Ya gotta love Bintel

[okiscopey]

I ordered an eyepiece online from Bintels' Sydney store today. On the order form there was a box labelled "other instructions", so I typed: "Please sing 'Starry Starry Night' whilst packing this item" (as a joke, of course).

Thought nothing more of it until 6:15 this evening when I got a phone call. It was a lovely recording of 'Starry Starry Night' and a brief chat with Mike Smith (I presume) who informed me the song was actually called 'Vincent' and that the EP was already on its way.

Three cheers for Bintel, Her Majesty the Queen, Coopers Sparkling Ale and all other worthwhile things!

Postscript 1: There are many other excellent suppliers out there, and many other monarchies and fine beers. I do not wish to detract from any of them not named herein.

Postscript 2: I only wrote this to get my tally up to 500 posts!

[OICURMT]

:party2:

[DavidU]

LOL.:thumbsup::lol:

[[1ponders]]

they are a fantastic crew that's for sure. :party:

[Liz]

Classic!! :lol::lol:

[Forgey]

LOL Love it!

[GeoffW1]

Hi,

I do like this one.

I've recently suffered a TREMENDOUS spray (by PM, that was at least some good form) from someone connected with another Astro dealer (no names, I'm not that brave), who did not agree with something I said here.

So I'll offer plaudits to Bintel for this effort.

Cheers

[MrB]

Haha, I bet that response changed your opinion about that dealer... not!

[Stardrifter_WA]

Hi Geoff, some people just can't take criticism, their problem, not yours!

I have always found Bintel to be quite good too.

Cheers Peter

[mozzie]

great 500th post!!! yep there pretty good there at bintel..nothing is a problem.

[Matt Wastell]

Happy 500th!

[mplanet62]

Bintel is good - very helpful people they are. Always ready to listen to the customer and give an advice and assistance. Their prices are not the cheapest around, but honest. And I never had a problem paying to Bintel for their great service and customer approach.
Good on them!
And congrats on 500th post!

[Stardrifter_WA]

When you take into consideration the service Bintel provides, their prices are quite reasonable. Sure, sometimes you can get it cheaper, but getting a cheaper price AND getting excellent after sales service and support don't usually go together.

[MattT]

Bintel in Melbourne is the same too. I was going to buy 2 flexi slo mo controls for an EQ5 from the US when I rang Bintel and yes they had them, but not on the catalogue, and they were half the price, never mind postage. Replying to get my posts to 90....err does that count.
Cheers Matt

[stephenb]

Mike et al,

I agree. With some products you may find a cheaper price elsewhere but they certainly back you up with support during and after the purchase.

(I only posted this to get my 1813th post. Was that okay?) ;)

[jjjnettie]

:) my only complaint with dealing with the big 4 (Andrews, Bintel, Sirius and MyAstroShop) is that there is no such thing as a quick phone call.
Their passion for the hobby shines through with their ability to talk your ear off about it. :rofl:

Steve Massey holds the phone record so far, a 2 minute phone call turning into an hour and a half convo. We managed to catch up in person one time, but it's all rather fuzzy, probably due to that bottle of rum and champagne chasers, or was it the bottle of champagne with rum chasers. Either way I didn't feel cold on the imaging field that night.

[Liz]

:lol::lol: we are warned. ;) Steve is coming up to Townsville next weekend for 2 days of intensive GStar training/fun/tutorials. :help:

[jjjnettie]

:) He's a top bloke. Give him my regards.

[Terry B]

You can add Claude at AEC to that list as well. :P

[mplanet62]

My point exactly. Thanks!

[Ausrock]

The original reason for this thread is absolutely priceless, but, I have to say that not all dealers are without fault................some time back whilst chasing around for something smallish, I encountered someone (a "dealer"/IIS member) who was at the least outspoken regarding other dealer/retailers. I later twigged to the fact that he is a member here who is rarely seen posting outside the classifieds forum. Considering the apparent experience this person must have, it doesn't say much for them when their prime contribution to IIS to chase bargains.

Now to sit back and see if this thread disappears like another which recently contained "criticisms". ;)

[mill]

I have to say that Bintel in Camberwell has gone a step back in my opinion (but this is only my opinion).

[Stardrifter_WA]

Chris, many people may have valid criticisms about this dealer or that dealer and that is fair enough if you have had a bad experience. However, when a dealer criticises another dealer, that puts me right off.

It is not at all professional for a company to criticise another company in the same field and I personally would not deal with a company that did this. In fact, there are some that I will never deal with because of this. If I have a criticism, I go directly to the source and give them an "opportunity" to rectify any problem. If not reasonably satisfied, it is only then that I would warn others.

The important thing is that it isn't whether you have a problem or not, but rather, how that problem is dealt with. A problem dealt with properly and expediently can create an "opportunity" to gain a loyal customer. Then, going that little bit further just helps to cement that relationship.

I would always pay more if a company is professional and provides excellent customer service and in fact have done exactly that. It is not always about price. Yes, sometimes it can be, but not always.

I am reminded of a quote from John Ruskin (19th Century art critic): "A little thought and a little kindness are often worth more than a great deal of money." Which ties in nicely with the reason for this thread.

Cheers Peter

[Astroman]

Thats a classic respons, well done to Bintel for having a sense of humor. Never had a problem with them either +1 in my books.

[Barrykgerdes]

I have shopped at Bintel since I bought my first telescope, a Tasco 114 Reflector in the late 1980's. Never had any problems and always go there. They even helped me out when I needed to send a package to Perth, non astro, that was too large for postage.They organised a carrier for me.

The one thing I have trouble with is remembering their phone number. I always have to look it up, sometimes as many as 4 or 5 times a month.

When in the area I always drop into the shop to say hello and always seem to come home with something new to play with.

Barry