Thursday, February 24, 2005
Bit late, but worthwhile
Monday, February 14, 2005
Online Retailers - Are they all pants ?
Following my first post about the high street retailer Marks & Spencer, I thought I'd redress the balance and tell you about two online retailers who I've had bad experioences with.
Pixmania.
My wife ordered an MP3 player for my 40th last year, and when it arrived, it was obviously second-hand. The case was scratched to buggery, and it had 70-odd cd's loaded onto it! The unit was despatched and that's where the problems started. It had to go back to Paris (at our own cost, initially) and we never saw or heard anything for weeks. After numerous emails, Pixmania decided that our complaint was justified, and a replacement was sent. This one arrived without any earphones , and since these came with an in-line control for volume and other stuff I was less than pleased. Refusing to send it back to Paris again, we demanded that they collect it. Needless to say it sat here for weeks, by which time my wife had had enough and requested a credit card chargeback. Marks & Spencer (remember them, crap high street store) Credit Card department were extremely helpful, and sent a form to fill out and asked for copies of emails, of which there were many! Pixmania collected the player, and Marks & Spencer credited to £200+ back to my wife's account. Made a note never to buy anything from these Frenchies again.
Ebuyer.
Ordered another MP3 player from Ebuyer. Smooth transaction, pleased as punch. Last month (the 19th to be precise) I succumbed to pressure from my stepdaughter and ordered a webcam. All seemed to be going well, I got an email saying that payment has been taken on the same evening, and delivery would be by the 27th. Got another email on the 25th saying that my item had been despatched and would be with me by my chosen delivery date. Looking good, Houston. 27th came and went, and no webcam. 28th ditto, so left an enote, noting that there was a backlog of customer enquiries and they were being processed in seven business days. Received an email back the same night saying that the delay was two business days. Aha, a bit more promising. That was the last I've heard from them. The scunthorpe's are completely ignoring me, and the item I've ordered no longer appears on the website. They are lying bastards :-
1. I believe the item was never despatched.
2. Two business days my arse (© Jim Royle - the Royle Family). It's now 8 business days and I've not heard a fucking peep.
Steer clear of these two web companies. Who can recommend any others ?
Pixmania.
My wife ordered an MP3 player for my 40th last year, and when it arrived, it was obviously second-hand. The case was scratched to buggery, and it had 70-odd cd's loaded onto it! The unit was despatched and that's where the problems started. It had to go back to Paris (at our own cost, initially) and we never saw or heard anything for weeks. After numerous emails, Pixmania decided that our complaint was justified, and a replacement was sent. This one arrived without any earphones , and since these came with an in-line control for volume and other stuff I was less than pleased. Refusing to send it back to Paris again, we demanded that they collect it. Needless to say it sat here for weeks, by which time my wife had had enough and requested a credit card chargeback. Marks & Spencer (remember them, crap high street store) Credit Card department were extremely helpful, and sent a form to fill out and asked for copies of emails, of which there were many! Pixmania collected the player, and Marks & Spencer credited to £200+ back to my wife's account. Made a note never to buy anything from these Frenchies again.
Ebuyer.
Ordered another MP3 player from Ebuyer. Smooth transaction, pleased as punch. Last month (the 19th to be precise) I succumbed to pressure from my stepdaughter and ordered a webcam. All seemed to be going well, I got an email saying that payment has been taken on the same evening, and delivery would be by the 27th. Got another email on the 25th saying that my item had been despatched and would be with me by my chosen delivery date. Looking good, Houston. 27th came and went, and no webcam. 28th ditto, so left an enote, noting that there was a backlog of customer enquiries and they were being processed in seven business days. Received an email back the same night saying that the delay was two business days. Aha, a bit more promising. That was the last I've heard from them. The scunthorpe's are completely ignoring me, and the item I've ordered no longer appears on the website. They are lying bastards :-
1. I believe the item was never despatched.
2. Two business days my arse (© Jim Royle - the Royle Family). It's now 8 business days and I've not heard a fucking peep.
Steer clear of these two web companies. Who can recommend any others ?
Not quite a crane
This is a pre-assembled structure of some sort, currently just lying on the ground, but lit up quite nicely. I'll try and find out more about these and post an update.
Nicely lit pre-assembled structure
Nicely lit pre-assembled structure
More Crane Photos
As promised yesterday here are a couple more photos taken at night. Apologies if they seem a bit blurred, but I had no tripod, and they were taken with a long exposure with a simple digital camera.
Cranes by night taken from roughly the same place as yesterday
Cranes by night taken from roughly the same place as yesterday
Sunday, February 13, 2005
Ascot Racecourse
Don't know if you're aware but Ascot Racecourse is closed for redevelopment, and Royal Ascot will be held at York Racecourse this year. There has been large amounts of demolition recently, and the old grandstand has disappeared completely, and some large concrete blocks have appeared in its place. There are a number of cranes there, which look quite spectacular all lit up at night, but here are some pictures I took today. Well just one actually, more soon . . .
Daylight cranes.
Daylight cranes.
