Since we launched our local business in 2007, I’ve worked with many elderly customers across the North East of England and we’ve always done our best to ensure things like heating controls and aftercare support are accessible. Pledging to be Age and Dementia Friendly has been our most recent commitment to this cause. This is particularly important to us as a business and to our customers, as many elderly people are not living in adequately heated homes. We want to ensure this group has access to appropriate heating and for that, they need to have approachable heating upgrades and they need to understand how to control that heating once it’s been installed.
Oftentimes, a large barrier to this accessibility is that everything has become digital. More and more people contact us through our webform, and while we’re always making our online services more age friendly so they’re easy to navigate for anyone who wants to contact us online, we also understand that websites aren’t for everyone. For many, a personal service either by phone or in person is preferred. Over the years, we’ve thought long and hard about selling our heating and hot water solutions on our website, like many other companies do. But just because more things are going online doesn’t mean we need to give up all the things that make our service personal.
Choosing something as important as heating or hot water for your home is a big decision for many, and in my experience, it’s important to give people the opportunity to ask any questions they have. And just like if someone wants their kitchen remodelled, they would expect a tradesperson to visit to give an accurate price of the job while offering useful advice.
For us, this means offering a free home survey to anyone who wishes to purchase our hot water or electric heating systems. That way, homeowners have a chance to meet me and learn more about our company. At the survey, they can ask any questions they have about electric heating and I can offer advice on things like tariffs and economy 7. We can also discuss any special requirements they need, for instance, if they’d like a vertical radiator so that the dials are more accessible because of mobility constraints or choosing to control their heat from their smartphone or tablet, so that they don’t need to be home or in a specific room to change the heating. After taking some measurements and learning about the insulation of the home and their preferences, I then give them an accurate price of what it costs. This price is always firm and we guarantee a warm home so if the heating we fit doesn’t heat your room as promised then we’ll replace and upgrade your radiators until it works perfectly.
Even as more of our own services become digital, we’ll always keep the homeowner in mind and it’s this thinking that will continue to make our heating and hot water solutions age and dementia friendly. Working with Time to Shine Leeds, we hope we can continue to develop more inclusive services and make our communications, both online and offline, clear and attractive.
If you have a question about electric heating, or would like to learn more about replacing night storage heaters or your gas central heating, you can call us free on 0800 270 7736. You can also learn more about our services on our website.
Howard Klineberg
Owner, North East Heating Solutions