PigeonTracker

lol. So it wasn't me that noticed his over indulgent driving tutorial. ;D Mind you, glad he did stop me from driving over your neighbours petunias. ;D ;D Jamie

I'd have spotted it myself before leaving as we double check, but kudos for the owner beating me to spotting the oversight. Jamie

Things have gone absolutely crazy as expected with Amtrak leaving everyone in the lurch, on that note even we've been struggling to cater for the large number of requests up north and Scotland on our now regular mid-week run. We're to the stage where we even have a waiting list of breeders/buyers/swappers and sellers wanting deliveries so have decided to possibly double up and do another 48 NE Scotland trip for the weekends at the same rate as mid-week. Hope this helps anyone left in the lurch, just a note as well, within the next week or so we'll be sending two vans per day up to most destinations just to make sure we can speed up delivery, traffic jams permitting, 1 van 200 vans, 1 jam is a hell of a leveler. In advance everyone, if there are any delays in dropping to you please understand that this will be no longer than 24 hours and we'll be on the road with the birds at all times as opposed to amtrak and other simply taking the easy option and returning to base to deliver a week later. As long as the birds are looked after (which is the main thing) then a one day delay should be something most of us can tolerate so no coming on here beating up on us for that okay, we're getting there, and with your help it will be sooner rather than later. Thanks again for the support everyone, we're learning by the day thanks to you all. Jamie

Our numbers clearly on our website, www.pigeontracker.com. Hope that helps.

I doubt if PB is a free site to run dovescot, its a free script for the forum and the servers its hosted on aren't free, unless Richard has found an extremely generous host. It may be free to use but it probably isn't free to use for Richard, neither would the template being used be free to skin/design to a unique spec, have the logo created like this. Free websites are usually easily spotted by the fact they are cram packed full of crappy adverts and popups.

Its not for me to tell you where to order things but from feedback from people on the road is they tend to read but not post, the fact the main posts are on the notice board are hot topics they want to read about is a good thing and being honest this is one of the better forum scripts I've seen as it makes it easy to see what's hot and what's not. As strange as this sounds there are a lot of people out there who would not know how to, or even want to search a forum so if the topic is in thier face right from the off then your going to keep them coming back for more each time. Probably why in my opinion this forum is the best out barring none. Jamie

I realize your intentions were right and just like the post below you have to agree that the forum needs interaction but its down to the owners to decide on where to put things. With Amtrak taking the mickey out of us, Couriers are a hot topic and I know for a fact a lot of breeders read this forum but wouldn't know how to, or perhaps even bother to navigate to other areas. They want to come here look straight at the main issues which is the only reason the owners and moderators have probably kept it in the main area as they know what they're doing better than I do. Jamie

Couriers are an important part of the pigeon scene Chatters and the fact a forum like this can be used for us all to interact can only be a good thing. I don't see it as any form of free advertising as some of the posts have been a royal pain in the proverbial with spiteful comments made. I'd not slate you for your comment, the nonsense that's gone on with person A putting person B down has dragged this forum down to a level it doesn't belong but to totally stop talking about a hot topic wouldn't be a good idea because it doesn't allow either the potential user of the courier or the courier themelves to keep thier fingers on the pulse. Jamie

Just had a phone call from Jimmy Bulger in Liverpool who was concerned that due to some crossed wires it appeared that there was some ongoing issues between Jimmy and my company. There's not. Jimmy is still a valid customer of ours and more than welcome to use our services. Jamie

Your missing the point Mark, The point of the response by John was to clear up the ambiguity over my Companies services which made it look like Pigeon Tracker caused the three day delay when point of fact, and as kindly cleared up by John, we caused no delay. I think based on the fact a company that works hard to gain a reputation for going the extra yard deserves to be recognised for just that and if posts are made that might create the wrong impression then the poster should be allowed to make amends. People are quick enough to condemn with no-one calling for a thread to be ended so why do that when praise is offered out? Not many have the same views as you Mark, and as for boxing your birds just before the courier turned up, I wonder just how many couriers would wait for a dozen or so 'Old Yellows' to box their birds thus creating a delay for everyone down the line? Fortunately most fanciers actually show consideration and its this consideration whilst working with couriers who actually want to help their fellow fanciers that will make for a better service all round. I wonder how much flack from the irate fancier down the line later on his drop would the courier be able to take? Or let's put it in another way, what if you had to wait a day or more extra because of the accumulated delay caused by one or more fanciers who took your stance and boxed after the courier came? I'd be hedging my bets towards you posting on here complaining how poor the service was and how you had to wait, it might be a different story then, or you might actually be one of the few that actually is flexible and understood that delays are inevitable in this line of transport. Its a tough one to call on the boxing, me personally, because we're pretty much without huge delays don' think it a bad thing to box a good few hours in advance, I've done it for 40 years and would not change now. and I do agree about your methods as long as the paperwork was pre-done etc then it really could only take seconds to box and away we go, the problem is though old yellow, some people take an absolute age to sort themselves out and thats where the problems begin. As for the delays, from what I've been told and what's been told to us here, the delays only seem to happen on any frequent level by another company. To John, thanks for clearing up the amibuity, even if Mark felt it un-needed I felt it important and so did many others I'm sure. The problem is that there aren't that many well mannered 'Old Yellows' in this world who think before they speak, most would spit thier dummy out of the pram without any thought to reasons behind delays let alone accept a simple apology. All's well that ends well.

Did anyone mention you Dovescot?

Did anyone mention you Dovescot?

Sorry to dissapoint you Derek (Dellboy), there was no delay for John, (wee red hens), and no need for excuses so please take the time to get your facts right before commenting in future, it will save you from coming across as the victor meldrew of the forum. There was a mixup with some other courier who the seller had used before Pigeon Tracker which the delay referred to. Having just come off the phone from John he reassured me that he found our service as good as it gets and he'd be more than happy to use us again as will the seller he bought his birds from, who as a breeder that relies on good couriers to deliver his birds is great news for us. I'll take that positive feedback over the one or two serial complainers and bored posters who get a buzz out of stirring the proverbial any day of the week. I don't have to name names on that one, the person/s I'm referring to know who they are and if the cap fits then they can wear it.

@DOVEScot; And defend is exactly what I'm doing. I was told this forum was one of the better ones but sadly from what I've seen its being spoilt by a small amount of people who appear hell bent on mischief making? The wee red hens is the name the dad gives to his daughters who post for him, and like him have flame coloured hair and were as excited as easter bunnies to see the pigeons come the same day. Point of fact he actually said to one of the little girls to go and post on here as I stood by the door shaking his hand. :-/ Strange for him to accidently mix his dates up as we don't collect on a Monday so guess that rules that one out, no doubt a genuine explanation will be on its way. Good or bad feedback is fine as long as its true, if its bad it means I have to fix something, but if its not broken then its libelous to my company and I'm sorry but I am not prepared to accept any of that nonsense and will deal with it swiftly and firmly as any reputable company would.

Thanks for the kind words, hopefully you'll get your lofts up and running as good as they were before or even better, and it goes without saying we're more than happy to be your chosen courier.

Perhaps people doing their homework before making comments would help them post accurately. On checking you'll find that not only do we have several holding depots in and around Scotland, we have this in place pretty much around trhe UK. We deliver to all areas of the UK each week covering large areas of England and Scotland on the same day without any problem, this included yesterday, and albeit the last drop was as late as 9.p.m, he did have his bird picked up from Devon and Delivered to Glasgow in less than 12 hours, good in anyones book. To the best of my knowledge Pigeon Tracker deliver far quicker than any other courier I'm aware of, and with the birds health in mind. I do stand corrected though, and if there is any other courier who can cover one end of the country to the other in the same day as we do then feel free to post about them here as I'm sure this will benefit other members who can then decide for themselve based on fact not fiction as is the case with many of the posts made trying to put down Pigeon Trackers service. Its the same with our other drivers who were covering most other parts of the UK with little or no problems, we're good and we know we are only going to get better and stronger as more people get to know of us. These negative posts are seen for what they are, nothing short of a load of nonsense based on what appears to be nothing more than petty minded jealousy. So as much as your concern is appreciated, your making comments without qualification isn't, the simple reason we could deliver quickly over such a large distance is because we did not hit traffic, which for some insane reason both the original poster and the others who felt the need to jump in and play schoolyard bully fail to recognise. What we have shown is that far from what your trying to portray,(and only you know your motive) is that we're more than up to the task, and with the exception of one problem drop last week (through NO fault of our own) we have pretty much delivered on time to at least 99.9% of our customers, there are not too many couriers, including Amtrak who could proudly boast that. Roland, thanks for your concern but we're not going anywhere except forward, there's two chances of a few people on here who have nothing better to do that criticise for the sake of it stopping us from growing at a rate of knots, that's no chance and not a chance. To the ones' who critisise the message is clear, if you think you can do better than feel free to have a go, it will save the many who have sent me pm's wanting me to invite you to put up or shut up from ending up doing so themselves which I've encouraged them not to because this kind of behaviour is not only pathetic coming from what are after all 'Grown Men' but brings this forum down to the level of a guttersnake and that's bad news all round. Of course I wouldn't dream of challenging the three negatives to put up or shut up because I doubt it very much if they could even if they wanted to, not forgetting the fact I actually respect my fellow fanciers even if some of them act like schoolyard bullies, neither do I feel the need to come onto a public forum for anything other than to listen and learn so that we can better server our customers. I don't think I can be any plainer than that really and as much as I have no intention of raising to the bait these posters are dangling in a desperate bid to entertain themselves, or simply to cause nuisance. Posting in a negative way without foundation simply raises the question as to your motives, moreso as its been quoted more times than the fifth amendment that the one time we had a problem with deliveries in Scotland was and I'm saying it for the last time... THROUGH NO FAULT OF OUR OWN, IT WAS A TRAFFIC JAM AND THE ACTIONS OF A FEW INCONSIDERATE FANCERS THAT CREATED THE DELAY. I sincerely hope this message has finally got through to you all now as its getting kind of boring seeing this repetative nonsense coming from what is becoming increasingly seen as a result of green eyed monster syndrome. Jamie

You run the risk of this from any method of transport regardless of what methods you use and however vigilant you are. In a nutshell it would be nigh on impossible to absolutely guarantee cross contamination. However, the fact we use a system that keeps the birds seperate from each other from point A to B including within the holding lofts using various isolation methods keeps the risk to a minimum. I've studied this topic in huge detail not just with vets but took it one step further and went into the human arena as well by asking several medical practitioners, so whilst not able to ever offer a guarantee of absolute safety, (that is impossible at this present time as I have no doubt you already know) but what we can confidently say is that we go to great lenghts to minimize the potential risks. Hope that answers your question.

Not sure whether any of you have read this article, http://www.ifpigeon.com/IF/articles/Streptococcus_bovis_infection.html it seems to be focussed on european studies and although possibly slightly dated does give a vets insight into the problems and what can and doesn't work as a cure. One theory that keeps cropping up is sanitation but as one or more posters here know if you get a stray coming in with your birds from a training run or even race that has the bug then you can be as sanitised as you like the bug just walked in through the front door. My viewpoint is that it will eventually be controlled but never cured, but as with all types of bacterium it will mutate and we'll go back to stage one.

Thanks for the kind words, and I'm proud to say this is the view of the majority of our customers. As said in my last post, we can't satisfy all of the people all of the time and Mr. Hayes is no exception. I wish him well in his quest to find a courier that can satisfy his demands. Perhaps one day he will realize that this was in truth a 'one off' and give us a second chance but we won't hold our breath and still wish him the best regardless. Our Glasgow trip this Wednesday coming is going to be a good guage and I will report back exactly happens to support the fact that if the traffic goes with us then there will be no better than us out there. That's not a boast by the way, its a promise. Jamie

Do you know the one important factor your failing to say Mr. Haye, despite the delay, you've not once mentioned that your bird was in your keeping so in no situation to cause you concern other than a little inconvenience to yourself having to wait for us to pick up the bird for which we couldn't apologise enough for. Your customer put it nicely when he candidly said, even though there was a delay he understood these things happen and that as the bird was in excellent condition when he recieved it on Saturday he had no problem whatsoever. You were constantly kept up to date by our staff of the reasons behind the delays and we could do no more. Despite the fact that the delays were beyond our control it seems your bitterness is unlikely to go away and that dissapoints me, but I have to accept that we aren't going to satisfy all of the customers all of the time so wish you well in finding a company that will go to the lenghts that we did despite everything. The important factor the good readers of this forum need to know is that despite your clear anger at us is that the pigeon was extremely well looked after once in our custody despite everything, and delivered with no loss but minor inconvenience to the new owner who fully understood that sometimes things simply are beyond the couriers control. Your right on one thing, the fancier can decide for themselves whether they would use the amtraks of this world who don't feed or water the birds, don't have holding lofts throughout the country and would have returned the birds back to base for delivery a week later, either dead or at the least worse for wear, or whether they would choose a courier like Pigeon Tracker who would rather stay for 72 hours on one route to finish the task regardless of the conditions. I know which one I'd choose. I don't think I have to say any more on the matter, do you.

Hi Jimmy, you never slaughtered our reputation because fortunately as fickle as us fanciers can be most are wise enough to understand that we all get fed up at times and say things in the heat of the moment. Every person I spoke to who recieved their birds later than planned understood that things are often beyond the couriers control and this was no exception. What I'd like to re-assure people is that even through a delay the birds in our care are looked after as if their were our own and that is the most important aspect of all. We're no amtrak, we won't let the birds fester in a warehouse unfed and un-watered for a week before delivering next, we, as proved this week are even prepared to stay on the road for as long as it takes to get the birds back to their owners. How that can be critisiced is beyond my understanding. Jamie

Thanks Jon, some sense among madness. I've spoken to Jimmy since this and the only thing I thought was out of order was the fact he said contacting us by phone was useless. It isn't, as with any mobile number if you don't get a signal you don' get the call. Try a little later and the signal will probably be back, anyone with a mobile will be aware of this problem, its not the drivers fault. There are several numbers to call and if no answer please leave a message as the line is probably being used. P.S. I'm not the only driver, nor do I use the internet when I do so posting questions on where your pigeons are whilst I'm out on the road is probably not the best way to get a response. Jamie.

One of the best posts I've read and of course we'll take critics on face value. Most here have been those who either have no interest other than hi-jacking threads of pure mischief makers. Most people with half a brain would know that nothing can be done about traffic jams, road crashes, and no matter how big or small you are there is little or nothing you can do about this, and no matter how you cut it you can never blame the courier unless they caused the jam in the first place. Trust me, if I could have used the same trick Moses used with the red sea I'd have done that Wednesday. Response to DoveScot@ Pigeon Tracker isn't a one man band, we have plenty of resources but they are academic in these types of instances, traffic jams are the only time a ferarri is likely to be passed by a Robin Reliant. As for business experience? As much experience as I do have it can never prepare you for what's around the corner and it would be a fool who would say otherwise. I learnt that in my first day. We've done a pretty good job of things so far and the only blip being one caused by something outside of our control. Being stuck in a traffic jam is any companies worst nightmare, it costs thousands with its knockon effects but in truth it is only the naive or ignorant that would ever blame the courier. Pigeon Tracker is going from strenght to strength and with the help of the fancier we'll get even better and that's what its all about. A few negative posts on a forum aren't going to get in the way that's for sure. As for being a fancier and knowing how fanciers are likely to react? Yes I am a fancier and whilst I know we can be a fickle old bunch, I'm still wise enough to understand that things like traffic can be a problem and if a delay happens which is beyond the control of the courier then I shouldnt complain, even though I'd be lying if I hadn't sworn at the delivery driver for being late with me even though it probably wasn't his fault. We're all human, and if we had the tool called hindsight we'd understand this. The problem is that we don't posess hindsight and often air frustration before getting facts. Life doesn't come with a manual, and neither does how to deal with the unexpected, its a learning curve and for one, Pigeon Tracker are all about learning and that can never be a bad thing. To ChrisMaidment and the rest for the kind support and encouragement, and to the many that read this forum but don't post here, thanks for your custom and understanding, that's what counts to Pigeon Tracker and what its all about.

As most will have known by now, Pigeon Tracker come under some pretty scathing and unwarranted attack over the past few days by some who haven't really put any thought into what they've said before pointing the blame at the couriers, and more importantly Pigeon Tracker for delays in delivery. There are certain facts that are beyond a couriers control and will always govern delivery times and even dates.. Traffic: Traffic Jams are a fact of life, from a 5 minute queue to a five hour jam, roadworks and so on, there is nothing anyone can do about them one thing we'd ask fanciers not to do, please don't blame a courier for delays due to a traffic issue, they aren't our doing and are beyond our control.. Speed Limits: There are now more speed cameras in the UK than anywhere in the World per capita, a courier cannot risk repeat offences or risk losing drivers and or even their business's. Please respect the fact the courier has to drive within the speed limit, or as near to it, and avoid pressuring them into breaking the law.. Non Fancier interaction: Non fanciers who find birds don't often respond well to the fact they feel they've been lumbered with a problem they can do without. They are often rude and often non co-operative,, Pigeon Tracker make sure the non fancier knows how important a role thy play and so should you as a fancier, after all, it could be YOUR bird they are holding. The Biggest Problem: By far the biggest contributing factor to delays over a trip is the fanciers preperation for the delivery either as a seller, or a fancier returning a bird. Couriers should only need to stop at a pickup point, knock the door, take the bird off the customer and off they go. If this is done then it adds just a minute or so to the delivery route which might already be plagued by traffic problems. I'm going to give you an example of just how important a part the fancier/breeder/seller plays in the destiny of their own deliveries, and I'll use a fictitious example from Cardiff as the example. Here's how the problem starts. The courier arrives to find the customer has yet to get his birds ready so has to wait, lets say for this example, at least 25 minutes for the birds to get on the van for the delivery. This 25 minutes might not sound much, but there's more. What if ALL customers created the same delay? Say there were 15 customers in this example. 15 customers times by 25 customers adds up to an incredible 6.25 hours extra time to the delivery run,. Some couriers only do a 10 hour day so work it out, this leaves the courier with only 3.75 hours of delivery dropping time which, if scattered over a wide area is going to be nigh on impossible. It doesn't stop at the six or more hours though, it gets worse. Even with one delay of 25 minutes such as experienced by me by my fictitious customer this could lead to a snowball effect. The delay could mean I now hit rush hour traffic, or it could be school time, for just two examples. Traffic at these times is chaos and can add anything up to a couple of hours therefore now making us theoretically 2 and a half hours late. A perfect example of a what a pick up or drop off should be like Mrs.X from Glasgow, (after I typed from Jims home). She had the bird ready in her box and even though we offered one of ours as they were fresher it still only took a minute or so to get the pigeon on board and our driver on his way. Its not too much to ask to have the fancier to get his birds ready and to prevent delays. You wouldn't be able to phone up any other couriers and expect them to wait anything up to 45 minutes while the fancier goes to his lofts, gets the birds boxed one by one. So in a nutshell please work with us to help us provide you with the service you require, please prepare your pigeons beforehand. It's easy to make up 25 minutes lost time, not so easy to make up for 6 and a half hours, that just snowballs on and on. Thanks everyone, Yours in Sport Jamie, Pigeon Tracker

As most will have known by now, Pigeon Tracker come under some pretty scathing and unwarranted attack over the past few days by some who haven't really put any thought into what they've said before pointing the blame at the couriers, and more importantly Pigeon Tracker for delays in delivery. There are certain facts that are beyond a couriers control and will always govern delivery times and even dates.. Traffic: Traffic Jams are a fact of life, from a 5 minute queue to a five hour jam, roadworks and so on, there is nothing anyone can do about them one thing we'd ask fanciers not to do, please don't blame a courier for delays due to a traffic issue, they aren't our doing and are beyond our control.. Speed Limits: There are now more speed cameras in the UK than anywhere in the World per capita, a courier cannot risk repeat offences or risk losing drivers and or even their business's. Please respect the fact the courier has to drive within the speed limit, or as near to it, and avoid pressuring them into breaking the law.. Non Fancier interaction: Non fanciers who find birds don't often respond well to the fact they feel they've been lumbered with a problem they can do without. They are often rude and often non co-operative,, Pigeon Tracker make sure the non fancier knows how important a role thy play and so should you as a fancier, after all, it could be YOUR bird they are holding. The Biggest Problem: By far the biggest contributing factor to delays over a trip is the fanciers preperation for the delivery either as a seller, or a fancier returning a bird. Couriers should only need to stop at a pickup point, knock the door, take the bird off the customer and off they go. If this is done then it adds just a minute or so to the delivery route which might already be plagued by traffic problems. I'm going to give you an example of just how important a part the fancier/breeder/seller plays in the destiny of their own deliveries, and I'll use a fictitious example from Cardiff as the example. Here's how the problem starts. The courier arrives to find the customer has yet to get his birds ready so has to wait, lets say for this example, at least 25 minutes for the birds to get on the van for the delivery. This 25 minutes might not sound much, but there's more. What if ALL customers created the same delay? Say there were 15 customers in this example. 15 customers times by 25 customers adds up to an incredible 6.25 hours extra time to the delivery run,. Some couriers only do a 10 hour day so work it out, this leaves the courier with only 3.75 hours of delivery dropping time which, if scattered over a wide area is going to be nigh on impossible. It doesn't stop at the six or more hours though, it gets worse. Even with one delay of 25 minutes such as experienced by me by my fictitious customer this could lead to a snowball effect. The delay could mean I now hit rush hour traffic, or it could be school time, for just two examples. Traffic at these times is chaos and can add anything up to a couple of hours therefore now making us theoretically 2 and a half hours late. A perfect example of a what a pick up or drop off should be like Mrs.X from Glasgow, (after I typed from Jims home). She had the bird ready in her box and even though we offered one of ours as they were fresher it still only took a minute or so to get the pigeon on board and our driver on his way. Its not too much to ask to have the fancier to get his birds ready and to prevent delays. You wouldn't be able to phone up any other couriers and expect them to wait anything up to 45 minutes while the fancier goes to his lofts, gets the birds boxed one by one. So in a nutshell please work with us to help us provide you with the service you require, please prepare your pigeons beforehand. It's easy to make up 25 minutes lost time, not so easy to make up for 6 and a half hours, that just snowballs on and on. Thanks everyone, Yours in Sport Jamie, Pigeon Tracker