I’ll create a new post with the report as alternative opinions are always welcome (plus we really don’t want to pay for a new system).

If anyone is interesting in trying to bring change (and hopefully we can) I’ve created a Facebook group   https://www.facebook.com/share/g/16PQ45rHCN/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Where I am hoping to get my ‘20’ people who are willing to share their experiences of issues they’ve faced so I go back to my MP to talk about next steps. 

Thanks all 

@Fiona obviously redact any sensitive information.

@Fiona, you can also send me the report if you'd like for me to take a look: editor@renewableheatinghub.co.uk

But please remove all sensitive information you don't want on the internet if you do post it.

@editor We defiantly need to come up with a way a customer can employ us with confidence, what do we as a top retro-fix company say to a customer that is disheartened from past experience of a poorly installed or performing installation to assure them what we will do will resolve the issues as best as possible?

The biggest barrier I see customers having and this is from experience, is good heat pump companies do not want to touch others installations through fear of not being able to resolve all of the issues and the customer is already unhappy or to be tarnished with the same brush. So far we have fixed around 14 full systems and currently are working on 3 more, 3 of them (not the current 3) have been complete new installations at the customers costs and the others range from minor changes to 1/3.

Not to detract from my 1st statement, I am constantly wondering what we can say or display better than 5 star reviews on the usual well known trade platforms. We have now built a working show room so customers can come touch, feel and hear the heat pumps in action, we even went as far as pushing these systems to the limits with UFH in the walls, fast recovery on DHW and HR ventilation to match heat losses with an explanation and tour on how everything works. We get invited to so many review platforms at a cost to us but you know what they kind of work for us if we are paying them , perhaps the best platform might be one funded by the customers for the customers then that company wont run the risk of loosing the HP company for displaying bad reviews. Same with the badges, imagine a badge of excellence funded by customers and the HP companies only get it based on quality of work audited, not big companies that win awards for punching out 2000 HP a year at speed, they can do this because they have funding for scale, give me 2m and I can advertise heavy, grab the most installs and punch out at scale but that will run the risk of watering down the standards.

The future is the 20,000 small heating, AC and plumbing companies getting trained and converting and expanding into renewables whether we like it or not, it seems to me it would make sense we had a badge of excellence that was not purchased by us HP companies, not funded by us and a reasonable amount of jobs audited to firm up the standard but this all costs money that no one wants to pay for no doubt.

Still thinking but positively!           

@ashp-bobba wow that is such a professional approach.  I am really impressed!

Posted by: @ashp-bobba

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what do we as a top retro-fix company say to a customer that is disheartened from past experience of a poorly installed or performing installation to assure them what we will do will resolve the issues as best as possible?

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In short, simply be honest - as, it sounds, you are already.

That's very easy to say, of course, and more difficult to put into practice appropriately. You want the customer to understand that not every problem is fixable - at least not easily - before any work is started, but you don't want to come across as the proverbial tradesman whistling through his teeth. However, if you can justify (with a simple explanation) each of the faults you find with a dodgy install you're presented with, the honesty alongside the understandability goes a long way.

@majordennisbloodnok Over the years, we have employed various generations of plumbers, heating engineers, electricians, decorators etc. etc. etc. Once having found a ‘good un’ we have been careful to hang on to them like gold dust! The only problem is that when young, they are often mobile and move on or, when more mature, they then eventually retire! (And we start all over again to find another ‘good un’). Honesty and competence are 99% of the requirement I find. Regards, Toodles.

Posted by: @toodles

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@majordennisbloodnok Over the years, we have employed various generations of plumbers, heating engineers, electricians, decorators etc. etc. etc. Once having found a ‘good un’ we have been careful to hang on to them like gold dust! The only problem is that when young, they are often mobile and move on or, when more mature, they then eventually retire! (And we start all over again to find another ‘good un’). Honesty and competence are 99% of the requirement I find. Regards, Toodles.

I couldn't agree more.

We stuck with one particular garage for all repairs and servicing of all our cars for about 30 years. By happy chance, way back when, when we moved out of South London where the garage was based, we discovered the owner of the business lived close to where we moved to, so we maintained the relationship with him collecting a car in the morning and returning it in the evening. The only reason the relationship came to an end was that he finally retired. That garage's work was consistently excellent, but just as importantly they often told us of things that were starting to wear out but didn't need fixing immediately. As a result, we were able to trust that if they said something was important (or expensive, or both) then that was true. The mutual respect that fostered was priceless - as you say, gold dust.

When we had our heat pump installed, we were impressed by the company's work ethic and competence - so much so that we recommended them to our neighbours. In that visit, the installer advised our neighbours about basic things they should do regarding insulation and so forth, and that they wouldn't feel comfortable installing anything until the basics of the house were addressed. As soon as I heard they'd turned business down for the right reasons, I started looking at them in the same way as I viewed my car mechanics. Every time since then that they have visited us - generally for the yearly maintenance, but once to fix an underfloor heating problem they'd inherited from our house's previous owners - they have shown the same open, honest, professional attitude, so I'm nurturing that long-term relationship for as long as I can.

@grahamf Thank you, it means a lot.

@majordennisbloodnok I agree, its tricky to balance an estimate when you don't have x-ray vision. I found over the last 25 years of being a manager and a Director and owner that if you are open and honest its installs values to the client and your staff while setting the right attitude to approaching a task.

There is one sentence that makes me cringe when a company fails to turn up and that is "sorry the van broke down" just makes me shudder and even if it was the truth it feels like a lie. This is the same for jobs, can't be done, aww not sure about that and its just how they work its not acceptable. I think a clear, honest and valued explanation is all that always needed to any scenario, even if its not want someone wants to hear.   

Posted by: @ashp-bobba

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. I think a clear, honest and valued explanation is all that always needed to any scenario, even if its not want someone wants to hear.   

So true, possibly with the exception of people you wouldn't want as customers anyway!

A clear, honest explanation demonstrates understanding (both of the customer and the technology) and caring and thus inspires confidence.  BS demonstrates either lack of understanding (all too frequently of the technology itself), or lack of caring or both.