Making Which? More Proactive

updated 9/6/2015

The Active Subscriber
I suppose an active subscriber to me is someone who interacts with Which? and is thoughtful about how it's weaknesses and strengths; and what threats it is under in the Web based world.A brief few ideas  as a starter:

The Big Database and the quality of Surveys
In my last few years I have answered many many surveys, and looked at subscriber reviews, and the layout for the reviews. For Which? alone I have answered over one hundred on-line surveys since Which? Connect was started.

I read Amazon reviews, Which? reviews,Trusted reviews. I compare them. Which? does not compare well.

What has been borne home to me as I have completed various Reliability surveys is that the Which? data is hugely flawed as it does not ask about usage. In car terms it is like designing a survey of three year old cars and not asking how many, if any, miles they have done.

The bottom line is that I think that Which?'s reputation for testing is under justified attack for lacking the longtitudinal, or reliability dimension. In the infamous Which? Logiks steamer product review it seems fairly obvious that they do not last well making barely 6 months. Given the twenty or so highly negative subscriber reviews of a Which? Best Buy any reader browsing the Web will have grave doubts about the wisdom of taking a £100 a year subscription

The 2015 Reliability survey of kitchen appliances managed to avoid asking about steamers for cooking.

Playing to your Strengths: Utilise the Membership to Provide an up-dating Appliance Database

Which? has a least 40,000 people who might, if asked, upload a list of all small electricals, and even major appliances that they own. So if we have data that says 500 people own the steamer but 50 have thrown it away as duff you can fairly well say that the "Best Buy" award should be removed - and possibly it is a "Do Not Buy".

However with a little refinement the database becomes hugely better than surveys. Usage is highly relevant. I have been asked in various Which? surveys if I have had any problems with my Camcorder/Hedgetrimmer/Shredder in the previous 12 months/four years. Truthfully the answer is NO. The answer to had I used it in the period was also NO - but that question is not asked. Surveys without regarding usage are not really very useful.

So the next step is the 30,000 actually report on usage aswell as ownership.

So why would people be that involved possibly:

1. Desire to be useful?

2. Reduced subscription ?

3. Keeping of records on-line in case of having to claim for lost contents in a fire.

Benefits from system 2. An auto-diary system where Which? polls for information at six-monthly intervals - and also advises of                diary dates like renewing your EHIC [ 5 yearly!] Or the  driving licence renewal at 70.
 * 1) Record of repairs and costs which may prove a faulty product. [Apparently  some Samsung monitors suffered badly from cheap shortlived capacitors in their monitors a few years ago. Cost of three quality capacitors around £1.50] [ Honeywell CM927 heating controller apparently is one of a batch with faulty LCD screens that appear to only last 4 years.!]

3. Any  product recalls they would be advised even if they had moved.

The concept would need an interface for the volunteers to upload the information.This should be less than £50K, and subscribers could amend as events happened. The life of a mobile phone, as to whether it is lost, stolen, junked or passed on, might be interesting. Data, when there is enough can actually be very empowering whether it be noticing short product life spans, common faults, or the products that seem never to breakdown.

The Active Winter Subscriber
You may recall the almost annual furore over fuel costs in the media and calls for reduction in prices. This may be necessary however there seemed a lack of practical help. I compiled myself a list of all those nice warm fabrics for clothes that might help make cold more bearable. This could have easily been used by Which? as I handed them a copy in January 2013.

On a larger scale I was thinking that deploying thermal cameras during the winter could be help to members and their neighbours. Taken from outside of the property cold patches and areas where heat is escaping may be provide information for easy remedies. Some problems migh be easily remedied not but information is useful.

Even if volunteers are not in a position to do much sophisticated interpretation of the thermal photographs Which? the charity could employ some thermal image interpreters to be seen to being doing something constructive to alleviate fuel poverty.

The Active Ordinary Member
As you may be aware there appears to be a problem as currently instead of a Council of 15 with 9 elected members we currently have a Council of 12 with an elected core of 6 and 6 co-opted. The current chairman is time-barred after nine years but remains. We need more active members.

If there is reform I note that charities with a large "sub-council" that is 50-75 drawn in various ways seems to provide a good channel for finding potential future Council members. It also means that the Trustees are in much closer touch with very well-informed members.

A provision of a Forum might provide more opportunities for ideas to surface and either become policy or  be shaped to an acceptable proposition. However until these structures exist I am afraid being active promoting the Consumers' Association is difficult.