Excellent customer service, and a history of lockmaking.

No sooner had I got the heating repaired, than the next thing broke, this time it was the locking mechanism on the front door of the house which failed on Monday.

Having dismantled it I could see that a piece of white metal had broken in the gear box and could not be fixed. The house is around 10 years old so the lock must be a similar age.

The only identifying mark to be found on the lock were the letters ‘ERA’ so I googled “ERA locks” on the internet and found this company in the West Midlands.

ERA Security

A quick browse through the site identified that this was the right company as they had pictures of locks just like mine. I called their sales line and spoke to a lady called Karen. I told her the problem, and she said she would send a replacement.
We went though the process of identifying the type of lock I would need and I asked how much it would cost. I can’t remember her exact words but she basically said “It shouldn’t have broken, I’ll send a replacement gearbox free of charge”. True to her word it arrived today and I can see from the stamp that it cost their company £2.23 in postage. I think a free replacement of a ten year old lock is an example of excellent customer service.

(I had noted that on their site they do give ten year guarantees on some of their products, but how often does one have to provide original receipts etc when claiming on this type of guarantee.)
Nothing like that in this case, just:- “I’ll put it in the post now, sir”. I called her back after an hour to confirm the measurements of the lock and Karen said “It's already in our post room, sir.” Karen – you’re a star!

I was also pleased to note that the company is still located in and manufacturing locks in Willenhall, quite near where I was born in Wolverhampton.

Willenhall, has been the heart of the British Lock industry for over 200 years with over 300 lock making companies in the town at one time. It was once known to locals as ‘Humpshire’ due to deformities caused to lockworkers by poor working conditions, the article at end of link below will tell you more. I lived quite near there as a boy and was aware that there were public houses in the town with seats modified for people with humped backs until as late as 1956.

Lockmaking in Willenhall.

The locksmiths house in above article is part of the Black Country Museum.

Rip Off Company of the Year

You may have seen earlier blogs regarding companies who I think are taking liberties and overcharging for goods and services.

It occurred to me that I should decide who is the worst culprit to get the title "Rip off of the year 2010". The short list consists of:

The Hopping Hare, Northampton - £5.45 for a glass of wine (which I have to fetch from the bar myself, I might add)

Exeter Airport for their revised short term parking charges - 11 minutes now costs £2.00 in the short stay.

Admiral Insurance, quoting £740 for a renewal when they can actually do it for £600 if you ask.

Cheltenham and Gloucester for offering a top up of my ISA paying 0.05% interest and neglecting to inform me they are offering ISAs to new customers at 2.5% and 3.5% .

And finally, sneaking in on December 31st, just before the VAT increase, is roadchef at Strensham services on the M5 in Worcestershire. They had the nerve to charge 80pence for a standard size Mars bar and 80p for a four finger kit kat (not even a chunky one).
I know they have to open 24 hours a day but the foot fall during the day is huge and most give them healthy profits at these prices. I now remember why I rarely buy anything at Motorway service areas. If I'd bought the items at Sainsburies where I got the petrol, I'd have got two of each for that price.

For that reason roadchef have won Bob's 2010 award "Rip off Company of the year" and little chance of further custom from me.

I must also try to cure the chocolate craving, or plan ahead by having some in the car.

New photo blog

Since my blog was reviewed by Clifford James, I have had time to look at some of the others that were reviewed with me. It seems the other bloggers are far more active than I, so I will have to resolve to try to blog more often. A couple of them are keen photographers so I have decided to become a follower of them. I may hopefully be able to add some photo blogs of my own at this site where I hope by learning from others I will be able to post better photographs.

O2 and the new Blackberry phone.

Emily’s phone recently died so she went to 02 for a replacement, as she has a contract with them, she left the shop with a Blackberry which seems to do everything she wants.

Within two weeks it becomes obvious that it does not work properly in her flat, calls keep breaking up. Since she only has this phone (no landline) for use in her flat it is therefore not fit for purpose.

Taking it back to the 02 shop she is told it is a network issue and she has to call 02 from her flat but from a different phone so they can check the network. The shop said they were aware of network problems in the TQ1 area. The shop also said if you tell 02 your alternative number they will call you back on it so you don’t use up all your credit.

The only way to call 02 from her flat without using her phone is on my (Orange) mobile phone so I travelled over there tonight so she can do this.

Naturally this gets her though to a call centre :-( where the operator asks her name, number and security details before asking for details of the problem. When the operator is told the problem, he/she puts her through to the network department, who promptly asks her all the same questions again and then proceeds to try to diagnose the problem. Emily tells them she is on an Orange 'pay as you go' and can they call her back, giving them my number, they agree to do this immediately. I heard her give them the correct number.

30 minutes or more later after having no phone call from 02, Emily calls again, only to go through the same ritual again of telling 02 everything twice. She cannot get the same person again so she has to explain the problem again. They then try to diagnose the problem again while she is hanging on using my Orange phone. They call her on her 02 blackberry and sure enough the call breaks up. The total duration of these two calls is now so long that my credit expires and the call is cut off. (£10 last me two months usually!)

Emily rings 02 for a third time, (from her faulty phone) and gets annoyed with ‘Abby’ the 02 operator who will not give out her second name or put her through to Ryan who was the person trying to identify the problem unless she goes through the security process for the third time.

Fortunately Ryan then calls back on the 02 phone and through the call, which is breaking up, manages to get my Orange Number. He then calls on this line and advises that there is not a network fault in TQ1 (ie the 02 shop were telling lies). He advises Emily to go back to the shop and get the phone replaced and get a new sim as well.

As she is at work this will probably have to wait to next weekend, and in the meantime she will have to struggle with a breaking up line while at home in her flat. Personally I think 02 could do better, furthermore they owe me £7.20 credit for my Orange phone, which I will be asking for.

Update 16/12/10 Emily has finished work early so she can go back to O2 shop, the manager called 02 himself and explained the problem which he still says is a network fault in TQ1 (The 02 call centre denied this yesterday). Somebody is not telling the truth. I await a solution, perhaps she should move to Orange.

Invincible Slippers

I hope no one has bought me slippers for Christmas or birthday this year as I recently obtained a pair from Clifford James. On their web site there was a choice of 27 different variety of slipper, so I had plenty of choice.

I decided that as I can be quite hard on slippers I’d try a pair of Clifford James's ‘Invincible’ slippers. We will see in time if they live up to their name. Being retired, I spend a reasonable amount of hours per week in slippers and, as I can be quite hard on them an ‘invincible’ pair sounds good. After a week and a bit I cannot see any signs of wear and they are still a good fit, which is a good sign. I noted one loose thread after a few days and cut it off but they haven’t fallen apart, and do not look as if they will.

They were delivered by courier in a brown cardboard box sealed with plastic, which was just as well as they were delivered in the rain.

I put them on and discovered they are quite a close fit, which is probably due to the newness of the wool lining and the fact I had thick socks on. I can wiggle my toes about and the width is just about right for my foot. As we have all wood floors in our house it can be quite chilly at floor level in winter and the wool lining is definitely keeping out the draughts nicely. They are also really good without socks and very warm due to the wool lining.

The top and the sole are made of “other materials” the top has a soft leathery finish and the sole appears to be rubber.

I have been outside in them and they appear to be water resistant, which is good as I often go outside in my slippers. I don’t like having to change into shoes several times a day before I venture into the garden to put out rubbish etc. (postscript- I unfortunately walked mud back in with me, however holding the slipper under the cold tap soon washed it off.)

I like slippers with a back, otherwise they fall off at inappropriate moments, usually when I’m half way up the ladder into the loft. The back on these slippers seems quite solid and at the moment is holding the slipper on well. I've been up and down to the loft several times, getting down the Christmas decorations.

They are keeping my feet warm as well, despite the extreme cold weather we’ve been having, I shall be interested to see how I do in warmer weather.

Bargain of the day

Good news for a change. Yesterday in my local newspaper was a half price voucher for The Mail on Sunday. Since I buy this paper anyway I thought the half price offer was a nice bonus. On top of which the free CD in the paper today was the Album "Parallel Lines" by Blondie, plus two bonus tracks fron her new CD "Panic of Girls". And there is a chance to download a third track from the new CD for nothing. That's 15 tracks of Blondie and a Sunday Newspaper for 75p. It must be Christmas!

Click here for video of one of the songs

The 10 11 worst things about Christmas

Bah humbug! It’s nearly that time of year again. A time when the shops fill with useless items that nobody actually needs (otherwise known as stocking fillers), TV adverts suddenly feature snow-covered landscapes (even though I can’t remember the last time it actually snowed in December) and an annoying old bearded man in a red coat suddenly starts appearing everywhere (wasn’t he just a part of some Coca Cola advertising campaign?).

No, there is nothing very merry about Christmas, I would prefer to be wrapped up at home with my pipe and slippers than participating in seemingly endless Christmas shopping. And just to prove how bad things really are, I’ve listed the eleven worst features of the Christmas season:

1. You’re forced to eat turkey. Turkey has undesirable side effects on my digestive system and the fact that the rest of the world only seems to eat it once a year says a lot about its edible qualities. But I suppose turkey farmers have to make their money somewhere...

2. There’s far too much singing going on. And not good singing. This is all cheery, goodwill stuff with the occasional religious reference. It’s also persistent - it doesn’t seem to matter where you go, the carol singers will find you.

3. The television starts showing naff films. I mean, how many times do we really want to see Mary Poppins? It was bad enough the first time around.

4. You have to wear party hats. Enough said.

5. The shops are full of frantic people. Run out of milk? Forget going to the shops in the run up to Christmas. Those last few days are full of stressed last-minute shoppers and old ladies arguing over the remaining turkeys. Milking the cow yourself would probably be a quicker alternative.

6. Life becomes one endless fire-hazard. Fairy lights? Candles? Burning Christmas puddings? It’s enough to give any fire-conscious person a nervous breakdown.

7. You are required to plant a tree in your living room. You go to the Christmas tree farm, select a tree that has had its roots cut off, pay vast amounts of money for it, (even though you know it’s as good as dead!) and bring it home (filling the car with dirt, leaves and pine needles) to place in the totally unsuitable environment of your living room, where you cover it in tinsel and baubles. Each day from when it arrives sees new piles of pine needles on the floor, and by twelfth night (apparently it is unlucky to take it down any earlier), there are piles of needles all over the living room floor, in the carpet and under the furniture. As you remove the tree from the house it catches on the door and the last few needles fly off and wedge themselves in every nook and cranny where you will continue to find them for the rest of the year.

8. Expected goodwill. It may be the season of goodwill, but that’s no reason to turn up on my doorstep reciting carols or praising the power of God. There is a limit to my goodwill, even at Christmas. (PS. "We wish you a Merry Christmas" is not a carol, especially when sung by small boys holding out their hands for money on my doorstep when I'm in the middle of watching a good film!)

9. The bottomless pit of spending. Every year we budget. Every year it goes out of the window. Wouldn’t it be so much better if we just spent money on ourselves at Christmas, rather than buying naff presents for others? That way we’d all get exactly what we wanted, with no overspends.

10. Foul weather. As if thing’s weren’t bad enough, it’s bloomin’ freezing, it’s dark at 5 o’clock and it rains a lot. None of that aforementioned snow that advertisers keep producing - Christmas is just cold and rainy. Bah humbug!

11. Everyone is so over-excited about Christmas that my birthday (and my sister's Birthday) on 26th(Boxing Day) is completely overlooked (except by a small select group of friends and family).