Now that's what I call service (From Gazette & Herald)

Now that's what I call service

THERE were a couple of items I needed which couldn't be obtained locally, and these were spotted in the Argos catalogue, so that meant a trip to York.

I rang the order line the day previous and was presented with various options which, for the first time ever, I found to be logical and understandable. So many national companies have such complicated option facilities that on more than one occasion I've given up. Not so with Argos, even the female voice quoting them was easy to hear and understand, and the instructions were at a pace slow enough to follow. So, confirming that the goods required were in stock at the chosen store, I was given a couple of reservation numbers and, upon arriving at Clifton Moor, and quoting these numbers, the young lady simply turned to the shelves behind her and handed over the goods I'd reserved the day previously. She even carried the larger of the two items to the car for me.

Considering that this is a large company, that it must have, perhaps, thousands of customers, I was most impressed with the smoothness of the operation and the politeness and the efficiency with which it was carried out, bearing in mind that I was just one of many. It made shopping a pleasure, and was what I call service. On top of that, it was a spring-like day, the sun shone, the coffee at MacDonalds was hot, all the beaker through, the staff were helpful, and it was warm enough to sit outside and enjoy our Indian summer.

In a previous column, my subject was the lack of a braking system on my garden trolley, and it reminded me of a dear old cycling friend in the West Riding, now in his nineties, who for some time has been able to get around on his invalid scooter - that is, until he had a severe crash. As a result of this, several points of concern in the use of invalid scooters have been brought to my attention. And for those readers who use these, or who have friends or relations who do, there are points worthy of consideration. Firstly, brakes on the more 'economical' models - these rely on the eddy current braking of the electric motor, BUT, should there occur a fault in the electrical connections somewhere, then there just isn't any brakes, because secondary braking systems are not compulsory, so there is no alternative way of stopping. I gather that dealers can fit a back-up braking system, but of course this has to be paid for as an extra.

My friend's scooter only had electric braking, which failed, and he quickly gathered speed down a steep hill, with no chance of stopping whatsoever, and he crashed into a stationery car, going through the rear windscreen, suffering lacerations, bruising, a broken knee-cap etc, and, of course, wrote his scooter off.

Those who can afford the Class 3 scooter get secondary braking, front and rear lights, indicators and a horn, which are not legally needed on the cheaper models. They can use the highway, but others are advised only to be used pavements, although there are times when to cross a road they might have to travel some distance to find a dropped kerb to get on to the opposite pavement. There is also the matter of insurance, both for the owner, the scooter, and for the third parties, and these considerations have to be given thought to. I wouldn't want to put scooter-users off being mobile, but feel that those without any second braking system should perhaps avoid steep hills in their travels, or have the extra system fitted. My old friend decided that enough was enough, has gone back to his Zimmer frame, and had his scooter committed to the crusher.

Following earlier mention of Victory Aircraft at Malton Airport, Toronto, Canada, a settlement which got its name from early settlers from here and which first began in 1820, I had a call from John Verity, of Nawton, ex-Guardsman, whose friend Reg Lane (RCAF) flew the first Lancaster built in Canada, at Malton, across the Atlantic to the UK in August, 1943. This aircraft bore the name 'Ruhr Express' and had a distinguished career, being followed by a further 429 being built there. Sadly, W Cmdr Lane passed away quite recently, which prompted John to contact me. All in all, there were 7,374 Lancs built, and it seems unlikely that we shall ever see more than our one-and-only Memorial Flight aircraft in our skies. Whilst Canada has one flying example, it would be perhaps a foolhardy exercise to try to fly one or the other across the Atlantic, just to see two in the air together again. Canada's 300th Lanc, which also flew over to England, was named 'Malton Mike', and after its service career here, flew back to its birthplace again. A proud aircraft with a proud heritage, unlikely to be ever forgotten.

I'm sure you'd be interested to know that the Venus de Milo's arms were unearthed in 1987 - just in case you hadn't heard!

Just a smile. "You're not drunk if you can lie on the floor without holding on". Dean Martin (1917-1995) US singer.

Updated: 10:24 Wednesday, November 05, 2003