Karl Ullrich, Customer Service Technology Group Manager at BSH

Tell us about your role.

I am the Customer Service Technology Group Manager at BSH (group brands include Bosch, NEFF and Siemens) and have been working for the company for 42 years! I am responsible for ensuring our team of engineers are getting the latest training on our products and I also liaise with our factories on quality control.

Why should landlords put BSH appliances in their properties?

All BSH appliances are made with quality and longevity at the forefront, and that applies from the initial design phase through to production and aftercare. By producing quality appliances with quality parts and innovative programmes, these machines improve the quality of life at home for consumers.

These programmes that save money, time and energy for the consumer also add to the luxury feel of a property. For example, having a washing machine that knows how much water to use depending on the weight in the drum gives peace of mind to consumers that the appliance is working as efficiently as possible, both for them and the environment.

BSH is renowned for making quality products. What does the landlord get from a slightly more expensive product, over cheaper alternatives?

Our appliances are built to a high quality and with longevity also in mind. In addition to this, our products come equipped with a number of added value features which make consumers’ lives easier.

It’s these features and programmes that make a big difference and they’re available on a range of products.

Our fridge freezers are equipped with VitaFresh technology which provides the optimum temperature for meats and vegetables so they can last for as long as possible, cutting down on food waste. And when it comes to cooking, our ovens contain a number of preset programmes which takes the guess work out of knowing how long to cook certain food items for.

What makes BSH aftercare service different to other alternatives within the market?

BSH has an extensive service network of highly skilled and trained engineers providing a quality service across the country. These expert engineers are employed and trained by BSH, giving them unrivalled knowledge and expertise of our appliances.

These teams are on hand to provide repairs and general maintenance on appliances. All repairs are carried out with genuine parts and all our repairs are guaranteed for 12 months.

At the booking stage for any engineer visits, our call centre teams capture all the appliance details and fault descriptions so our technicians can pre-prep the required parts, so on the day of the visit the engineer can complete the job first-time.

As well as our engineer service, all Bosch, NEFF and Siemens appliances come with a two-year warranty as standard with options to extend this to five years on certain products. We also keep spare parts for up to 10 years on our major domestic appliances.

Sustainable products are important to consumers, what products and features are you most proud from BSH?

Sustainability is something that is of increasing importance to consumers and we have a number of features that support that.

We have launched a new heat pump tumble dryer with self-cleaning technology. The condenser is cleaned up to four times during the drying process, keeping its top energy performance for every cycle.

We also have other features such as iDos on our washing machines. This intelligent dosing technology automatically determines the correct setting, amount of detergent and water, for the laundry which means consumers aren’t using unnecessary amounts of energy.

The world is getting ever-greener. How is BSH reducing its environmental footprint?

Environmental sustainability is a hugely important topic for BSH globally and an area we are doing a lot of work in.

Our focus is on; minimising our carbon footprint and using resources more efficiently through a circular economy. We’re pleased to say that since the end of 2020, all BSH sites worldwide are now carbon-neutral.

In terms of a circular economy, this is where we look to reuse and repair as much as possible. When an appliance comes to the end of its lifecycle, we will look to either repair or refresh it, and if that is not possible we would then recycle as much as we can to use in the next production process.

What has surprised you the most about working at BSH?

I am constantly surprised at the new ideas our developers come up with each year, and also how they then adapt those ideas to fit into our products. The amount of innovation and ongoing development with the aim of meeting consumers’ needs is impressive and always amazes me.

BSH appliances are available to purchase at ao-business.com.