Code of conduct
We have assembled some of the finest people in the industry to answer your questions. Click here to meet them.
Introduction
The experts on our panel were chosen by us for their knowledge, skill and experience. But that's not the only reason. Here at New Again we believe that the only way to do business is with honesty and integrity and we have very high standards. Likewise, we only do business with people of a like mind.
We know that the people on this panel will offer honest and impartial advice without over-promising, and without giving hard sell. As our experts conduct themselves in an exemplary way, there is no reason not to define this good conduct into a set of guidelines.
Code of Conduct
The Golden Rule #1: Answer questions with the highest regard to the questioner's best interest, and supply all the information needed to allow them to make informed decisions.
Answer questions as if you were being asked by a member of your family.
Give Options
- Address other options, even if they are poor choices. Explain why they are poor choices.
- Offer options if there are any. Explain the pros and cons.
- Recommend other companies even if they are a rivals if they offer a viable alternative solution.
- Make customers aware of any risks, especially regarding D.I.Y. solutions. Help to minimize risks.
Be informative
- Give appropriate answers.
Some may require little more than a 'yes' or 'no' answer, others require something more comprehensive. Try to guess what a questioner may ask next and answer it so they don't need to ask. - Treat every question as if it were the first time it were
asked!
It can be difficult answering more-or-less the same question over and over again, especially if the answer is long and complicated and ends with a negative. But the questioner can be pointed in the direction of a previous question, article or an answer pasted in. Contact Danny if you would like help becoming more efficient. - Avoid technical jargon and express yourself clearly in terms questioners can understand.
Represent your profession
- You represent your profession to the public - act professionally, and take the opportunity to raise awareness of what we do and how we do it.
- Understand the boundaries of your specialist knowledge -- admit when you may be required to cross this boundary and seek advice from colleagues with the necessary expertise.
- Do not make misleading claims about your expertise, abilities or suitability of your techniques to provide solutions to a specific problem.
- You have a responsibility to address advice which you believe to be of questionable value - regardless of where that advice originated - discussion about various techniques and methods can only be healthy.
- Accept only those questions and commissions which you are qualified and competent to undertake.
- Be aware of the risks resulting from giving incorrect advice. Make customers aware of any risks, especially regarding D.I.Y. solutions.
The Golden Rule #2: Answer questions for one and all.
Part of the reason for this Q&A (see philosophy) is to leverage the answers we as professionals are asked every day, so if possible answer questions so that anybody can benefit from reading it.
Selling Your Services and declaring Interest - the Paradox
You can hardly visit an online forum or online community service without someone shoving their services down your throat. We have all seen it, we all hate it.
All the people asked to be on our panel of experts are aware that this kind of behaviour does not benefit any of us. However, the situation here is slightly different to a forum for two reasons:
- People are aware of who we are and are often specifically asking about services we provide.
- Often people want to know 'How much will it cost?". We can only give our own prices with any certainty.
Therefore, the rule has to be that we are open about what we can supply, and what our prices are. But we must not attempt to persuade questioners to use only our services, or dissuade them from going elsewhere.
The Golden Rule #3: Answer questions with no expectation of a commission for the work.
We encourage anybody to ask us question including those who are too far away to use our services, and those with no intention to buy. We recommend that our panel assume that the questioner has no intention to buy and to be helpful and give honest information anyway.
It goes without saying that virtually all our experts have a product or service to sell. Will that make the answers given biased? Yes, probably. But we don't think that a bias towards good craftsmanship, good quality products, honestly, integrity, value for money, is such a bad thing. After all, when we chose the experts we had a strong bias towards these qualities.
We think it would be both unfair and tedious to request that the panel keep declaring their interests with every question they answer. It also goes without saying that there are other products and services on the market, some cheaper, some more expensive, some of inferior quality... and some may even be better quality!
All the people and companies on the panel offer great services and products which are good value for money, they came highly recommended to us, they have proved their quality, reliability and consistency and we in turn recommend them. But we won't be offended if you shop around before deciding who to trust.
Philosophy
As always, we work on the principle of mutual benefit (The win-win principle -- everybody wins equally in a fair exchange, nobody loses). In this case it means that New Again and it's team of volunteer experts gain from donating their time, and so does anybody wishing to use it to ask a question.
Here are some of the beneficial reasons we set up the Q&A:
The internet is the first place people go these days for information, in the absence of a National Trade Association which fully and solely represents what we do, we provide a place where the public can go for accurate information supplied by trustworthy and experienced industry professionals.
Many people were visiting our articles via google, and
then asking us question about their specific problems. Sometimes we found
ourselves answering similar questions over and over again. Other times we
were asked questions way beyond our expertise. All the questions we were
asked were useful... some allowed us to provide detailed but generic answers
to commonly asked questions (such as Stone
Chips), some led to us finding
some wonderful professionals that we have learnt a great deal from (Such
as Barton & Son who can restitch a leather covered steering wheel).
Basically, questions are an opportunity
for us to learn from demand, and from each other.
Our volunteer experts also gain by getting Kudos! Not just because New Again recognises them as experts, but they have the chance to demonstrate their knowledge and skill!
Our Q&A has a system which allows questioners
to rate the answer and to leave feedback (see left) (Our
provider has discontinued the rating service - It's something we hope to
reintroduce as a fully integrated comment system). Furthermore,
if one of our experts actually does the work, the question page can be
updated to show the results, and
the customers satisfaction (Example#1, Example#2, Example#3).
It's from being able to demonstrate this kind of service and customer satisfaction that real success comes from. So we do encourage questioners to rate the answers and leave some feedback.
Finally, I'd like to mention the satisfaction that can come from answering customers questions, especially when you can help out somebody in a bind. One that springs to mind was a question from a soldier stationed in Gibraltar who's lease car was splattered with concrete. We have had customers drive to us from that far away! But in this case it wasn't practical. Over a great many emails, much experimentation, trial and error, she finally managed to remove the concrete with a combination of household products that she was able to source locally. It was a far from ideal solution, but it did get the job done without any damage to the car.
Privacy Policy
Questions asked on our Q&A will be answered publicly
- after all, that's the whole point!
However, your email address and telephone number is withheld and not displayed
on the website.
Anything you write in the 'Your question' field is likely to be displayed,
although we do try to edit out any personal information. If we miss anything
please don't hesitate and we will remove it.
We do not sell, trade, pass on or share your personal or contact details, nor do our experts.
We do often phone people who send us questions, this is to clarify before answering, or in the case of accidents like paint spillages which require immediate attention. However, we won't phone or email you to sell you stuff or offer you promotions.
(About 95% of our email is spam - we hate it as much as you do!)
Disclaimer
We can only answer question based on the information provided. And offer general advice only.
Our answers are based on tried and tested technologies that are available at the time of writing. However technologies change, they may even change as a result of questioned asked here, after all innovation is driven by demand. Legislation can also change. So the answers to older questions may be dated and newer solutions may be more suitable.
Our advice is no substitute for expert legal advice, nor does it replace or 'trump' manufacturer's instructions. We offer general advice only -- always take suitable precautions, safety measures and exercise common sense. Be aware of, and adhere to local laws, health & safety and environmental regulation. Be smart, be safe.
By your use of the service, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless New Again, its owners and its volunteers for any liability arising from any death or injury, to you and to third parties resulting from the use of this service, as well as for any loss or damage to property to you or to third parties resulting from any use of our service, including but not limited to information you obtain by asking questions, reading previously asked questions, follow-up answers, FAQ's, using our comment system, or reading our articles.
