Washing Machine Repairs Are My Passion – Ismael Fraser

My name is Ismael Fraser and I'm co-founder of First Serve UK Washing machine repairs.

Washing machine repairs are very passionate to me, I love it, and I struggle to break free from it even though I've been in this trade for over 20 years. I'm definitely hooked because I'm approaching 60 years old and I should be looking into consultancy now that I'm fast approaching the retirement age of 67.

In 1976 I was 13 years old our quality of life was affordable, we lived above a marketplace in East London, so everything was relatively cheap, petrol was 77p a gallon, a pint of milk was 7p, a loaf of bread was 17p, the crime levels were low and there were fewer cars on the road.

The average wage was around £72 a week. Hardly anyone had a landline. There were no mobile phones, no one had a computer and there was certainly no Mcdonalds!

The average council rent in London was £7 a week, £28 a month and you could buy a house for £5,000.

To get on a London bus journey was 5p for a child and 10p for an adult.

Since I was 13 years old I always dreamt of being an electrician just like my dad. He was doing electrical installation from the age of 11 and could wire a whole house in his country of birth in British Guyana by the age of 15 years old.

My father became a qualified electrician in the UK at the age of 20, when he completed his City and Guilds in electrical installation.

I deeply admire my father for his hard work and his keen ability to invest and save. I thought it was the fastest route to earning lots of cash at a young age, so when I was 14 years old I would go out and do private jobs with him.

We went to several private jobs near my father's house. My father mainly did private work for neighbours, friends, acquaintances and associates.

Some were very good customers and paid on time and some didn't realise the value of a qualified skilled tradesman, so at times there were problems.

Being a skilled installation electrician meant at times it was a difficult, cramped, dusty, dirty environment at times. The strange smells that would hit me whether it be in the attic or the cellar varied so much.

Coming across dead rats, mice, spiders, and nothing I found happened to be sugar and spice or anything nice!

However it prepared me more than anything for work, and having the right work ethic, and having the correct mindset, prepared me to be a man, and no one prepared me to be a man better than my father.

One day my father gave me £20 after the last big job that I helped my father complete, I said, "Dad what is this for?" He said "This is for the work you helped me do son," I said "Thanks Dad" I was so happy and elated considering that in 1977 the weekly average was £70!

To receive £20 pounds just under a third of an adult wage at 14 years old was staggering, for working part-time with my father was absolutely inspiring. I knew then that I wanted to become a tradesman.

I've always liked the idea of repairing and fixing things since I was young, I spent some time being a site carpenter, not a very good one but a carpenter nonetheless.

Rather than throwing out broken things I enjoyed fixing them instead. I'm sure we can all agree that there is far too much waste in today's society.

When a washing machine engineer came to my house years afterwards in 2001 and repaired my washing machine in under 15 minutes, he saved me the cost of buying a new machine, which I couldn't afford at the time anyway. I thought that was really good, I could learn this trade, earn a reasonable living, whilst saving others money and resources, I could also do my bit to help the environment.

Fast forward 20 years, I'm now co-owner of First Serve UK Washing Machine Repairs, a company that has been awarded 689 plus 5-star reviews by our clients, who have very nice things to say about us, however, we do have 4 one-star reviews so we're far from perfect!

We offer:

A same day service with a 2-hour window, 24-hour online booking, polite and friendly service and repair, 12 months guarantee on all repairs, 1 free warranty repair within 12 months if you need any other repair on your machine, and 5-star customer service if you experience any problems.

Our customers include Oppida, Fox Williams, Holmes, Chestertons, Outlook, Alexanders, British Gas, Martins Silver Crown Properties, KFH, Pure Space, The BBC, FinchLea Estates, SW Estates, Holme Estates, Vale Real Estate, Oppida Estates, Harris Company Estate, RS Estate Agents, Barney Estates, Young London Today, CENTRIUM PROPERTIES,

Thank you for reading and getting this far down the page, I'm grateful to you for spending your precious time with me.

Kind regards
Ismael Fraser

First Serve UK - Serving You First