As a mainstream supplier of diesel dispensing, monitoring and storage tank instrumentation, Merridale receives many tender documents some of which include either vague or unrealistic expectations for emergency service calls.
Whilst Merridale has a good record for building reliable equipment, inevitably there will be the occasional glitch, when things go wrong and a repair service call is required. These situations are covered contractually by Merridale under a time-to-fix service level agreement.
Time to Attend agreements – beware
We worry when we we see that in some cases buyers are specifying an immediate response within four to six hours – without being clear as to what this is expected to achieve. There are some third party contractors who will be happy to comply with this requirement but when it comes to the crunch they would never commit to a time-to-fix requirement, which is far more important.
Rather than promising an instant reaction, Merridale will respond within a reasonable timescale of between 24 to 48 hours with an undertaking to actually fix the fault.
Fuelling installations are a complex system comprising various components from dispensers through to electronic monitoring, instrumentation, software and communications. We do not draw the line at any part of the installation.
Although possibly not be the cheapest option, what the customer can expect from Merridale is a fully trained technician, fully fitted out with the right tools and parts to fix the customer’s system on a 98 percent, first time basis.
Planned preventative maintenance – the long term view
Customers are encouraged to weigh up the through life costs for the ownership of their diesel storage and fuel dispensing facilities. Our focus is on the lifetime ownership of a Merridale system which is why we are more cost efficient than many competitors that sell cheaply but then rely on service support to recoup their loss.
Merridale offers extended warranties and if required fixed price servicing. This means that customers can predict service costs for maintenance with the exception of accidental damage or vandalism, which should be part of an insurance claim.
Our worry is that so many buyers place greater emphasis on servicing only with breakdown costs and repairs on demand. But here buyers should beware. This is in effect writing a blank cheque to the third party contractor – to attend or ‘find’ as many repair and breakdown charges as a possible extra to the fixed service costs.
By using the manufacturer, customers can be sure that only genuine new or approved refurbished components are used to complete repairs.
