Model Shop Service

[kungpo]

Thank god I'm not the only one. I'm guessing a lot of people here use them.

@phil485 - thanks - I'll take you up on that when she's ready

I'll wander over to the Slough club - I just hope members there aren't like the guys in the shop.

[phil485]

do you know how to find them? Down by the rugby club on Upton Park just off Upton Court road. (51.49669,-0.57802 on google maps) There are even some planes in the pits if you look on google maps...

[extreme3d]

If you want an additional hand after christmas, PM me, I live just down the road I could introduce to the guys I fly with over in Harlington.

[Lyfe]

Has anyone got any experience of the Slough club? I could do with a hand with mine as well, but the Slough club website seems to have endless rules, but generally you cant learn to fly there unless one of their few heli guys is willing (and has equipment able to) buddy with you.

I'm waiting for a drier day to go visit them, but would welcome any information about any clubs or indivuals who actively welcome beginners with cheap kit.

On a seperate note, I have a vibration issue (poor blade alignment after a blade strike) and an unpredicable left spin once every few minutes that I'd pay someone to give an opinion on... This is a cheap eBay Belt CP.

I tried to learn a kit nitro about 10 years back - which cost the earth and never flew in my hands, so I learn a lession about budget kit while crashing/learning. I can hover a predictable aircraft, but am struggling with technical issues I simply dont have the knowledge for yet.

On the up side, I'm learning the aircraft nicely!

[phil485]

Not actually been a member there. i've popped up once or twice for a look see and they seem a friendly enough bunch. They fly on some playing fields where the public could easily wonder so I can understand some of the rules i suppose. Worth going down when they are flying and see. Alternatively extreme3D flies near harlington. I am a member of a club in woking but I think it is full at the moment..

[Lyfe]

Do Extreme3D have a website or anything?

How come theres a limit on membership? Is it a small field or an extremely popular club?

I'll go visit Slough RC when its a bit dryer and they are likely to be flying. Posted on their forums in the meantime, but I dont think many of their members are into PCs

[phil485]

Sorry Extreme3d is another user on here, posted a bit higher on this thread.

small field, they like to keep the numbers down. To be honest I'm the only regular one with a 50 size heli.....

[Lyfe]

Fair enough!

If you guys ever feel theres a space for a newbie, please let me know... even if its just a couple of times for me to grab a bit of advice and to point out what I've bent this time and why!

The rest of the guys fly 60es and 90es then?

[G-DAVE]

Don't be to quick to judge

guys, lets look at this in a couple of lights.

i have seen the exact same behaviour at my LHS. you would be surprised i think how many people buy junk from other places (not saying this is junk you have and i note you bought stuff there) and then walk into a shop and expect them to fix it for nothing. now i used to think the same as yourself and say they should offer to fix it and perhaps the customer will come back for their parts and the shop will gain long term. however my LHS owner assures me this is not the case and be lucky if 2 out of 10 return yet they have to take time out to fix something they never sold in the first place.

another problem my own LHS seen was they repaired a heli that was purchased from ebay and the owner took it and promtly smashed it into his garage wall. ofcourse it wasn't he couldn't fly it was this shops fault it was setup wrong. this happened on a busy saturday afternoon with proper customers in the shop which couldn't have looked good as this guy went off on a major rant.

i hope you get the heli sorted and if you feel not going to your LHS is the answer then thats fair enough and no one can argue your reasons and i do think they should have atleast setup the parts you bought there.

cheers

I agree with all above - thanks raptorheli2 saved me the effort of typeing it out.
Dave

[connoleg]

I just went into my local shop, and the service made me feel like a right knob.

The guy seemed to get real pleasure in making me look stupid.

Unfortunately there is a lot of this kind of behaviour around especially some of the smaller shops. I for example, have three shops near to where I live and out of the three only one is what I'd term "beginner friendly". The other two seemed to delight in my lack of understanding when I first started out. The one that stands out is Moor Models in Harlow, who are really helpful. They don't stock a huge range of heli stuff but will always order in and they give a bit of discount.

I brought my first heli from them which was a Rappy 30, the guy Richard was brilliant, he explained all the bits i'd need and said to take it back when I had built it so he could check it over and set up with the radio. He then arranged to take me to the flying field and where he test flew it for me and let me have a little hover. Then he introduced me to Harlow Model Flying Club.

The guy certainly has the right attitude towards beginners and proved that there are good shops & people out there wanting to share the knowledge. Shame on the others.

[phil485]

Lyfe,,

no it's a plank club, no other heli's at all.

Another thumbs up for Moor Models from me too... great little shop

[Lyfe]

I'd say both G-Dave AND connoleg are right...

LHS are in it for the money - which is fair enough - it IS a business and my company certainly doesnt offer its services for free - I've seen the profit margins! They offer the convenience of immediate parts and the "touch" factor where you get to look and feel a product before purchase and also see other stuff you didnt even know existed!

If we are talking about the same Slough shop, I've bought some bits there - kinda impressed them with some of my gadgets - and have nothing bad to say about them, so my next comment is not directed at them.

However, I have seen LMS suffer the same fate as many Local Computer Shops, where you get "god" syndrome. Without going into my professional background - assume I know a little about IT... You end up in a desperate situation for a part right now, nip in and get told the biggest bunch of BS or overhear them serving another customer and virtually making stuff up. Its my opinion that they are so used to illiterate customers who bask in their knowledge that they start to think they actually know IT whereas if they did, they would be earning 3 times the salary in a proper networking position.

Sorry for the brief rant, I really dislike poor innocent consumers, paying over the odds for equipment that isnt really suitible, required or being given poor advice from someone with no training or experience... and then get carried away.

Anyway the point being, you get good model shops where you pay higher than internet prices - but get something for the price increase, and then you get model shops where because you dont have the parts _they_ have chosen to stock, you are a complete fool, arent worthy to be in the shop and should immediately replace all your equipment!

[connoleg]

I think the little shops miss the point, if they can't compete on price then they must compete on service, not try to ridicule beginners. If you get good service and are not ripped off on price then you'll be a frequent purchaser. Its interesting that you'd expect the bigger internet shops to be less interested in service but I have found the opposite. I have had excellent customer service from RealRaptors, Fast-Lad and Skyline, often going out of their way to provide next day parts when the ground has hit my heli's!!

[bcphill]

My first contact with my local model shop in birmingham was to buy pheonix. I telephoned at first and got told that they had no stock but it would be in later that day (thurs) Phoned fri am and told no stock but it was due in later that day Fri. Left my phone number and told i definately wanted it and even offered to pay in advance. No need... Phoned sat am guess what not in stock ( at this point didnt tell them i had phoned before)... Left it till monday same again. The phone call i made tuesday got a different response. " We have only got one copy left ...what model did you want to use with it. Blade cx2 i said. "Ah well you need a special cable (Bullshit) which we dont have.

So a couple of hours later i phoned again and spoke to a different person.
"Yes sir we have one copy in stock but a customer phoned last week and said he wanted it. I,ll phone him now. If you phone back in 10 mins i,ll let you know if he still wants it" OK i said. I expected my phone to ring as i was the customer who phoned last week. No such luck. So i phoned yet again and told him who i was. he said sorry sir i forgot to phone you. yes we have a copy left. I said do i need a special cable for the cx2. No sir the one that come with it fits directly.
I finally went up and spent my money as i was too tired to argue at this point.

Now i dont think £80 is a bad price for a new customer to spend in the shop and it may have lead to other purchases. But i will seriously think about buying from this shop if they give me bull or dont know what they are talking about. I dunno its probally my cinical viewpoint but i just got the impression that they were only interested in big spending known club members more than the little guy. Whay did they suddenly get stock and run out within 24hrs or is there some clique.
Not impressed. Glad forums exist like this for proper advice.

Phill

[simm0]

to be honest guys i sort of agree with the shop.your say you went in for advice and they mentioned going to where you purchased you products.
thats a fair comment i recon.but they have no place making you feel stupid(or trying to)but i agree this is one thing you should consider when purchasing full stop..service in everything and its the shops duty to provide customer service after selling you your helicopter etc..cus your not a customer till that time.
i dont sell trex stuff,,but if you came in my shop i would have been more than happy to sell you a setup..and a little free advice(a little)because after that i may have said a the same thing
thats like buying a telly from argos then going to comet for tuning(setup help)that stinks guys
and internet sales is ok for the man who knows everything but the beginner need a local shop for help
cheers craig