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On the eve of retiring from his successful business Aqua Gas Heating Services, Peter Beaman has found himself the recipient of a £500 shopping voucher after purchasing a winning Sentinel Boiler Protection Pack from independent merchant Williams and Co. Whilst luck had something to do with it, Peter was only in with a chance of winning due to his uncompromising approach to best practice water treatment – the thing which he says has given his business the edge over competitors throughout the years.
Sharing his valuable learning so that others might benefit from his experience, Peter said that he keeps customers happy by properly cleaning, protecting and maintaining the heating systems he installs and services using good water treatment. In this way, Peter has grown his thriving business mostly from word of mouth recommendations.
“A clean heating system saves money on heating bills, makes the system more efficient and warmer, and prevents lots of problems that can be really inconvenient and expensive for customers. Unfortunately most homeowners don’t know this – in the media, they are constantly urged to switch energy supplier in order to save a few pounds, but there’s very little emphasis on making their heating system more efficient with a powerflush and inhibitor, for example,” he explained.
To help his customers understand the importance of water treatment, Peter includes a letter with each quotation that explains powerflushing, what it does and how long it takes. He also educates them about the purpose of inhibitor dosing for the prevention of corrosion and limescale build-up, and how installing a filter will maintain the system by removing debris. Peter even gives customers the option of an independent water quality test to show that the system has been fully cleaned and protected. Finally, Peter asks customers to bear these things in mind when comparing his quote with that of competitors.
“It is such a competitive world out there. Some customers have tunnel vision and just look at the bottom line, thinking that quotes from different installers compare like for like. That’s why I take the time to educate them that not all services are the same. It’s worked really well. A system that’s been cleaned thoroughly, for example, will pay dividends in the long run and save the customer money on their fuel bill. I did Sentinel training at their headquarters some years ago and that really helped me to understand how best practice water treatment can benefit the customer as well as my business.”
“I’ve used Sentinel products for a long time, and can recommend them to any installer wanting to do a proper job. The Sentinel X800 Cleaner works very well and it’s non-acidic, so if there are traces left in the system it won’t do any harm, whereas other manufacturers’ cleaners can be very aggressive. The Boiler Protection Pack is really handy as it contains the cleaner, inhibitor and Sentinel’s latest filter – basically everything you need to properly clean and protect a system. And the filter is great because it does a little bit more than other filters, picking up more debris.”
Despite being a deserving winner of the £500 voucher, Peter says he’s unlikely to get a look in when it comes to spending it: “My wife has already got a few plans for the voucher!” he joked.
