Lousy service on the continent!!!

[swanny]

Man!! Trying to get a price or even find a dealer on the web for a Goiot 314 anchor windlass! It amazes me how they sell any at all!! Their website presents a dealer network as usual but not one shows this product and the French websites....forget it. You see, at the mo I am based in Denmark and I often end up buying stuff from the UK as the service and price are far superior. I am not one of those British Bulldogs who can't intigrate abroad, far from it - German Girlfriend/friends/work colleagues/Danish kids etc but boy Germany is in the dark ages as far as customer service and telephone purchases are concerned. Tried buying a cooker the other day, lousy descriptions, inaccurate dimensions!!!!! One site wanted my full bank details on the web so he can take the money from my account! it was the only way I could buy from his website and this was a large swindelry website. Most will only accept a bank transfer, I have not used one where I can pay with credit card - can't find one. Limited interest on the telephone, assuming you can get a number to call!! PahHHH!!! .........Ok, feel better now....I think....... Could be the stress of fitting new engine, new sails, new furler, new upholstery, new Refleks diesel heater, running rigging, deck fittings, rewiring mast, new cooker and work top...........all donations gratefully received. Anyway, where can I locate a dealer for a ELECTRIC Goiot anchor windlass.? Phew!

 

[Anchorite]

Re: It ain\'t necessarily so

Have you tried in Denmark? This list comes from the Navimo group site (Goiot is a member): in France Goiot is now distributed through Bernard (wholesale only): you could try ACCASTILLAGE DIFFUSION (France's biggest chandlery chain): you can order via their site and they will deliver:
www.accastillage-diffusion.com
They have the 300 series in their 2007 catalogue (1000 watt model is/was 1459 euros).

ALLES YACHT - WIEN - AutricheMARINE SERVICE - WIEN - AutricheWERKHOF DISKONTMARIN GMBH & CO KG - WIEN - AutricheNAVELA D.O.O - PULA - CroatiaEMANAKO LTD - LARNACA CYPRUS - CyprusINTERYACHTING LTD - LIMASSOL - CyprusF.A.S. ING. LIBOR ZARUBA - PRAGUE 6 - Czech RepublicNAVIMO NORDIC AB - HENAN (SWEDEN) - DenmarkNAVIMO NORDIC AB - HENAN (SWEDEN) - FinlandALLPA GmbH - NIJMEGEN (NL) - GermanyAP MARINE - THESSALONIKI - GreeceMARINE YACHT SPORT - BUDAPEST - HungaryBJ MARINE LTD - DUBLIN - IrelandFISCHELES LTD - HAIFA - IsraelYAMIT YSB LTD - TEL-AVIV - IsraelG & G RIGGING - SESTO SGIOVANNI (MI) - ItalyNUOVA RADE SPA - CASELLA (ITALIA) - ItalyEMC-LATVIA LTD - RIGA LATVIA - LatviaD'AGATA MARINE LTD - GZIRA - MaltaALLPA VERSCHUUR BV - NIJMEGEN - NetherlandsMAJER SP ZOO - WARSZAWA - PolandSIROCO REPRESENTACOES - 2710-089 ABRUNHEIRA SINTRA - PortugalDYNEEMA CONTRACTS LIMITED - TYUMEN - Russian FederationDISMARINA MEDITERRANEA SL (SDA dealer) - CARDEDEU - SpainNAVIMO ESPANA, SA - CABRERA DE MAR (Barcelona) - SpainNAVIMO NORDIC AB - HENAN - SwedenBANTLE ISB SA - VERSOIX - SwitzerlandORIYANA SHIPYARD - KIEV - UkraineBAINBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL UK (SDA dealer) - SOUTHAMPTON - United KingdomKENNETH RYLAND - - United KingdomXM YACHTING - HEDGE END, HANTS (UK) - United Kingdom

 

[swanny]

Re: It ain\'t necessarily so

I am ashamed..........thanks, I will give it another go....red mist must blind me sometimes.

 

[Tranona]

Re: It ain\'t necessarily so

If it is so much hassle trying to get that make, why not try a Lofrans, Lewmar or Quick, all of which are available from any of the main UK mail order folks!

 

[john_morris_uk]

The way it was explained to me once is that the Germans are in love with cash. All to do with some deep memories of the hyperinflation of pre-war years and the finances of the country all going wrong. What I don't understand is why they went over the Euro so easily, although I believe that a few older Germans still mourn the Mark.

 

[Koeketiene]

On the continent - if you can pay cash, you're treated like royalty.
And it often works wonders - I've experienced 30% reductions in price /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Don't think it's so much the memory of hyper-inflation, as hiding transactions from the government and it's thieving mits. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

As to attitude to the Euro - most Europeans now accept it as a fact, but I think it will be the next generation that will truly 'live with it'. Most people I know over 35 still convert everything to francs, pesetas, guilders, marks...

 

[swanny]

It isn't so much the payment methods that grate but the attitude to service, particularly in Germany. Don't get me wrong, I like Germany, generally I think the German people are great, fun and friendly - But service! Traditional hard sell occupations such as car sales or insurance tend to follow up with reasonable service but passive sales on the web appear to be like hobby occupations. I often imagine the guy I am talking to on the telephone to be flicking through the tv channels, rolling his eyes to his buddy as he curtly explains to me in an accusatory tone that the payment method is to eliminate dodgy payments. Cash is good here but on a few occasions the response to a discount request or perhaps a lower bid on a vehicle or house has resulted in such shock, horror and complete indignance I thought I would be single handedly responsible for WWIII. In a small moment of triumph, the house seller crawled back to me, sheepishly suggesting his response a few months earlier might just have been a tad overstated and would I......?......maybe......???.....interested still???.........I was not. Estate Agents take the biscuit though. They take 3.57% from you if you BUY a house from them! They give out limited information about the properties and simply will not give you the address so you can do a drive by to see if you like the area. "People here don't want lots of strangers driving past their house looking at them" Unquote. Odd, considering it's those very same strangers who might just be the one to buy it. Lack of trust? I think perhaps it is still simply a matter of trust. In the UK we appear to have embraced the internet wholeheartedly and trust it now as much as any other retail medium. Over here there is still the thought that on every transaction there is the risk the web fairies will ker-ching your gelt away with every click of the Enter button. To sum up, ask any German what the colour of his flag is and they will answer, Black, Red and Gold!....of course. Now forgive me, I have looked at this flag for years and I swear I cannot find any Gold anywhere on it, in it, around it....anywhere. Most German sloops here look much like Ketches due to the sheer size of the national flag they trawl behind them. And just in case I get bombarded with racist accusations, I wll add also that there are many aspects to life and the people here that I love and compare favourably and similarly to home - not least the Baltic sailing and sociable marinas.I guess it's all about how we see ourselves and right now my German girlfriend is looking at me with a withering look which suggests that it will be a long time before intimate German/English relations will resume in this household!!!

 

[castaway]

You want crap service ?

Try Citer (National) Car hire in France...Still trying to get a refund for the car I hired in Cherbourg at the begining of August 07.

The car packed up with a knackered clutch miles from 'home'..after months of ignoring my emails and phone calls they have moved on to telling me that I should be glad they didn't charge me for a new clutch !!

Only 70 quid for 2 days hire, but it makes my blood boil !!

Nick

 

[VictorII]

I'm 39 and I convert only amounts over 1 million Euros to B-Francs. Perhaps because I don't often use these amounts. But I've often managed budgets up to 100,000 Euros so this probably makes me an exception.

For work purpose only, these budgets. Privately I only manage whatever is left after the bills for the boat are paid. Therefore I'm really good with Eurocents.

 

[Dyflin]

TBH, I don't know of anyone who converts euro to the old money. Probably just scurrilous rumours put out by euro-sceptics /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

[Koeketiene]

My wife does - every time we're back in Belgium.
Lots of relatives do. Spanish people I work with still do. When we were in Barcelona a couple of weeks ago I saw quite a few items priced in Euro & Peseta.

I suppose it's different when you have to deal with the Euro every day.
When we left Belgium in '99 it was all francs - we never experienced the transition first hand. So, when we go back we still convert everything to francs.
When I left a beer was 35 or 40 francs - now it's Euro 1.60 (65 francs). Scary, or what?

 

[vyv_cox]

Re: It ain\'t necessarily so

I have been trying for days to order something from Accastillage-Diffusion. Their website accepted my card details but their order tracking system doesn't find it. I have e-mailed 'my representative' in their Dunkerque office to no effect. My bank account doesn't show the deduction.

 

[wagenaar]

It depends a lot on the country if people still convert back to their old currency. In Holland people seem to think in euros and not in guilders. In Spain everyone still converts back to pesetas. This is particularly true for "large" amounts of money, such the prices of houses, boats and cars, where the prices are often quoted in millions of pesetas ( 1 million pesetas = 6000 euros)