Well I have always been a great advocate of supporting local businesses, even to the point of going out of my way to buy things from them, and I am more than happy to post names in our threads of such businesses but, conversely, I am also quite prepared to bring to light instances of the opposite nature as a warning to all who may follow me.
One such instance happened to me only a couple of days before returning to work and the incident left me absolutely amazed.
The business in question is Bronte Models at Denhom, just outside Halifax, which is a retailer of all things RC, but mostly planes and cars. I have popped in over the years for all sorts of RC bits and bobs and one of the big advantages was that they opened at unusual times to enable customers who work an opportunity to support the shop. I would usually have a chat with the proprietor’s wife who was always amenable and friendly and we would put the world to rights for 10 minutes before I went on my way.
Anyway I went in one day for a replacement battery for this dam foam Cessna that doesn’t seem to want to work, and I thought the battery was not accepting charge. I had tried a few charges, with different chargers, over a period of days to no avail and the motor would spin for about 30 seconds before dying. I took the old battery with me and the lady brought out a box of what she described as old battery’s that were half price as they were no longer common. Not only did I buy one for the Cessna but I also bought a couple for other models and, half price or not, they still cost knocking on for thirty quid.
So I go home and try to charge up the new battery over the next day or so. No joy. I checked all the settings, all OK and tried two different chargers, still nothing. The motor spins for a couple of seconds then dies. At this point no problem, I thought I would take it back and see if they had another one. Not surprising in a box of old ones but another one may be OK.
When I returned a few days later I am met by the man himself so I explain the issue with the battery and say that I am more than happy to try another one, or accept credit if he hasn’t got one. The first thing he does is stick a meter across it and inform me that there is 6volts there. I assume that most of you are aware that a battery voltage is not a very good indication of a battery condition as the voltage should be fairly constant until the charge is well on its way out. The only way to check a battery correctly is to put it on load and see how the current responds referred to as a “Drop Test”. After I explained all this he told me again that there was 6 volts there so it seemed OK to him. I tried to explain again and also included a description of how the battery performed at home and the fact that an 8.4 volt battery showing 6 volts is obviously not right anyway. These points were obviously lost on him as I became more aware of the fact that he didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.
So I asked him if he had another that I could try and told him that it came from this box of old ones. He asked me what I paid for it and I said I didn’t know as I bought it amongst a few other items, but I thought it was listed at 17.99. He then seemed to take this as a go ahead to ridicule me as I couldn’t possibly know what I was talking about if I didn’t even know how much I paid for it.
I asked him to get his wife who would be able to explain the situation and was told that she was watching TV!! So my next idea was “If you get the box of old battery’s out we can see what I paid for it” That seemed to send him over the top as he then proceeded to accuse me of telling him what to do which I had no right etc…etc…
At the end of the conversation all he was prepared to do was to keep the battery for testing and I had to go back the next day, which would be the day before flying out to work. I wasn’t happy with this as this would then be the third trip for the dam thing as they weren’t open on the Sunday afternoon as per their own posted times. When I mentioned this I was told that they opened for their own convenience and not mine!!
I left, somewhat bemused, and as I was putting on my helmet I thought f**k it, I’m not going back again to have another argument on yet another day with this bozo who obviously doesn’t even know what he is talking about. So I went back in and asked him for my old battery which I was happy to take and have evaluated elsewhere. That’s when he got nasty! His missus appeared at the sounds of the commotion and apologies for the situation at which point he informed her she didn’t need to apologise for him, to which I responded that someone needed to!!
It ended up with him throwing another battery across the counter from the box at which I picked it up, looked at it and said ”There you are, I told you it was 17.99”, grinned and left, with him telling me to “F**k Off” as I walked out of the door.
I am left absolutely astounded that people like him can be in business. The days of the customer being right are obviously long gone nowadays but I still expect a certain degree of civility and respect in any establishment and to be dealt with in this manner is absolutely atrocious.
I write this as a warning to anyone who may be thinking of using this establishment. I, of course, shall never go there again because although I still believe in supporting local businesses that does not include ones run by people like him.
One such instance happened to me only a couple of days before returning to work and the incident left me absolutely amazed.
The business in question is Bronte Models at Denhom, just outside Halifax, which is a retailer of all things RC, but mostly planes and cars. I have popped in over the years for all sorts of RC bits and bobs and one of the big advantages was that they opened at unusual times to enable customers who work an opportunity to support the shop. I would usually have a chat with the proprietor’s wife who was always amenable and friendly and we would put the world to rights for 10 minutes before I went on my way.
Anyway I went in one day for a replacement battery for this dam foam Cessna that doesn’t seem to want to work, and I thought the battery was not accepting charge. I had tried a few charges, with different chargers, over a period of days to no avail and the motor would spin for about 30 seconds before dying. I took the old battery with me and the lady brought out a box of what she described as old battery’s that were half price as they were no longer common. Not only did I buy one for the Cessna but I also bought a couple for other models and, half price or not, they still cost knocking on for thirty quid.
So I go home and try to charge up the new battery over the next day or so. No joy. I checked all the settings, all OK and tried two different chargers, still nothing. The motor spins for a couple of seconds then dies. At this point no problem, I thought I would take it back and see if they had another one. Not surprising in a box of old ones but another one may be OK.
When I returned a few days later I am met by the man himself so I explain the issue with the battery and say that I am more than happy to try another one, or accept credit if he hasn’t got one. The first thing he does is stick a meter across it and inform me that there is 6volts there. I assume that most of you are aware that a battery voltage is not a very good indication of a battery condition as the voltage should be fairly constant until the charge is well on its way out. The only way to check a battery correctly is to put it on load and see how the current responds referred to as a “Drop Test”. After I explained all this he told me again that there was 6 volts there so it seemed OK to him. I tried to explain again and also included a description of how the battery performed at home and the fact that an 8.4 volt battery showing 6 volts is obviously not right anyway. These points were obviously lost on him as I became more aware of the fact that he didn’t have a clue what he was talking about.
So I asked him if he had another that I could try and told him that it came from this box of old ones. He asked me what I paid for it and I said I didn’t know as I bought it amongst a few other items, but I thought it was listed at 17.99. He then seemed to take this as a go ahead to ridicule me as I couldn’t possibly know what I was talking about if I didn’t even know how much I paid for it.
I asked him to get his wife who would be able to explain the situation and was told that she was watching TV!! So my next idea was “If you get the box of old battery’s out we can see what I paid for it” That seemed to send him over the top as he then proceeded to accuse me of telling him what to do which I had no right etc…etc…
At the end of the conversation all he was prepared to do was to keep the battery for testing and I had to go back the next day, which would be the day before flying out to work. I wasn’t happy with this as this would then be the third trip for the dam thing as they weren’t open on the Sunday afternoon as per their own posted times. When I mentioned this I was told that they opened for their own convenience and not mine!!
I left, somewhat bemused, and as I was putting on my helmet I thought f**k it, I’m not going back again to have another argument on yet another day with this bozo who obviously doesn’t even know what he is talking about. So I went back in and asked him for my old battery which I was happy to take and have evaluated elsewhere. That’s when he got nasty! His missus appeared at the sounds of the commotion and apologies for the situation at which point he informed her she didn’t need to apologise for him, to which I responded that someone needed to!!
It ended up with him throwing another battery across the counter from the box at which I picked it up, looked at it and said ”There you are, I told you it was 17.99”, grinned and left, with him telling me to “F**k Off” as I walked out of the door.
I am left absolutely astounded that people like him can be in business. The days of the customer being right are obviously long gone nowadays but I still expect a certain degree of civility and respect in any establishment and to be dealt with in this manner is absolutely atrocious.
I write this as a warning to anyone who may be thinking of using this establishment. I, of course, shall never go there again because although I still believe in supporting local businesses that does not include ones run by people like him.
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