Maplin "Insurers cast doubt over future of Maplin" (now CLOSING stores)

[SeanB]

Bin collectors here start the shift at 3AM, and have a run that they do. If they hustle, and do not have to go off half way to empty the truck ( got too full and plate compactor will not compact it any more, and the bags at the back will not stay on any more) they finish shift at 9AM and are off till the next morning. Council employees, with benefits and such that the general worker can only dream of, and increases pretty much every year, paid for out of rates. That house of cards will eventually come tumbling down though.

Does mean that bin stuck in back will go into the compactor, and so what if the truck is on fire, we will put it out with garbage....

[trys]

I've updated the topic title.

[Zero999]

Bin collectors here start the shift at 3AM, and have a run that they do. If they hustle, and do not have to go off half way to empty the truck ( got too full and plate compactor will not compact it any more, and the bags at the back will not stay on any more) they finish shift at 9AM and are off till the next morning. Council employees, with benefits and such that the general worker can only dream of, and increases pretty much every year, paid for out of rates. That house of cards will eventually come tumbling down though.

Does mean that bin stuck in back will go into the compactor, and so what if the truck is on fire, we will put it out with garbage....

Lots of councils in the UK have outsourced bin collection to private contractors, in the hope to end that. The downside is private companies have to make a profit, so I'm sceptical about whether it actually saves any money.

[fcb]

https://news.sky.com/story/maplin-in-48-hour-race-to-secure-rescue-deal-with-jaeger-owner-11268634

Looks like things were worse than first thought.

[trys]

It doesn't look good.

[Cerebus]

No, it doesn't. Doubly so if the current owner of Jaeger takes over - they ruined Jaeger. I used to have a Jaeger jumper that my Father bought while on leave during the 2nd World War. It was still in good nick when I managed to lose it during a house move back in 2005. You'd be lucky if a jumper bought from post take-over Jaeger lasted over 60 weeks, let alone 60 years.

[trys]

It"s great that jumper lasted so long, and even more so that it was your Dad's to remind you of him.

I was left a pair of Marks & Spencer's Y-Fronts from my dad, still going strong. No, I'm kidding.

Shops like Primark appear to do well selling stuff that is fashionable, but doesn't last. Perhaps the Jaeger philosophy changed to keep them in profit. Not good news for new jumpers though.

[bd139]

Stuff from primark lasts as long as expensive stuff I’ve found. It’s all shit, all made by slave labour in factories thousands of miles away and that’s the state of affairs on the high street. There is nothing on it that isn’t shit. Shiny shop, shiny price tag. That store front cost a lot of money so you’re paying to shop in it. It’s a race to the bottom so the quality will suffer before the margin does.

On the subject of clothes, the only thing that has a reasonable price vs wear factor these days is outdoors and camping clothes. This is why everyone I know seems to wear some craghopper trousers and a fleece from regatta or berghaus. These came from TK Maxx or a sale when it was out of season for about £20 a pop. Also you can dry them overnight. Might as well buy shit from the lowest bidder (Tesco) really.

A proper quality jumper will cost you about £300 (no joke that’s the going rate for quality). Compare that to what you’re buying.

[trys]

What? At £300 a jumper, it's not only the sheep being fleeced.

[Cerebus]

Stuff from primark lasts as long as expensive stuff I’ve found. It’s all shit, all made by slave labour in factories thousands of miles away and that’s the state of affairs on the high street. There is nothing on it that isn’t shit. Shiny shop, shiny price tag. That store front cost a lot of money so you’re paying to shop in it. It’s a race to the bottom so the quality will suffer before the margin does.

That's exactly the problem I was alluding to. Edinburgh Woollen Mills (now an investment vehicle, once a purveyor of overpriced woollen tat to tourists) bought up Jaeger, gutted the quality and kept the prices. How they could do the former to Maplin eludes me, but that'll be their plan.

On the subject of clothes, the only thing that has a reasonable price vs wear factor these days is outdoors and camping clothes. This is why everyone I know seems to wear some craghopper trousers and a fleece from regatta or berghaus. These came from TK Maxx or a sale when it was out of season for about £20 a pop. Also you can dry them overnight. Might as well buy shit from the lowest bidder (Tesco) really.

I figured that out at the beginning of the '80s, when I started climbing and hillwalking, and thereafter stuck to the same functional ethic until the rest of the world caught up with me. TK Maxx is indeed a goldmine, provided you know how to spot quality and differentiate it from end-of-line 'fashion' brands. So you buy the heavily marked down (1/10th original ticket) Daks jacket, not the half price Armani one.

[fcb]

trys - please don't change the topic title to something about jumpers..

[Cerebus]

trys - please don't change the topic title to something about jumpers..

Especially not "woolly jumpers", we'll be flooded with the 'special interest' antipodeans. 

[trys]

The lack of direction on this topic unfortunately mirrors the Maplin management I fear. Let's hope it starts pulling in the right direction. The management, that is.

[Towger]

We are saving up our few bob for the big sell off...

[Chris-IP5]

Sadly I don't think I would miss Maplin on the high street, I went through my mourning phase years ago.

When I was a teenager going to Maplin was a special experience. Being inside was like walking through a components catalogue. A place where everyone understood that Ohms and Volts language I was learning. They always had the component I needed.

Years later I noticed a Maplin had opened in the town where I lived but inside everything had changed. I did well to even find the dark corner proper Maplin had been hidden in.

Since then I've forgotten about them. When I need components theres online companies queuing up for my business. It must be hard for Maplin (and other types of business) to compete with the Internet. Sad though.

PS sorry for lack of bin related comment

[KJDS]

PS sorry for lack of bin related comment

The way the weather is, jumpers are more important.

[G0HZU]

Most Binmen in the UK are on job and finish, so are paid a fixed wage regardless of how quick they walk or run. Most of them run. If it wan't for a fixed rate, they'd amble, which all sane folk would do.

That might explain the formal  printed letter I had attached to my wheelie bin the other week. For many years I've been leaving my bin at the end of my driveway with the handle pointing towards the road. I assumed this was correct.

But I got a formal advisory letter from someone at the council that said my bin should be left EXACTLY where the binmen parked it (now empty) and in the same orientation. So now they want me to block the narrow public footpath with my bin and place it such that they can load it quicker onto the vehicle. I guess those saved seconds add up but it does mean that my bin blocks the path for about 8 hours one day a week. Anyone with a wide pushchair or wheelchair will have to use the road if we all place our bins the same way outside the houses.

[bd139]

They come and get mine from the garden and put it back.

[grumpydoc]

They come and get mine from the garden and put it back.

That's nice of them.....

....but would open a whole can of worms should any injury occur while they are on your property.

[tom66]

They come and get mine from the garden and put it back.

That's nice of them.....

....but would open a whole can of worms should any injury occur while they are on your property.

Would it really?
Same issue as if the post man trips up while delivering mail
I'm sure they have standard employers liability insurance

[bd139]

Never underestimate the benefits of finding a solicitor which goes to the same masonic lodge as the local magistrates and police...

[grumpydoc]

They come and get mine from the garden and put it back.

That's nice of them.....

....but would open a whole can of worms should any injury occur while they are on your property.

Would it really?
Same issue as if the post man trips up while delivering mail
I'm sure they have standard employers liability insurance

Home owners can be liable - eg https://www.simpsonmillar.co.uk/news/property-owners-liable-for-postmans-injury-1037, but not necessarily able to pay the claim.

which is why some countries don't have mail delivery to your door but to a postbox on the edge of your property.

[bd139]

But, you know, postmen. Any excuse.

From Viz:

[odessa]

   Love Viz

[High_vacuum_house]

I for one won't really miss Maplin when it goes. When it was just a handful of stores (Bristol or Birmingham were the closest) it was great and did things like valve transformers and chokes. Their kits were amazing and all the way from the "battery and bulb brigade " to advanced shortwave recievers and well designed test equipment.

Our local store in Rugby is hopeless. The staff didn't understand the difference between a pot and an electrolytic capacitor when I asked for some components. I always had to check everything handed to me from the component draws because it was often hopelessly wrong.

They don't understand why I refuse to buy a naked CMOS logic gate dropped into a plastic self seal bag. They must have destroyed hundreds of them this way. Wouldn't have taken much to sell them in individual ESD  bags like any sane supplier would.

What made me mad was the crap miniature toggle switches I bought and tried to use. They were so flimsy that the solder lugs moved when soldering making the switch useless. On returning them for a refund I was told I didn't know how to solder  even though I explained I was using a Weller TCP iron with multi core solder and have had soldering experience going back over 20 years from valve chassis to through hole production and SMD work. I have never bought another switch from there again!!

And no I don't want flashy disco lights either!!
Christopher Capener