In this 24th September 2008 issue:
- Feature: The Genuine Article?
- Where there’s soap there’s fire
- Do you Facebook or Twitter?
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Feature: The Genuine Article? – By Jason Miller
What a wonderful money and time saver the Internet can be. But, nothing in life is simple so let me explain a little of how all this shopping online malarchy works for fire safety equipment and how to avoid being stung!
Here at Fire Protection Online, like a few other online companies (but not all), we sell genuine, original equipment bought direct from the manufacturers. But, if you search around the internet, you will find other products that look similar, have similar approvals, similar guarantees and at lower prices.
So what should you think? What’s the difference?
If you asked us why a certain product costs less from another supplier, would you really believe what we told you? After all, it’s in our interests to convince you that we are better.
I think it’s better to get the information direct from the other supplier company so here’s a list of stuff to consider when you pick up the phone:
1. Phone them up – is it answered by a human and by a human using a landline and do they sound like they know what they are talking about?
Fire Protection Online has a Freephone number and it doesn’t cost us much so why doesn’t everyone have one? It is answered by humans from 8am until 8pm and on Saturdays, and on Sundays, and on Bank Holidays (even Christmas Day – try it on December 25th if you don’t believe us but don’t tell Grandma)
Isn’t that better than an answer phone?
2. Does the web site say who the manufacturer is or where they are made?
I just looked up the first 10 online shops that sell fire extinguishers direct from their web sites and only three (including us) mention who makes the extinguishers. That is not good!
This is a biggie as it means Chinese, Middle East or South African imports. They may have “approvals” and “guarantees” but the quality is poor.
You may ask the question – why don’t the top companies sell the cheaper products? The answer – because we all know how long they will last and how often they will fail to operate
But what about the guarantees? Yeah, right! Most of these firms have not been in business as long as their guarantees last! And, will they be around when these products start to go rusty after a couple of years?
3. Do they have an address that is easy to find on their web site?
If not, why are they so shy?
4. Do they have written delivery details on their web site?
These should include the price of deliveries to every corner of the United Kingdom, when the order cut-off time is (in other words, will your order go out today), when orders are sent out (next day delivery is not the same if the goods get sent out 2 or 3 days after the order), how long they take to arrive
5. Does the web site have an independent third-party web approval?
If it does, it will be shown on the home page. Top examples include McAfee/HackerSafe, Internet Shopping Is Safe (ISIS) and SafeBuy. Please click on these symbols to check that they are genuinely approved – you’ll be surprised how many have “expired”
If the site does not have one of these, ask why
6. Do they send out the same items shown in the web site images?
This happens a lot. There are quite a few web sites that actually send out totally different (cheap imports) extinguishers from the images shown on the site
7. Do they have real feedback from real customers?
Look for testimonials or ratings and check that they are genuine (do they have real people’s names and contact details?)
8. Is payment only by Paypal or Google Checkout?
Not being able to accept credit cards on their web site would suggest that they cannot get credit card approved, have recently gone bankrupt and restarted, or that their site is not secure
9. Does the web site look good?
In other words, is the information clear, is it easy to navigate, are the prices shown with and without VAT, are guarantees explained fully and in clear English, are the pictures good and can you see big versions? Do you feel confident that this is a professional company and that you’ll get a genuine product?
10. Does the payment page have the tiny padlock symbol appear at the top of your screen?
This is the sign of a secured site. A little padlock symbol appears in your “browser”, usually next to the web site address box. If it does not or if any form of warning sign appears, the site may be unsecure and your information may be open to hackers – not good news!
And this advice is not just for potential-life-saving fire extinguishers. It applies to all online purchases, whether that be a plasma TV or a Beanie Baby (do they still sell those?).
Personally, I buy everything online and have never had a bad experience. But I am careful and follow my own advice.
Please be safe, too.
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Where There’s Soap There’s Fire – By Fiona Morgan
Real fires do happen and when Mr Selfe, a Fire Protection Online customer, saved his own house from fire, he was featured in his local newspaper.
Man Praised For Fire Fighting Dishwasher Fire
By Ginny Ware – South Devon Herald Express – 16th June 2008
The quick-thinking owner of a property in Marldon managed to put out a dishwasher fire in his kitchen before the emergency services arrived.
The man was alerted to the blaze by a smoke alarm in his house at Brockhurst Park at 10pm on Saturday.
He called the fire service and then tackled the flames with a dry powder fire extinguisher.
By the time two fire appliances for Paignton arrived, the fire was out.
Crews removed the dishwasher from the kitchen using small tools.
Watch commander Graham Derbyshire highlighted the importance of fire alarms and warned people not to leave their property while appliances such as dishwashers are in use.
He said: “When we got there we spoke to the owner and he said he heard a big bang and all the power went off… He had a dry powder fire extinguisher and he used it to knock back the flames himself, which he did very well…When he had done that he left the property and waited for us outside…We have had a few fires started in appliances like this overheating over the past couple of weeks and they can be quite serious…It is important people do not put them on and then leave the premises because the fire can spread very quickly…It is also important to fit smoke alarms, as this man had, as it will warn you if there is a fire.”
Since the fire, Mr Selfe has convinced many of his friends and family to buy a domestic fire extinguisher and smoke alarm from us, too.
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Do You Facebook? – By Fiona Morgan
We like to keep up with the 21st century and so (to the sound of a fanfare) Fire Protection Online now has a Facebook page.
See what you think and join us as a fan at www.facebook.com
This joins our blog (we always post the newsletters here on the blog as well for those that miss it) and our Twitter page. Don’t worry if you’ve not heard of Twitter but it is huge so sign up for free and follow us – but I warn you, it’s addictive!
That’s all for now. Have a good one and thanks for reading.
Regards
Jason Miller
