Hear , Hear .
I moved from Darwin at the end of last year and went to meet Keith and see the shop BOTW , and personally I was very impressed with Keith and the shop , small yes but well stocked with good gear .
I spent 3 hours the first time there talking scopes , bikes and other things with Keith and in that time he sold 2 eyepieces , replaced a spotting scope ( no questions asked ) and sold an 8 inch collapsable Dob and the time Keith took to ensure the buyer and his son were OK before leaving was great to see , he even offered to come around to the new 8 inch owners place to help in setting it up
, 4 happy customers in 3 hours .
Its a sad day for Perth , sorry to say
.
Brian.
Quote:
Originally Posted by raymo
I would like to add some detail to The B.T.O.W. story, so that people
don't come to wrong conclusions about Keith and the company. I hope
my memory is accurate, and that Keith will forgive any small errors I
may make.
York Optical had a Perth branch which they closed some 20+ yrs.
ago. Keith, and if I remember rightly, another employee, took over
the task of supplying astro gear. They had a good size shop, well stocked
with some 25-30 scopes up to 11" SCTs and 6" refs and Maks. All seemed to be going o.k. They were burgled and lost a lot of stock. The
insurance co. demanded that they bar the shop windows, which as I
recall, the local authorities vetoed on the grounds that it would lower the tone of the area. Too risky to operate without insurance, so moved to the only place he could find. I continued to buy from him until the end, and always got great service. The shop was open 4 1/2 days per week as Keith had another business, astro not being enough to consistently
supply a living I presume. Camera shops in and around Perth began to
sell scopes, along with Geographic shops, which ate into his income.
When he was bought out by a competitor a while back, I think it
signalled the end was nigh. I am guessing that he was severely
constrained in what he ordered or stocked by the new owners.
I want to stress that I did not know him socially, only as a long
time customer. He was very knowledgeable and helpful; gave free
lessons to all scope buyers. I will miss being able to call him with
my latest problem or purchasing need. Good luck Keith.
raymo
|