43 replies to this topic

[Sam14]

Not very good at making the limo then was he, as you said he'd been doing it for so long and so forth and all of sudden the roof blows off?

Seriously?

The wind was so strong it ripped a minis roof off? unless you had stuck the roof on with blue tac i doubt that.

[Mini Cheddars]

I understand the anger but the driver of the limo would be the best person to confer with. All other arguments are pretty much moot if the responsible parties aren't here to defend themselves.

[Giff]

Not very good at making the limo then was he, as you said he'd been doing it for so long and so forth and all of sudden the roof blows off?

You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!!

[huntface]

A good reputation takes a lifetime to build and an instant to destroy so I kind of feel a bit sorry for old Derek and his limo.

Saying that however, put in his shoes, i'd have been phoning everyone I knew trying to get them to get to the workshop so I could let them know what had happened, especially seeing it was Bungle's wedding!!!!
Genuinely appalling service there.

And before you say im Bungle's mate - never met him. He's never met me. Wouldn't know him if i walked right past him in the street.

You probably would. Big guy, about 6ft 5, looks like a bear? Hangs about with a camp one armed hippo and a one armed....err...gimp.

Lives next door to Rod, Jane and Freddy.

[GTIAlex06]

A good reputation takes a lifetime to build and an instant to destroy so I kind of feel a bit sorry for old Derek and his limo.

Saying that however, put in his shoes, i'd have been phoning everyone I knew trying to get them to get to the workshop so I could let them know what had happened, especially seeing it was Bungle's wedding!!!!
Genuinely appalling service there.

And before you say im Bungle's mate - never met him. He's never met me. Wouldn't know him if i walked right past him in the street.

You probably would. Big guy, about 6ft 5, looks like a bear? Hangs about with a camp one armed hippo and a one armed....err...gimp.

Lives next door to Rod, Jane and Freddy.

ahaaha

end of the day the OP is part of a company currently building a mini wedding limo.

thread created to open up bad stories about rival firm...

thats my opinion anyway

[Shifty]

A good reputation takes a lifetime to build and an instant to destroy so I kind of feel a bit sorry for old Derek and his limo.

Saying that however, put in his shoes, i'd have been phoning everyone I knew trying to get them to get to the workshop so I could let them know what had happened, especially seeing it was Bungle's wedding!!!!
Genuinely appalling service there.

And before you say im Bungle's mate - never met him. He's never met me. Wouldn't know him if i walked right past him in the street.

You probably would. Big guy, about 6ft 5, looks like a bear? Hangs about with a camp one armed hippo and a one armed....err...gimp.

Lives next door to Rod, Jane and Freddy.

ahaaha

end of the day the OP is part of a company currently building a mini wedding limo.

thread created to open up bad stories about rival firm...

thats my opinion anyway

I think you've got this very wrong indeed.

I know the OP personally and that really isn't his style, he was simply asking for peoples technical opinions of the car. He's not actually building the car for himself or his company its for a client.

The actions surrounding the limo hire operation were brought in by other people.

[Cerberus]

I've only ever had one dealing with Derek's Minis and that was when I purchased a set of wheel arch liners from them. A fantastic product that I quite regularly rave about here on TMF

BUT........ I purchased them through Ebay whilst my mini was being restored and so they sat on a shelf in the garage for a while and therefore I didn't leave Ebay feedback immediately when they arrived. A few days passed and then came the Ebay messages from Derek's minis demanding that I leave feedback and demanding to know why I hadn't left feedback so far, each ruder and more demanding than the last!! Sick of being harassed by Derek's minis I finally explained that I had not left feedback as I wasn't in a position to rate the product at that point, simply because feedback for that sort of product would always center around ease of fitting and effectiveness once installed and as yet I had neither fitted it or used it. In response I received nothing, no acknowledgment, no apology for the relentless hounding for feedback, nothing!! In short a fantastic product but ruined by a poor customer care... a real shame!!

As for a limo service, yes hiccups and even unforeseen disasters can occur in any business, but in the wedding industry you are dealing with the single most important day in a couples life and therefore there is little room for error. If you get it wrong and you don't have robust contingencies in place, it will soon get very ugly and your reputation will quite rightly be destroyed in an instant. Sincere apologies and a full refund afterwards, will be of little comfort to a bride that is in tears and the father of the bride that is now ready to commit murder! That is why wedding premiums are applied to reputable wedding services, to ensure that sufficent arrangements are put in place in the event that something does go wrong. If you can't plan for such eventualities, then you really shouldn't be operating in the wedding industry. My uncle used to own an old jag and one of the guys in the local pub used to run a "one man band" limo service. Quite regularly on a Saturday morning my uncle could be seen running down the garden path towards his jag, pulling on his morning suit as he ran, because the limo had broken down again and he was on standby to save the day!

So....A professional limo service that provides transport to a couple on the single most important day of their lives, but has no available back up vehicle and chooses to store their clients only available contact details on a single piece of paper that could blow away in the wind?? I'm sorry but the phrase "Hi Ho Silver" really does spring to mind

Not that the messages demanding feedback are at all reasonable, but with ebay feedback, your not really rating the item, your rating the seller.

Of course, with feedback being entirely optional, sending messages demanding feedback would probably make me not bother to leave any too,

Edited by Cerberus, 20 May 2011 - 09:15 PM.

[AVV IT]

Not that the messages demanding feedback are at all reasonable, but with ebay feedback, your not really rating the item, your rating the seller.

Agreed at least in most Ebay situations any way. But when the seller is also the manufacturer of a virtualy unique product (as in the case of Dereks minis wheel arch liners), then product feedback is probably more important than customer service. When I was considering investing £80 in an invention that was basicaly a couple of bits of formed plastic, I was certainly more interested in whether they were going to actually work, than how quickly they were going to be shipped to me etc.

[garrett3]

What a thread!

A good friend of mine has built two mini limos and hires them out. (not Dereks)

As with any 'human' built car there are defects and non factory finishes. The cars get used and abused and people even hang off the doors when getting in and out causing all manner of issues.

It seems a little unfair to open a discusion on someone elses work like this when its based on a negtative opinion rather than an open one. We are all human after all?

Bungle is a good guy and has his reasons for being upset and I trust his word. Take it on board and make up your own mind?

I'm sure the Op's mini will be one of the best around but would he like it if I started a thread on any issues I had found with the vehicle once it had been around for nearly 20 years? Lets face it we have seen minis scrapped within half that time due to wear/tear and rust!

I have built many minis and they get some good and some negative comments but thats just life.
Minis do wear quickly and can look pretty rough quickly too!
I have prepped minis to near perfection only to notice the filler in a joined roof section has sunk after a couple of years or useage and vehicle flex etc... These things happen so I just get the cars done now and try not to be anal about the finish.

They are just minis and meant to be for fun, everyones work no matter how good you are isnt 100% perfect.

Got to be honest I am unsure of the whole roof and paperwork story but I guess hamsters must have ate someones homework and one point? lol

Lets not bash anyones hard work on the forum as it doesnt bring a great perspective to the site or its members?
I just hope that some of my builds are even on the road after half that time!?!

I can highly recommend AJS MINIS for his minis if anyone does want someone to turn up on time etc and be reliable but I wouldnt ******* another company off just to get him more work.....

[xtr hardcore]

[GTIAlex06]

Fair enough, just how it looked to me.

[Podman]

I saw this one at a weding in sunny Lancashire a year or two ago. Dont know who runs it but it looked a very good job

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[garrett3]

Not sure of the spelling but that looks like 'Ethridges' mini limo.

Nice little car

[Shifty]

I think this one has now run its course to be honest.



If anyones got anything else they want to add then feel free to Pm me.