Segen

[SRE]

When you sell as much kit that costs as much as PV kit does then you really should employ some inteligent people, train them and empower them to take orders, answer questions and phone you back.

They appear to be a greedy company who want to automate everything and run an Amazon warehouse. When they started charging you to phone them I stopped using them.

Wholesaling is not a new trade, if I'm going to spend £100k per month with someone I expect to be able to ring up and chat through an order or two while I move between site surveys.

They will wait around a while then get bought by a big wholesaler like CEF who can add a bit of relationship management and then they will be good, imagine that Segen as a division of CEF! All of those products available at your local branch with a rep and a branch manager who care about your business.

You're right about CEF caring about our custom but at the minute they're buying from a European wholesaler at just above the discount level we're buying at and selling on for more than I buy in for. How do I know - the wholesaler sent me their invoice by mistake - doh!!!

 

[Ramjam]

Right now each branch buys individually and so gets rubbish volumes and rubbish prices and even when you give them volume they can't buy any better than us as they go to the same wholesalers. Eventually they will simply buy a PV wholesaler and the expertise and buying power will be there. Then they can sell through their network and blow the competition away. Imagine that, a network full of experienced wholesalers selling PV equipment professionally rather than the amateurs we all currently enjoy!

 

[SRE]

Right now each branch buys individually and so gets rubbish volumes and rubbish prices and even when you give them volume they can't buy any better than us as they go to the same wholesalers. Eventually they will simply buy a PV wholesaler and the expertise and buying power will be there. Then they can sell through their network and blow the competition away. Imagine that, a network full of experienced wholesalers selling PV equipment professionally rather than the amateurs we all currently enjoy!

I'll look forward to that - 3 failed deliveries this week all from different wholesalers!

 

[Worcester]

http://www.electriciansforums.net/p...ergy-forum/42017-kit-prices-2.html#post367779

Thoughts?

 

[GLES]

I'd go so far as to say that the information they give can not only be wrong, but downright dangerous. I won't go into specifics, but some 'advice' they gave to me the other day could probably have caused a fire.
When I queried this, the lad said "I don't know, I'm only guessing."

 

[JD6400]

I am not for or against segen but in their defence dependent on the type of technical question asked , i would hope that installers are not asking how to match or fit kit .
If you go into any other electrical wholesalers and asked how to wire a house for example , as far as i have ever seen they will tell you that they are NOT either willing or allowed to give any advice !
Having said that on one of our last big orders with segen they delivered three broken modules and only the bottom half of one of the ig plus 120 inverters , it took nearly two and a half months to that sort one out , all on their premium rate phone lines !

 

[BruceB]

Their 'real' numbers do show up on caller display if you can get them to call them back.......

 

[CarlyMC]

They've been okay with me up to now, although I agree you can wait forever for your account manager to call you back. They do phone quickly when their bill needs paying tho LOL. I would like to try another wholesaler, if anyone knows any good ones in the Hampshire area I would be interested to hear from them. Carly

 

[Worcester]

i would hope that installers are not asking how to match or fit kit .

In a specialist area like Solar PV, and they are a specialist supplier, when they supply a fitting kit, I believe it is more than reasonable to ask the supplier how it should be fitted, if they don't know they should supply installation instructions provided by the manufacturer.

Same applies not just to segen - in my books it applies to any solar distributor.

 

[JD6400]

In a specialist area like Solar PV, and they are a specialist supplier, when they supply a fitting kit, I believe it is more than reasonable to ask the supplier how it should be fitted, if they don't know they should supply installation instructions provided by the manufacturer.

Same applies not just to segen - in my books it applies to any solar distributor.

Granted , as i said it is dependant on the type of technical question asked . And all kit should have manufactures instructions with them !
My comment was aimed more at the " how do i design and install a pv solar system " questions , in my opinion that is not in a wholesalers job description .
I know we all have to start somewhere but i for one payed my money and did the courses , not that they were that much use though !
Worcester you made reference to give a man a fish the other day , and i see it in the same light to be honest .
A fella sitting in a office 200 miles away just can not give sound advice on a site he has never even set foot on , for a system he has probably never even fitted before .