the govenor

i was booked to fish lac du val xmas week and was really looking foreward to the week.unfortunately the lake froze over and sammy and david thought it a waste of time coming over as the forecast was for the weather to deteriorate even further.david advised me, after a bit of a discussion to book in april when there was as yat no bookings and the previous april had been really good.i contacted angling lines and booked it ,unfortunately it cost me another ?400 +. while i readily agree that no-one can help the weather i still lost out, yet neither the owners or angling lines would give any concessions.i have much more sympathy with sammy and david as they have massively invested in stock etc. but i have been with angling lines for four years now,and have used them on four other occasions.customer loyalty?!!

''customer loyalty?!!''

Good post Mac!

Sadly there are all too many similar posts of this nature on here, write them a letter (or 2) tell them you'll book with someone else next time!

Maybe ask the boss to change the title of the thread to 'customer loyalty'

We are all regulars to angling lines on here so we will boycott
when you have a bit more support send them a link to here via e-mail

make some banners and lobby them at wembly in april

thanks for your comments everyone. i was,nt sure at first, if i was being petty but the more i think about it the more dissapointed with angling lines i get. have already decided to look elsewhere eddie.perhaps you kind gents would reccomend somewhere for sept. i like smallish lakes up to around 5 acres.my wife accompanies me on most trips. i think i,m very lucky but others think i,m mad

Maybe Gareth at Angling Lines could comment????????



GARETH, YOU LOOKING IN?

8) In the event you cancel your confirmed booking, it can only be accepted if it is in writing from the person who signed the booking form, and the following cancellation charges will apply:

Period before departure Cancellation Charge
More than 56 days 50%of total cost
Less than 56 days 100%of total cost




Dreadful waste of money but perhaps a chance you take when booking that time of year. Still would of thought some sort of good will gesture from Anglinglines might of come into it, free bait or something along those 'Lines'!!!

he didnt cancel they told him not to come !

Hmmmmm


"sammy and david thought it a waste of time coming over as the forecast was for the weather to deteriorate"



Emphasis on THOUGHT, was there still the option?????

Hmmmmmmmm


Im confident Franck would look after us in similar circumstances

Hi Warren
Thanks for drawing my attention to this thread...I've investigated what actually happened here and my colleague Bridget has replied...see below:

<<In this instance we feel very disappointed for John, He knows this. He booked to go in December on a ?very cheap Special Offer? price. Clearly the price reflects the time of year and the owners wanted to encourage winter anglers. We could have kept the money, sent him to a frozen lake and he would have been even more disappointed! In fact I am sure that with some non Angling Lines venues this may have been allowed to happen. Instead, and because we try our best to be fair? we realised that the lake was very likely to be frozen, not just for a day or two, but more likely for the whole period - the forecast was very poor. So we offered money back or transfer to different dates and use the money paid as a deposit. The next time John wants to go is April, which is for the lakes very much ?Peak Season!? As John himself states the lake have invested heavily in new carp including 8 forties and a 50lb+, they need to recoup that money! They therefore stated they could not offer a reduction in April. If John had decided to go in Jan or Feb there would have been no problem at the same price. But to give that discount at peak time would in effect mean a significant loss of income for the lake. Bear in mind a lake is an expensive acquisition and their seaosn only effectively lasts six months of the year.

John was given the prices and the choice of what to do, then made his decision? and it was 'his' decision!



Despite what some people think? Angling Lines is not some huge multi-national corporation? it is run by a small team of people who actually care about what they do. We run I believe a superb service at the most reasonable price we can. The DVD?s, feedback, information, advice, backup and guarantees that we offer, mean that people are not left high & dry if something goes wrong. We take our responsibilities seriously? we do what we can, when we can and we above all want happy customers. Our reputation is very important to us. However, we have no control over the weather, ferry strikes, or other acts of God. If someone cancels and we refill the week we will endeavour to refund whatever we can. Clearly though if there is a cost that can?t be recouped i.e. ferry cancellation charges, this has to be taken into account. We are genuinely sorry that John feels we?ve not done our best for him? but I assure you all that we have. What?s more, I am sure he actually knows this.

Bridget>>

Regards
Gareth

Great stuff Gareth, thanks for looking into it, all is now clear for all to see. This was by the way no dig at Angling Lines from me, just something that needed explaining.

its nice to see the kind of response a bit of publicity on line can get.as i stated in my first post, i fully understand the position of both parties and was not having a dig at anyone.if i had been dissatisfied with anling lines i would not have used them so often.to my recollection no refund was offered though its true some alternatives were offered but obviously at such short notice they were very poor seconds.secondly it was not me who cancelled but at the same time i would have been an idiot to have gone against expert advice. the point i was trying to make and did point out was that i was,nt only lac du vals customer, i was angling lines customer. i am well aware of the running costs of a business, i am also aware of how much i spend with angling lines. money i have to earn as well.i took out insurance for the trip which i lost,not to mention other incidentals. lastly a couple of lines wrote to me personally would have been nice without the nudge from warren.and no i,m not bridget.i have,nt got a vindictive bone in my body,and would not have posted this for fun or malice.will let you know how i get on at lac du val.wonder if i,ll get a frosty reception.lol!

thanks for your comments warren, much appreciated. and yes i would have been over the moon with even a pot of pop-ups. sometimes it is the thought that counts. i,m not short of a few bob having run my OWN business for years.

Hi John
You certainly would have been entitled to a full refund of all your expenses with us, which my colleague assures me you were offered...and still are come to that.
Agreed it was not you that cancelled, but a case of 'Force Majeure'... I can understand your disappointment...
Agreed also that you were, and hopefully still are, our customer too, we value your custom and try to be attentive and to listen...If you feel we were lacking here I apologise, it was not intentional.
I'm sure you appreciate that the vast majority of any monies spent with us goes to the lake owner and the ferry companies. We only retain our commission. Naturally if you had been refunded, the work and effort by my collegaues would have gone unrewarded... but this is just par for the course. Finally this was nobodys fault, we are all for commercial gestures when we screw up or the lake double books or the fish all die.. but here the weather was bad, our intention was to act in your best interests. As Bridget said we could have said nothing and I think you would have been even more upset...
You certainly won't get a frosty reception from David and Sammy, they are a great couple and have been around carp fishing for a good number of years..having said that she did throw a quiche at me once..LOL(I'll let you ask her about that!!)
I hope you have a great week at this lovely lake, and send us a report... and I'll be chuffed to bits if you catch the 'Guvner'. Incidentally, I'll be at the venue at some point in the Spring to shoot a new video, as a lot has changed since the last one... I'll keep some pop ups in my bag just in case...;-)
Tight Lines
Gareth

thanks gareth i certainly will. the frosty referebce was my poor attempt at ajoke, visa vi the lake being frozen at xmas.cheques in post for balance.as i said previously. there was no malice in my post and overall i have been happy with your service,when i am not i wont waste your time complaining i,ll just go elsewhere. thank you for your efforts .

Well done that company for coming on and explaining! It's a pity a few more don't come online and defend their actions/lack of action in some cases in a similar way.