Got a letter from RS Components this morning entitled "Improvements In
Delivery Service" and going on to say that from 19th July, orders will
be delivered by Parcelforce Worldwide.

They say "By making Parcelforce Worldwide our partner, we will continue
to bring you the high level service you have come to expect as your
order is being handled[1] by one of the worlds'[2] largest and most
respected logistics experts, with [...] a delivery track record that's
second to none."

"We work hard to bring you the best service in the industry and we are
confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our delivery
service."

Another nail in the coffin? Or is the RS contract big enough to make
Parcelforce pull their corporate sleeves up and deliver on their
promises (pun intended)?

Cheers,
DaveyOz


[1] This should of course read "your future orders will be handled", but
hey ho.

[2] should be world's. Unless, that is, Parcelfarce has gone galactic
whilst I wasn't looking. Maybe they deliver to the ISS.

Dave Osborne wrote:
Got a letter from RS Components this morning entitled "Improvements In
Delivery Service" and going on to say that from 19th July, orders will
be delivered by Parcelforce Worldwide.

They say "By making Parcelforce Worldwide our partner, we will
continue to bring you the high level service you have come to expect
as your order is being handled[1] by one of the worlds'[2] largest
and most respected logistics experts, with [...] a delivery track
record that's second to none."

"We work hard to bring you the best service in the industry and we are
confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our delivery
service."

Another nail in the coffin? Or is the RS contract big enough to make
Parcelforce pull their corporate sleeves up and deliver on their
promises (pun intended)?

Cheers,
DaveyOz


[1] This should of course read "your future orders will be handled",
but hey ho.

[2] should be world's. Unless, that is, Parcelfarce has gone galactic
whilst I wasn't looking. Maybe they deliver to the ISS.

"Improvements In Delivery Service"...........

"and we are confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our
delivery service."

so where's the improvement then?

What they should have stated was the truth, 'We have found some knobheads
who will do the same crappy service but at less cost to us, enjoy'


It's like the dreaded words 'new and improved recipie' on one of your
regular groceries, what they mean is, 'we've sourced one of the ingredients
for a penny a tonne cheaper in Pakistan, so now we're using this inferior
****e instead of the other inferior ****e you are used to, by the way, it
tastes **** all like it used to'

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

Phil L wrote:
Dave Osborne wrote:
Got a letter from RS Components this morning entitled "Improvements In
Delivery Service" and going on to say that from 19th July, orders will
be delivered by Parcelforce Worldwide.

They say "By making Parcelforce Worldwide our partner, we will
continue to bring you the high level service you have come to expect
as your order is being handled[1] by one of the worlds'[2] largest
and most respected logistics experts, with [...] a delivery track
record that's second to none."

"We work hard to bring you the best service in the industry and we are
confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our delivery
service."

Another nail in the coffin? Or is the RS contract big enough to make
Parcelforce pull their corporate sleeves up and deliver on their
promises (pun intended)?

Cheers,
DaveyOz


[1] This should of course read "your future orders will be handled",
but hey ho.

[2] should be world's. Unless, that is, Parcelfarce has gone galactic
whilst I wasn't looking. Maybe they deliver to the ISS.

"Improvements In Delivery Service"...........

"and we are confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our
delivery service."

so where's the improvement then?


Good point. Missed that trick. ;-)

On Fri, 9 Jul 2010 16:04:09 +0100, Phil L wrote:
Dave Osborne wrote:
Got a letter from RS Components this morning entitled "Improvements In
Delivery Service" and going on to say that from 19th July, orders will
be delivered by Parcelforce Worldwide.

They say "By making Parcelforce Worldwide our partner, we will
continue to bring you the high level service you have come to expect
as your order is being handled[1] by one of the worlds'[2] largest
and most respected logistics experts, with [...] a delivery track
record that's second to none."

"We work hard to bring you the best service in the industry and we are
confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our delivery
service."

Another nail in the coffin? Or is the RS contract big enough to make
Parcelforce pull their corporate sleeves up and deliver on their
promises (pun intended)?

Cheers,
DaveyOz


[1] This should of course read "your future orders will be handled",
but hey ho.

[2] should be world's. Unless, that is, Parcelfarce has gone galactic
whilst I wasn't looking. Maybe they deliver to the ISS.

"Improvements In Delivery Service"...........

"and we are confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our
delivery service."

so where's the improvement then?

What they should have stated was the truth, 'We have found some knobheads
who will do the same crappy service but at less cost to us, enjoy'

Oh I wouldn't have called the delivery service from RS "crappy". On more than
one occasion I've had envelopes couriered from them containing single IC's.
Almost always arriving early next morning.
All at no cost (apart from the premium on their catalog prices). Occasionally
I've received two packages, each containing part of the same order, arriving
on the same delivery.
Over the top and fast: yes, but not crappy.
It will be interesting to see how PF square up.


It's like the dreaded words 'new and improved recipie' on one of your
regular groceries, what they mean is, 'we've sourced one of the ingredients
for a penny a tonne cheaper in Pakistan, so now we're using this inferior
****e instead of the other inferior ****e you are used to, by the way, it
tastes **** all like it used to'

Indeed. These days "improved" is just another word for cheaper - unless it
is used as a reason for putting the price up.

On 09/07/2010 15:33 Dave Osborne wrote:

Another nail in the coffin? Or is the RS contract big enough to make
Parcelforce pull their corporate sleeves up and deliver on their
promises (pun intended)?

Parcelforce are the best of the lot around here. The only ones to
consistently deliver on time and to greet you by name and with a smile.

The rest are uniformly miserable, say they called but you were out (when
you were not) and often deliver 24 hours late.

--
F

"Dave Osborne" wrote in message
...
Phil L wrote:
Dave Osborne wrote:
Got a letter from RS Components this morning entitled "Improvements In
Delivery Service" and going on to say that from 19th July, orders will
be delivered by Parcelforce Worldwide.

They say "By making Parcelforce Worldwide our partner, we will
continue to bring you the high level service you have come to expect
as your order is being handled[1] by one of the worlds'[2] largest
and most respected logistics experts, with [...] a delivery track
record that's second to none."

"We work hard to bring you the best service in the industry and we are
confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our delivery
service."

Another nail in the coffin? Or is the RS contract big enough to make
Parcelforce pull their corporate sleeves up and deliver on their
promises (pun intended)?

Cheers,
DaveyOz


[1] This should of course read "your future orders will be handled",
but hey ho.

[2] should be world's. Unless, that is, Parcelfarce has gone galactic
whilst I wasn't looking. Maybe they deliver to the ISS.

"Improvements In Delivery Service"...........

"and we are confident that you won't see any change in the quality of
our delivery service."

so where's the improvement then?


Good point. Missed that trick. ;-)

I'm amazed that RS get any orders with their horrific prices.
I open each one of their 'special price' emails and with jaw dropped say HOW
MUCH?

In message , Dave Osborne
writes
Got a letter from RS Components this morning entitled "Improvements In
Delivery Service" and going on to say that from 19th July, orders will
be delivered by Parcelforce Worldwide.

They say "By making Parcelforce Worldwide our partner, we will continue
to bring you the high level service you have come to expect as your
order is being handled[1] by one of the worlds'[2] largest and most
respected logistics experts, with [...] a delivery track record that's
second to none."

"We work hard to bring you the best service in the industry and we are
confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our delivery
service."

Another nail in the coffin? Or is the RS contract big enough to make
Parcelforce pull their corporate sleeves up and deliver on their
promises (pun intended)?

You're assuming that RS actually have the items you want in stock

its ages since I actually managed to make an order without something
being discontinued or on back order


--
geoff

In message , pete
writes
On Fri, 9 Jul 2010 16:04:09 +0100, Phil L wrote:
Dave Osborne wrote:
Got a letter from RS Components this morning entitled "Improvements In
Delivery Service" and going on to say that from 19th July, orders will
be delivered by Parcelforce Worldwide.

They say "By making Parcelforce Worldwide our partner, we will
continue to bring you the high level service you have come to expect
as your order is being handled[1] by one of the worlds'[2] largest
and most respected logistics experts, with [...] a delivery track
record that's second to none."

"We work hard to bring you the best service in the industry and we are
confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our delivery
service."

Another nail in the coffin? Or is the RS contract big enough to make
Parcelforce pull their corporate sleeves up and deliver on their
promises (pun intended)?

Cheers,
DaveyOz


[1] This should of course read "your future orders will be handled",
but hey ho.

[2] should be world's. Unless, that is, Parcelfarce has gone galactic
whilst I wasn't looking. Maybe they deliver to the ISS.

"Improvements In Delivery Service"...........

"and we are confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our
delivery service."

so where's the improvement then?

What they should have stated was the truth, 'We have found some knobheads
who will do the same crappy service but at less cost to us, enjoy'

Oh I wouldn't have called the delivery service from RS "crappy". On more than
one occasion I've had envelopes couriered from them containing single IC's.
Almost always arriving early next morning.
All at no cost


That must have been several years ago then

--
geoff

In article ,
"brass monkey" writes:

I'm amazed that RS get any orders with their horrific prices.
I open each one of their 'special price' emails and with jaw dropped say HOW
MUCH?

That's my reaction when I'm paying too.

However, companies seem to like to have accounts with them for buying
one-offs, modelshop/prototype manufacture, etc. and I've worked for
companies who insist we ordered from RS.

I don't imagine many companies would be using them as a supplier for
a production line though. Certainly, when I worked for a computer
manufacturer some 15 years ago, development staff ordered their bits
from RS, but when products were handed over to the production line,
the production line buyer would source direct from the manufacturers
or distributors.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

"brass monkey" wrote in message
...

"Dave Osborne" wrote in message
...
Phil L wrote:
Dave Osborne wrote:
Got a letter from RS Components this morning entitled "Improvements In
Delivery Service" and going on to say that from 19th July, orders will
be delivered by Parcelforce Worldwide.

They say "By making Parcelforce Worldwide our partner, we will
continue to bring you the high level service you have come to expect
as your order is being handled[1] by one of the worlds'[2] largest
and most respected logistics experts, with [...] a delivery track
record that's second to none."

"We work hard to bring you the best service in the industry and we are
confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our delivery
service."

Another nail in the coffin? Or is the RS contract big enough to make
Parcelforce pull their corporate sleeves up and deliver on their
promises (pun intended)?

Cheers,
DaveyOz


[1] This should of course read "your future orders will be handled",
but hey ho.

[2] should be world's. Unless, that is, Parcelfarce has gone galactic
whilst I wasn't looking. Maybe they deliver to the ISS.

"Improvements In Delivery Service"...........

"and we are confident that you won't see any change in the quality of
our delivery service."

so where's the improvement then?


Good point. Missed that trick. ;-)

I'm amazed that RS get any orders with their horrific prices.
I open each one of their 'special price' emails and with jaw dropped say
HOW MUCH?

Me too: shame is, we seem to be running out of places to buy say less than
10,000 small components; Maplin don't keep that much these days, and they
are expensive too, except in the bargain bins in the shops themselves. It's
a bit much when you read the side of a blown capacitor, and google the
numbers and everything comes back in Chinese!

S

On 9 July, 15:33, Dave Osborne wrote:
Got a letter from RS Components this morning entitled "Improvements In
Delivery Service" and going on to say that from 19th July, orders will
be delivered by Parcelforce Worldwide.

ParcelFarce are never much good, but if you're out in the sticks,
they're nothing like as bad as the big name city-to-city services.

"Spamlet" wrote in message
...

"brass monkey" wrote in message
...

"Dave Osborne" wrote in message
...
Phil L wrote:
Dave Osborne wrote:
Got a letter from RS Components this morning entitled "Improvements In
Delivery Service" and going on to say that from 19th July, orders will
be delivered by Parcelforce Worldwide.

They say "By making Parcelforce Worldwide our partner, we will
continue to bring you the high level service you have come to expect
as your order is being handled[1] by one of the worlds'[2] largest
and most respected logistics experts, with [...] a delivery track
record that's second to none."

"We work hard to bring you the best service in the industry and we are
confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our delivery
service."

Another nail in the coffin? Or is the RS contract big enough to make
Parcelforce pull their corporate sleeves up and deliver on their
promises (pun intended)?

Cheers,
DaveyOz


[1] This should of course read "your future orders will be handled",
but hey ho.

[2] should be world's. Unless, that is, Parcelfarce has gone galactic
whilst I wasn't looking. Maybe they deliver to the ISS.

"Improvements In Delivery Service"...........

"and we are confident that you won't see any change in the quality of
our delivery service."

so where's the improvement then?


Good point. Missed that trick. ;-)

I'm amazed that RS get any orders with their horrific prices.
I open each one of their 'special price' emails and with jaw dropped say
HOW MUCH?

Me too: shame is, we seem to be running out of places to buy say less than
10,000 small components; Maplin don't keep that much these days, and they
are expensive too, except in the bargain bins in the shops themselves.
It's a bit much when you read the side of a blown capacitor, and google
the numbers and everything comes back in Chinese!

Anyone remember Dave Plummer, RS Midlands area rep (or one of).
I'd go through the catalogue noting any crazy prices and be waiting for him,
and he expected it
In would walk Dave to be greeted with "O for **** sake, it's the Real ****
rep"
He loved it
I'd mention one item then he'd spend 30 mins telling us why the RS version
commands such a price.
Great was our Dave, ex RAF.

On Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:31:50 +0100, Spamlet wrote:

Me too: shame is, we seem to be running out of places to buy say less
than 10,000 small components; Maplin don't keep that much these days,
and they are expensive too, except in the bargain bins in the shops
themselves. It's a bit much when you read the side of a blown
capacitor, and google the numbers and everything comes back in Chinese!

* Rapid Electronics aren't bad, although delivery only free over 30 quid.

* Farnell (rather than CPC), now they've dropped the minimum order thing.

* If you want a lot, can spend 50 quid, free delivery from Digi-Key who
will sell any quantity you want.




--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

In message , F
writes
On 09/07/2010 15:33 Dave Osborne wrote:

Another nail in the coffin? Or is the RS contract big enough to make
Parcelforce pull their corporate sleeves up and deliver on their
promises (pun intended)?

Parcelforce are the best of the lot around here. The only ones to
consistently deliver on time and to greet you by name and with a smile.

The rest are uniformly miserable, say they called but you were out
(when you were not) and often deliver 24 hours late.


I've always found PF fine. In fact most of them are fine, certainly the
ones we get lots of via, esp. City Link. My least favoured are
Interlink/DPD

Couriers just seem to eb one of those things which who ever you pick
there are always some disgruntled customers. Even HDN seem to have got
their act together lately. Possibly because we seem to get a proper van
nowadays rather than someone running around with parcels in the back of
their car (and leaving said car parked with the engine running whilst
they toddle off to deliver a parcel.....)

But then PF is good for me as we live opposite the village post office,
which is also the local delivery office. PF leave their parcels there
rather than back at their depot, so handy for me :-)
--
Chris French

On Fri, 9 Jul 2010 21:22:41 +0100, geoff wrote:
In message , pete
writes
On Fri, 9 Jul 2010 16:04:09 +0100, Phil L wrote:
Dave Osborne wrote:
Got a letter from RS Components this morning entitled "Improvements In
Delivery Service" and going on to say that from 19th July, orders will
be delivered by Parcelforce Worldwide.

They say "By making Parcelforce Worldwide our partner, we will
continue to bring you the high level service you have come to expect
as your order is being handled[1] by one of the worlds'[2] largest
and most respected logistics experts, with [...] a delivery track
record that's second to none."

"We work hard to bring you the best service in the industry and we are
confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our delivery
service."

Another nail in the coffin? Or is the RS contract big enough to make
Parcelforce pull their corporate sleeves up and deliver on their
promises (pun intended)?

Cheers,
DaveyOz


[1] This should of course read "your future orders will be handled",
but hey ho.

[2] should be world's. Unless, that is, Parcelfarce has gone galactic
whilst I wasn't looking. Maybe they deliver to the ISS.

"Improvements In Delivery Service"...........

"and we are confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our
delivery service."

so where's the improvement then?

What they should have stated was the truth, 'We have found some knobheads
who will do the same crappy service but at less cost to us, enjoy'

Oh I wouldn't have called the delivery service from RS "crappy". On more than
one occasion I've had envelopes couriered from them containing single IC's.
Almost always arriving early next morning.
All at no cost


That must have been several years ago then

July 29, 2009 according to my account. 2 lines ordered, ISTR 2 seperate
packages delivered.

"Phil L" wrote in message
news:NTGZn.239006$_m6.114924@hurricane...
Dave Osborne wrote:
Got a letter from RS Components this morning entitled "Improvements In
Delivery Service" and going on to say that from 19th July, orders will
be delivered by Parcelforce Worldwide.

They say "By making Parcelforce Worldwide our partner, we will
continue to bring you the high level service you have come to expect
as your order is being handled[1] by one of the worlds'[2] largest
and most respected logistics experts, with [...] a delivery track
record that's second to none."

"We work hard to bring you the best service in the industry and we are
confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our delivery
service."

Another nail in the coffin? Or is the RS contract big enough to make
Parcelforce pull their corporate sleeves up and deliver on their
promises (pun intended)?

Cheers,
DaveyOz


[1] This should of course read "your future orders will be handled",
but hey ho.

[2] should be world's. Unless, that is, Parcelfarce has gone galactic
whilst I wasn't looking. Maybe they deliver to the ISS.

"Improvements In Delivery Service"...........

"and we are confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our
delivery service."

so where's the improvement then?

What they should have stated was the truth, 'We have found some knobheads
who will do the same crappy service but at less cost to us, enjoy'


It's like the dreaded words 'new and improved recipie' on one of your
regular groceries, what they mean is, 'we've sourced one of the
ingredients for a penny a tonne cheaper in Pakistan, so now we're using
this inferior ****e instead of the other inferior ****e you are used to,
by the way, it tastes **** all like it used to'

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

Heinz did that a few years back with their oxtail soup. Tasted crap
afterwards ...

Arfa

In article ,
Bob Eager writes:
On Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:31:50 +0100, Spamlet wrote:

Me too: shame is, we seem to be running out of places to buy say less
than 10,000 small components; Maplin don't keep that much these days,
and they are expensive too, except in the bargain bins in the shops
themselves. It's a bit much when you read the side of a blown
capacitor, and google the numbers and everything comes back in Chinese!

* Rapid Electronics aren't bad, although delivery only free over 30 quid.

I like Rapid except for one thing - their website loses your shopping
basket if you forget to save it. They've lost far more orders from me
due to this than they've actually had from me. I even emailed them
about it once, but they just didn't get it.

* Farnell (rather than CPC), now they've dropped the minimum order thing.

I do use Farnell occasionally.
I used to order electronic ballasts from them, but their range
dwindled to almost nothing a few years ago. They were good
value whilst they were on clearence though.

* If you want a lot, can spend 50 quid, free delivery from Digi-Key who
will sell any quantity you want.

I've used them for hard-to-find things. An example which springs to
mind was a motorised 100k dual potentiometer for something I was making.

--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]

Arfa Daily wrote:


Heinz did that a few years back with their oxtail soup. Tasted crap
afterwards ...

Arfa

Yep, it's happened a few times.
Hula hoops was the most noticable for me, long bin an affoficioinado of
their stuff, only to find it was the utterest crap after it had been
'improved'

-'-
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

"Spamlet" wrote in message
...

"brass monkey" wrote in message
...

"Dave Osborne" wrote in message
...
Phil L wrote:
Dave Osborne wrote:
Got a letter from RS Components this morning entitled "Improvements In
Delivery Service" and going on to say that from 19th July, orders will
be delivered by Parcelforce Worldwide.

They say "By making Parcelforce Worldwide our partner, we will
continue to bring you the high level service you have come to expect
as your order is being handled[1] by one of the worlds'[2] largest
and most respected logistics experts, with [...] a delivery track
record that's second to none."

"We work hard to bring you the best service in the industry and we are
confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our delivery
service."

Another nail in the coffin? Or is the RS contract big enough to make
Parcelforce pull their corporate sleeves up and deliver on their
promises (pun intended)?

Cheers,
DaveyOz


[1] This should of course read "your future orders will be handled",
but hey ho.

[2] should be world's. Unless, that is, Parcelfarce has gone galactic
whilst I wasn't looking. Maybe they deliver to the ISS.

"Improvements In Delivery Service"...........

"and we are confident that you won't see any change in the quality of
our delivery service."

so where's the improvement then?


Good point. Missed that trick. ;-)

I'm amazed that RS get any orders with their horrific prices.
I open each one of their 'special price' emails and with jaw dropped say
HOW MUCH?

Me too: shame is, we seem to be running out of places to buy say less than
10,000 small components; Maplin don't keep that much these days, and they
are expensive too, except in the bargain bins in the shops themselves.
It's a bit much when you read the side of a blown capacitor, and google
the numbers and everything comes back in Chinese!

S


It wouldn't be so bad on this shipping thing, if the companies had some sort
of cohesive and repeatable policy. Farnell are the worst for this. One day,
you can order half a dozen transistors, and they will come, as you would
expect them to, the next day, in a Jiffy bag, by Royal Mail. You can then
order the same half a dozen transistors a day later, and they will come in a
box the size of your head, claiming to weigh half a kilo, and delivered by
UPS at some totally variable and unpredictable time between 8:30am, and 6pm.
And they insist on having a signature, and won't leave the parcel behind the
bin or round the back, as my local friendly postie knows to do, if I'm not
in. Today, I ordered five 8 pin chips from RS. And how are they coming ? By
DHL for christ's sake. Why ? It's coming 10 miles down the road from Corby.
Use the Bloody Post office and a Jiffy bag ! It's gotta be cheaper than
using a courier for small packages, hasn't it ?

And as for stock, Farnell used to be the best. Nothing was ever out of
stock, ever. Last night, I came to order these chips. The website searcher
found four examples. All four said out of stock, but worse, that the reason
for this was "no longer manufactured". And no, it wasn't the old RoHS
lead-free thing, because no alternative was being offered, and at least one
of the four was marked as being RoHS compliant anyway. I couldn't believe
this device was no longer manufactured, so I went to check on the ST Micro
website, and there it was, large as life in all its versions, and showing as
a current device. So I went to the RS website, that I haven't used in a long
time, and there it was in both through hole and s.m. versions, available in
quantity, for next day delivery ... And, surprisingly, very reasonably
priced.

It's hard to get any decent service from any of the component suppliers any
more. I ordered a couple of audio ICs from Chas Hyde earlier in the week.
Website showed three examples, one that was available for next day delivery,
and two that were 7 to 14 days. Next day, they ring me to tell me the item
is on back order. So, you're out of stock ? I say. No sir, says the erk on
the other end, we just haven't got any here. So, you're out of stock ? I say
again. No sir, the manufacturer has got them, we just haven't got them here.
So, is the manufacturer shipping the item direct to me ? No sir, we'll ship
it to you. When ? I say. As soon as we get them from the manufacturer, says
he. So, you're out of stock then ? say I. Silence. I tell you what pal, just
cancel the order.

That said, I then phoned Cricklewood, who had them in stock, and promised me
that they would be dispatched that day, by Royal Mail. And so they were, and
they arrived first thing this morning, so a result in the end ... :-)

Arfa

In article ,
Spamlet wrote:

Me too: shame is, we seem to be running out of places to buy say less than
10,000 small components; Maplin don't keep that much these days, and they
are expensive too, except in the bargain bins in the shops themselves. It's
a bit much when you read the side of a blown capacitor, and google the
numbers and everything comes back in Chinese!



For odds and ends that aren't too unusual, http://www.bitsbox.co.uk/ is
pretty handy and quick.

Nothing too exotic though, but has replaced maplin for the "i need a
capacitor" type emergencies.

Darren

Phil L wrote:

Hula hoops was the most noticable for me, long bin an affoficioinado of
their stuff, only to find it was the utterest crap after it had been
'improved'

True, they tasted like cardboard after the new recipe, either they've
queitly gone back to the old recipe, or you *do* get used to them.

Arfa Daily
wibbled on Saturday 10 July 2010 01:36


Heinz did that a few years back with their oxtail soup. Tasted crap
afterwards ...

Arfa

Wonder why? Did they switch to using the ox's other "tail"?

--
Tim Watts

Managers, politicians and environmentalists: Nature's carbon buffer.

"D.M.Chapman" dmc@puffin. wrote in message
...
In article ,
Spamlet wrote:

Me too: shame is, we seem to be running out of places to buy say less than
10,000 small components; Maplin don't keep that much these days, and they
are expensive too, except in the bargain bins in the shops themselves.
It's
a bit much when you read the side of a blown capacitor, and google the
numbers and everything comes back in Chinese!



For odds and ends that aren't too unusual, http://www.bitsbox.co.uk/ is
pretty handy and quick.

Nothing too exotic though, but has replaced maplin for the "i need a
capacitor" type emergencies.

Darren


Never come across them before. They have been duly CTRL - D'd into my faves
! :-)

Arfa

"Andy Burns" wrote in message
o.uk...
Phil L wrote:

Hula hoops was the most noticable for me, long bin an affoficioinado of
their stuff, only to find it was the utterest crap after it had been
'improved'

True, they tasted like cardboard after the new recipe, either they've
queitly gone back to the old recipe, or you *do* get used to them.


What about Pot Noodles ? Everyone knew that they were just artificially
flavoured grated cardboard, and had the nutritional value of a lump of
cardboard, but they tasted great, and filled a hole quickly when they needed
to. Hell, even the makers traded on the fact that they were crap with their
tongue in cheek TV ads. Then what did they do ? Tried to get all healthy by
taking all the salt out. And then tried to use the same style of advertising
to convince us that was good ! But afterwards, it tasted like ****, and all
I did was to put half a pot of salt back in. But now they seem to have gone
back as they were, so I guess their new 'improved' recipe, wasn't a success
....

Arfa

Arfa Daily wrote:

It's like the dreaded words 'new and improved recipie' on one of your
regular groceries, what they mean is, 'we've sourced one of the
ingredients for a penny a tonne cheaper in Pakistan, so now we're using
this inferior ****e instead of the other inferior ****e you are used to,
by the way, it tastes **** all like it used to'

Heinz did that a few years back with their oxtail soup. Tasted crap
afterwards ...

Nowhere near as drastic as the change Baxters made to "Royal Game Soup"
in the 1980s. It used to be a decent game broth using game (pheasant,
venison, hare) and very little else then Baxters decided to keep selling
it at the same price but to change the ingredients to well, mostly
vegetables and "rusk". It's now even more ****e than it was then as a
result of "new improved recipe".

In message , D.M.Chapman
wrote
In article ,
Spamlet wrote:

Me too: shame is, we seem to be running out of places to buy say less than
10,000 small components; Maplin don't keep that much these days, and they
are expensive too, except in the bargain bins in the shops themselves. It's
a bit much when you read the side of a blown capacitor, and google the
numbers and everything comes back in Chinese!



For odds and ends that aren't too unusual, http://www.bitsbox.co.uk/ is
pretty handy and quick.

Nothing too exotic though, but has replaced maplin for the "i need a
capacitor" type emergencies.


Many companies use RS etc. because they can trace the source of the
components as well as getting them the next working day. With
design/development engineers costing a company £50+ an hour a few quid
extra on the cost of components is insignificant. In the large company I
work for 'trusted' engineers can buy on a company credit card which is
much cheaper than going through the official procurement department
route which would probably cost £100 minimum for the bureaucracy alone.

--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

In message FdWZn.131745$vB5.87938@hurricane, Arfa Daily
wrote

Tried to get all healthy by taking all the salt out. And then tried to
use the same style of advertising to convince us that was good ! But
afterwards, it tasted like ****, and all I did was to put half a pot of
salt back in. But now they seem to have gone back as they were, so I
guess their new 'improved' recipe, wasn't a success ...

Arfa

Surely all this proves is if you add enough salt to crap you can sell
it? That's why the "quality" meals available at premium prices in
supermarkets "designed" by celebrity cooks taste so salty.

What's KFC's secret recipe for their coating - mainly salt with a bit of
garlic.

If you watch any of the day-time food programmes on TV you will often
see the "pinch" of salt added for seasoning is equal in quantity to the
World Health Organisation's recommended amount for a whole year

If you are used to over salted foods anything without salt will taste
inferior, even if it is better quality. However make a conscious effort
to avoid food with salt for a few weeks and then the reverse is true -
food with salt with taste strange.
--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

In message lEPZn.173226$NW.8404@hurricane, Arfa Daily
writes


It wouldn't be so bad on this shipping thing, if the companies had some
sort of cohesive and repeatable policy.

snip

Today, I ordered five 8 pin chips from RS. And how are they coming ?
By DHL for christ's sake. Why ? It's coming 10 miles down the road from
Corby. Use the Bloody Post office and a Jiffy bag ! It's gotta be
cheaper than using a courier for small packages, hasn't it ?


Not necessarily. It depends on what contracts they have.

A friends has a mail order toy/crafts business, and from what I
understand , for most things they will contract to say send upto X
parcels upto Y kg in weight per month. So it can all depend
--
Chris French

On Sat, 10 Jul 2010 10:30:33 +0100, Alan wrote:
In message FdWZn.131745$vB5.87938@hurricane, Arfa Daily
wrote

Tried to get all healthy by taking all the salt out. And then tried to
use the same style of advertising to convince us that was good ! But
afterwards, it tasted like ****, and all I did was to put half a pot of
salt back in. But now they seem to have gone back as they were, so I
guess their new 'improved' recipe, wasn't a success ...

Arfa

Surely all this proves is if you add enough salt to crap you can sell
it? That's why the "quality" meals available at premium prices in
supermarkets "designed" by celebrity cooks taste so salty.

What's KFC's secret recipe for their coating - mainly salt with a bit of
garlic.

If you watch any of the day-time food programmes on TV you will often
see the "pinch" of salt added for seasoning is equal in quantity to the
World Health Organisation's recommended amount for a whole year

And fat! watching some of these professional cooks sometimes makes me
feel that their recipes should carry a toxic waste warning. So often
they toss half a packet of butter into a pan, then add cream or more
butter or oil. Rarely (very rarely) they'll get challenged and dismiss
any criticisms as "well it's a treat / special occasion"

If you are used to over salted foods anything without salt will taste
inferior, even if it is better quality. However make a conscious effort
to avoid food with salt for a few weeks and then the reverse is true -
food with salt with taste strange.

pete
wibbled on Saturday 10 July 2010 11:35

And fat! watching some of these professional cooks sometimes makes me
feel that their recipes should carry a toxic waste warning. So often
they toss half a packet of butter into a pan, then add cream or more
butter or oil. Rarely (very rarely) they'll get challenged and dismiss
any criticisms as "well it's a treat / special occasion"

You should have seen the caramel slices I made once (to a recipe):

Butter in the base biscuit.

Butter in the caramel.

And luscious chocolate on top. Used around 1lb butter making a 2x2 foot
tray's worth. They were delicious, but you wouldn't want more than a 2x1"
slice or you'd pretty much have a heart attack on the spot!

--
Tim Watts

Managers, politicians and environmentalists: Nature's carbon buffer.

On 10 July, 01:36, "Arfa Daily" wrote:
"Phil L" wrote in message

news:NTGZn.239006$_m6.114924@hurricane...

Dave Osborne wrote:
Got a letter from RS Components this morning entitled "Improvements In
Delivery Service" and going on to say that from 19th July, orders will
be delivered by Parcelforce Worldwide.

They say "By making Parcelforce Worldwide our partner, we will
continue to bring you the high level service you have come to expect
as your order is being handled[1] by one of the worlds'[2] largest
and most respected logistics experts, with [...] a delivery track
record that's second to none."

"We work hard to bring you the best service in the industry and we are
confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our delivery
service."

Another nail in the coffin? Or is the RS contract big enough to make
Parcelforce pull their corporate sleeves up and deliver on their
promises (pun intended)?

Cheers,
DaveyOz

[1] This should of course read "your future orders will be handled",
but hey ho.

[2] should be world's. Unless, that is, Parcelfarce has gone galactic
whilst I wasn't looking. Maybe they deliver to the ISS.

"Improvements In Delivery Service"...........

"and we are confident that you won't see any change in the quality of our
delivery service."

so where's the improvement then?

What they should have stated was the truth, 'We have found some knobheads
who will do the same crappy service but at less cost to us, enjoy'

It's like the dreaded words 'new and improved recipie' on one of your
regular groceries, what they mean is, 'we've sourced one of the
ingredients for a penny a tonne cheaper in Pakistan, so now we're using
this inferior ****e instead of the other inferior ****e you are used to,
by the way, it tastes **** all like it used to'

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

Heinz did that a few years back with their oxtail soup. Tasted crap
afterwards ...

http://www.superfood.blog-city.com/oxtail_stew.htm

"Pre BSE, it was a cheap offcut, and then of course it disappeared for
several years. Now it's back, it isn't cheap anymore!"

Jim K

"Owain" wrote in message
...
On 10 July, 11:41, Tim Watts wrote:
You should have seen the caramel slices I made once (to a recipe):
Butter in the base biscuit.
Butter in the caramel.
And luscious chocolate on top. Used around 1lb butter making a 2x2 foot
tray's worth. They were delicious, but you wouldn't want more than a 2x1"
slice or you'd pretty much have a heart attack on the spot!

Nothing wrong with good fresh butter, cream, eggs, suet and lard. Good
"builds you up" food.

Owain

I could not agree more. See

http://www.medgadget.com/archives/img/5412514.jpg


Cheers

Adam

In article
,
Owain wrote:

Nothing wrong with good fresh butter, cream, eggs, suet
and lard. Good "builds you up" food.
My wife makes a mean 'butter pie':
butter, potatoes, onions and (did I include) butter.
Seasoning and melted cheese on top.

Friends just love it and we've never needed to call a
paramedic until after the meal has ended.

--
John Mulrooney
NOTE Email address IS correct but might not be checked for a while.

A controlled 'plane crash is usually called a landing.

"JTM" wrote in message
...


My wife makes a mean 'butter pie':
butter, potatoes, onions and (did I include) butter.
Seasoning and melted cheese on top.

I do similar but I would never put butter in it as I hate butter.
Blue cheese tastes nice in it but it can look a little spotty.

JTM wrote:
In article
,
Owain wrote:

Nothing wrong with good fresh butter, cream, eggs, suet
and lard. Good "builds you up" food.
My wife makes a mean 'butter pie':
butter, potatoes, onions and (did I include) butter.
Seasoning and melted cheese on top.

Friends just love it and we've never needed to call a
paramedic until after the meal has ended.

That sounds de-lish, savouries have always been my weak spot and I could eat
that right now even though I've only just had my dinner

--
Phil L
RSRL Tipster Of The Year 2008

On Sat, 10 Jul 2010 11:41:45 +0100, Tim Watts wrote:

You should have seen the caramel slices I made once (to a recipe):

Butter in the base biscuit.

Butter in the caramel.

And luscious chocolate on top. Used around 1lb butter making a 2x2 foot
tray's worth. They were delicious, but you wouldn't want more than a
2x1" slice or you'd pretty much have a heart attack on the spot!

My 15 year old son had his first go at a raspberry parfait
yesterday...relatively healthy!

http://www.tavi.co.uk/raspberry_parfait.jpg

(the white disc is chocolate)



--
Use the BIG mirror service in the UK:
http://www.mirrorservice.org

*lightning protection* - a w_tom conductor

"pete" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 10 Jul 2010 10:30:33 +0100, Alan wrote:
In message FdWZn.131745$vB5.87938@hurricane, Arfa Daily
wrote

Tried to get all healthy by taking all the salt out. And then tried to
use the same style of advertising to convince us that was good ! But
afterwards, it tasted like ****, and all I did was to put half a pot of
salt back in. But now they seem to have gone back as they were, so I
guess their new 'improved' recipe, wasn't a success ...

Arfa

Surely all this proves is if you add enough salt to crap you can sell
it? That's why the "quality" meals available at premium prices in
supermarkets "designed" by celebrity cooks taste so salty.

What's KFC's secret recipe for their coating - mainly salt with a bit of
garlic.

If you watch any of the day-time food programmes on TV you will often
see the "pinch" of salt added for seasoning is equal in quantity to the
World Health Organisation's recommended amount for a whole year

And fat! watching some of these professional cooks sometimes makes me
feel that their recipes should carry a toxic waste warning. So often
they toss half a packet of butter into a pan, then add cream or more
butter or oil. Rarely (very rarely) they'll get challenged and dismiss
any criticisms as "well it's a treat / special occasion"

If you are used to over salted foods anything without salt will taste
inferior, even if it is better quality. However make a conscious effort
to avoid food with salt for a few weeks and then the reverse is true -
food with salt with taste strange.

We actually own a family food business, and a lot of rubbish is spoken about
the adding of salt, mostly by people who think that they understand all
about health. The addition of salt is pretty much essential to much food, in
order to season it. This is not about tasting the salt, but 'bringing out'
the flavours of the other ingredients. A lot of food that you get in
restaurants these days, is bland, because it is being cooked by people who
are not proper chefs / cooks, and don't understand the concept of seasoning.
They think that they are being 'healthy' in their cooking by not adding
salt, but actually, all they are doing is turning out inferior tasting food.
Just look on any of the cookery competition programmes that are on TV these
days. The contestants are continually being admonished by the proper chefs
who are judging their food, for it not being seasoned correctly. This is
usually met by a totally blank look from the contestants.

Likewise, anything that we produce that requires a fat content, is made
using 'proper' fat - that's butter or cream. There is no reason that this
should be considered unhealthy. It's the lifestyle that goes with it that
causes it to be so. When we were kids 40 years or more back, we all used to
eat butter, cream, pork and beef dripping, bacon with fat on, pork with fat
on, drink full cream milk and so on. There was no obesity problem, and
nothing like the levels of coronary disease that we have now. Attacking the
food because it contains fat, is wrong. I would personally far rather have
proper dairy in my food, than some 'alternative' fat that has been
manufactured from god knows what in some factory deep in one of the eastern
states. Apart from this, many of the alternative 'manufactured' fats, just
don't work the same with the other ingredients, leading to cakes with the
wrong consistency or pastry that won't crisp up, and so on.

Arfa

We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember (Steve Firth)
saying something like:

Nowhere near as drastic as the change Baxters made to "Royal Game Soup"
in the 1980s. It used to be a decent game broth using game (pheasant,
venison, hare) and very little else then Baxters decided to keep selling
it at the same price but to change the ingredients to well, mostly
vegetables and "rusk". It's now even more ****e than it was then as a
result of "new improved recipe".

Baxters soups have generally gone downhill, ime, but the RG is the most
disappointing, I agree.
I used to have an image of Ma Baxter slaving over a huge pot, churning
it out, but for decades it's been a giant industrial process, just like
every other maker. I see they sold off the chilled soups to Northern
Foods in 2008. Hohum, more industrial muck.

In message , Arfa Daily
wrote


We actually own a family food business,

That's the problem with too much salt in food. People in the business
are addicted to salt and tasting it all day doesn't give them salty
"hit" so they always add a bit more... and then a little bit more ...and
then a little bit more. Like all drug addicts a reasonable amount
doesn't satisfy their cravings.

Perhaps those in the business shouldn't be the ones deciding how much
salt is included food?

and a lot of rubbish is spoken about the adding of salt, mostly by
people who think that they understand all about health.

It's not about health it's about taste.

The addition of salt is pretty much essential to much food, in order to
season it. This is not about tasting the salt, but 'bringing out' the
flavours of the other ingredients. A lot of food that you get in
restaurants these days, is bland, because it is being cooked by people
who are not proper chefs / cooks, and don't understand the concept of
seasoning.

If the food tastes bland it is because it is bland in the first place,
or of poor quality. Modern processing of food doesn't let flavour
mature. It is no longer permissible to hang meat in the traditional
way. It now has to be kept chilled within an inch of its life. Fruit and
vegetable varieties have been bred for their "class 1" looks rather
anything to do with taste.

Adding salt doesn't improve ingredients, it just disguises the fact that
many people in the food business use the cheapest ingredients they can
get hold of .

They think that they are being 'healthy' in their cooking by not
adding salt, but actually, all they are doing is turning out inferior
tasting food. Just look on any of the cookery competition programmes
that are on TV these days. The contestants are continually being
admonished by the proper chefs who are judging their food, for it not
being seasoned correctly. This is usually met by a totally blank look
from the contestants.

Professional TV cooks are part of the problem. They are also addicted to
the overuse of salt. The blank looks by the contestants are because
they don't believe that anyone would want to make food so inedible by
the use of so much salt.

For those who like salty food the salt can be added after cooking.

It's the lifestyle that goes with it that causes it to be so. When we
were kids 40 years or more back, we all used to eat butter, cream,
pork and beef dripping, bacon with fat on, pork with fat on, drink
full cream milk and so on.

The average Mcdonnalds 99p meal contains the same amount of fat and salt
as a family's fat and salt ration for the week 40 years ago
--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk

On Sat, 10 Jul 2010 19:02:37 +0100, Alan wrote:
In message , Arfa Daily
wrote


We actually own a family food business,

That's the problem with too much salt in food. People in the business
are addicted to salt and tasting it all day doesn't give them salty
"hit" so they always add a bit more... and then a little bit more ...and
then a little bit more. Like all drug addicts a reasonable amount
doesn't satisfy their cravings.

Perhaps those in the business shouldn't be the ones deciding how much
salt is included food?

and a lot of rubbish is spoken about the adding of salt, mostly by
people who think that they understand all about health.

It's not about health it's about taste.

The addition of salt is pretty much essential to much food, in order to
season it. This is not about tasting the salt, but 'bringing out' the
flavours of the other ingredients. A lot of food that you get in
restaurants these days, is bland, because it is being cooked by people
who are not proper chefs / cooks, and don't understand the concept of
seasoning.

If the food tastes bland it is because it is bland in the first place,
or of poor quality. Modern processing of food doesn't let flavour
mature. It is no longer permissible to hang meat in the traditional
way. It now has to be kept chilled within an inch of its life. Fruit and
vegetable varieties have been bred for their "class 1" looks rather
anything to do with taste.

Adding salt doesn't improve ingredients, it just disguises the fact that
many people in the food business use the cheapest ingredients they can
get hold of .

They think that they are being 'healthy' in their cooking by not
adding salt, but actually, all they are doing is turning out inferior
tasting food. Just look on any of the cookery competition programmes
that are on TV these days. The contestants are continually being
admonished by the proper chefs who are judging their food, for it not
being seasoned correctly. This is usually met by a totally blank look
from the contestants.

Professional TV cooks are part of the problem. They are also addicted to
the overuse of salt. The blank looks by the contestants are because
they don't believe that anyone would want to make food so inedible by
the use of so much salt.

For those who like salty food the salt can be added after cooking.

It's the lifestyle that goes with it that causes it to be so. When we
were kids 40 years or more back, we all used to eat butter, cream,
pork and beef dripping, bacon with fat on, pork with fat on, drink
full cream milk and so on.

The average Mcdonnalds 99p meal contains the same amount of fat and salt
as a family's fat and salt ration for the week 40 years ago

While I broadly agree with your sentiments (though, technically adding
the correct amount of salt to dough, for making bread does seem to improve
the chemistry of the bake) I should point out that there wasn't any
food rationing in 1970.