Good service from Bintel

[MakMan]

Just thought I should publicly thank Mike and Don from Bintel, Sydney for their efforts in rectifying a jerky R.A drive on my ETX.
I took the scope down on Thursday morning and although there were some unexpected complications, still had it back in my possession by midday Friday.
Most people (including myself) are quick to criticise bad service and rightly so. But I am also a strong believer in acknowledging good service and "spreading the word". Good after sales service ranks very high in my books.
:thanks::thumbsup:

[[1ponders]]

I know where your coming from Mal. I've alway had great service from the guys.

[xelasnave]

Many have heard the story before but when I purchased my 12 inch and was heading out their door for the train scope on a $20 trolley Mrs Smith (one of the owners) spotted me and drove me home to my Dad's at Cheltenham (near Epping Sydney)... She would not let me try it on the train.. Really how nice was that.
alex

[[1ponders]]

Lily surprises people at time ;)

[beren]

:) shes a champ...along with the other guys

[Phil]

Yep I Have Always Had Good Service From All At Bintel And I Have Got Alot Of Stuff From Then. The Reason I Go Back To Then Is Because Of The Service.
Phil

[gaa_ian]

Here Here , I will second that, best service in Oz ! IMHO

[ballaratdragons]

Rodger and the boys at Bintel Melbourne ain't too shabby either. They sent our new SVAA astro association some stuff to help us get going!

Top Stuff. So we placed an ad on our SVAA site under 'Sponsors' for them.

And I recieved a message to ring Mike in Sydney about sending us the Night Sky mag. They are certainly on the ball!

[RB]

I can't say enough good things about Bintel.
Their service, the product lines they carry, their invaluable advice, even their sympathetic ears when I've got the weight of the world on my shoulders !
When I walk in the door I feel like a child in a lolly shop.

Good Luck with the move to the new premises guys.

And :thanks:

[wavelandscott]

Ditto what others have said...top shelf!!

[g__day]

Some people must be born under a lucky star, because although I don't diminish anything people say to praise them, and I acknowlegde the quality of such value I have some bugbears - and they are consistent with only that store in over five attempts to get some value, as recent as yesterday.

Example:

Walk in during early lunch, two staff socially chatting, one doing inventory, one discussing on the phone how you should learn astronomy, one serving - very slowly.

My presence is not acknowlegded for 20 minutes. New customer enters and its a mate of the serving guy, first csutomer leaves - once again I am ignored while they talk for 15 minutes about their hobby - not a sale or customer service - social doings.

Lily comes out - I've been waiting unattended for 35 minutes now, folk occassionally glancing at me. Lily says she's too busy to service me when I jump forward to ask her the price of two items in the lens cabinent. I say I've be here for 30 minutes in my lunch break and I just want to confirm the price of two digital imagers in the display. Lily informs me the expert is the guy talking to his friend next to her socially for the last 10 minutes. I say I only want price. Lily asks do I have an internet connection to look it up...

I answered not on me at the present...

grrrrr.... I actually thought this was a store where you could buy things in person. Lily perhaps sensed how abrupt she and decided to give me at least some service, she printed off two model's prices for me, even though I told her three times while she went online to get prices I just wanted a verbal ball park number to make my decision. like thats $150, thats $300, that's 600 and thats $1000 to make my call. No she had to print and fiddle with the rinter for another 8 minutes....

Next Lily asks how large is the scope, I say 5" MAK - she says it's too small so I must get really enter level gear only. I say my purpose is to learn as now I'm on my 3rd scope progressing towards my 4th and wish to position my CCD purchase for either latter use on a large scope (so I'd buy more expensive) or as a trade away in 12 months as a stepping stone on my education so I'd buy the minimum sensible to get a feel for things. The serving guys mate leaves so Lily gets him to help me and heads off.

Now this chappie suggested I should go with a SLR - before even asking me what I wanted, what was my skill level or what did I intend imaging, then Mike came out and said maybe I should buy a book first and recommended one....

Guys, some hints,

1. Register every customer and get to them as quickly as possible, if someone waits for over 5-10 minutes pull some one off inventory or cleans parts or filing and go and serve them or at least acknowlegde their existence and ask them politely to wait a bit longer.

2. Ask their need and level of experience and desired outcome before making suggestions.

3. Never tell a customer to go away and look prices up on the web when they are in your store wanting to buy.

* * *

BinTel's sale is on right now, but I simply couldn't buy from them given the treatment in the attempt to purchase I made in that store - it made me sick in the gut.

I'm not dressed shabbily either - I stand over 6 feet, I'm wearing in a $2,000 suit, clean haircut, professional, mature etc... on his lunch break before the noon rush. I should look and smell like a sale that wants information delivered effectively then be able to transact as quickly as convienent as I'm generally time poor.

Really I can't understand because everyone praises them - all the time, but every single time I'm there for a simple purchase - cleaning fluid, lens, filters, binoculars, dew shelters, star pointers I leave there shaking my head at their poor service and wonder how they survive. For me alone it seems unless you speak their jargon back at them and come into their metaphor to the point they feel like accept serving you then you experience a total run around to the point of rudeness. Every time.

Compared to Astro Optical supplies, Astronomy Online, myAstroshop and Andrews Communications where I always get great service and a tremendous interaction that leaves me comming back for more, BinTel leave me cold, every time.

No matter how I approach them, when in the day (I awlays try for non busy times) or what I ask them, - e.g. this nob is broken could you order me a new one - No, we'd have to import a new telescope or cannabilise an order, we simply can't get spare parts every, e.g. I'm thinking of Spending $5,500 - $7,000 on a Meade scope - should I go for apperature over mount capabilities or vice versa so what is your advice on what factors of intended use should drive the way in which I should spend my budget - well there is no way of answering that... e.g. Can you order in as a special item a higher end Goto mount - say something in the $5,000 - $7,000 range - No we only stock what we have on display - really even as a special order - no sorry! (and no explanation as to why the refusal - e.g distribution contract limitations, warranty costs for a one off etc, just a flat no, change topic please).

That last one blew me away - I asked that to Lee at Andrews about 6 weeks ago, he said sure for the CGE, and now its on his web as a by request order at a good price. One customer request and he makes the process simple, transparent and visible by his website. Maybe BinTel can only carry Meade and Orion mounts and Meade make no GE mounts below $20,000? I'm at the point where I don't know and don't care!

So as a person I like Mike and see he tries to help and genuinely think everyone in that store has added alot to astronomy in Sydney and I know of their huge and deserved reputation. But for it seems me alone - every time - no matter what I do - and only in this store - it's like I've walked into an eposide of Fawlty Towers and Basil is at the helm and in full swing.

Guys, good luck on the move and future business, just realise some customers (often repeat, buying customers - not browsers) get dropped badly and then we really wonder why other folks - possibly with critical repairs or who they meet at star parties - simply rave about the service. I've never once experienced what the community goes on about from them.

Puzzling

[janoskiss]

Must be the suit, G! From your description you must look more like you're there to sell something rather than buy. I must admit I'd be more inclined to help the guy in the checkered flanny than the $2000 suit. :rofl:

[EzyStyles]

lol @ steve. The guys at Bintel are always friendly and nice to me. Maybe i'm a flanny dude :P

[g__day]

I'm not picking on them, I'm just saying its very incongruous from my perspective. We just don't gel no matter how I try approaching them or how much I wish to buy. If everyone got my experiences they'd closed down years ago.

Maybe you gotta look like a tradie, or know exactly what you wish to buy or repair. Hope they continue to do well though and give excellent service to others for many years.

[MakMan]

Hmmm.. Think I was just wearing jeans and shirt; don't know how I smell - OK I guess, no money to spend this time - just a warranty repair.:lol:
But seriously it certainly sounds like you have been treated rather shabbily. I know there are mixed opinions on this shop but I can only call it as I see it.
I will have to give you top marks however for persistance.;)

[g__day]

Perhaps they either don't like the crew in suits, or I fall into the wrong range between amateur and serious astronomer on my learning journey. I have pondered am I comming across as having too many questions or maybe too much knowledge of buzzwords or concepts, but lacking practical experience and this is confusing their service protocol.

One thing I don't understand is how they keep in business with that location - which must have cost a mint, for years, with the rather low level of traffic and actual sales. Their rent must be many thousands per week and if there commisison is 10% - 15% and they have at least 3-4 salaries to payout how do they make ends meet? There is no way I can concieve they are selling say even $30,000 every week from their general level of trade I observe. The rent must be killing them unless they were in a long term, price locked contract that was really favourable to them.

[RB]

I think now g_day this is getting too personal and off the topic.
It is neither yours nor mine or anyone else’s business what Bintels or any other business's running costs are, don't you agree?
Furthermore I think we all have understood the point you are trying to make.

[g__day]

Commercial, not personal, from publically available data on Sydney rents. I felt is was on topic because it talks to were their discretioary time can be priroritised. Does anyone in Sydney not understand what a killer CBD rates are? Perhaps you meant private, not personal, other than sales sevice is always personal? On a human 1-1 level the folk there are just fine as people as I've said. I mentioned the numbers because I thought they were possibly running it below target earnings just to get astronomy up and running in Sydney. So kudos to them (but it highlights the potential underwriting risk that can impact latent warranties for any business and its customers). I'm happy to edit the comments on cost margins, but its simple data in the public domain and it is at worst neutral to them.

My experience might be an outlier or it might be people here generally get their best. Either way folk browsing should see all the data points on customer service - not just the service success stories or you get an untrue bias formed. BinTel seem to continually find ways of improving their service for most people, and so far it's only me willing to share repeat experiences where I found them hard to engage.

[g__day]

Okay well here is an update that I am very pleased to give to BinTel, cause I called them to ask two questions (how long is the USB cord on a DSI and is the SCP 13 degrees East of West of Magnetic South).

Its East of Magnetic South they stress, and if you wish to check, well tomorrow is the Solstice - so at midday drop a plumline to get a shadow running true North South!

Anyway we go on to chatting and eventually Don said oh its you, the guy that had the bad experience. Well we talked it through and how frustrated I was by it, and how a friend in my office had exactly the same experience and it was very cordial and helpful! Stress that last word, no aminosity, and very, very helpful.

It was what I was waiting for, cause as I said I have bought stuff from them in the past, I want to buy more, I want mutual respect in the dealings. Well I got (and gave it) in spades today and was very pleased by the encounter.

As an added bonus to a few e-mails Don's sent me on stuff I'm interested, he mentioned he'd worked as a tech for Celestron in his 40 years in the field (everyone probably knows my CG5 Goto hassles at the moment). Well Don very kindly confirmed a few suspicions folk had:

1. The internal clock doesn't progress the time you enter at set-up until 3 star alignment is finished! So if it takes you 20 - 40 minutes as a newbie then you'll have that order of magnitude of errors creep in.

2. Yes the clock alone in GPS module somehow corrects this timing error!

3. Its not abnormal for your first star in the alignment to be up to 60 degrees out of position.

4. Suggested using a high power eye piece, so I'll switch from a 22mm very die angle to my 12mm illuminated reticle I use for drift alignment.

Don also went on to say the store does get very busy at times, and being astronomers they like me see quite a spread of late nights! So there are great times and less great times to catch them, but that they always try and judge someones level and address them at a competency level they can absorb and understand. Here I suggested present the journey they are likely to experience in their first 5 years and the investment steps and viewing experiences they are likely to desire, rather than abruptly steer them away from disasters by fear of waster investments or massive outlays that don't integate to achieve their outcomes.

It was a great exchange of ideas, values and experiences as an improving amateur astronomer and a long term expert and supplier; cause we both have common goals and interests.

So I view this as a new and very pleasing restart of my relationship with BinTel and look forward to many more interactions now!

PS

They informed me after their move to new premise (next to fish markets with some of the best and freshest Sashima and Sushi in Sydney) they intend to run evening workshops and learning sessions on the roof of their new premise - digital imaging, drift alignment, basics to advanced session. Something I'll be sure to attend and learn from and one more evidence of the hard work they put into to making Astronomy fun and accessible for us!

So well done Don and BinTel, I'm pleased things turned this way!

[janoskiss]

I'm glad you've managed to get through to them, gday. Good on the Bintel for fixing the problem instead of ignoring it. The rooftop sessions sound like fun. Those guys won't get any sleep at night. You'll be lucky if you find one awake behind the counter DBH. :lol:

[RB]

Well g_day it's certainly good news, I'm so glad things turned out well for you.
I also look forward to meeting you at one of those evening workshops.
I think they're a fantastic idea.

:thumbsup:

[xstream]

That's great it all worked out g_day, it's always good to see matters worked out in a civil way.
I must add I just got off the phone from Michael in Sydney and received excellent service and have always received the same from the boys in Melbourne also.
Anyway I'm pleased you're now happy customer.