As Technical Co-Ordinator for Vokèra by Riello, Eric Brawley spends much of his working day in direct contact with customers, either conducting training sessions or when he and his team are offering technical advice over the phone. He explains why he finds this essential role so rewarding.

Invaluable experience

After working as a British Gas engineer for 23 years I joined Vokèra in 1995 and have been in my current position for more than ten years. My experience with British Gas has proved invaluable as I am able to understand the problems that heating engineers and installers encounter when they are out in the field.

Although I am based at Vokèra by Riello’s office in Hillington, Glasgow, I also have a national support role. This can mean travelling around the UK and Ireland to assist with any technical or product-related issues that may occur. Because of the daily demands of our technical call centre, I usually limit my training duties to just one day a week. This can involve on-site training for housing associations or councils who may require more specific training for the products they encounter.

Although my team and I deal mainly with technical enquiries from the domestic heating sector, if the need arises we can always call on the expertise of our colleagues Alister Maclachlan and Kevin Shearman on the commercial and renewables side of the business. Both Alister and Kevin have engineering backgrounds and many years of experience in their respective fields.

 ‘Bread and butter’ calls

At the moment our technical advice team handles about 250 technical calls per day. One of the most common enquiries we currently receive is about programming Vokèra’s new wireless devices. We understand that the introduction of new products and technology can present an initial challenge for some customers, so it’s important for them to know that there is always someone at the other end of a phone to provide advice and answer any questions they may have.  In addition, we receive a lot of what could be described as ‘bread and butter’ calls, such as: “I’m at the boiler and it’s doing XYZ, what should I do?”  These are by far the easiest for us to deal with as we can talk the customer through the solution while they are at the appliance.

We appreciate that all the trade professionals who call us with a question are simply out there trying to make a living. That’s why our ultimate aim is to resolve an enquiry quickly and efficiently in one conversation. However, if the engineer is not at the boiler when he or she calls then this can be more difficult to achieve. We will, of course, always do our best and I’m pleased to report that the customers who need to make a second call for assistance are few and far between.

There are, of course, occasions when a technical issue cannot be resolved over the telephone. These are passed to our Service Department who will arrange a site visit with the important proviso that our team remains involved with whoever attends the site. This ensures that we gain some knowledge of how it was resolved for future reference.

New challenges

Vokèra’s wide range of appliances and the technology they now incorporate has changed significantly during the four decades that I have been in this dynamic industry. The introduction of ‘smart’ controls alongside new working practices and increasingly stringent regulations continue to affect our industry and those who work in it. Social media is another innovation that has had a huge impact on all types of business and ours is no exception. As well as dealing with telephone enquiries we also follow up any product and technical queries that have been posted by customers on Facebook and Twitter.

After more than ten years in this vital role I still find it very satisfying to be able to help and support our customers by providing professional training and the technical advice they need to do a safe and efficient job with confidence. Every day I am reminded that no matter how much experience you have, we are always learning and adapting in order to meet the many new challenges that will inevitably occur.

To find out more information on Vokèra courses, visit our training information page at: https://www.vokera.co.uk/trade-professionals/technical-training/ and you can also follow Vokèra on: Facebook  | Twitter  | LinkedIn.