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Category: REVIEWS BY CYMRU MARKETING (Page 1 of 2)

Reviews about businesses as told by Cymru Marketing. All opinions ar backed up by citations or evidence.

Driving Innovation in Wales – Media Cymru

“Driving Innovation in Wales: Exploring the Pioneering Spirit of Media.Cymru”

Introduction

Wales, a land steeped in history and tradition, has been quietly but steadily making its mark on the global innovation landscape. In recent years, a wave of innovation has been sweeping across the country, with organizations like https://media.cymru/ at the forefront of this transformative movement.

The Power of Digital Innovation

https://media.cymru/, a prominent digital media company in Wales, has been instrumental in harnessing the power of digital innovation to push the boundaries of creativity and entrepreneurship. In a rapidly evolving technological landscape, the ability to adapt and innovate is paramount, and https://media.cymru/ has proven itself to be a pioneer in this regard.

  1. Digital Storytelling: https://media.cymru/ has redefined the art of storytelling, combining traditional Welsh narratives with cutting-edge digital techniques. Through their multimedia productions, they have not only preserved the rich cultural heritage of Wales but also made it accessible to a global audience. This fusion of old and new has breathed new life into Wales’ storytelling traditions.
  2. Supporting Local Talent: https://media.cymru/ is committed to nurturing local talent. By providing a platform for emerging artists, filmmakers, and content creators, they have fostered a vibrant creative community in Wales. This not only empowers the next generation but also injects fresh ideas and perspectives into the media landscape.
  3. Innovative Tech Solutions: The company has also been actively involved in the development of innovative technological solutions. From virtual reality experiences that transport users into the heart of Welsh folklore to interactive apps that promote the Welsh language, https://media.cymru/ is leveraging technology to connect with audiences in unique and engaging ways.
  4. Educational Initiatives: Education is a cornerstone of innovation, and https://media.cymru/ recognizes this. They have partnered with schools and universities to develop educational programs that promote digital literacy and storytelling skills among students. By investing in the next generation, they are ensuring a sustainable pipeline of innovative talent in Wales.
  5. Collaborations and Partnerships: https://media.cymru/ understands that true innovation often thrives in collaborative environments. They have forged partnerships with other innovative organizations, both within Wales and beyond, to exchange ideas, share resources, and drive forward the innovation agenda.

Impact on Wales

The impact of https://media.cymru/ innovation initiatives extends far beyond its walls. It has played a pivotal role in positioning Wales as a hub for creativity and digital excellence. Here are some notable impacts:

  1. Economic Growth: By supporting local talent and fostering a culture of innovation, https://media.cymru/ has contributed to economic growth in Wales. It has attracted investment and created job opportunities in the media and technology sectors.
  2. Cultural Preservation: Through its digital storytelling initiatives, https://media.cymru/ has helped preserve and celebrate Welsh culture and heritage. This has not only bolstered national pride but also attracted cultural enthusiasts from around the world.
  3. Educational Advancement: The company’s educational programs have equipped students with valuable digital skills, preparing them for the jobs of the future. This investment in education is essential for the long-term growth and sustainability of Wales.
  4. Global Recognition: Wales is increasingly being recognized as a hub for digital innovation and creativity, thanks in no small part to the pioneering work of https://media.cymru/. This recognition has opened doors for collaborations and partnerships on an international scale.

Conclusion

Innovation knows no boundaries, and https://media.cymru/ has proven that Wales has the talent, creativity, and ambition to excel on the global stage. Through their commitment to digital innovation, support for local talent, and dedication to preserving Welsh culture, they have become a shining example of how innovation can transform a nation. As they continue to push the boundaries of what is possible, the future of innovation in Wales looks brighter than ever.

#mediacymru #cymrumedia #innovation #innovationwales #storytelling #cymrulocaltalent #cymrutechsolutions #cymrueducationalinitiatives #cymrucollaborations #cymrupartnerships #cymruentrepreneurships #entrepreneurs #entrepreneurswales #entrepreneurscymru

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ALL IN ONE CYMRU MARKETING BANNER AD

Smoke Alarm Testing Residential Properties & Hearing Loss.

Smoke Alarm Testing Residential Properties & Hearing Loss.

I am a private tenant and have lived at this property (a two-bedroom flat) for the best part of 24 years. It seems a lifetime I know, and I could have bought a house but I have never been in a position to invest. Instead, I invest in digital real estate.

My article is about the hearing loss I have due to the extremely loud smoke alarms and heat detectors.

I have had two smoke alarms (landing /living room) and one heat detector in the kitchen in the last 3 years installed and have endured other incidents by an incompetent electrical company that has scammed my landlord and caused me monetary loss as well as health issues.

Does spraying smoke from an aerosol need to be done by a qualified electrician or can anyone do it?, it is laughable: Smoke Alarm Tester Sprays. To think my landlord has been charged for this and then passes the cost on to the tenant with rent rises.

My Digital Real Estate I Own.

Living in a residential property that does not belong to you, limits you with what you can and can’t say. The company that is scamming my landlord thinks I know jack sh#t about the law.

As a website designer, digital marketer, and content writer, I make it my business to learn about regulations.

I am actively promoting my client www.electricianswales.co.uk by coincidence is on the first page of search engines namely Google for the search terms ‘electricians wales’ and landlord ‘safety checks’.

So my grievance is with an electrical company that my landlord hires and has caused me considerable emotional distress, health issues as well as monetary loss. https://www.cymrumarketing.com/electrical-safety-5-year-checks/ It rattles me that not only have I had hearing problems which are documented in other articles I have written, I now have to have my morning disrupted because my word is not good enough to confirm my alarms and detector are working properly.

This is my client which I highly recommend.

SMOKE & CARBON MONOXIDE ALARMS

This is what the government says:

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015 came into force on 1 October 2015.

The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022 will come into force on 1 October 2022. From that date, all relevant landlords must:

1. Ensure at least one smoke alarm is equipped on each storey of their homes where a room is used as living accommodation. This has been a legal requirement in the private rented sector since 2015.

2. Ensure a carbon monoxide alarm is equipped in any room used as living accommodation that contains a fixed combustion appliance (excluding gas cookers).

3. Ensure smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms are repaired or replaced once informed and found that they are faulty.

The requirements are enforced by local authorities who can impose a fine of up to £5,000 if a landlord fails to comply with a remedial notice.

This booklet provides information about the requirements, who they apply to, and how they are enforced. It is designed as a Q&A to cover the most common situations but it is not intended to cover every scenario, nor should it be seen as a substitute for reading the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2022.

These regulations should be considered alongside other relevant laws on fire and carbon monoxide safety in rented homes such as the Housing Act 2004, the Fire Safety Act 2021, and the Building Safety Act 2022.

It is the department’s intention to ensure this booklet is updated whenever there are changes, but it is the landlord’s responsibility to ensure that they are applying the relevant laws correctly.

If, after reading this booklet, you are not clear whether or how the requirements apply to your individual circumstances you should seek legal advice.

Separate guidance is available for local authorities.

Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (Amendment) Regulations 2022: guidance for landlords and tenants – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

EDITORS COMMENTS

So in the last 2-3 years, I have had this company, ‘ come to the property I rent, and this is what a sh#t show they have done up to now (or should I say have not in some cases).

  1. Carried Out a landlord safety inspection but did not provide a copy of the report to me because I could easily have argued and could have pulled them up about the fact my chandelier and the dimmer switch were never tested in my living room plus other things in the list. I do not use it as a consequence and just have floor lamps).
  2. The extension lead from the back of my washing machine was never hardwired. So if the washing machine sprung a leak there is an electric cable extension trailing on the floor.
  3. They failed to notice the hotspot behind my cooker which caused me a lot of money in takeouts one Christmas (Documented).
  4. They scammed the landlord by installing two lights on my landing on the same loop so when one lightbulb goes, it trips the second light, defeating the object of having to change a light bulb above a 30ft drop as it is situated directly on top of my stairs.
  5. They installed two smoke alarms on one floor and a heat detector in the kitchen (saying I needed a heat detector in the kitchen, a smoke alarm in my on the landing (10ft apart) as well as in the living room by law). Another scam for my landlord. It makes no sense to have a heat detector in the kitchen because the kitchen does get hot from the cooking especially if you have the hobs and oven on at the same time.
  6. They insist on checking each smoke alarm once a year even though it should be checked by anyone who is competent (insinuating I am not).

My smoke alarms work especially if we are cooking and when this happens, all three alarms go off at the same time.

Where do smoke alarms need to be located?

According to the GOV.UK Regulations it does not stipulate where the alarms should be placed.

At least one smoke alarm should be installed on every floor used as living accommodation.

Landlords should follow the individual manufacturer’s instructions when installing the alarms. However, in general, smoke alarms should be fixed to the ceiling in a circulation space, i.e. a hall or a landing.

Your local fire and rescue authority may be able to provide further advice on installation or you can download fire safety information from www.gov.uk/firekills

Can Smoke Alarms & Heat Detectors Damage Hearing?

Since having these alarms installed my hearing is not so good, I experience headaches and a constant humming noise in both ears. The volume on my devices has to be turned up to the max for me to hear. I cannot hear my doorbell which tells me my hearing is damaged.

The sheer volume of noise isn’t everything and the distance you are from the source of the sound and how long you are exposed to it is just as important as the noise.

Sound intensity doubles with every increase of 3 decibels so even though the sound of a car horn may not sound twice as loud as a vacuum cleaner, the intensity levels make it seem so. That is why, if you are working in a noisy environment with sound levels in the region of 80-85dB, you should be wearing protective hearing headsets. 

For sounds in the region of 110 – 120dB, short exposure is enough to cause lasting hearing damage.

Prolonged and repeated exposure to loud noises can damage your hearing and if you stand next to a smoke alarm for a long period of time, it can damage your hearing (I am about 10ft away when I am sitting down and working, and have to switch/reset all the alarms which may take a few minutes because both my daughter and I are disabled and cannot move very fast and cannot reach because the ceilings are very high.

Though the point of a smoke alarm is to get you out of the vicinity of a fire so this is rarely an issue. The louder the noise is and the longer you are exposed to it, the higher the risk to your hearing.

https://www.hf-group.co.uk

My Landlord.

On the imminent appointment (which I could do without), scheduled tomorrow to have my alarms tested because I am obviously not trusted or capable enough to test them myself, I not only will have to contend with the deafening noise of 3 x 85 decibels = 255 decibels, but they will have to disconnect my electricity because the alarms are connected to the flat below me. (I would not be so p#ssed if it was one alarm but there are three that will go off simultaneously and one of the alarms is about 10 feet away from where I work. When these alarms set off they hurt my ears).

How can I protect my health and work at the same time?

I am keeping a record of everything that happens with this company and my landlord.

My alarms work fine because there is one heat detector in the kitchen which is very sensitive and sets off all the rest. I have reduced my cooking because of the price rises in the cost of living but that is another story.

Update 26/08/22

The electrician arrived and knocked on my door and when he did not get an answer he opened the door and came to my stairs. (My daughter was a witness).

I normally do not lock my flat door because the flat is a terraced house converted to two apartments and there is a front door that is locked before anyone can get to my door. You would think I should feel safe in my home, but obviously, people that do not get a response from knocking think they have a license to just let themselves in…

No word of a lie he puffed an aerosol can on the alarms, waited for them to go off, and left. He did not switch off the electrics like the last guy a year ago. It most probably took the guy today all of two minutes from start to finish, I wonder how much he charged for this?

How should a tenant test their alarms to check they are in working order?

Testing of smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms does not require specialist skills or knowledge and should be straightforward for tenants to do.

Landlords should consider providing residents with a demonstration and/or instructions to support residents’ understanding of how, and how often, to test their smoke alarms and make sure they are in working order. Landlords should follow the individual manufacturer’s instructions for testing alarms and consider sharing these instructions with tenants to support regular testing.

Screenshot.

www.gov.uk

Would I recommend this company to anyone to anyone? most definitely not, they are a bunch of cowboys!

They do not know what they are doing, they are not on the first page of search engines and their website looks like an amateur has done it which tells me they are not making much money otherwise they would afford a Professional Website Designer.

This now gives me the perfect opportunity to promote and market my client who is professional and knows what he is doing. If I could dictate to my landlord who he should choose to hire then I would most definitely have recommended my client.

For those of you that are in need of a Landlord Safety Inspection, I highly recommend www.electricianswales.co.uk

Update 28/11/22

I think this muppet company (E+- (abbreviated), am not disclosing their business name for legal reasons) is out to scam landlords because, from the original post date of this article in August of this year, I was surprised the same muppets turned up at my property unannounced to say they were doing a smoke alarm test. I replied you did one six months ago but in reality, it was three months ago and the electrician’s reply was that they have to very six months (good luck with that in three months’ time because I bet you a bottom dollar I am not letting them in).

I told my landlord’s assistant who said she had texted me over the weekend. If I did not reply that would have meant I did not get the text.

But what shocked me was that this electrician entered my flat without waiting to be invited. What would have happened if I was not in? he could have had free reign and helped himself to my valuables. What if I had just had a shower and was half-dressed? You do not enter rented accommodation without acknowledgment from the tenant. I did not acknowledge the text because I never received it.

On further investigation, this company does not have a cookie banner on its website, so if they track you with Google Analytics cookies you are none the wiser. They have a simple landing page with no privacy policy or terms and conditions. The quality of the website speaks volumes about the quality of their workmanship. I personally believe they are not credible and I by rights should be reported to ico.org.uk for breaching GDPR.

#landlordsafetyinspections #electricianswales #smokedetectortesting #smokealarmtesting #hearingloss #smokedetectorhearingloss #dodgytraders #dodgyelectricians #electricianscardiff

Disagreeing With Your Competitor

Keep your business moving forward

Disagreeing With Your Competitor.

Minding my own business, I scrolled through my LinkedIn Notifications and noticed someone blatantly taking the proverbial p#ss out of a local pizza company. Curious about the topic of discussion and because I specialize in domain names I decided to join the conversation.

The entity happens to live in the same city as me in Cardiff Wales and runs a Marketing Agency, he pointed out that a domain name a pizza company was using has the word sh#t in the domain name. It did not have the actual word; it was the way the letters were merged and highlighted by my competitor that showed all the words in poor taste (no pun intended).

There is a saying “put your brain in gear before putting your mouth in motion” and for me, Monday morning was the start of my content writing week, and I should have thought twice before ending up arguing in a testosterone-heated discussion.

My competitor later admitted he copied the image and content from Reddit and then went on a defense that he has always supported the company and gave them free marketing…yer right.

My point was, never take the mick out of another business for the following reasons:

  1. If you are on a network channel such as LinkedIn, someone you are connected to and who does not agree with your message may never use you in the future or pass work your way. You should never burn all your bridges. I wont be sending business their way.
  2. If the business that was made a mockery of found out and the article went viral, there would be a certain amount of people that may not use the business, thinking if they cannot get their domain/branding right, it could look like they do not have much money to invest in a decent domain name so what is the quality of their pizzas going to be, are they scrimping on the ingredients too?
  3. The business does not want to be seen by people that will join in on the banter. The business loses credibility.
  4. It shows unprofessionalism.
  5. You instantly lose trustworthiness and credibility.

The image below is proof in the pudding of what I was trying to say as low and behold a person actually commented about the innuendo the marketing agency implied about the domain name and the pizza guy.

I have redacted the person’s name that made the comment.

So, although this competitor thought it was funny to take the p#ss out of a company. I quickly jumped on the bandwagon in the Pizza Companies’ defense.

I tried to point out if this was a photo of my business being circulated around social media and I had a questionable domain name (I am a domain broker so that would never happen but if it did) and people were laughing at me I would if I was in the Pizza guy’s shoes, sue the entity that started it.

Not being a lawyer (solicitor), I used the wrong words, I said I would sue the entity for defamation of character but what I should have said was “I would sue them for Libel”.

Yes, this article came with trolls, and everyone seemed to be on the side of the competitor, congratulating him for his publicity stunt and stupidity.

However, for the pizza guy, his pizza domain will be stuck in my head, not for his delicious pizzas (as I have never tried them) but for his poor choice of the domain name and the article I read.

The one troll said any lawyer wanting to take this case on would also be taking the p#ss. I stopped interacting after that, as I did not want to add any further fuel to the fire. I defused the situation.

So unbeknown to the entities in this article, I consult with lawyers (solicitors) as I happen to own a solicitor’s directory and forum which is for sale:

www.cardiffsolicitors.co.uk

(The Domain & Website Are For Sale Or Lease, along with www.conveyancingcardiff.co.uk and www.cardiffprobatesolicitors.co.uk).

What is libel and slander?

Headlines show us that celebrities and the rich and famous go through libel or slander lawsuits – however, it’s also a big problem for businesses and in the most extreme cases can damage a business’s reputation to the point where it can no longer continue trading.

So, what should a business do if it finds out that a third party is making libelous or slanderous statements about it?

The fundamental differences between libel and slander are when somebody makes a false or untrue statement or claim about an individual or an organization that harms their reputation or good standing, verbally or in writing.

Both cases are classed as defamation although there is an important difference between the two – libel concerns written or drawn statements, and photographs, whilst slander concerns verbal defamatory words.

Defamation is said to have occurred simply when a statement is made that lowers somebody’s opinion of your business as a result of hearing or reading it.

A brand that cannot afford a high-quality domain name may be questioned if they have enough finances for their business and the quality of the products or services they sell.

“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room. – Jeff Bezos, Founder, Amazon.com

Defamation is notorious on social media as I have found out and can often take place where individuals and customers are able to express their feelings about your business.

As an example: Price Chopper in the US saw a tweet that was criticizing them. They saw that the individual who had tweeted was employed by a business who they had some sort of commercial relationship with. And although the tweet wasn’t related to that relationship, and was on a personal account, they complained to the employing company that the tweet could jeopardize the relationship between the two companies, and they requested that the employer take some action against the tweeter.

What my competitor failed to see is even though he is one of my first connections on LinkedIn I am never going to send business his way or recommend him, as who is to say that he could not or would not slander me or anyone I sent his way further down the line? He lost credibility and trustworthiness posting that article on LinkedIn.

Another Case of defamation: In Preece v JD Wetherspoon plc, a pub manager was verbally abused by certain customers. The manager posted on her Facebook account about the situation and criticized the customers. A relative saw the comments and complained to the company which subsequently dismissed the manager for gross misconduct. https://www.workspace.co.uk/content-hub/business-insight/analysis-how-social-media-can-damage-brands

If your business finds itself in the unfortunate dilemma of having a libelous or slanderous statement made about them they need to collect all the evidence to make the case solid. It is very important to quickly assess the situation and, if necessary, take decisive action.

In most cases, no action will be taken as there is not enough evidence and witnesses may be reluctant to get involved. People are likely to hear the statement and/or may not take the comments seriously or back your corner.

One has to weigh up the pros and cons and if it is worth the money, time, and heartache of suing someone that may not have two cents (pennies) to rub together?

Sometimes causing unnecessary publicity from the lawsuit could actually further damage a business’s reputation and in such circumstances drawing attention to itself may actually do more harm than good.

If you feel this is the route to go through, are adamant you have enough evidence, and can prove you have lost business or will lose business, then the next step is to find a lawyer (solicitor).

Sometimes lawsuits can be avoided, and incidents nipped in the bud and mended what is broken by doing extensive PR Campaigns to show the business in good light.

In the case of the pizza guy, the best plan of action would be to change his domain name. He does not necessarily need to rebrand just have an exact match of searchable keywords and phrases in his domain name without the letter SH#T in the URL.

For the marketing company disrespecting his brand name, I would have done this differently if I were them, I would have reached out to the pizza guy and told him what people have noticed and are saying and then offer some relatable domain names, rather than making a mockery of his brand for a few likes and follows. (Low Blow PR Stunt).

What the marketing company (competitor) did was give me an idea to write an article that relates to my three sites: UK Domain Brokers Site and also the Cardiff Solicitors Site as well as the Marketing Journal and it gave me the opportunity to contact the pizza guy myself with a couple of domain names and offer him some marketing...thank you.

Legal action can be costly and time-consuming and there is no guarantee that the outcome, hence if people are laughing about a brand name behind the owner’s back, someone needs to step in and defend them.

A pizza guy may be an expert in baking pizzas and may not have the knowledge of SEO and Marketing, so PR stunt or not I will not be giving this marketing company any work or recommendations.

What if I need to take legal action?

To make a claim against libel or slander you must start legal proceedings within 12 months of the defamatory statement being made otherwise you will be legally unable to take any action against the other party.

How can I avoid making libelous or slanderous statements myself?

The best course of action is like I said earlier putting your brain in gear before putting your mouth in motion and quite simply ‘think before you speak!’ Be extremely careful about making accusations about another party, especially if you cannot provide proof that what you are saying is true.

Never make innuendos such as the marketing company did, and highlighted the letters SH#T in the domain name. This implies the guy’s pizzas are inferior. Sometimes it is better to keep your opinions to yourself.

I have not shared the previous article written by my competitor purposely as I do not want to draw further attention to something that should have been avoided providing the person posting the article had one ounce of common sense, which in my opinion he did not.

Simply highlighting the letters SH#T in the domain name was disrespectful to the domain owner even though he could have chosen a better domain.

Who wins at the end of this? I do of course because I have secured two exact match domain names that will help the pizza guy with his marketing and advertising?

I wonder what the competitor’s clients would think if this was brought to their attention, after all, my competitor has his clients on his landing page and I am sure it would not look good for him if he was seen to be disrespecting another company.

When publicly speaking about a third party one needs to be careful not to say anything derogatory or offensive, because making statements can leave you open to being sued for defamation or libel.

It is much better to empower, support, and find solutions for businesses that may be experiencing issues with branding and domain names rather than criticizing and laughing at the expense of their errors, for your own gains”.

#branding #domainnames #domainacquisitions #libel #defamation #lawsuits #defamationofcharacter #slander #derogaroty #innuendos

Keep your business moving forward

Unprofessional Cardiff Gas Engineers – No PPE.

Unprofessional Gas Engineers!

UNPROFESSIONAL GAS ENGINEERS – NO PPE.

(As per date of publication).

This is a personal experience I have endured with a local Cardiff Gas Engineer today.

I had an appointment yesterday for a consultation and re-scheduled all my appointments to fit in with the engineer arriving as I have a fault with low pressure and my combi-boiler cutting out at least twice a day.

(I do not like conducting my business in front of my landlord or the contractors he sends out, even though I once specifically asked the landlord not to turn up because I had an important call, he purposely ignored my request and turned up anyway. He did not forget because I reminded him half an hour earlier and he agreed he would not, yet he still turned up).

The engineer yesterday was a no-show, they never phoned or texted they could not make it. So I lost a day’s work waiting for them (I do not like discussing my business in front of contractors).

Seeing as I was not paying for the call-out I was not going to chase them and thought no more of it until a day later, as the matter was not urgent or an emergency, and I attempted to go about my day, trying to catch up from the day before.

The Gas Engineer Broke The Law!

I gave strict instructions if they were outside my property to phone or text me as I have a problem with my hearing and cannot hear the doorbell if I am on my own.

However today my daughter was with me and she would hear the bell if it were pressed, (which was not), I will come to this in a moment.

So my daughter and I are in the middle of working when she hears someone walking up our stairs calling my name (I could not hear anything as I am partially deaf). She answers and goes to see who it was, and a man she did not recognize is on the stairs inside our property. He never rang the bell or knocked on the door, just walked in unexpectedly and unannounced.

Entering a property unlawfully is called trespassing and one cannot just enter uninvited or pre-arranged unless it is an emergency or in the case of the Police, a warrant. *The thing is I have a witness and I made an unofficial complaint to the building contractor the following day.

DISRESPECT

I then got up and realized it was the engineer. I immediately said you were supposed to come yesterday and he replied “oh, was I”, with no apology or anything…(totally ignorant and rude). I did not want to kick off and say “have you never heard of knocking”?

NO FACEMASK (Regulations at the time of publication of this article)

I noted he was not wearing a facemask and I said hold on I will go get my facemask to which he replied: “do you want me to put one on”.

It is actually mandatory to wear a facemask when visiting residential properties, whereby the resident is present: https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/gas-safety/covid-19-advice-and-guidance/

I suspect they were trying their luck hoping no one was in.

The landlord should not have given them keys so I think this was planned because why else would they have had keys to the property if they knew 100% someone would be in?

There is something quite off with this now that I am thinking about it.

NO SOCIAL DISTANCING

The engineer told me to show how low the pressure gauge drops but that meant I had to be less than a foot away from him as my kitchen is a confined space with only room for one person. I was reluctant to go anywhere near him but had no choice but to comply with his wishes.

CONTRACTOR COVID REGULATIONS

Contractor must wash their hands and sanitize them before touching anything and that did not happen. In fact, he even leaned on the banister touching freshly washed clothes with his outer clothing that could have potentially cross-contaminated any pathogens he may have carried on his uniform. My daughter after he had gone had to re-wash her clothes and sanitize all the surfaces he had touched including the boiler.

ANIMOSITY

At this stage, I did not want to make waves and went to put my mask on even though he should have had one on without asking me if I wanted him to or not. I felt had I insisted he wears his mask it would have caused animosity.

BEING PERSONAL

I explained the problem I was having to adjust the pressure twice a day every day and this is where it got personal. I have known this engineer for the length of time of my tenancy and over the years I have told him I suffer from OCD. I am not ashamed to say it and I am an advocate and editor for mental health on my online journal www.disabilityuk.co.uk this is where my daughter and I picked up on his insensitive and rather rude remark and what he said: “Are you sure you that you have to adjust the gauge twice a day or are you just saying it because you are high on your meds” he continued to say, although I did not hear him say it, however, my daughter did “I must be special or a lunatic”.

I have a witness to what he said.

People who have mental health issues should not be humiliated and made a mockery of, not everyone with mental health issues is going to be a patient of mental asylums which I felt was what he was insinuating.

I am so tempted to name and shame him and the company he represents and give them bad press.

THE CONSULTATION

He insinuated I was making things up told my daughter to make track of how many times I adjusted the boiler without telling me and also insinuated that both my daughter and I were lying about the leaking radiator, which was not leaking in front of him. He did however state he would be coming back next week to fix the radiator that was hanging off the wall in another room.

MY WORK

Considering he turned up unannounced and I excused myself and said I had to get back to my work and he went “yer right” like I was making it up or something and he did not believe me.

PAST HISTORY

It was approximately a year ago that he came out to install my cooker I bought that could not be fitted at the time of delivery because I had a problem with my “Hot Zone” in the kitchen whereby another local Cardiff Electricians (I am not mentioning any names but I did tell my landlord about their incompetence at the time when he had to rewire my electrics) failed to notice the problem when they did an electrical inspection. When I mentioned this to the Gas engineer he too did not know what a “Hot Zone” was either until I sent him a link.

He told me I should not report the electricians and should not start making waves. I took that he was threatening me in some way.

Also when I mentioned that I may have had a leak in the pipes last week phone to the gas engineers director, he said floorboards would have to be pulled up I corrected him and said a thermal camera would spot the leak which costs about £700 and he said no one in Cardiff has anything like that. Some people do not like being corrected and a gadget like that is an investment to any plumber and they should have it as part of their tools.

So for me not to have a cooker over Christmas and New Year 2019/2020 as I could not get it fitted because the electrics needed re-wiring was not a big problem to anyone other than me who spent £1,500 on take-outs over a period of two months for myself and my family as I could not cook any food. Who is going to compensate me for this? This is why I am documenting everything and I have receipts.

INTIMIDATION

I feel I am being humiliated and intimidated by these engineers as they are friendly with my landlord and anything I say to any of the contractors goes back to my landlord.

EMOTIONAL DISTRESS

This type of disrespect, humiliation, and intimidation is causing emotional distress. Who can I complain to about rogue contractors and unprofessional traders? This is why I am unwell because people do not abide by rules and Covid Regulations and are very judgemental. Some people simply think they are better than you and will try to ridicule you as in the case today.

FINAL THOUGHTS FROM THE EDITOR

I will not mention this company other than they are not on the first page of Google for the search terms “Cardiff Gas Engineers” and have a hyphen in their domain name. But what I will do is document everything and go out of my way to help one of their competitors because they should not be making waves with me.

I have in fact most recently renewed the domain name www.cardiffgasengineers.co.uk and originally was going to make the domain into a directory of “Cardiff Gas Engineers” purposely to exclude them, but now I will help any company other than them.

People underestimate me and what I do and am capable of.

It is unprofessional to be personal to a tenant and make a mockery of their disability regardless of whether their disability is physical or mental.

I once had a detective (CID) demoted to a police constable for entering my property unannounced and without a warrant, and I still suffer PTSD from that which has brought back memories. This is added to my emotional distress.

Also, one is not exempt from wearing facemasks, even though some may think they do.

It is not the first time other engineers working for the same company in question have visited my property without wearing facemasks and I have complained previously. But if I was to again I suspect I would be complaining about the partner of the business as I believe he is also a friend of the landlord and I guess he feels invincible.

If he mocked me about my mental health and medication he would have also mocked my landlord who also suffers from mental health problems.

I feel if someone complains too much is then deemed as a nuisance, so I have to keep my mouth shut but have learned over time to document everything.

BREACH OF TERMS OF AGREEMENT

Imagine if my daughter and I were not home and he let himself in, my insurance would become void.

Another scenario could have been, my daughter or I could have been half-dressed coming out of the bathroom or bedroom as was the case with the detective many moons ago.

24 HOURS NOTICE

A landlord, the contractor, or the letting agent needs to give you 24 hours’ notice before entering your rented premises unless it is an emergency. They cannot walk in unless they have notified you first when they are arriving and even then, they cannot just walk in if they know someone is present. The resident needs to agree and give consent.

https://england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/repairs/repairs_and_inspections_access_to_your_rented_home

When you rent a property from a landlord it becomes your home. A landlord, contractor, or letting agent, should only enter the property without you being there, if you have given prior permission for them to do so, or if it is a genuine emergency.

While your landlord, contractor, or letting agent will need to gain access to the property to carry out inspections, repairs, and maintenance, the law says that they must give you 24-hour written notice.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1985/70/section/11

https://www.plazaestates.co.uk/news/can-my-landlord-enter-my-house-without-me-being-home

REPORTING A LANDLORD IN WALES

Should you wish to make a complaint about your landlord and you live in Wales, you should contact “Rent Smart Wales”:

https://www.rentsmart.gov.wales/en/contact/

https://www.rentsmart.gov.wales/en/faqs/

REPORTING A GAS ENGINEER

If you wish to make a complaint about a Gas Engineer visit the following site:

https://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/domestic/newschemecontract.htm

https://www.gassaferegister.co.uk/gas-safety/covid-19-advice-and-guidance/

FINALLY

Remember whatever you do there are consequences to your actions. If you report your landlord he /she may serve you an eviction notice. The same goes with engineers they may try to sue you, so you have to have the evidence documented and have a plan A and plan B before you start complaining.

LEAVING

Oh, I forgot to mention as he was leaving he said to my daughter I had successfully wasted his time. Even though he recognized the radiator needed fixing and said he would and I quote “have to book it in”, yet had no regard that I had to pay people yesterday to manage the chat widgets on my client’s sites and could not monitor them properly this morning as I was rudely interrupted, in fact, I had a missed chat today and my client noticed which does not look good for me. So wasting my time is fine?…

UPDATE

13/01/21

I made an indirect complaint to the contractor that came to work in my bathroom today, something different from the gas engineer’s job yesterday, knowing that my disdain will get back to my landlord. Even the contractor agreed the Gas Engineer was out of order and that I should make an official complaint. Let’s see what transpires next week when he has to return to fix the radiator in one of the bedrooms, I will be having words with him one to one, and I will record him in stealth mode if he bothers to turn up.

24/01/21

As you can imagine he failed to return.

#landlordsandtenants #renting #yourrights #rentsmartwales #mentalhealth #unprofessional #gasengineers #gasengineersppe #ppe #facemasks #washinghands #handsanitizer

GP appointments & Negligence

GP Negligence!

One illness per GP appointment.

GP Appointments & Negligence, Lack of duty of care.

Patients are being told that doctors are too busy to cope with more 20-minute appointments that they have restricted calls for 10 minutes and to only discuss one ailment per consultation.

Critics say it could put people off discussing important health issues.

People who are vulnerable who have ongoing mental health issues or have multiple issues may be reluctant to phone multiple times.

According to some surgeries dealing with more than one health issue can increase the chances of a mistake. (A GP should not make mistakes, although I have proof that they do, with my daughter being prescribed Gaviscon by the GP yet the A&E diagnosed my daughter with Multiple Sclerosis).

My calculation is if the surgery did an eight-hour shift and had 20-minute consultations, would be 24 patients a day multiplied by 5 doctors would be 120 patients a day multiplied by 5 days would be 600 people a week or 2,400 patients per month that they could consult.

Not everyone comes to the surgery every week or every month, so what are doctors doing if they are having problems with time management?

GPs are insisting that patients raise only one problem per appointment because they are so short of time.

According to the Mail Online (January 2017), those with multiple ailments are being banned from booking longer 20-minute consultations – instead of being told to book a standard ten-minute appointment for each condition they want to discuss.

A ten-minute slot would equate to 6 slots per hour multiplied by 8 hours, which equates to 48 patients per day per Doctor. (48 patients per day per 10 min slots  x 5 GP’s = 240 patients per day x 5 days = 1,200 patients per week x 4 weeks = 4.800 patients per month).

Surgeries are increasingly introducing a controversial policy to cope with rising demand. But campaigners described the rules as ‘outrageous’ and warned they would put off patients from discussing potentially important health worries.

Practices across the UK have adopted the ‘one problem per appointment’ policy which claims it is to improve ‘clinical safety. However, there is a real increased risk that mistakes will be made and things missed as the Doctor may be inclined to rush, particularly if other patients are waiting.’ Other Surgeries have gone one step further by banning any long appointments for multiple health issues.

GP surgeries are under pressure from the rising and aging population on top of a recruitment crisis of family doctors. NHS figures published in December 2016 showed that in some parts of the country the number of patients on surgery lists has soared by 30 percent in just three years.

Katherine Murphy, chief executive of the Patients Association, said: ‘It is outrageous that patients are being told there are rules around the health problems that can be discussed.

We hear so frequently from patients who struggle to even get an appointment that I’m confident most would take such an opportunity to ask about a secondary or less-urgent health concern.

‘Our concerns are that patients will not be given the opportunity, or maybe put off, from asking for medical advice because of this rule, which is a very serious patient safety risk.’

Dr. Helen Stokes-Lampard, chairman of the Royal College of GPs, said she was ‘saddened by the move. She added: ‘For a lot of consultations, particularly for people with chronic diseases or any psychological element to it, to be pressured into ten minutes is really unhelpful.’

Note from the Editor.

In Consideration of the above article, the Editor (myself) who has multiple health issues wrote a nine-page letter to the GP back in May of this year. I sent it via email with an attachment marked as private and confidential. I received an email back from the practice manager who said that she had read the letter (Not addressed to her) and that I needed to discuss my concerns by making a phone call to the GP even though it clearly stated in the letter what my concerns were.

(The GP could have phoned the patient (aka me) to discuss the concerns rather than ignore me altogether).

So, six months later seeing I never received a letter from the GP or a phone call, I happened to be chasing up a missing prescription for my daughter and I decided to kill two birds with one stone and asked for the GP to phone me only to be told I would have to phone back the following day to book a consultation. I replied just mark it on the system that I need the doctor to phone me.

By all accounts, the person I was speaking to could not pass on a message as I will explain.

I related that the letter I wrote in May clearly stated my concerns and that it could be marked on the system for the GP to phone me and that I should not be chasing the GP. The receptionist (male) said he would pass the message on so I thought…

Within minutes of the call ending the practice manager phoned demanding that I phone back the following day to book a consultation, she never said what time, but I presume at 8 am when the lines get jammed from people trying to make appointments for a good half hour to an hour, only to be told the slots are gone and to phone back the day after. This has happened previously to me so maybe the system has changed; I do not know, as I hardly ever phone the GP, I prefer everything in writing?

I said that the doctor should phone me and for the practice manager to pass the message on, who replied the doctor is too busy to read letters or correspond to them and that unless I phoned back in the morning to book a consultation the doctor will not be phoning me.

My reply was, I had to drop what I was doing today to speak with the practice manager that did not schedule a call and did not even ask if it was OK to talk. I continued to say I am also busy and that this call was inconvenient to which the practice manager raised her voice and in a stern tone said “Goodbye” and cut me off by ending the call.

If the GP does not phone me tomorrow, I will go out of my way to name and shame the practice and sue them for negligence for my escalation of health issues and emotional distress.

If I work into the early hours of the morning, I am not going to get up especially early to phone the surgery to ask for the GP to phone me when I have spoken with three people in total that could easily put a post-it note, on the GP’s desk to phone me. It is not difficult.

The overall way they treat their patients does not surprise me why people get agitated. If I were an elderly person, I would not be ringing back, this could then cause the persons’ health to deteriorate even more.

I speak on behalf of everyone who has problems speaking to their GP for multiple health issues. If a letter has been received and as per the phone call today which confirmed my ailments have been put on the system, you would think the care of duty by the clinician should have followed it up, but they have not, which in my way of thinking is negligence.

I suffer from depression and anxiety I am an advocate for mental health and have a website specifically for disabilities www.disabledentrepreneur.uk

I am not ashamed to admit it, I do struggle with anxiety and depression most days and some days are easier than others.

I lost my ex-husband and a family friend this year and around May time, which felt I needed some support from my GP hence wrote the letter not only discussing my mental health but other multiple ailments. Had I have had suicidal thoughts you would not be reading this right now because of my GP’s incompetence.

Imagine someone with a similar health issue relying on the GP to get in touch with them, I dread to think how many people have had their symptoms get worse because of the lack of duty of care by the clinician.

I have now spoken to three people in total over my letter including a cluster pharmacist who phoned me to discuss my medication who also told me she had read my letter and I quote “The letter was very thorough which is what GP’s like”, yet no one has followed up on my health issues?

I did write a while ago about doctor / patient confidentiality:

Some people also have anxiety phoning their GP’s:

FURTHER READING (citation)

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4100110/Doctors-busy-one-problem-appointment.html

USEFUL LINKS

https://www.mind.org.uk/about-us/our-policy-work/you-and-your-gp/for-gp-patients/

https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-the-nhs/how-to-complain-to-the-nhs/

https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/other-services/Patient-advice-and-liaison-services-(PALS)/LocationSearch/363

https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/other-services/Clinical-Commissioning-Group/LocationSearch/1

https://www.cqc.org.uk/contact-us/how-complain/complain-about-use-mental-health-act

https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/

https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/publications/my-expectations-raising-concerns-and-complaints

HOW TO COMPLAIN

https://www.nhs.uk/using-the-nhs/about-the-nhs/how-to-complain-to-the-nhs/

https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/other-services/Patient-advice-and-liaison-services-(PALS)/LocationSearch/363 (Recommended)

https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/

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#gpdutyofcare #gp #doctorsurgery #gpnegligence #anxiety #anxietyphoning #anxietyphoningyourgp #dutyofcare #nhscomplaints #RoyalCollegeofGP’s #PatientsAssociation

Bad Courier Service Part II

Bad Courier Service part II

I wrote the other day about an experience my daughter and I have had with ‘Hermes Group’: https://marketingagency.cymrumarketing.com/2021/01/29/couriers-poor-services/

As you all know where ever there is an opportunity to write about different things I also seek out the CEOs of the companies for comment.

Now moving forward after I had emailed the CEO Martijn DeLange with a copy of the link to my original post, I then got someone underneath him to contact me.

This brings me to the post I made about heirachy, if I wanted his minions to contact me I would not have contacted him: https://marketingagency.cymrumarketing.com/2021/02/01/sending-emails-to-ceos/

So anyway the email said they were investigating the incident.

My daughter then said that she also received an email from the depot also saying that they apologised but the parcel was still in the depot??

As you are aware I updated my original post and said a random stranger had actually delivered the parcel the following day after I raised the complaint, so how could the parcel still be at the depot??

This tells me the company either do not know what they are doing or are simply lying to save face.

I updated the original post to say the parcel had been delivered by some random stranger but not by Hermes and the parcel had been delivered to a random address and not ours.

Not thinking anymore of it, I then received a phone call from head office yesterday 03/02/21 and Hermes Group wanted to confirm if my daughter had received her parcel and I said yes but wait for it they mentioned that the parcel was from ‘Pretty Little Thing’, not once did I mention ‘Pretty Little Thing’ in my in my emails although I did say it was coming from ‘ASOS’, so where they got ‘Pretty Little Thing’ from is beyond my thinking?

The person from head office then made the excuse that the delivery driver was new and did not know the roads very well and that they were going to dismiss him to make sure this type of incident did not happen again.

Now if you peel back all the layers you have to try and find the real problem.

Was it the delivery drivers fault….., really?

The person I spoke to said he was not given a GPS tracker although under normal circumstance they do use them. For the most part even if he did not have a GPS Tracker for what ever reason most people have smart phones so they would be able to find an address using Google Maps.

Instead of dismissing the driver they should have called him in to re-train, everyone should have the opportunity to have a second chance to redeem themselves.

The way I see it is the people at the top do not want problems and as my clipart shows rather than fix the problems, just eradicate them, meaning in this case, firing the driver.

Treat your staff well and they will treat you well.

If there is a problem and in the case of the driver not having a GPS Tracker to track the parcels then that is management problem not the driver.

How the parcel ended up at a random address is mind boggling, unless the driver simply dumped it? Apparantly the drivers are paid by the delivery and not by the hour, so if this particular driver the other day could not deliver in time he would have just delivered it to a random address, thats my way of thinking.

“The parcel in question that was delivered to a random persons address contained several hundred of pounds of high end top brand cosmetics I had bought for my daughter’s birthday”.

Lucky for Hermes Group there are still some honest people in this world.

If I were management I would make sure all undelivered parcels were brought back to the depot and passed onto some else to deliver. (perhaps drivers are penalised if they do not meet their daily quotas), who knows?

Even if the parcel is running late it is better than no tracked parcel at all and it is better a parcel being a day late, than the parcel going astray.

My daughter is now upset that someone lost their job, but with Hermes Group track record what do you expect if you see so many delivery drivers not doing their jobs properly one has to wonder are they being trained properly or is there an undelining problem that perhaps lies with management rather than the drivers.

At the end of the conversation I said I would not be recommending this company to anyone in business and the answer I received was:

“I have not seen anything good that company has done”, well from my own personal experience and the articles I have found the proof is in the pudding.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5f05fYB0XYjdc6pwhrCD5D9/hermes-deliveries

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-8253825/Hermes-couriers-caught-sending-packages-straight-auction-houses-three-four-times-week.html

https://www.change.org/p/boris-johnson-government-investigation-into-hermes-parcels

If the company were doing their job properly they would not be having so many bad reviews, videos and bad reputation articles written about them, let alone be under investigation.

“A Happy Customer Will Tell 10 People Whilst An Unhappy Customer Will Tell The World”…

So it does not surprise me if what I read is that their workers are alledgedly paid less than the minimum wage obviously the workers and deliveries will not be up to scratch.

If I was being exploited I would most probably not do my job properly either!

Had I have known the following in advance I would have been able to recite what I found and I think I only touched the surface with this company:

Obviously I cannot dictate or choose what courier delivers a parcel to me when it is coming from a third party that I have ordered goods from, so only time will tell when the next Hermes parcel arrives and how well they deliver it.

If there is a problem with management then you have to look at the CEO is he treating his staff properly?

There could be an underlying problem. “If you treat your staff well, your staff will take care of you and your business“.

A company of this size should not be faceless, they should have a human version of a chat widget and they should have people answering their phone lines rather than prompts to email or back to their website.

They also should have someone on Messenger and Twitter, If I can do it there is absolutely no excuse for anyone else!

#MartijnDeLange #Hermeslogistics #JosephHampshaw

TRY BUYING AND SELLING ON AMAZON INSTEAD!

Kitchen Hot Zones

HOT ZONES

A Hot zone (hot-zone or hot zone) is an area in the kitchen surrounding your cooker and refers to an area that is considered to be dangerous. It’s part of safety regulations within your home. It specifies the measurements and hard wiring requirements to make your kitchen safe.

FINALLY because of my complaint, I made just before Christmas when my cooker was delivered but the engineers refused to install it, I am happy to say Argos have updated their website and has put a page about Hot Zones on their FAQ Page.

It will be my mission in 2021 to put this information out on all appliance retailers’ websites as well as GAS & Electric Engineers Sites as no person should have to go through what I have gone through. https://www.cymrumarketing.com/argos_appliances_disclaimer_and_hot_zones/

So now consumers are aware fully of what is needed prior to buying a cooker.

Argos Hot Zone FAQ Page can be found here under deliveries and installation in really small text: Appliance recycling | Go Argos

FINAL THOUGHTS.

I have one small suggestion to make and that is I went on the Argos website just now and pretended to buy another cooker, where it says please read me before booking installation and recycling the page does not mention or have any links back to the page I referred to earlier reference hot zones, especially under ‘the section cookers‘. So if someone who has no clue about hot zones pays for installation they will be left in the same dilemma as I have been. There needs to be a link back to the Hot Zones Page.

UPDATE.

I would also like to say today 30/12/20 I finally got the e-voucher. As for my cooker, it is still not installed as hardware stores are not open and it is hard to find someone to come out and do all the maintenance in my kitchen. Lesson Learnt!

How To Treat Your Customers With Respect.

Customers

How NOT to Treat Customers Like They Do NOT Matter!

  1. Do NOT IGNORE Your Customers
  2. Do NOT LIE to Your Customers
  3. Do NOT FAIL TO HONOUR a Promotional Price or Goodwill Gesture
  4. Do NOT EMPLOY Staff Members that are rude or have attitude.
  5. Do NOT TREAT Customers Like Numbers
  6. Do NOT IGNORE Feedback
  7. DO NOT ARGUE with customer complaints
  8. DO NOT FAIL to Seek Clarification
  9. DO NOT WITHHOLD Empathy
  10. DO NOT AVOID Taking Responsibility
  11. DO NOT MAKE Promises You Can’t Keep
  12. DO NOT FORGET to Follow Up
  13. DO NOT MAKE Your Customers Feel Stupid
  14. DO NOT ASSUME That You Have Resolved Problems
  15. DO NOT FAIL to Set Expectations
  16. DO NOT RUSH the Support Process
  17. DO NOT AVOID Putting in Extra Effort
  18. DO NOT TAKE Your Customers for Granted
  19. DO NOT LIMIT Your Support to a Single Channel
  20. DO NOT BE Indifferent

A happy customer will tell 10 people about their experience but an unhappy customer will tell the world”.

Failing to do good customer service do you no favors and only gives you a bad name.

If a company like Argos which caused me no end of problems over the Christmas Period, fail to keep to their end of the bargain to send a £75 e-voucher as a way to say sorry, then all I can say is companies such as Amazon will eventually swallow up their business as most manufacturers and retailers are already using Amazon to sell their products.

As it so happens I am an Amazon Assoiciate Affiliate.

What a company should not do is upset the wrong people in fact they should upset anyone at all, but unfortunately they do.

When a company shows that they are willing to say sorry the customer is more likely to tell people what the company has done to make amends.

Promising a goodwill gesture, then retracting it, and also ignoring the customer’s emails does not say much about the company.

With businesses closing their doors for good because of the current economic crisis, you would think that smaller companies to Amazon would go above and beyond their call of duty.

Being honorable, transparent, and courteous gives people a reason to trust and in turn, the customer will recommend your products and your services. Doing one or more of the things listed above does not show you as a company in good light.

Respect each and every customer as if they were your only customer”.

“Not only am I an Amazon Associate I am also an Amazon Customer and have opted to use Amazon Prime which cost £7.99 per month, this gets you free deliveries and Amazon Video two services for the price of one”.

My next big purchase is going to be a tabletop dishwasher. I find standing and washing dishes by hand not only tedious but it affects my back and I end up in agony.

Argos Saga: https://www.cymrumarketing.com/argos_appliances_disclaimer_and_hot_zones/

#customerloyalty customerrespect #leadership #brandcredibility

What Appliance Retailers Do Not Tell You (Part 4 Ongoing Saga).

Christmas Stress

MENTAL HEALTH AMONGST ENTREPRENEURS.

What Appliance Retailers Do Not Tell You (Part 4 Ongoing Saga).

The Effects Of Mental Health When You Have to Raise a Complaint With a Company.

As many of you may or may not know I am an Entrepreneur a owns several sites, blogs, or social media pages, my default virtual business card is www.renataentrepreneur.com

Primarily I advise Businesses on how to generate more leads and consult them to make their business more successful. I also offer other services, such as website design and marketing.

Now I would also like to say I suffer from Mental Health and have a blog dedicated to Mental Health and Disabilities among Entrepreneurs. That is why I am keeping my chat widget on from 11 am to 11 pm London GMT over the Holidays, just in case anyone wishes to talk over the Christmas Period. If I can help just one person I know I will have done something good. Depression can affect people from all walks of life. Christmas can be extremely challenging and can test our resilience. By trying to help others I am essentially helping myself.

Do watch the full interview with Tyson Fury on Mental Health.

“Christmas is not about receiving it is about giving”.

I recently posted on one of my blogs about Mental Health at Christmas amongst entrepreneurs: https://www.cymrumarketing.com/christmas-depression-amongst-entrepreneurs/

Now the retailer (ARGOS) that I purchased my cooker appliance from first all reached out to me after I made them aware of a post I made about my cooker not being installed: https://www.cymrumarketing.com/argos_appliances_disclaimer_and_hot_zones/

They offered me a £75 e-voucher and my refund of £100 for installation to be escalated on the 21st of December 2020. My cooker was delivered on the 17th of December 2020 and I was told I had to wait three to five working days to get my refund.

Moving forward to yesterday which would have been the 5th working day I still had not received my refund. I questioned it with customer services and I was told the reason I did not get my refund was due to a system error and guess what I now have to wait for another three to five working days. This did not sit well with me at all. Although the customer service person said today it can take up to seven working days. The last time I transferred money from one account to another took two hours by BACS transfer.

By coincidence, I got an email from head office yesterday saying I will be getting my refund.

“What happened to we are sorry and we will escalate it for you”? No mention of that in the email or anything about the e-voucher either.

So like a dog to a bone, I will not let go until I get answers, and if it means me using my blog to get attention so be it.

You do not give people the run around no matter what business you are in. It does not say anything good about you or your company. Just because you are a blue chip company this does not bother me in the slightest, you should care about your customers. A CEO had to start off somewhere and may have been a startup once. CEOs are humans no different from you and I and they should show empathy and respect.

No company should be too big for their boots and everyone is accountable for their actions”.

So my final attempt today I tried phoning them yet again and their answering bot is designed to mentally break you down, It does not recognize order numbers and when it asks what you are ringing up for, it does not understand your reply.

I had visions of me hurling my phone through the air and smashing it against the wall by this stage.

Furthermore when you finally get through it says all calls are recorded. Now the person I spoke to today misunderstood something I said whereby I would continue recording with my blog in a quest to finally get this resolved. Yet he thought I said I was recording the call. Do people not understand English? My English is perfect I have had 57 years to practice it.

I want a transcript of all the calls I have made and received as that is my legal right.

Obviously, they can record you without your consent but you cannot record them, not that I had any attention to doing so anyway, one rule for one and another rule for another.

If this was someone with Multiple Sclerosis phoning today, they would be having a relapse due to the run around of this company. I have knowledge of Multiple Sclerosis as my daughter suffers from the disability.

Consider people’s mental health before you start playing mind games. The customer service person today told me someone will phone me back about the e-voucher, which can not be located by coincidence.

“I do not want to be phoned”.

My telephone lines are turned off for a reason because of this little incident and I can only be reached by my chat widget on my websites or via email or social media platforms.

What is the problem have I offended Argos in some way by speaking the truth, they should have mentioned like and hot zones on their site, and perhaps all this could’ve been avoided.

Do not offer a token of apology and then retract it.

To be messed around like this is totally atrocious.

“Show Respect and You Will Earn Respect!”

FINAL THOUGHTS!

“I will give this company one more chance to make amends and perhaps finally will say that after everything they will come out smelling of roses”

Roses GIF - Find & Share on GIPHY

Merry Christmas Everyone and a Happy New Year.

Christian Images In My Treasure Box: Christmas Photos ...

UPDATE 27/01/20

I received my refund of £100 on the 24th of December 2020 I assume just after my phone call to Argos.

Christmas was canceled for me as I could not cook anyone a Christmas Dinner and did not think it was appropriate to offer frozen ready meals heated up in a microwave so no one came to visit me and I was left home alone with the cat. Worst Christmas ever and Worst Year.

As for the offering of the £75 e-voucher that did not materialize either. I should not have to beg to get it.

In all this whole scenario has tested my strength and my mental health ability.

I would have been content with a formal apology from the CEO but obviously, he forgets that once he started out where I am today. You never know one day he maybe brushes shoulders with me, considering the small world we live in and the people I am connected with. With nearly 10,000 followers such as Billionaires, Millionaires, Law Makers, and Royalty on LinkedIn it pays to remember “it’s not what you know but who you know”.

What Appliance Retailers Do Not Tell You (Part 3 Ongoing Saga).

www.argos.co.uk

Argos Appliance Disclaimer For Buyers and Hot Zone Instructions For the Consumer to know everything they need to know prior to purchase.

RECAP & UPDATE ON ONGOING APPLIANCE RETAILER SAGA.

I have added the links below to the posts I made previously.

Previous Posts:

RECAP OF ONGOING APPLIANCE PURCHASE SAGA!

  1. In October I bought a electric cooker with installation and recycling and found out after my purchase because I had not bought like for like the installation could not happen because I had a gas cooker. I then cancelled my order and bought a like for like Gas for Gas with installation and recycling.
  2. Two months later my cooker arrives (last Thursday to be precise) and I was told they could not install the cooker because my splash back was not high enough and my sockets where inside the hot zone.

So you can imagine my distain when I am told a few days before Christmas and on the Eve of the Lockdown in Wales that my cooker cannot be installed.

Finding someone before Christmas and on Lockdown is proving to be impossible.

So my Christmas is ruined!

On top of this all my food has perished what could not be frozen and I have been subjected to takeouts for my family.

Obviously I am angry and I need to teach people about ‘Hot Zones’ as Argos have not.

Had I have known in the beginning about ‘Hot Zones’ precisely two months ago, I had ample time to sort any issues out before delivery but I was none the wiser because Argos did not have anything on their website to forewarn me.

UPDATE TODAY!

Now fast forward to today after I had emailed Mr S.Roberts CEO of Sainsbury which Argos own I get a phone call form Argos offering an olive branch and an apology.

Should I have accepted their token of goodwil?, well it was either that or nothing I suppose.

The token was an e-voucher for £75.00

Granted they did give £50 goodwill voucher back in October so the total I have received will be £125 in goodwill gestures but this is just a band aid on a gaping wound.

How much is compensation for a ruined Chirstmas worth, including persished food and takeouts, let alone the non cooked Christmas Dinner on Christmas Day, I wonder?

This farce should have never happened!

I am sure I am not the only one this has happed to….

However the spokesperson for Argos I spoke to today said she understood my dilemma and that Argos will be putting something on their website about ‘Hot Zones’ but my argument was that the people delivering my cooker (DHL) could have installed the cooker.

The spokeperson for Argos said that one cannot make someone install a cooker and do something illegal if it does not meet safety regulations (I do not disagree but the retailer should have a disclaimer).

After the call had ended it came to mind that the delivery drivers aka engineers should have an Indemnity Disclaimer that the consumer signs taking away the onus of any liabiltiy from the retailer:

DISCLAIMER INDEMNITY

Buyer shall assume all financial and other obligations for Buyer Products, and Seller shall not incur any liability or responsibility to Buyer or to third parties arising out of or connected in any manner with Buyer Products. In no event shall Seller be liable for lost profits, special damages, consequential damages or contingent liabilities arising out of or connected in any manner with this Agreement or Buyer Products. Buyer shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless Seller and its affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees and agents, from and against all claims, liabilities, demands, damages, expenses and losses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses) arising out of or connected with (i) any manufacture, use, sale or other disposition of Buyer Products, or any other products of Buyer, by Buyer or any other party and (ii) any breach by Buyer of any of its obligations under this Agreement.

This disclaimer should be for all appliances including, cookers, washing machines dishwashers and the like. A simple piece of paper making sure nothing comes back on the retailer, in which this scenario could have been avoided.

Looks like I am going to be toasting marshmallows by candlelight on Christmas Day whilst everyone else will be tucking into a Christmas Dinner

🤬🎄🎅🦃

Merry Christmas Mr Roberts!

Perhaps Argos should hire me for my business consulting services considering I am having to get their house in order.

For Your Last Minute Christmas Shopping Delivered Before Christmas Visit Amazon.

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