Who is in charge? Engineers or the governing body…

Shock horror… The company that owns and regulates the gas industry, Capita PLC. are forced to withdraw a scheme that engineers don’t want.

We were asked by Plumbing & Heating Monthly a few questions after Capita withdrew their CGCS scheme. And booking process, aftercare service This is what they asked, and what we said…

1. Why were you pro the scheme?

I am a big fan of any initiative that is trying to push for excellence in any industry. I felt it could have been used to illustrate how some companies go beyond just fixing a problem with boiler repairs. To be a good company, means going way beyond the physical “repairing”. More over, It should encompass every interaction you have with your customers, from the initial contact, through the booking process, the actual visit and the aftercare service and follow-up.

How well these touch points are finessed and tailored to suite the different type of clients you may have, ultimately translates into being in or out of business!

2. Are you surprised that Capita listened to the installers and withdrew the scheme so quickly?

Very!

Capita is a huge PLC that seemingly had the power to dictate its terms to the gas engineers. Companies of that size don’t concern themselves with individuals. Moreover, They will have known the figures about how much engagement they were getting on applications for the scheme; assessed the implementation costs and decided it wasn’t a big enough money maker.

The power of social media to engage with everyone in a split second has immense scope to unite and add this pressure.

3. What is your initial reaction to the scheme being withdrawn?

Shock, but this is an opportunity for Capita to repackage what it was trying to achieve with this scheme. Inherently I don’t think the idea is a bad one and we were considering joining it ourselves. The problems came down to COST and CONFUSION.

Ultimately, they are in business and want to try to generate profit! Customers wouldn’t have known the difference; the majority of customers still think Corgi is the regulatory body.

Hopefully they will take stock to and collaborate with engineers.

Here is an idea… companies that undertake the Captia scheme and meet the criteria of higher customer service standards are awarded with reduced Gas Safe renewal fees!

Although, They are also then highlighted on Gas Safe register as Master Engineers. I firmly believe that within the Gas Safe ‘brand’ there should be some ability to illustrate industry excellence and that this excellence should be simple for the public to access and understand.

Gone are the days that you only need to be good at your job… Everyone is now expected to be excel at customer service. Fixing a problem is only a fraction of the job!

That would have engineers climbing all over themselves to save money and get more business – as well as putting the service to the customer first.