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TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGING

SEASONAL GROUSE or Just Talking Turkey.

BANKS.
Currently one reads of Cyber this and Black something else, and the trouble the former seemed to cause to The Royal Bank of Scotland's Clients when they tried to use an ATM or merely debit their accounts. Today I tried to pay a cheque in to someone else's Bank Account at the HSBC in Salisbury, a feat that the Manager of the Bank had to effect on my behalf because the Paying-in machine, having asked me if I needed more time and received an affirmative answer, decided that enough time was enough time. Before requesting to see the Manager, one thought to give the only two Tellers a whirl. Alas there is only a certain amount of work either can do, and the queue for their Services long. There are some such as I, who do not meekly accept such under- staffing in a Bank, and have no fear about raising a 'Clameur de Haro' all be it to the embarrassment of others. The penultimate old man in the queue reckoned that I should be more patient, however there were others who considered the Service offered by the Bank, inadequate, as too the levels of privacy afforded to their personal transactions. Its nice to have free banking, nice too that the more fortunate seemingly can enjoy Club Class Facilities, but what one needs is a better Rate on ones savings than a half of one per cent, and too a faster Service. A while back one of our Bank Managers came to tea, thinking to offer Financial Advice. Nice young fellow but not sure what he thought his advice might be worth, especially as Accounting and Consulting Associates advice that one shouldn't accept advice from a Bank, nor incidentally ever allow a Bank to be an Executor of one's Estate, when ones time comes.

SHOP OR INTERNET ? One needed to replace a kitchen Hob, and found something that might meet the need at Currys in Salisbury. Well when I say at, there was a choice of two and neither was to be found in Store. However of course they would deliver one sine die. at a cost of ' £22 Sir'. Do others accept such nonsense ? £22 for an item one might easily have on ones lap in a bus, if one didn't have a motor car. Naturally one wasn't going to pay an effective 10% surcharge on the item for delivery ,so said that I would pick it up from the Store. Oh no they couldn't allow that. My answer to that was that I would buy the hob elsewhere. Only then was I advised it would be delivered free if one waited until December 15th. How appalling the English Shopping experience if compared to that in say France. I recall cycling into a local town there to buy a Cooker and receiving an apology that they wouldn't be able to deliver it before Lunch. Incidentally concerning that effective 10% mentioned. The Hob in the shop was ticketed at £ 170 pounds odd. We had the detail printed out for us only to find when we'd left the shop that the printed out price was £ 207. We returned to the shop and it was explained that there was a discount involved 'if '! That was all fine enough but having today again expressed our acquiescence to the 'if', I bought the hob, only to find that my Bank Card had been debited with the full £207. After a whole lot of computation I was assured that my Debit Card had been re- credited with £30. What would have happened had one not noted the problem with the discount? Maybe had my friend in the Bank Queue been similarly disadvantaged he would have exercised Patience and said nothing. How frightfully English that would have been. Possibly its such an attitude that encourages poor service. All manner of places offer this Hob for £207 with free delivery (eg John Lewis, Debenhams) Anyone know what happened to that store called Comet ?

Well what with all that Jingling of Christmas Till Bells in my ear, I thought to investigate the matter of those in car CCTV journey Recorders. Well Curry's had none, although electronics is their trade, so it was that one went to an even more specialist electronics retailer called Maplins close by. They couldn't find any, but they had a good selection available on line. It did occur to me that what with the occasional Sat Nav, Telephone, and CCTV it might be a good idea to buy a triple adaptor for the 'Cigarette' Lighter socket on the car. They had one of those but not only did it cost four times more than a basically not dissimilar one on the internet cost, but it didn't have a USB socket on it (GEEK TALK) Thus it was one asked of cctv at Halfords, they did have three models of the same maker, none of which met my need.

Chaps do not shop much for themselves however those of us who do, resort to the Internet more and more. There on, is a better selection of goods, which tend to arrive the next day if one has played one's cards right, such Goods are usually cheaper. I suppose they would be, for on line retailers have fewer overheads. Regrettably times are a changing. Either Retailers need to get their acts together, or go the way of all Comets. Surely it can be only the fittest that survive.
'Too many shops, sell too little to too few occasional clients.' {WSS ?}
Personally can not afford to subsidise any of them wherever located.

The Business my Family owned Father to son for c. 200 years , advertised in 1930, to Mr. Punch's bemusement that it had removed every Vicar of Hammersmith for 120 years. Even so when in the late 1960's it was deemed that its game was no longer worth the candle, it was closed, its premises being now better known as a part of Sainsburys Acton Lane, and the M4 Flyover. Some months back the Hammersmith and Fulham Gazette enquired whether anyone had ever heard of 'our' firm. Seemingly I was the only person who replied. C'est la Vie.

contact : John B. Pope