done elsewhere and could not get him back. During the period that the boiler was down we had the option to have it sorted by, let's call them, plumbers #2(P#2) for less money but decided to stick with what we knew.
When we couldn't get the first guy back we called in P#2 and they pointed out some issues with the work already done.
We corrected these but still stuff was not right and we changed some radiators. Still not going at 100% we decided to leave the issues until after xmas, mistake, it totally broke down on Boxing Day.
I have tried to get hold of P#2 as they have serviced, remediated and charged for correcting issues. They are not back at work until 3rd January.
What is it that we actually buy?
Is it the product without any warranty, after care or responsibility. Do I really have to specify that I am buying trust and integrity and help if issues arise? Apparently so.
The issue here is that none of the plumbers are big enough to honour a (implied) promise to help and make sure you are warm in the winter. They want the time off that many of us get but don't have a business big enough to support that.
Instead they fu#k you off if you contact them while they are off and tell you that you will have to wait 10 days without heating for your family during the coldest part of the year so far.
It's no drama really, I am a lucky, lucky guy. I have a log burner, loads of fuel and hot water. We won't die, it's an adventure, but as always it makes me reflect on my own business.
For our patients the rules are clear. This is what we provide and this is how to access it and this is how we count it to make sure it works and this is how I find it to make sure it functions.
I have constructed a small business big enough to support the structure of me not being on call over xmas this year (the first time for 8 years). The plumbers have not.
That brings me to the point of scale in service.
The solution to our problem came by phone the boiler company (Worcester-Bosch) and within 10 minutes they have a guy booked out to come to us to fix it who will call 30 mins before he gets here. They were brilliant and very apologetic that this experience may have affected our perception of the brand.
In the end we bought an expensive boiler and it broke within 2 years and they lived up to their promise. The plumbers, the sub contractors, didn't.
It is perhaps that plumbers don't have the same "social contract" with society that we (dentists) do, they are not "professionals". We can choose to remain that way but it means we need to honour the promise that we will look after our patients at times when we would rather be doing something else but they are in trouble.
To do this properly and in good humour we need an infrastructure that is big enough, but like all these things the inverted "U" curve applies.
Big enough but not too big.
Blog Post Number: 1172
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