Lotusless in 2009

[Corranga]

Apologies for posting as Erica (cosmicegg) I had borrowed her laptop momentarily. At this rate i'll have posted has her more than she has

Chris

[renmure]

Suppose my situation at the moment encapsulates part of the problem. Ali has serviced both my elise and exige over the past couple of years and I have found everything, including the price, to be great. I genuinely like having Ali's number in the phone so that in the event of something going wrong with the car I have a first port of call to go about getting it fixed. However,
I need a service fairly soon on the elise but am fairly flexible as to when it gets done.
I also need the heater/blower thingy replaced at the same time but again, not in any rush.

So that I wasn't rushing anyone or trying to force my timetable on anyone I have, over the last three or four weeks tried phoning Ali to sort something out and had no answer. I have left messages and had no response. I have sent a PM (which has been received) and had no reply.

On the other hand, after getting a bit fed up, I had an email reply back from Dan within the hour giving a price for having the work done, a timetable for how long it would take, and an agreement about where I could drop the car off and collect it from.

Now, a trip to Newcastle doesn't particularly appeal for the simple reason that it's further away than Edinburgh but it is more appealing than banging my head against a wall trying to contact Ali at the moment. Thats no real slight on Ali since I am one of the most disorganised folk you could meet when it comes to work stuff but it does highlight a bit of a problem.

[Gareth]

So if I was to suggest you try anal sex, would that be SE promoting anal sex?

Cheers,
Robin

Well, since you're a c0ck and Kenny is a ar5e....you guys should get together.
Let me know how it goes.

G






awaits someone to take the above serious...

[mac]

So if I was to suggest you try anal sex, would that be SE promoting anal sex?

Cheers,
Robin

Well, since you're a c0ck and Kenny is a ar5e....you guys should get together.
Let me know how it goes.

G






awaits someone to take the above serious...

Gareth,

You can not be serious with a comment like that

[roadboy]

Whilst I understand Jim's need to make a point I don't feel comfortable with comparisons being drawn between myself and Ali.

I also would like to take this opportunity to clarify that I have no wish to criticise Ali and would certainly not like to see him fail in this venture. He is a really nice guy who is genuine and helpful.

We are two different people who run completely different businesses and I don't feel that I am in competition will Ali at all. It is of no consequence to me whether or not SLS exists as we have completely differnet business models and as such, there are very few types of work that we both ,or wish to do.

The only times I have spoken out in situations regarding SLS it has been as an experienced member of this commmunity who doesn't want to see people being given bad service or overcharged for work done. I believe every member of this forum has the right to do this, regardless of what they do for a living. I have no vested interest in the success or failure of SLS as it will make no difference to me or my business and there is certainly no personal vendetta on my behalf. I am in the fortunate position to be able to add valuable input to this forum through my knowledge of these cars and I don't feel that I should have to refrain from sharing this knowledge and helping people just because some people may take it the wrong way.

Hope this clears things up a bit .

Cheers

Dan

[tut]

Presume that was tongue in cheek Gareth?

tut

[renmure]

Whilst I understand Jim's need to make a point I don't feel comfortable with comparisons being drawn between myself and Ali.

Not meaning to drag this on, but having re read my post, for me, in this instance, the comparison IS the point. and it's not between you and Ali per se, rather it's between 2 different aspects of how you run your respective businesses.

It doesn't matter to me as the customer whether you have compatable or competitive business models. I only have to make an assumption that you can both do the job and make a choice who I want to pay to do it. Ali has lots of satisfied customers (inc me to date), so do you. I am not overly fussed about other folks less than ideal experiences with SLS since mine have been great. In other words I would be happy to give either of you my money. But, if this thread is supposed to contain anything of benefit to anyone in the local lotus community having a search about where to get their car worked on then there is little benefit skipping over the comparison issue that from 1st hand experience Company A appears easy to get hold of and deal with and Company B is less so, to the point that someone who was happy with Company B's service gave up and went elsewhere even tho it means a bit of personal inconvenience logistically. Maybe I should buy a spanner and a mallet and do it myself

[Sanjøy]

Can I suggest that anyone who feels that they have had a customer experience worth sharing be it good or bad they share it in the most honest of ways knowing that all parties do read it. I personally had a good exp of late and posted a couple of lines on it.
Obviously should it be negative the SE way is to do the honourable thing and speak to the person involved first to give them an opportunity to make good.

I must also hold my hands up and say I did not post up my bad experiences I had and mentioned it to ppl when at Edinbeers/KH etc. This was wrong and I should have treated him like any other supplier I would have slated.

I know stuff has been bubbling under as some peeps have been trying to help Ali out by posting up when newbies have had issues and needed a mechanic and the recommendations for Ali were posted up in seconds. He is a good guy and has helped out a lot of people in their time of need.
And yes these actions are going to incense those who have had not so good an experience, a link to their posting on their bad experience could temper the recommendation.
I also think people have been rather incensed as folk like myself have not posted up their negative experiences as friends on the board have a closer relationship with Ali as they have been helping him out with advice over the last couple of years and posting a negative was posting a negative about them too, perhaps. Internet interpretation gets in the way hence me keeping it for the pub.

There is more than enough business to go round and after speaking with Dan when I was last down there I am pretty sure he has no plans to try to syphon up all the Scottish Lotus business and with him back in business an equilibrium can return and we can get back to enjoying our cars. For those poor souls with cars off the road for months on end what is stopping you going to another garage tomorrow ? Heck I am off work at the moment I will drive it for you if you ask me nicely!

Again just my 2p

SP

May I suggest to the mods that this thread is now locked unless Ali wishes to post on it else we risk a SELOC incident which is not what we do here is it ?

[Victor Meldrew]

Presume that was tongue in cheek Gareth?

tut

Depends who's tongue and which cheek...

[Shug]

I see no reason for locking. Whilst there has been some heated discussion, I don't see anything worth locking it for.

It would be nice to see Ali respond. Not sure that'll happen as I'm sure he'd prefer to deal with issues personally and not on an internet forum. In some ways, that's a shame, but I could see why.

FWIW, my initial support (some would say sheltering - I'm very aware of that) of Ali on here was simply due to the tendency of the internet to develop bandwagons very quickly - I never had an issue with people posting direct experience. I was keen that Ali get a fair crack at getting through any teething troubles without his rep being killed on the internet by people with no direct experience. He's now at a stage that his service and work needs to stand up on its own - if that's not happening, people need to be honest. Give good reports when they are happy, bad when they are not. If we can keep it out of the realm of ranting and sh*t stirring, it's all very valuable to the group as a whole when making their decision on who takes car of their car.

[r055]

as a flip side to all this SLS bashing, my car is with MMC just now and they are struggling to figure out whats wrong with it....

chi...ching!

[tut]

Give good reports when they are happy, bad when they are not. If we can keep it out of the realm of ranting and sh*t stirring, it's all very valuable to the group as a whole when making their decision on who takes car of their car.

http://www.scottishelises.com/phpbb/vie ... 45#p261641

tut

[als 3dr]

Hi Everyone

Sorry for not responding to this thread earlier, but as you've most likely read, I've had a bit of a nightmare since Friday, and have been spending any spare time I've had trying to find a solution for Pete.

If anyone who is unhappy service they have recieved from me would like to chat about it though please give me an email (ali at slscars.co.uk) , as I would appreciate the feedback.

Jim you should have had a PM back from me on this?

I'm working hard to improve things, and have been getting help with my organisation, and most recently have also taken on an apprentice to help with the work load, and help reduce my turn around times.

At times i have been guilty of taking on too much work, and I'm not good at saying no, and i apologise for this.

I sincerely believe that going forward, my service to you all will improve.

Thanks for taking the time to post on this, and have a great summer with your cars

Ali

[roadboy]

as a flip side to all this SLS bashing, my car is with MMC just now and they are struggling to figure out whats wrong with it....

chi...ching!

Ross, give me a shout if you don't get anywhere with them. Have they changed the fuel pump yet?

Dan

[Gareth]

Hi Everyone

Sorry for not responding to this thread earlier, but as you've most likely read, I've had a bit of a nightmare since Friday, and have been spending any spare time I've had trying to find a solution for Pete.

If anyone who is unhappy service they have recieved from me would like to chat about it though please give me an email (ali at slscars.co.uk) , as I would appreciate the feedback.

Jim you should have had a PM back from me on this?

I'm working hard to improve things, and have been getting help with my organisation, and most recently have also taken on an apprentice to help with the work load, and help reduce my turn around times.

At times i have been guilty of taking on too much work, and I'm not good at saying no, and i apologise for this.

I sincerely believe that going forward, my service to you all will improve.

Thanks for taking the time to post on this, and have a great summer with your cars

Ali

Can't say fairer than that.