Gripe of the day - What is yours?

[redtrummy]

But its self regulating, Magpies reduce numbers of song birds so then not enough food to feed their chicks so then the magpie chicks starve and their numbers reduce. - different of course to a non native species such as the rat finding itself on an island that's a sea bird colony without any natural predators.
Which brings to mind 'Sea room' a book by Adam Nicholson after he inherited the Shiant Isles off the Outer Hebrides - there a successful culling of the brown rat has restored the status quo.

[DJ123]

BMW Vines Motorrad, Guildford.

I booked in to get a BikeTrac tracker fitted 2 weeks ago.

I paid for the tracker online - which includes fitting & 1 year subscription. It was sent to them directly (approved fitter on the website) & i called them directly to get it booked in for this service. I am told to arrive between 8-10 as they need the bike all day (even though it's <2 hours to install).

I arrive at 8am on the dot (which involved me getting up at 6.30, to load Bike on to the trailer, and sit in rush hour traffic). I speak to someone to book it in and the conversation goes something like;
Me; Hi, i'm here to drop off my bike to get a BikeTrac tracker fitted
Them; Oh, we'll fit a tracker but it'll be the BMW/Scorpion one
Me; no, i have paid for a BikeTrac one which has been delivered here last week - as per the notes/advise i gave when booking it in
Them; oh, let me go check - subsequently finds it and says there was no reference it was for me/this booking. Despite the package having my name on it and the reference number on a packing slip
Me; ok, so i get a call when its done.
Them; yes, then you'll need to pay the labour. Shouldn't be more than 2 hours.
Me; No. i've paid for installation as part of the package.
Them; i'm not sure how this works - but we'll call you later.

I get home and call BikeTrac to enlighten them about the incompetent service received, and they advised the dealer called them to ask how this all works regarding the tracker, installation & how they get paid. They advised them fairly bluntly how it works (and they should know being an approved installer - for which you need to apply for).

Get a call at 4pm (me thinking it was ready). Nope. Only just gone into the workshop.......and won't be ready today.

It's a dealer i've not used for years, because they were terrible before. Seems like that's not changed and i'll not be taking my services back there. And subsequently didn't order the parts i wanted for the Bike too - i'll get those from my regular dealer who understands customer service.

[Adam Ef]

I enquired about a bike that Vines had a while back and they then didn't leave me alone for months afterwards. Very aggressive sales techniques and the guy I spoke to just wanted to tell me that they are in competition with Marshall to be the top quantity BMW seller in the country. Sounds like it's quantity not quality with them.


I had a bad feeling when I spoke to them. Gave off a very aggressive vibe.


+ If you're fitting a tracker on a BMW then make sure you keep it on a battery tender. They are notorious for losing batteries to trackers even within a couple of weeks.

[DJ123]

Originally Posted by Adam Ef

I enquired about a bike that Vines had a while back and they then didn't leave me alone for months afterwards. Very aggressive sales techniques and the guy I spoke to just wanted to tell me that they are in competition with Marshall to be the top quantity BMW seller in the country. Sounds like it's quantity not quality with them.


I had a bad feeling when I spoke to them. Gave off a very aggressive vibe.


+ If you're fitting a tracker on a BMW then make sure you keep it on a battery tender. They are notorious for losing batteries to trackers even within a couple of weeks.

Yup. They're not my choice by any means.

The tracker i've gone for has an independent battery good for a while on its own. It will slightly draw from the main battery but only slightly -and it also updates on low battery warnings too (which i can set the parameter to.

"BikeTrac draws power from its own internal battery when the bike’s off, and when that drops by about 15% (the company says this can be as long as two weeks), we’re told it will draw just 4-8mA from your bike for only around 15 minutes."

Thankfully i ride my Bike at least once a week so it should be all ok from that perspective.

[Seeker]

A political gripe, sorry.

I am griping over our PM breaking a treaty that he negotiated. Is it breaking the law? Since he's cagey about where he got his legal advice it is unclear but if it is then the "lessons learned" from Partygate didn't last long. The opposition parties, the EU and Washington don't like it. (Putin might though).

The question is why did he sign a treaty when he was warned it would be detrimental to the UK's (trade) unity? It implies that he never intended to follow it anyway, perhaps. I still listen to people interviewed on tv saying that he "Got brexit done" and "got us through the pandemic" yet here we are. Brexit isn't done and we have had 170,000+ deaths from covid.

It was a civil war within the Conservative Party that started the whole Brexit debacle and it looks like this war is set to continue to affect/ruin our lives. Seems a lot of strife for blue passports and more powerful vacuum cleaners. The state of the country is just collateral damage to their bickering.

The pound dropped to $1.21 yesterday (it was $1.36 a few months ago) because of the threat of recession and a trade war which will push up our oil/petrol prices further (on the plus side my pension is paid in dollars, so there is that, I suppose).

[Craig380]

"Britain faces a simple and inescapable choice - stability and strong Government with me, or chaos with Ed Miliband." Cameron's words in 2015 have really aged well, haven't they?

[Bibio]

dont worry Seeker. if history tells us something then the tories are doomed at the next election. you/we can then blame the new party for all the problems

i still think we are ALL better off than we were in the 70's, that was grim... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...t-17-cent.html and we all had to get on with it without food banks and such like.

[svenrico]

Originally Posted by Seeker

A political gripe, sorry.

I am griping over our PM breaking a treaty that he negotiated. Is it breaking the law? Since he's cagey about where he got his legal advice it is unclear but if it is then the "lessons learned" from Partygate didn't last long. The opposition parties, the EU and Washington don't like it. (Putin might though).

The question is why did he sign a treaty when he was warned it would be detrimental to the UK's (trade) unity? It implies that he never intended to follow it anyway, perhaps. I still listen to people interviewed on tv saying that he "Got brexit done" and "got us through the pandemic" yet here we are. Brexit isn't done and we have had 170,000+ deaths from covid.

It was a civil war within the Conservative Party that started the whole Brexit debacle and it looks like this war is set to continue to affect/ruin our lives. Seems a lot of strife for blue passports and more powerful vacuum cleaners. The state of the country is just collateral damage to their bickering.

The pound dropped to $1.21 yesterday (it was $1.36 a few months ago) because of the threat of recession and a trade war which will push up our oil/petrol prices further (on the plus side my pension is paid in dollars, so there is that, I suppose).

What was the point of it all, 'taking back control' to then create a border within the uk ?! Bloody stupid, and what have we gained ? A lot of disruption,uncertainty and chaos more like.

[svenrico]

Originally Posted by Bibio

dont worry Seeker. if history tells us something then the tories are doomed at the next election. you/we can then blame the new party for all the problems

i still think we are ALL better off than we were in the 70's, that was grim... https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...t-17-cent.html and we all had to get on with it without food banks and such like.

yes,the 70's weren't that good in a lot of ways as well as the stupid fashions !

[redtrummy]

But some great singer/songwriters