View Full Version : Pitstop Garage - Brize Norton
Guess this will only apply to the Oxfordshire lads .. if your just trying to source basic stuff like plugs, oil etc.
I called up this place - mainly because it was local to me 3 miles away - and because my local Halfords didn't stock my NGK sparkies till next week and they're 17 miles away.
A guy answers the phone and I say to him if he has the NGK-BCPR7ES.
His whole attitude sucked! Completely curt, unprofessional.
Him: "That's cold f@!kin' plug mate ... hang on."
Me: "Back up one second! What did you just say ?"
By then he'd already put me on hold.
Him: "Right. They're £2.10p + vat .. mate."
By this time, I'm little annoyed by his attitude & just as curt & sharp talking as him.
Me: "Fine! What's that inclusive of vat for 6 ?"
He'd put the phone down on the desk .. but not on hold. I heard this in the background:
Him: "Oh FFS! Can't this stupid cnut add up ?!?"
Well actually I can add up. But £12.60 + (£12.60 * 0.175) would take me 1 or 2 minutes on paper. Mental arritmetic wasn't by strong point. But seeing as I figured he'd have a calculator handy.
When he gave me the figure .. I just said "Fine!" and hung up.
Avoid & run away Oxfordshire guys!
perhaps he was just having a bad day?
R
perhaps he was just having a bad day?
R
Nah, I went there about 2 years ago just to buy some oil for my MR2 turbo ... and the guy working then which I spoke to .. was the same one.
Give them a call ... and you'll see what I mean.
Gaz Walker
05-01-06, 14:43
Him: "Oh FFS! Can't this stupid cnut add up ?!?"
Always a classic ;)
Gaz.
Gaz Walker
05-01-06, 14:44
Give them a call ... and you'll see what I mean.
Post his number up, we'll make sure he has a hard day alright...
Gaz.
01993 850654 .. you'll know if it's him. Because he's a real bolshy, surley, bugger.
The other guy that sometimes answers phones is ok-ish.
I've edited this post at Ralph's request because I did not witness an alleged incident involving a customers car. All I can say is that my friend of 18 years has never lied to me, nor seems to be the type of person that would make unreal claims.
However, my personal opinion, based upon what my friend has told me, is to steer well clear of this garage.
:dir: oh deary me
As there are two lads from witney in here - either of you have any good bodyshops? (OT I know)
Doing another blenheim palace meet early summer too
I would so much like to say yes, but I can't. Not one place.
I had my car re-sprayed at the same place as Supragal took her car to. It was quite expensive (and bloody miles away too) and they still didn't do what I would call a good job. (This is going to stray this way off topic, sorry Christian!) Issues I had included:-
Overspray all over the dash and interior (maybe my fault, I told them to take the windows out, so as not to get overspray on them - didn't know it would just mean getting overspray inside the car!)
Smashed passenger side electric window switch connector (they broke the connector, and the wires came out, they managed to put them back in, but back-to-front. It now opens when you press up, and closes when you press down. Genius!)
Drivers side rear quarter window is scratched to hell. (Again I did ask them to take the windows out!)
Poor finish to crevices in the bumper (You can feel how rough the paint is with your hand - I mentioned this to them, they said I should try to get in there and polish it with normal wax. I did. It's still rough!)
Rather than taking the wings off and respraying them, I think they sprayed them on the job, they didn't spray the flat area of the wing that goes into the engine bay, which is visible with the bonnet open. On one side the paint stops right on the edge of where the bonnet meets the wing. It looks rubbish, and it's not symmetrical side to side.
The plastic bit in front of the windscreen is now knackered. I can't tell if it's been melted, scratched really badly, or has got some kind of adhesive on it.
The paintwork along the sill is really rough, feels like it's not been cut back, similar to the bumper.
They fitted a set of badges. The old rear one appears to have been snapped off, and the new one fitted without removing, or even making flush, the bosses that the old badge sat on. So the badge doesn't sit flush to the boot.
Like I say, slightly off topic, but my point is I paid quite a bit of money to have the work done. It was a straight respray. The original paintwork was pretty good, in fact the guy there said he thought it didn't really need a full respray as it was quite good anyway. But I insisted as I wanted it to be pucka. They weren't even fitting a bodykit or anything.
However Rosie seems fairly happy about what they did for her, so I guess what I'm really saying is you've got to pick a garage use it, and then hammer them if they don't get it right. I don't really like confrontation, so I just let it lie. However, as you can probably tell, I'm not happy about it!
So anyway, like I was saying, no. I don't know of any good local bodyshop places! :)
ouch, killer, well thanks for the info, much appreciated
This is going to stray this way off topic, sorry Christian
No bother mate! Not much to be said about Pitstop .. that's not already been said.
One thing tho .. if anybody in the Oxfordshire area sees a J plate Nissan Skyline with blacked windows. That belongs to the owner of Pitstop.
From what I've heard from a mate .. the car is total arithritic 3 legged rocking horse! A total nail and the owner knows this. Easy pickings. Apparently if you talk to the owner, he'll tell you it's got everything but a Boeing 747 jet engine in it - but on the road he won't challenge you.
Still off topic, a Blenheim meet sounds excellent!
Though not in Oxfordshire. There's a bodyshop in Watford which is right next Phoenix. It's ran by a guy called Colin Breed - nice guy.
Terry's car was done by Colin.
continuing the topic of being off topic, the last one I did there was really nice, paul e with his lovely missus brought a feast fit for a king. I'll organise it soon and set some dates in stone
Though not in Oxfordshire. There's a bodyshop in Watford which is right next Phoenix. It's ran by a guy called Colin Breed - nice guy.
Terry's car was done by Colin.
Yeah cheers, terry gave me his info and I have no doubt with the quality of his work, just wanted to see if there was anyone good nearer to home. I think I will end up giving colin a call
pitstopralph
29-04-08, 09:49
April 08, over two Years later...
Yet I've just gone onto Google put the name of my garage in the search box and found this rubbish at the top of the list.
Not such a good start to any ones day in my view.
I have asked the moderator to remove this thread to no avail.
So Clarkey, lets start here. My name is Ralph Saunders, I own the Pitstop. I agree I can be a bit offhand with idiots and time wasters. My garage turns over hundreds of thousands of pounds a year, so mainly the people who phone must get a reasonable feel for the place. I do weed out time wasters and people who I don't like the feel of, it is my right as the owner of the garage. You , for whatever reason must have wound me up the wrong way. Judging by your posts here and elsewhere I guess I am good judge of character.
I did own a 500 hp Nissan Skyline, the reg Number was J1UPP, I still own the plate and it's on my latest toy. The car however has gone, it's new owner well and truly happy with the output as stated.
If you see my vehicles on the road, I will never get involved in idiotic road races, I have seen the results of to many accidents in my job to get involved. My race results, which are also in the public domain speak for themselves.
I have emailed T Licence personally to gain the name of the Ex employee who claims to have been driven around in a brand new Impretza by me, but you won't be surprised to read he has not responded. Clearly this is not the truth and as I have only ever employed a handful of people who have left my employment, all of whom I would class as friends I guess it must be a mistake.
Anyone who wants a real feel for the place is welcome to visit, by prior appointment please, I am extremely busy.
Ralph Saunders
[owner]
advertising removed
April 08, over two Years later...
Yet I've just gone onto Google put the name of my garage in the search box and found this rubbish at the top of the list.
Not such a good start to any ones day in my view.
I have asked the moderator to remove this thread to no avail.
So Clarkey, lets start here. My name is Ralph Saunders, I own the Pitstop. I agree I can be a bit offhand with idiots and time wasters. My garage turns over hundreds of thousands of pounds a year, so mainly the people who phone must get a reasonable feel for the place. I do weed out time wasters and people who I don't like the feel of, it is my right as the owner of the garage. You , for whatever reason must have wound me up the wrong way. Judging by your posts here and elsewhere I guess I am good judge of character.
I did own a 500 hp Nissan Skyline, the reg Number was J1UPP, I still own the plate and it's on my latest toy. The car however has gone, it's new owner well and truly happy with the output as stated.
If you see my vehicles on the road, I will never get involved in idiotic road races, I have seen the results of to many accidents in my job to get involved. My race results, which are also in the public domain speak for themselves.
I have emailed T Licence personally to gain the name of the Ex employee who claims to have been driven around in a brand new Impretza by me, but you won't be surprised to read he has not responded. Clearly this is not the truth and as I have only ever employed a handful of people who have left my employment, all of whom I would class as friends I guess it must be a mistake.
Anyone who wants a real feel for the place is welcome to visit, by prior appointment please, I am extremely busy.
Ralph Saunders
Advertising removed
All you have done is bump a thread from 2 years ago to the top of the forum and thus google :rolleyes:
It makes you look a little petty chap, so somebody wasn't happy with being called a CNUT big deal, move along now :)
I have emailed T Licence personally to gain the name of the Ex employee who claims to have been driven around in a brand new Impretza by me, but you won't be surprised to read he has not responded. Clearly this is not the truth and as I have only ever employed a handful of people who have left my employment, all of whom I would class as friends I guess it must be a mistake.
Tony's a very busy and highly respected member of this club. Might take him a while before he actually ignores your email ;)
He also didn't accuse you of driving the Impreza personally :)
Tony's a very busy and highly respected member of this club. Might take him a while before he actually ignores your email ;)
:rlol:
An unregistered trader coming on here to stir up a two year old thread by wading in with arrogance and abuse at respected members. I sense Fail.
-Ian
newbiematt
29-04-08, 12:45
:rlol:
An unregistered trader coming on here to stir up a two year old thread by wading in with arrogance and abuse at respected members. I sense Fail.
-Ian
:iagree:
spidermonkey
29-04-08, 13:21
Epic fail
free bump:d
Blah blah, not doing myself any favours
http://i193.photobucket.com/albums/z261/pakuorg/fail.jpg
Now, please excuse me as I am a very busy man :rlol:
Hello Ralph,
I've just checked my e-mails, and haven't received any from any address that I don't recognise. Probably best to just pm me.
It's funny actually, because I was thinking about this incident a little while ago when someone else I was speaking to said that the garage they took their car to (not yours) had taken it for a "test drive".
The employee's name. Hmmm, I'm in a bit of a quandry here. Whilst I fully expect you to call bullshit on my part, I'm not too keen on giving you the name of the ex-employee. I don't know you, and you might seek to take some kind of retribution on him. Next time I speak to the guy who was taken for a spin in the car, I'll ask him what he thinks I should do.
Plus the guy could well be one of your mates. I didn't say he wasn't, but that doesn't change the fact of what I was told had happened.
I guess word of mouth can be a bad thing as much as it can be a good thing?
With regards to how you treated Clarkey, and your excuse of being able weed out timewasters, I'm amazed that you think you can come on here and even attempt to justify yourself. Personally, I would have come been very humble, cap in hand and apologised and suggested that you'd changed your ways.
Not sure why you would also think that the thread would be removed? If we were singing your praises then you would be more than happy for us to keep the thread on here.
To be honest though, seeing as you're doing so well, I wouldn't worry what the opinions of a few blokes on the internet was.
Ditto that, a real man would have said "I'm sorry about the experience you had with us, we'll make sure it never happens again". Rather than act like a tosser and demand the thread be removed as you can't remember being a complete git over the phone.
Clarkey had ZERO reason to post about your garage, so lets face it you must have really upset him. May this continue to be the first thing on Google about you from now on.
If a genuine apology was forthcoming we could move it to Members Only...
I've edited my original post at Ralph's request, and given this thread a free bump to highlight the fact.
I've edited this post at Ralph's request because I did not witness an alleged incident involving a customers car. All I can say is that my friend of 18 years has never lied to me, nor seems to be the type of person that would make unreal claims.
However, my personal opinion, based upon what my friend has told me, is to steer well clear of this garage.
I've edited my original post at Ralph's request, and given this thread a free bump to highlight the fact.
Can I ask why you've edited?
You're one of the members on here who most people respect the opinion of, and they have no qualms in accepting your advice. I'd far sooner follow your valve stem seal guide myself than let this guy do it for me, and I barely know which end of a spanner is the business end :)
Can I ask why you've edited?
You're one of the members on here who most people respect the opinion of, and they have no qualms in accepting your advice. I'd far sooner follow your valve stem seal guide myself than let this guy do it for me, and I barely know which end of a spanner is the business end :)
He might have edited due to an unsubstantiated threat of legal action.
However, it was unnecessary as no request has been made to remove any libellous posts from this thread. No request has been made for the simple matter that no libellous comments have been made.
The club has received no request to remove any potentially libellous posts and as such has not removed any content from this thread.
And welcome to google/yahoo search engine Pitstop... :rolleyes: You suck at the internet.
He might have edited due to an unsubstantiated threat of legal action.
Appreciated.
And welcome to google/yahoo search engine Pitstop... :rolleyes: You suck at the internet.
:d We were all newbies to that thar interweb once :d
Blimey! This thread is blast from the past.
Ralph,
It's human nature that the bad experiences stick in our minds more than the good. It's also ironic that you're much more polite in a written and public form than you are in verbal form.
Let's clarify exactly what happened. At the time my car was suffering a misfire at high in the RPM when the single was on full boost. After speaking to number of people here - Ian C, Alex and Terry to name a few: the possible causes were coilpacks or sparkplugs. There could've been other possible causes - but those were the 2 causes at the top of the list. Coilpacks are pricey. Sparkplugs aren't. So, from a process of elimination - wanted to try the cheapest and quickest option first.
Halfords didn't have the type of NGK's that I needed. But seeing your garage is a fine tuning establishment - I figured you'd have the plugs in abundance. When I rang you up, you answered the phone in a very abrupt, curt and in your own unique way - offhand manner. It was not what you said - it was the way you said it. You gave me the impression straightaway of:
"Who's this idiot calling me up and wasting my time ?"
At this time I hadn't even told you want I wanted. When I did tell you that was after some plugs - you swore down the phone at me. That got my back up straight away. Then you did it again - when you put the phone on desk, without putting it on hold, to do a calcuation of the price of 6 x plugs inclusive of V.A.T:
"FFS!! Can't the stupid c@#t add up ?!?"
At which point, when you'd returned from your tantrum, tirade and rant, quite rightly I'd lost all interest - I hung up on you after you'd given me the price.
So, tell me Ralph if you don't deal in parts why didn't you just say so ? Why didn't you just say ?
"Sorry, I don't sell parts or consumables."
Indeed, it would seem that you don't actually sell parts/consumables as that is perhaps not your mainstream business. But according to your website (http://www.bamptonoxon.co.uk/pitstop.htm) - you do! Discounted Car parts
So, in actual fact - who's time were you wasting ? Yours ? Or Mine ?
Also, are all potential punters that call your playground up - a timewaster by default ? I would've quite happily paid for those plugs either in person or over the phone - if you hadn't have been such first class prat. If every punter is timewaster and you treat them in the same manner as you treated me - then I'm absolutely staggered you've come up with that turn-over figure. Infact, what I think of that figure is what I've just disposited in the karzee.
So, who's fault is it really ? Who's fault is it that if you search on Google (http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=pitstop+brize+norton+) - this thread pop's up as #2 in it's search ? You annoyed me that much - that 2 years ago - I decided to share my experience with my other fellow Supra owners. Who's fault is it that this thread has been dug up from 2 years ago - when you log on send me that pointless, inane drivel of a PM and bump the thread!
So, be honest, who's fault is it really that you've made yourself and your playschool yard look completely ludricious ?
Tell the truth now. It's okay, you can say it. ;)
Finally, let me put forth a suggestion. Please as quickly and promptly as possible - sack yourself from answering phones, talking to customers, making customer's tea/coffee. :p Practically - anything to do with customers. Don't take any chances. Employ somebody more qualified to do the job. As obviously, PR doesn't exist in your skillset.
As far as recommendations about you're yard. You're not the only person to work in the trade. I don't - I work for Nokia. But I know quite afew people who do. And the horror-stories I've heard about you - are heresay and without concrete proof. So, I shan't be posting them up here. :taped: The legal card is sooo easy to throw - don't you think ? :tongue: If I'm asked for recommendations for garages - I shall put forth based only on my personal experience.
In addition, don't bother sending me PMs. As I believe in a more public approach. Any PMs you send will get posted.
As far as I'm concerned. The matter was closed 2 years ago. But be a good chap, and feel free to bump the thread a few times.
Ta-ta!
Hello, I've just read your assesment of me on the forum, You have me at a disadvantage Clarkey, I don't know who you are or how to make your life difficult.
I agree I can be a bit offhand with people who are wasting my time and my first impressions are not normally wrong, I suggest that as my garage turnsover upward of half a million pounds a year and of that you will have spent zero, I am probably not a bad judge..
The Three legged Camel Skyline you refered to was in fact a 500 bhp version imported in by a friend of mine and owned by me for three or four years. I sold it to another friend of mine who has been very happy with it's performance and output. As for backing down in a road race I always do, I've nothing to prove, my race results speak for themselves. I accept we all have a view and I repect yours, I hope you won't mind when I level up this one sided point of view.
Ralph Saunders.
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