Weather. Jessops and what's to come

27 January 2013

Why oh why can't the weather forecasters at the BEEB at least try to get things right.  Today would be an ideal day to go off birding but according to the forecast yesterday it is supposed to be wall to wall rain today.  Right now we have bright sunlight and I could have got out.  Tomorrow is for rain again from around midday - but how can we trust it?  we can't!

It was good to get out and we Jan yesterday.  We did a little shopping but mainly it was just so we could out together for a couple of hours.  However, I did buy two magazines; AP and Computeractive.  AP is a regular buy while Computeractive is an occasional buy.  AP has a rather long article about the closure of Jessops camera shops.  Jessops have been in trouble for quite some time and those of us who have been keeping an eye on things are not all that surprised that they have finally hit the brick wall.  Their problems were many but first began when the aggressively bought up a lot of smaller retail camera chains and shops with the attendant effects on their finances.  

They also had problems when it came to ordering and delivery of kit for customers.  Part of that was because of the small size of many of their shops.  Being so physically small they couldn't carry a large stock of kit.  I was in the Dorktown shop one day and a rather irate customer came in asking where his new lens was.  He had ordered and paid for it weeks earlier ready for a holiday he was due to leave on three days later.  The staff couldn't say if the lens would be delivered in time.  He cancelled but couldn't get his money back because they didn't have that much in their till.  I was there looking at buying a new company camera that day; I left and bought one from  Dixons instead.

The level of their customer service was so variable.  The best one I went to was in Bolton; the worst was in Dorktown.  The Coventry branch was good with friendly knowledgeable staff helpful; the city centre branch in Brum was appalling.  The staff there didn't have clue what they were talking about and were trying hard to sell Nikon gear as opposed to whatever the customer wanted, even down to telling outright lies!  I prefer to think they were mistaken than actually telling lies - but who knows?  And so it went on until this month.

All of this meant that I was unwilling to do any major shopping with them.  If I needed a new memory card in a rush or a now bag or tripod I would buy from there.  But major items I always bought from www.warehouseexpress.com  where the service was always first class; and usually cheaper too.  Now that Jessops have gone bust customers waiting for orders won't get their gear or their money back.  But what about warranty repairs?  Here in the UK if anything goes wrong with your purchase the first port of call is the retailer, but they no longer exist, so what happens then?  Very sad all round I'm afraid.  Sad but expected.  And perhaps that is what ultimately lead to their downfall.

So now it's photo time ... Seeing as it's still cold out there, here's a reminder of what is to come later in the year ...

This guy was on the beach at Southsea.  I'm not sure if he had had a few drinks under his belt, but I couldn't have been very comfy on those stones!

Funny time ...

A couple are on their honeymoon, lying in bed, about ready to consummate their marriage, when the new bride says to the husband, "I have a confession to make, I'm not a virgin."
The husband replies, "That's no big thing in this day and age."
The wife continues, "Yeah, I've been with one guy."
"Oh yeah? Who was the guy?"
"Tiger Woods."
"Tiger Woods, the golfer?"
"Yeah."
"Well, he's rich, famous and handsome. I can see why you went to bed with him."
The husband and wife then make passionate love.
When they are done, the husband gets up and walks to the telephone.
"What are you doing?" asks the wife.
The husband says, "I'm hungry, I was going to call room service and get something to eat."
"Tiger wouldn't do that."
"Oh yeah? What would Tiger do?"
"He'd come back to bed and do it a second time."
The husband puts down the phone and goes back to bed to make love a second time.
When they finish, he gets up and goes over to the phone. "Now what are you doing?" she asks.
The husband says, "I'm still hungry so I was going to get room service to get something to eat."
"Tiger wouldn't do that."
"Oh yeah? What would tiger do?"
"He'd come back to bed and do it again."
The guy slams down the phone, goes back to bed, and makes love one more time.
When they finish he's tired and beat. He drags himself over to the phone and starts to dial.
The wife asks, "Are you calling room service?"
"No! I'm calling Tiger Woods, to find out what the par is for this damn hole."