homealone

a similar thing happened with British Gas. We have a service contract on our boiler, at one time we had a local depot, so an technician needing a spare part would nip down there & requisition it, come back & fit it - job done.

Now the depot has been centralised & parts are delivered by mail/courier - so that means an initial visit to diagnose a fault, then a second to fit the spare, once it has been delivered.

They did spend a lot of money on training & equipment, though - each technician has a laptop with schematics & part numbers of the equipment they will be attending - spares are ordered online, via the laptop.

- what has this meant - in my experience, the technicians carry around a selection of commonly used spares - 'those are always going, mate, I've got one in the van'.... best of both worlds???