Online reviews can often tell you a lot about a company.
If you’re trying to decide on the right heating engineer to install or service your boiler, there’s a good chance you’re going to be doing quite a bit of research before actually getting in touch with anyone directly.
However, not every 3-star or 1-star review you’re going to find online will be 100% trustworthy. In the past, many of my customers have expressed bewilderment with some online reviews as they just don’t seem to add up – personally, I don’t blame them.
So, what do you look out for?
Below, I’m going to tell you all you need to know about heating engineer reviews online, including what to look for when reading reviews about a heating engineer, and why some people seem to leave harsh reviews that are very unforgiving.
Reading between the lines
Having studied plenty of online reviews over the years, I’ve noticed a trend when people seem to give 5-star or 1-star reviews, and the trick is that you really have to read between the lines.
Remember to always read the comments rather than just looking at the star ratings. Has the person left their real name or contact details, or have they just used a random account?
You’ll find that some people have no qualms about leaving a 1-star review even though there was just a slight delay with their boiler installation.
This infuriates me as the customer has had a detailed quote, the company has purchased the stock, installed the boiler, registered the guarantee, cleaned up and the client has paid them. Then they leave a 1-star review as the engineer made a small delay. Or some other very minor fault.
Whereas some reviews will look to be far too generous, this can be if the engineer is actively asking customers to put up a good review about them. Some customers feel obliged to put up a 5-star review.
Personally, I had a customer who gave us a 4-star review, and were ultimately very happy with job and installation. They said we were a little more expensive than other quotes, but liked our professionalism. For me, that 4-star review seemed fair.
Look for patterns
When reading reviews, see if you notice any patterns in what customers are saying. For instance, if only one person has complained that an engineer was disrespectful, but everyone else was very happy with their manner, perhaps it was just a bit of a personality clash or one-off.
However, if you read review after review of an engineer being rude, or not treating a home with respect, this should set off alarm bells and should make you reconsider that company. Again the same in reverse; if all the customers reviews state they were polite, helpful, knowledgeable and professional this could be the company you are looking for.
In the end, you should read reviews carefully, take them with a pinch of salt, and inevitably make your own mind up about a company before you call and request a home visit.
In an ideal world…
What I mean by an ‘ideal world’ is that there should be a logical process to follow when writing reviews, and one tiny glitch would not automatically mean the company is rated with one star.
A lot of people do rate fairly, and so here are what the ratings should really mean:
5 stars
If a company is given a 5-star review, the customer should be 100% happy with the service, final product and workmanship. They should have been treated politely and courteously and the job went as well as (or better) than expected.
4 stars
Perhaps the customer had their new boiler fitted, and everything was working perfectly with an excellent final product, but it just took a little longer than originally expected.
You maybe got a few quotes and did not go for the cheapest, so spent more than anticipated but got a good quality job.
3 stars
This is sort of a middle-of-the-road review. Maybe the installation hit a few snags along the way, the job took longer than expected, or the customer had to call to remind the company to send out the guarantee paperwork.
Maybe due to unforeseen circumstances or sickness they had to delay your job for a few days, or there was a faulty product that caused a delay or irritation. It’s less than ideal, but the job still got done.
2 stars
Things are now starting to get a little ugly. I would expect there to be at least two or three problems that left a bad taste in the customer’s mouth, such as increased costs, the engineer leaving behind a mess, or being left without heating or hot water for a couple of days.
It could even be the engineer has not explained and communicated the carpets and floors would not go back the same, or a joiner and painter may be required after installation. In the end you got a boiler installed, working and you paid the engineer and expressed your concerns.
1-star
This is really bad. For a customer to leave a 1-star review, I would expect for the engineer not to have turned up or turned up late when you have left for work. He may have started work and there were concerns, so decided to stop things and not let the job proceed.
Or perhaps the job was bad to such a degree that there were increased costs, shoddy workmanship, or a faulty product. Maybe the engineer was disrespectful, didn’t have much knowledge about the job, and tried to charge for extra things.
Most companies will try to communicate and compromise as they don’t like losing customers, future jobs, wasted time or money. So unless they run away, refuse to take your calls or don’t finish the job, I don’t think they deserve a 1 star review.
TIP: If you want to get a better idea of what you should really expect from a heating engineer, read our 10 Commandments.
Conclusion
When looking to find out more about a heating engineer, online reviews can tell you a lot – if you know what to look for, that is. After all, not every 3-star or 1-star review is going to be completely accurate, so it’s worth looking carefully and reading between the lines.
Look for patterns when reading reviews. Has only one customer had a bad experience, or have eight or nine shared similar stories? How bad was the problem, and what did the company do to fix it? Not every review will be detailed, so it’s worth reading with a pinch of salt.
Ultimately, you should use online reviews only to help you make your own mind up about a company before requesting a home visit. Remember, they are not always the be-all-and-end-all of a company, but if there are too many red flags, there’s no smoke without fire.
How much do you pay attention to online reviews?
