Belfast City

[cirikili]

.....if anything would please me more, it would to offer up a positive or at least a neutral review or recommendation of even 1 LHS in the immediate area.......
sadly, from my personal experiences, the two LHSs in Belfast city are not given to the remotest resemblence of customer service, let alone the support or promotion of this most wonderful hobby.........
maybe someday, they'll get it.

[Deleted]

Sorry to hear that your personal experiences with LMS's in your area have not been favourable. What seems to be the prolem?

[cirikili]

whew...........the problem........

1st, lemme say, i'd love nothing more than to heap accolades and praise upon any business that embraces its customers (in any business) and relates to them as associates or guests, rather than a commodity.
This hobby is so much more than (imo) just a hobby........it's a source of friendship, a connection to history and an artful means for individuals to express themselves in 3 dimension........etc.....etc.
.......back "home" i was associated with an LHS where anyone walking through the door felt welcome and a part of something that couldn't help but make you feel connected and not just a source of revenue, especially since the hobby or model business is so tenuous in it's survival rate.................for whatever the business or esthetic reason.

One of the shops here.......i actually worked for, setting up & running his web site and mail order business........confering with customers over modelling problems and sharing perspectives and ideas from a different point of view.........and actually ran the shop in the propieters absence on a few occasions.........
what i witnessed of this proprieter in his relating to customers was sad.............taking money for orders he'd never place, then making excuses to those same customers who were too either timid or too hopeful and placid to protest..........promising product that didn't exist..........and suggesting techniques that were doomed to fail, simply to gain a product sale..............
using the hobby to make sterling...............then praying on customers emotions because of a business that wasn't sustaining him...........needless to say...........i left not long after confronting him and have not returned since.........

The other store is in it simply for the money.........they're not attuned to anything in the hobby (especially the customer) other than how much it is or if it's not on the shelf, it's not relevant..........
i've tried on numerous occasions to pre-pay for something they've run out of and they won't take pre-payment orders nor will they special order the very same object they're out of stock with.............
there are certain main stream manufacturers they won't even bother carrying...........AND they won't display any built projects unless you've bought the kit at their store....(i understand this).....and they sell virtually no aftermarket items or accessories................and while parusing the store i, on numerous occasions, overheard store attendants totally misleading customers as to the very nature and product development within the hobby.
I've paid my last visit to that store some months ago.............and now use the net exclusively for any kit, tool, aftermarket item or accessory shopping......

Ya know ?...........i hate typing all that because i hate that it exists........and in my original post all i wanted to do was sorta backhandidly warn good folks to be wary of these two places i didn't know how to name........

are ya sorry you asked ?

[Deleted]

cirikili said:

... are ya sorry you asked ?

No. From what you put in your post, I'm amazed the place is still trading. With so many going to the wall, for whatever reason, it's sad to hear that this sort of thing is happening.

If you feel comfortable with your LMS you spend money, even though they can't often compete in price with the major chains or the Internet, it's a personal service. But if you don't trust them, you go elsewhere, there's a lesson here don't you think?

[cirikili]

......in a nutshell, you bet there's a lesson here..........BUT, the 1st shop is being run (again, in my opinion) quite dishonestly AND using the sympathies of the what few customers there are left frequenting his place...........he'll be closing his business when he either runs out of ears who care to listen to his meanderings or when enough of the old guard catch up with his dishonest dealings........

the other one is so far out of the loyalty business, it's just that..........a business.

i'm an idealist, i believe in right and wrong and the occasional grey area.......granted it is a business, but if you're in any way seasoned in this hobby, you've an expectation and a knowledge of what's out there to suit your and varyious others needs..........if you're not seasoned (these are the one's frequenting the 2nd place of business) then anything you're informed of is ALL the information you have and that is what you go by........
i'm 58 and modelling in its various forms for nye onto 30 years......i guess......
my knowledge is that of an expert though my skills are that of an intermediate.........and it's in this knowledge that i draw lines between being informed and not & being treated objectively and not........
i try to be polite, courteous and forthright with others (everyone in general) in the hobby and especially those in the business.........(because of the respect and affinity for all the perspectives and abilities)..........so, in light of that, it's my expectation to be given at least the same in return........especially from the hobby since it's such a leisure activity where the trade relies solely on the inherent needs of the informed.............who in turn initiate and educate the un-informed......
i guess the 2nd LHS hasn't gotten it yet.......that they need the newbies as well as the seasoned to keep their doors open, but it is so so difficult to get that across without sounding pompous or arrogant......
neither of them actually need my trade to survive.........but others like me who only want a symbiotic relationship and are shown the door for whatever reason can and one day will make the difference in those businesses existence..........
if i've a choice between the net or the LH(M)S.......i'll take that warm cuppa coffee / tea, a discussion about a built or unbuilt kit and the satisfaction of looking forward to going back for the commraderie and friendly "abuse" inherent in that familial connection................

by the by..........there are two other stores sorta kinda nearby...........that i've not visited as yet...............and it really sux that if i want to frequent a hobby shop..........i'm gonna have to as necessity rather than as a curiosity........
oh how i miss that shop from way back when..........

[walter]

Hi Rik,
Please feel free to contact me re the Belfast shops.
Roger Andrews, Branch Secretary, IPMS Northern Ireland Branch.

[cirikili]

check your PM's, Roger...........i'd rather not get too specific or rant on the wild side and further create too much of a negative atmosphere amongst these good people.........

[walter]

Hi Rik,
Checked my PMs.
I know exactly to whom you refer. It`s been like that for many many years and I doubt if it will every change. Any modeller in Belfast will tell you exactly the stories, with minor variations, but they all we have. I get most of what I need twice a year at Perth for the
Scottish Nationals at the end of April and at Telford in November and only odds and ends in
Belfast.
Roger.

[cirikili]

Roger..........

until the buying public stand up to either of these traders, it WILL continue, as you've said, for these many years......that being said, the one business only shop knows it's a virtual monopoly, but i believe they're becoming (oddly enough) increasingly aware of the power of the net as an alternative.......
hopefully sooner rather than later, they'll get it.........

money along with the buyers perceptions can be a very powerful tool.........

there IS that new place in Larne..........

all i'm asking for is FAIR trade and even the minutest recognition that "our/my" perspectives, experiences and hard earned sterling are worth more to their trade than the isolationism they're determined to persue.

[GR1]

Hey Up!

I've been following this thread with interest as I'm visiting Belfast next month.... well, I was thinking of popping into the city to look up model shops. Don't think I'll bother!

As you say though, if we (the customers) are getting good prices and good service via the Internet, their profits will speak for themselves. I am usually saddened to hear of LMS' closing but it does sound as though, in this case, it might be no great loss!

[walter]

Hi GR1,
Have a look but don`t expect anything exceptional. Probably you will think that you are well
off back home!!!!
Roger.

[walter]

Hi Rik,
Hope you can make it to Bangor tomorrow or on Sunday after 1 PM.
Roger.

[cirikili]

Roger.........
didn't know there was any events going on in Bangor .......chit chit chit.......so, due to other plans (made FOR me) i'll not be able to attend.....chit chit chit.........
however, i do plan on making some meetings as soon as i figure out how to get to Shaws Bridge.........LOL

GR1.....et al.......
i'd like nothing more to chat up any and all LH(M)S's......anywhere on the planet.....regardless of their stock, subject matter or size.........however, as opined in previous posts.......in good conscience, i just can't.........but that's just MY singular opinion, experience and perception...........
both those traders do have a following and do remain open for business, so there has to be a reason they remain so, although one is seeing an obvious decline in customers, i believe, due to his abject deceit, the other seems to be (for the time being anyways) able to keep their doors open and i can't help but think it's, like Roger has pointed out, due to their being the only game in town..........
they do have a decent selection (albiet limited to 4 or 5 manufacturers, as they contend others aren't that big in the hobby) (imagine HASEGAWA not being big in the hobby) of kits.......aircraft, armor, ships and cars.........two paint lines.....and a very limited selection of tools......though there are no aftermarket anything of which they say won't sell IF they carried 'em.........
THAT'S the attitude, along with experienced modellers not knowing that much, that i can't abide by.......and that's what i've personally heard them spew to customers.......
i apologize for ranting this way........as it is a free market economy.......but as an avid and dedicated fan of the hobby having frequented LH(M)S's where you feel like an integral part of this hobby.....engaging in all manner of banter.......i could do no less than share my experiences with y'all...........
there is a place in Larne, recently opened, that is supposed to cater to the afficianodos of the hobby, though i've not had the pleasure as yet to frequent...........
i have to say i hold out hope that one day soon enough, after the one shop closes its doors, the other one will smell the resin and learn what it takes to (it's so so easy) actually participate as an integral trader to the many new and experienced folks who are addicted to plastic modelling.............

.......think i've ranted enough where a word to the wise is sufficient........and i'll just leave it all at that.

[GR1]

Well, I made it to Belfast city centre on Saturday. It was late afternoon and, after a very early start from home (4am) and a busy day, I'd not given any real thought to model shops....

With a bit of time to spare I hopped on the Belfast bus just to have a quick look at the city as I've never been before. I came across a model shop quite by chance and I have to say that my experience was pretty positive - albeit very brief.

The shop was about to close and I dived in desperately! The guys running the place were friendly, quite chatty in fact. They seemed happy to allow me time to have a browse - although I felt guilty and didn't do my usual trick of scouring the shelves 3 times before buying the cheapest thing I could find!

They told me something of the history of the business and even mentioned that there was another model shop not that far away. I ended up buying a Tamiya kit that I'd been on the lookout for - it was a treat 'cos I'm usually a right skinflint.

Maybe it's the lack of any LMSs in my neck of the woods but I left feeling that I'd definitely go back for another look (if I'm ever in Belfast again).

Incidentally, getting the kit through airport security was fun and games... but that's another story!

[DAFt]

www.modelshopbelfast.com/ I believe there was a recent change of ownership and this website and online shop have been set up. Can't wait too see what else is loaded up as its just the trains at the minute