Piggin Argos again!

[Bob Martin]

Pembroke to Canterbury via France in 40 minutes? I thought Concorde had been retired?

[Dave Liquorice]

I don't have a problem with that policy, it enables you to properly test= the kit in your enviroment with your systems. Computer stuff being what = it is this is the only real way to see if it will work properly...

Yes it would be nice to have the abilty to bring in a disc with a few sample images stuff them into an in store 'puter then print on a selecti= on of the in store printers but that is only have the story.

The problem is what the store does with any returns. Sealing back up, an= d putting back on the shelf "as new" is morally if not legally wrong. Sealing back up and putting back on the shelf as a "customer return" and= =A320 or =A350 off the price is fine and despite any disclaimers the sto= re may have about no returns I don't that such terms are enforceable under

*consumer* legislation. Business to business might be different.

[Howard Neil]

If the store leaves the makers ' seals intact, that is. You will notice that all such seals are removed from goods sold by DSG, even the genuine new stock.

[Dave Liquorice]

Can't say I've noticed I rarely visit DSG outlets unless bored and have some time to kill.

[Rod]

Agreed - for the person who gets a brand new item to test.

They didn't even have a single sheet of manufacturer's sample output. Nor a single printer that was connected to power.

Absolutely. Especially if the package doesn't even include all the bits it should.

[Bob Eager]

You have to know the geography! 'Pembroke' is the old naval base in Chatham, 30 miles from home. The Sea France strike caused the M20 to be closed, other roads to become clogged and the M2 (my route home) to come to a standstill!

[ARWadworth]

I am not sure what a "normal life" is. This week I am subbing for a LA (there are still some LAs in Yorkshire I am not banned from working for). It would seem a "normal life" for most tennants is watching TV all day and using the shopping channels.

Adam

[Andy Hall]

What did you do to the others?

[Mark]

And its now a bit late for a useful New Years resolution

-

[Bob Martin]

I grew up in Sittingbourne so knew HMS Pembroke was at Chatham(*) but I thought everything naval had gone from Chatham and Sheerness many moons ago. What's there now?

(*) Lost 2 friends when the bus ran down the Sea Cadets.

[Bob Eager]

Universities at Medway! A shared campus with secondary campus for University of Kent (me), also Greenwich and Christ Church Canterbury. Greenwich use the old buildings mainly, Kent have two new ones, and Christchurch have a big new building.

The Drill Hall is now a library (longest one in Europe apparently) and the mess hall (I think) is now - a mess hall! These are shared.

I find it weird working there as my father, before he died, was involved for many years regionally with Sea Cadets and Marine cadets, and I keep thinking that he's seen all these places many times in the base's previous incarnation.

[Man at B&Q]

If buying B2B you have no or very few rights under the Sale of Goods Act. That's why the till staff at PC World ask if you are buying for a business. Just say no.

MBQ

[Dave Baker]

There was a case some time ago, maybe in uk.legal, and I think it was Argos where a customer bought something, found it had been opened previously and it wasn't even the advertised bit of kit inside the box any longer. When they took it back the store manager accused them of swapping the original goods for this cheaper item rather than whoever had bought it previously despite having not a shred of evidence to back this up. He called the police and the hapless customer was arrested and charged with theft or fraud which dragged on until it was established that the goods had been the subject of a previous return. Bollocks to that I thought. It's grief enough to find you haven't bought what you thought you had without getting marched off to a police station into the bargain through no fault of your own.

From now on I think I'll open anything I buy in front of the salesman before accepting it.

[ARWadworth]

Made a full list of the extras I did along with the number of hours wasted due to their incompetence and billed them. When they did not pay I then threatened them with small cailms court and in one case had to issuse a claim.

There was one LA that stopped using me after an argument because I parked in the wrong spot in a depot. It was not enough for me to just move the van as I had parked in Bill's place.

Adam

[Andy Hall]

This is another demonstration of why all these people should be issued with a P45. Immediately.

They have no concept of the cost of time. People that don't respect that concept are not worth supplyng anyway

[The Medway Handyman]

Also the housing development St Marys Island

[ARWadworth]

It is not their time. It is the council taxpayers time and money.

A friend of mine lives in a council house and she is having a new bathroom fitted. The council have been at this for over two weeks now and most of the different trades that have arrived have left a note saying they cannot gain access and can she call them to arrange a convenient time. The reason she is not in is because she works full time and a key for the house was left with the site foreman.

A good waste of time was sending an electrician to remove the radiator earth clamp so the plumbers could call the next day to remove the radiator to allow the plasterers to plaster the wall. That exercise took 5 days in total. I know self employed plasterers that would have whipped the rad off and done the job in one day.

On the plus side only one tile has been put on upside down.

If all council workmen were made to go self employed the job would be done properly in half the time.

Adam

[Andy Hall]

That;s true as well. From your perspective as a supplier, they havedicked around and wasted your time. There is a cost associated with that. The disconnect is that they don't realise that there is a cost because time doesn't enter into their pathetic world.

That may be true. The real answer is cancellation of final salary pension schemes and mass sackings from local authorities. Draconian measures like this are required to focuse the mind, There is no point at all in fannying around at the edges. Sicing through the carotid with immediate effect is needed.

[Clot]

I wouldn't go quite as far as that, but properly funded pensions in the State sector must be created. The present mess of insufficiently funded atate schemes being supported by the tax payer must be resolved.

[Andy Hall]

Ideally by closing them all.