Motoring Discussion > Interesting call from local hospital Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Stuu Replies: 26
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 15:13 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Stuu
I had a call from the local hospital. The woman calling said that they are looking to arrange a valeting arrangement for all staff with a local company rather than a chain.

That all sounds fair enough, but then she described it as part of a staff benefits scheme which she clarified as they pay the bill and what kind of discount for quantity would I be prepared to offer.

The first question that sprung to mind is why on earth a local hospital is concerning itself with the cleanliness of staff cars AND seemingly paying for it? I was gobsmacked at the notion. Its something we want to do for our staff she said. Im sorry, have we now cured all illness? Are we living forever? What happened to these savage cuts, I saw the marches on TV? I presume that the savage cuts dont apply to the perks budget then...

I told her I was not interested in having the business ( my health is continuing to decline and its beyond my capabilities to take such a thing on ) and that I had no desire to work for any local authority in any capacity, especially for something so frivilous, thanked her for her call and put the phone down.

She immediately called back 3 times, then a 4th time and left a very rude, aggressive message on my answer phone.

Savage cuts my eye. Sounds like it, she was talking about full valets for all doctors cars!
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 15:19 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Dog
I used to hate multiple jobs when I was in the mobile car tuning game - bit like a production line!

I could have got a job at Fjords of Dagenham if I wanted that :(
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 15:19 
 Interesting call from local hospital - BobbyG
Well if I was her, I would be letting everyone know of your attitude to new business!!
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 15:24 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Stuu
I have every right to refuse new business if it doesnt work for me. Getting involved with them is signing off your sanity and I expect they are in breach of competition laws if they dont put it out to tender europe-wide anyway.

I have a strict policy of not getting involved with large businesses due to the red tape and inability for them to pay bills ( been there, did that early on ).
Last edited by: KosaiIggypop on Tue 29 Mar 11 at 15:26
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      2  
 Tue 29 Mar 11 15:31 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Dave
Many NHS staff use their own cars for 'business' use, so maybe they were trying to help their staff and soften the blow of meagre mileage allowances. Although one would think they would have better things to do, not least improving the cleaning off hospitals.
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 15:39 
 Interesting call from local hospital - NortonES2
I doubt the NHS has staff or funds to do this sort of thing, but you never know! Possibly a "discount" outfit selling to public sector staff? Like NHS Online? Some sort of entreprenurial outfit but not a part of NHS. Much littering of ads with stethoscopes, signifying little.
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 15:34 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Hard Cheese

Could have been a private hospital.

Or it could be cost saving, someone could have worked out that giving doctors an added value package including valeting is cheaper than a pay rise.

Not enough info ...

All I know is that if my business was valeting I would have jumped on it, perhaps I could have taken on the contract and subcontracted the work.

As I say not enough info ...

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 Tue 29 Mar 11 15:41 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Fenlander
>>>I told her I was not interested in having the business... my health is continuing to decline and its beyond my capabilities to take such a thing on... I had no desire to work for any local authority... especially for something so frivilous, thanked her for her call and put the phone down. She immediately called back 3 times, then a 4th time and left a very rude, aggressive message on my answer phone.


Sounds like fonejacker.....

www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4aHI8B6GVk&NR=1
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 15:48 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Iffy
Stu's desire and motivation to grow his business is matched only by that of Rattle's.

Pity you turned it down though, Stu, think of all those nurses. :)



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      5  
 Tue 29 Mar 11 15:49 
 Interesting call from local hospital - RattleandSmoke
Possibly a wind up or just some sort of scam. It might turn out to be an advertising agency trying to sell you a list of preferred suppliers or some crap like that.
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 16:00 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Pat
I would have snapped her hand off too and wanted more details from them to submit a price by letter.

That would have given me some breathing space to see if it was genuine and if I could have handled the job.

Pat
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 16:06 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Stuu
She was asking about all staff. I dont have spare capacity for much more than one nurses station, let alone an entire hospital, so it makes no difference what the deal was from my perspective.

Id quite like them to pull their finger out and offer me a physio appointment rather than wash the doctors cars, but then the notion that their role is healthcare may be misplaced :-)
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 16:07 
 Interesting call from local hospital - R.P.
Probably something to do with reducing the spread of MRSA - wouldn't be surprised.....!
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 15:56 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Stuu
It was the local General hopsital.

If it was 5 years ago id have considered the work but I cant do any volume now as my health is in quite rapid decline, so taking on such a contract would make zero sense because I couldnt keep up my end.

I can barely manage 3 hours a day without considerable pain, so Im doing short hours on high profit jobs - only private work for wealthy individuals can provide such returns.

I wouldnt compare me with Rattle, I own my house, every brick because I made good deals ten years ago, long before he decided the world was against his affording a house and I also have a wife who earns decent money.
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 16:19 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Bromptonaut
Not clear whether 'they' is the hospital or the individual staff member. Even if the hospital pays you are they then re-charging the staff?

As a civil servant I have access to a variety of 'deals'. Most are delivered as discount at point of sale but a few are paid for by the employer and then recovered in instalments from salary. The latter are mostly, but not entirely, salary sacrifice items such as child care vouchers or lease bikes but also include season ticket advances. They're part of my 'package' and are delivered within the organisation's overall budget for staffing cost.

Interesting that they're considering a local supplier; there's a huge pressure across government to get as much as possible onto national mega contracts. As to whether these deleiver the expected savings..... well just don't get me started!!!
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 17:18 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Bill Payer
>> Interesting that they're considering a local supplier; there's a huge pressure across government to get
>> as much as possible onto national mega contracts. As to whether these deleiver the expected
>> savings..... well just don't get me started!!!
>>
I was most intrigued by that too - although I don't suppose there's a national valeting company, you'd imagine one of the facilities companies could supply this service. Although then the cost would be immense, of course.

Having some connections with various arms of the public sector, including the NHS, I would be amazed if they offered this to all staff unless the hospital did nothing more than make space available. My last employer's head office was on one of those out-of-town business parks and people used to come around and wash/valet the cars for a very reasonable price - a lot of staff used them.
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 16:40 
 Interesting call from local hospital - John H
>> She immediately called back 3 times, then a 4th time and left a very rude, aggressive
>> message on my answer phone.

>> It was the local General hopsital.
>>

Complain to them rather than ranting on here.

>> If it was 5 years ago id have considered the work but I cant do
>> any volume now as my health is in quite rapid decline, so taking on such
>> a contract would make zero sense because I couldnt keep up my end.
>>

True businessmen(women) would have grabbed the opportunity.
Jack Cohen, Alan Sugar, Michelle Mone, etc. etc.
They didn't get where they were by turning down opportunities.

p.s. I am beginning to think Bellboy's suspicions may be right after all.
Last edited by: John H on Tue 29 Mar 11 at 16:41
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      2  
 Tue 29 Mar 11 16:42 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Hard Cheese


>> I dont have spare capacity for much more than one nurses station, let alone an entire hospital,>>

Sub-contract the work, how do you think businesses grow.

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 Tue 29 Mar 11 16:47 
 Interesting call from local hospital - nyx2k
without any further discourse you will never know if you could have subcontracted the work out or sold it on. that's how i can sit on my bum and do what i like at 40 instead of Having to work.

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      2  
 Tue 29 Mar 11 17:35 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Manatee
My thoughts exactly.
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      2  
 Tue 29 Mar 11 18:39 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Mark
I am sure you could have found a team of Turks/Albainians/Poles/Slovakians/Lithuanians/Latvians etc etc...who would have been more than happy to supply quality services for you on a "not directly employed basis" and for a margin that would have made it worth your time to find them.

As always

Mark
Last edited by: Mark on Tue 29 Mar 11 at 18:40
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 18:59 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Iffy
Accepting Stu doesn't want the work, what's wrong with a bit of old-fashioned courtesy?

"Thanks for the inquiry, but I'm not taking on any new contracts at present."

Stretching it a bit, how about being helpful?

"You could try XXXX, they do a good job and I think they are looking to expand."

Two wrongs don't make a right, but it seems Stu was at the least tetchy, if not rude, to this woman, so he can hardly complain if she throws a bit of bile back.


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      3  
 Tue 29 Mar 11 20:16 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Stuu
I did thank her for her call after saying that I didnt want to work for any local authority, thats all that needs to be said, I found her arrogant tone irritating to say the least even before she had finished her set-piece.

That she felt she had any right to know why I wasnt interested perplexes me as its none of her business, tough luck if she didnt like my reason when she did get it.
When people phone me up and ask if I can do a job on a certain day and time and I say no, I cant but thanks for your call, never has anyone took the opportunity to quiz me as to why I cant.

I dont get involved with any other valeters locally so nobody to recommend. Im sure the woman was quite capable of doing her own legwork and she had presumably been through half the alphabet before she got to me, so she mustnt have been having much luck.

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 Tue 29 Mar 11 20:37 
 Interesting call from local hospital - bathtub tom
Seems she could have been trying to sell you something.
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 20:48 
 Interesting call from local hospital - Stuu
The fact that she repeatedly rang back was quite funny really, I think I must have niggled her, but tbh, if someone isnt interested, only a highly strung person feels the need to make such an effort to ring back and have a conversation about it.
I dont chase up enquiries from people who ask for a quote to demand to know why they dont want to deal with me, business is a mutal agreement and if it doesnt work for one side, thats that, no sense getting all emotional about it.

Im waiting for Yellow Pages to ring me this year. They outright lied to me last time they called and Im waiting to give them an earful. Last year when theirsales person rang he said that my free listing in the pages was now cancelled as they werent doing them anymore so would I be interested in paying for an ad. I said no. He did the indignant bit and I got bored and hung up.

Now more than 9 months later, suprise suprise, Im still listed. No sense lying if you will be found out, I look forward to that convo.
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 Tue 29 Mar 11 21:08 
 Interesting call from local hospital - MD
I'm in both camps. He takes it on and big business wants your trousers and their contents.

He takes it on and tries to sub-contract and the subby either let's him down and/or muscles in and trys to own the original client. Damned if you do and damned if you don't. On the info here (so far) I'm with Stu.
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      2  
 Thu 31 Mar 11 09:10 
 Interesting call from local hospital - IJWS14
Wonder if she wanted you to do one car (hers) as a trial to see if the standard of work was up to scratch.

After doing it you would not hear from her.
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