Fan belt

[OldGoat]

7 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

How about folk who come on here asking for help then don't acknowledge any of the responses? 

 

 

It's sad - but a reflection on today's mores - gimme, gimme, gimme and then walk away...

(I find that when you thank / comment on helpful advice, then you often get more details / suggestions in return!

[cuthound]

On 16/04/2022 at 16:10, Nightwatch said:

Some years ago, I thought I was helping a lady in distress, I wasn’t. I was helping a female woman who was a little bit short of a full picnic. She turned against me in a big way. I’ve got over the shock but still think twice about helping folks.

 

Ah yes, Mad Max, she threatened to eat my liver! 😨

[ditchcrawler]

3 hours ago, MtB said:

 

How about folk who come on here asking for help then don't acknowledge any of the responses? 

 

 

I think if I got a load of responses like the OP received I would just bugger off and leave you all to your wise cracks 

3 hours ago, MtB said:

 

How about folk who come on here asking for help then don't acknowledge any of the responses? 

 

 

I think if I got a load of responses like the OP received I would just bugger off and leave you all to your wise cracks 

[Slim]

4 hours ago, MtB said:

 

How about folk who come on here asking for help then don't acknowledge any of the responses? 

 

 

My view is that assuming the OP did have a problem the response from some of the 'wits' more than explains their silence.  Sometimes it's best to say nothing if you can't say something good. 

[Clanky]

45 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I think if I got a load of responses like the OP received I would just bugger off and leave you all to your wise cracks 

 

people in glass houses? i remember you giving me a 'wise crack' remark a while back when i asked about fuel boats!!

[Michaelprout]

Wow not sure we're you get your prices from but someone came round Coventry and only charge me £25.00 plus 10.00 for belt you guys need to rethink your costs better on that note thanks but no thanks 

Michael

 

[Tracy D'arth]

Thank you for the closure, are you fixed up then?

 

Was it the Easter holiday when the guy charged £25? And was he having to drive for 6 hours to get to you and go home again? I was prepared to help you if there was no one local who would turn out.

But now you know.

Was there any reason why you could not fit the belt yourself?

[David Mack]

35 minutes ago, Michaelprout said:

Wow not sure we're you get your prices from but someone came round Coventry and only charge me £25.00 plus 10.00 for belt you guys need to rethink your costs better on that note thanks but no thanks 

Michael

 

But Michael, you didn't really make it clear what you wanted. Were you expecting someone to do the job for free? Or were you asking if there are any mobile mechanics on here who would do the job for a 'normal' fee? Or was this some sort of emergency situation where you would be prepared to pay over the odds? Or were you just asking for a recommendation for a mobile mechanic? And you didn't explain whether you had already approached a local boatyard, or ring round any mobile mechanics. You didn't say whether the old belt had failed and needed replacing now, or whether it was just looking worn, but you could limp on to somewhere where the job could be done more conveniently, and perhaps not over a bank holiday weekend. Or why, if you already had the belt, you couldn't fit it yourself?

Reread your original post from the perspective of someone who knows nothing about you, your situation, your mechanical abilities etc. then ask yourself objectively whether a typical reader of that post would have enough information to frame a response that would be helpful to you.

What you have received is requests for more information, an offer from a forum member to fix it, albeit at a cost which is probably more than you would want to pay, and some light hearted banter which is not aimed particularly at you. 

If I was a professional mechanic I doubt if I would turn out for a £25 fee, no matter how quick and easy the job, unless I was already alongside you, as that wouldn't cover the travel time/cost during normal working hours, let alone going out on Easter Sunday. 

So what response did you expect?

[Slow and Steady]

Obviously someone (another boater quietly reading this?) did it out of the kindness of their heart for some token petrol money. 100 mile round trip.

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, Jinna said:

people in glass houses? i remember you giving me a 'wise crack' remark a while back when i asked about fuel boats!!

Do you, I don't, maybe you can remind me

[Michaelprout]

Few fingers missing I now know not too ask you guys for help again cheer happy bank holiday

[Tracy D'arth]

20 minutes ago, Michaelprout said:

Few fingers missing I now know not too ask you guys for help again cheer happy bank holiday

Totally uncalled for reaction. I accept your disability but how are we to know if you don't explain yourself?

I am very old but was willing to help you.

Have you thought that we here might not want to help you anymore because of your attitude?

Its sad that you should feel that way. Do you have any friends? Or have you dissed them all too? Been boating long?

[Tony Brooks]

9 minutes ago, Michaelprout said:

Few fingers missing I now know not too ask you guys for help again cheer happy bank holiday

 

What you should know, rather than what you have decided to know, especially if you had read a number of topics, is that if you want help you need to be more informative and forthcoming than you were. By about the forth reply you had a genuine offer from an experienced professional who would have to travel across the country on a bank holiday weekend and was priced accordingly. Very few people who have the knowledge to help you would do so without more information. They could turn up and find access to do the job was impossible, a nut of bolts had been rounded off preventing them and you doing it canal side, you may have extra charging equipment making the job very difficult and so on. When all we got back was a curt few words to say you had the belt rather than an attempt to give more relevant information do you wonder that some made a few wise cracks, but even then some tried to defend you your very short posts.

 

A bit of give from your side could have got a very different result. If you are in some way disabled and explained it a local member may very well have turned out to help you, as a number of us have done for others a number of times.

 

Personally I ma getting fed up with spending a long time trying to help new members who do not seem to understand that to get the help they need they have to answer questions properly and provide information OR explain why such information can not be given. Most of us understand that new members are usually new boaters and don't have much technical knowledge so if they say that we can explain a bit more. Then to add insult to injury they either don't give any feedback or the feedback they give shouts self entitlement to others time and knowledge that they expect for free. I can in no way speak for others but thank you for your last post and in my view you are no loss to the community unless you modify the attitude you displayed here.

[Nightwatch]

Michael. Please don’t tar us all with the same brush. In all honesty all boaters will help boaters in need. Sone react differently to others.

 

Glad you got sorted.

[Tonka]

Why carry a spare if you can not fit it ?

Was the spare you had the right spare? No one knew for sure and may have had to source the correct part on a bank holiday if not. 

You are in Nottingham yet the person fixed it came from Coventry 

[pearley]

On 16/04/2022 at 14:47, Tracy D'arth said:

Its a pretty gruff area,  https://streetscan.co.uk/postcode/ng9-1lx

 

I want danger money and a suite or armour.

 

Seriously, if Michael needs a mechanic, Castle Marina may turn out for him but it is a holiday weekend, be prepared for a huge bill.

Actually quite a nice mooring.

[Tracy D'arth]

1 minute ago, pearley said:

Actually quite a nice mooring.

I was surprised at the low property values in the area. Don't they make boots or drugs there anymore?

[MtB]

1 hour ago, Tony Brooks said:

By about the forth reply you had a genuine offer from an experienced professional who would have to travel across the country on a bank holiday weekend and was priced accordingly. Very few people who have the knowledge to help you would do so without more information. They could turn up and find access to do the job was impossible

 

Or worse, driven there and been unable to find the boat, after 45 minutes of towpath tramping carrying a pile of tools. 

 

Had this in the past. 

 

 

[pearley]

Just now, Tracy D'arth said:

I was surprised at the low property values in the area. Don't they make boots or drugs there anymore?

Boots still there canal side. A lot of bungalows fronting the canal but large space with trees between road and canal. A number of park homes by the lock.

[1st ade]

21 hours ago, Iain_S said:

To be fair, the left hand thread catches a few people out 😊

Genuine quote from someone in the office from his (grown up) daughter. Did Grandad teach you how to change a light bulb?

[Alan de Enfield]

4 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Don't they make boots or drugs there anymore?

 

2020 : 

"Boots is the largest private employer in Nottinghamshire, with about 5,800 people working at its Beeston site, which includes warehouse, manufacturing and distribution".

[George and Dragon]

2 hours ago, Tonka said:

Why carry a spare if you can not fit it ?

Was the spare you had the right spare?

If you know you have the right spare then, even if you cannot fit it yourself, the spare is available. If you don't know what spare you need you're potentially in deep trouble.

[Alan de Enfield]

7 minutes ago, George and Dragon said:

If you know you have the right spare then, even if you cannot fit it yourself, the spare is available. If you don't know what spare you need you're potentially in deep trouble.

 

I carry spares even for stuff I am incapable (or don't have the tools) of fitting.  If I'm stuck somewhere for the sake of a weird & wonderful part the engineer can come but needs 2 weeks to get the part ordered It helps to have it on board.

 

I bought a complete spare engine for my last NB, if I needed anything from a hose clamp to an alternator, starter motorm or injection pump I could phone home and get my son to bring it - very few places are more than a few hours away by car.

Edited April 18, 2022 by Alan de Enfield