Speed matters …
Boiler maintenance is never a subject that’s likely to set pulses racing.
And this week’s missive will never be 50 Shades of Grey.
But it’s reminded me of some VERY valuable lessons recently.
Ideally, it’s a summer job.
If anything goes awry, no one’s going put you in the dock on a murder rap if the boiler gets turned off all day.
But try and pull that trick in the middle of winter, and you’ll have World War 3 on your hands in five minutes flat. Which is what I was about to face.
This, however, was a force majeure.
A local company has serviced our boiler for years, but getting them to come out has been like pulling teeth.
I’d place a call-out request and be promised a call back to confirm, then … nothing.
Time slipped by and I’d only remember to prod them again a few months later. Then it was deja vu all over again.
How often we’d reheated that little routine, I can’t remember.
Until … I chanced on a scanned copy of the last service invoice dated 2017 – eight flippin’ years ago!
Boiler maintenance man 5 me 0.
He for managing to evade my entreaties so effectively and me for being the space cadet of the century and letting it drag on for so long.
Prize chump that I was, even I’d had enough.
So, what do we all do when we look for someone new?
Jump on Google and search for Boiler Maintenance near me.
In fractions of a second, Google had served up a whole host of companies on my doorstep who were clamouring for my attention.
The first to catch my eye was only 15 minutes away, so let’s give the local guys a chance, I thought.
Once I’d filled out their online form and hit send with a resounding keyboard clatter, I thought I’d better check out a backup option.
After all, given my completely useless project management on this one over the last few years, it would only be prudent.
But …
I hadn’t even had time to click on another supplier before my phone fired up, and it was company number one, which I’d messaged only seconds earlier.
There and then, they gave me a price and booked me in for the 2nd of January.
The price was fair, and with customer service like that, why look anywhere else?
They arrived exactly when they’d promised and within 60 minutes, it was job done. Even changing an incorrect burner nozzle at no extra cost.
The big takeaways from all this?
- Speed matters (more than we realise)
- Local Listings on Google are the lifeblood of many local businesses. So ignore yours at your peril.
Food for thought if you’re looking for a project to get your teeth into.
Until next week.
Alec