TimR

Since the subject is customer service the answer is: It really doesn't matter how long each item takes or in what order the items are delivered in. What matters is that the customer is informed on the estimated delivery time before he places the order. If I order a lead and they say two weeks and my gig is in 4 weeks, It really doesn't matter.

And there we go... At the end of the gig on Saturday I'm left standing staring a pile of 'kettle' leads. 14 in total. All of them 0.75mm. I know one of them is for my amp and 4 of them are for my lights. The others belong to the guitarist, PA, smoke machine and Laser. This is why it becomes a bit of nonesense to fuse each lead depending on the device. People will just grab a lead without understanding they're different. I'm now left searching for my 3amp/5amp leads and my 10amp/13amp leads. Otherwise I'm going to blow a 3amp lead next time we use it on an amplifier. Time for some labelling?

[quote name='Nibody' timestamp='1431960662' post='2776614'] Is it? I just don't get.. The comparison is in both cases someone did something wrong... So any time someone providing a service does something monumentally wrong we should put up and shut up? Total b***s. Just about sums up these forums these days. Used to be a lovely place. [/quote] It still is a lovely place. I think somehow you have confused 'monumentally wrong' and 'trying your best to help' as two separate things. Relax.

Tonight is Keyboards. Deep Purple, ELP, Yes, and Genesis. Interview is with Tony Banks (Genesis). Should be a good one.

[quote name='mentalextra' timestamp='1431874031' post='2775743'] 60 parcels a day! Round my way the drivers have over 120 parcels a day, and with 'pressure' from management to 'not' return any they dont have the luxury to build in waiting time. In my experience some people have totally unrealistic expectations where cheap couriers are concerned [/quote] I think it's the couriers who have unrealistic expectations. If they expect to make a profit and their company to survive then they need to sort out their business model. If you say you are going to deliver for a certain price then you have an obligation to do that.

I don't think anyone should get too hung up on dance music tracks. They're to be danced to not micro analysed. Some bands do get too busy live especially bass players but I think that line isn't too bad.

[quote name='White Cloud' timestamp='1431725304' post='2774487'] Coming out of your comfort zone is essential for lasting change and improvement. The vast majority of the populous are risk averse by nature....but in reality, whats the worst that can happen? [/quote] Definitely. My audition 'failure' didn't stop me from auditioning again. It did teach me several valuable lessons.

[quote name='seashell' timestamp='1431722839' post='2774461'] I bet he didn't actually have a band, Tim. :-) [/quote] He definitely had a band. They were very busy. Their bass player recommended me. I was just made to feel very uncomfortable. Auditions are funny things.

Yes. I 'auditioned' for a band. Essentially, I had to learn about 20tunes in 4 days. Pop/rock standards that I mostly knew. So I brushed up on them and off I went. "Just bring your bass, it'll be only me (the guitarist) there. I don't want to waste the rest of the bands' time." Impossible. I had to play along with his guitar playing. No drums/machine, no vocals, tunes he knew inside out. Forget about wasting his bands' time. What about my time? Win some/lose some. Lucky escape for me I think.

This must be what it means. http://youtu.be/IfeyUGZt8nk

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1431618818' post='2773297'] Surely they have to calculate stuff like that against minimum wage? So if you don't make enough deliveries you will still get minimum wage? [/quote] They're probably all self employed. Can't see how any of it can work. For a start how many will have business insurance on their cars. Can of worms.

[quote name='stuckinthepod' timestamp='1431608378' post='2773129'] Hi ... Stuckinthepod [/quote] I don't think you did anything wrong. A few other posters jumped in and seemed to be encouraging you to hunt the driver down and kill him. It seems to me a failing of their complaints department but who knows how busy they are. Although I would have expected your complaint be prioritised and put in a queue to be dealt with within a couple of days considering your complaint didn't actually involve loss or damage.

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1431603871' post='2773025'] The OP is not responsible for the actions of the driver, or the actions of Parcelforce management. Had my property been treated the same way I would probably have done the same thing, and would have absolutely no guilt at the outcome. [/quote] I don't understand how the customer complaints department has failed so badly. How a customer can be so annoyed that within 48hours of what is effectively a near miss (no bass guitars were damaged or lost) an employee gets the sack from managing director level. It's a very strange way to operate a service company.

[quote name='bassace' timestamp='1431586248' post='2772744'] What I managed to omit is that if you do make a loss or break even, then no need to submit a short tax form. Obvious, really, but as others have said, don't try to put your losses against your [b]other income[/b]. Keep things simple and, besides, the taxman won't be very impressed. [/quote] Yes. You must keep your bass playing income/expenditure under one umbrella. You can't claim a loss and then try and claim PAYE back. That's not part of the deal.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1431598233' post='2772922'] Ha! Sorry, they're called 'myHermes'... I call them myHerpes without even thinking about it. [/quote] Ah. I suspected as much. Although I've not seen any of their vans about and never had any dealing with them. Maybe they're not huge in the affluent South East?

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1431597755' post='2772910'] ... the problem is that PF are always going to behave like most large businesses and protect the bottom line in any way they can. [/quote] 'Most' successful big companies don't use the 'any way they can' method. The successful ones have a forward thinking approach to their customers and employees. Look at the companies that are doing really well and look at customer satisfaction. There is a link. Anyone who looks at running a company as purely a financial exercise will spectacularly fail. Eventually.

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1431597458' post='2772903'] I'm not entirely sure about that. Every time I send something via PorcelFarce there is someone in there complaining bitterly about PO prices. And I think price [i]is[/i] the bottom line with companies like myHerpes... everyone [i]knows [/i]they are totally crap, but are prepared to take the risk because they are WAY cheaper than anyone else... [/quote] They're not complaining about price, they're complaining about the level of service they get for that price. Never heard of myHerpes. Doesn't sound a great name but if they're advertising as a very cheap service then you know what you're buying. As opposed to paying for a good service and getting a poor service. It's a mindset.

Seems to me ParcelForce are living in the past with the way they treat their employees. This has nothing to do with bottom line, profit, middle management etc. It has everything to do with the ethos coming down from the managing director. If you have a good director who is interested in his customers and workforce this will result in a much better culture where people want to use your company and people want to work for your company. Yet another company living in the dark ages. As customers we don't chose our delivery company on price. We chose them on whether they deliver the goods politely and in good condition and in a timely manner, and if they can't, we need the alternative arrangements to be conveinient.

I have only got one bass. Unless you count my spare bass and my spare spare bass. And the one in the loft.

[quote name='visog' timestamp='1431410144' post='2770900'] Perhaps it's me but this idea of a super-intimate gig does not appeal at all. I want may rock stars on stage with a full production, and at the fraction of the cost. Admittedly not as exclusive but then that's not one of my musical appreciation criteria. Supposing he breaks your toilet? [/quote] £750 between 16 people is less than £50 each. I saw Frank in Shepherds Bush. It may have been £20-£30. You're standing in a hall with 2-300 people. Albeit a great venue. The guy is sitting on a sofa in the same room. Magical. .

Surely you can't be self employed if you're paying PAYE and working an employer. Keep all your receipts and records of how much you've been paid for gigs. Talk to an accountant or CAB. It's very unlikely that you'll actually make much money out of music by the time all your outgoings have been included.

[quote name='phil.c60' timestamp='1431436923' post='2771320'] Hot Rod P bass with 90% volume on neck (P pickup) and about 15% on bridge (J pickup) with most of the treble rolled off. Keeps all the unwanted stuff down a bit plus it sort if seems unnatural to me to set anything at absolute flat out! Surely most controls work best inside their operating range rather than right at the end? With regard to dynamics, you can still play harder/softer regardless of where you start with the controls set. The only time this approach might be tricky is if you simply aren't loud enough with your amp on max and digging in but that's unlikely, surely? (or your amp/cab isn't big enough!) [/quote] The volume control on a bass is a cut control. It doesn't make the bass any louder. Only quieter. So if you turn down your bass you're effectively limiting the range of dynamics available to you. Or rather making that range more narrow and harder to make fine adjustments from your fingers. .

The signature can be anyone who receives the package on your behalf. It's a proof of delivery only. The delivery driver had chosen a spot that he feels is safe enough. Bear in mind that the bass will probably have already been exposed to the elements at several points on the journey. It's not kept in a controlled environment! If the driver signs for it and it subsequently goes missing then it's parcelforce you have the claim against.

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1431435485' post='2771285'] I made a bass cupboard out of the space which was vacated by the water tanks when we changed to a combi boiler: Thinking of putting a shelf above to put small bass related items on. Phase 2! [/quote] That's not a bass cupboard. That's a bass wardrobe!

[quote name='sykilz' timestamp='1431434514' post='2771269'] Actually, Royal Mail used to deliver starting at about 7a.m., and then do a second delivery, but the MANAGEMENT decided to go to a one delivery system, so it would be " better " for the customers...( for "better" read "cheaper for the company") [/quote] Anything after 6:30am is too late for me so I don't see any point in having two deliveries in a day. With the advent of email, actual post is ridiculously far down the scale of importance now. It's modernisation. Better for everyone I'd say.