PigeonTracker

Acknowledging there is a problem is all well and good IB, doing something tangible about it is another. You know your on a loser when you read the opening statement on the subject..... Some pigeon fanciers are concerned that the increase in the numbers of birds of prey, particularly peregrines and sparrowhawks, is posing a significant threat to their hobby. Peregrines and sparrowhawks will kill racing pigeons and can cause injury or disruption to flocks. Paying attention to the patronising SOME word, you tell me ONE fancer who isn't bothered. Do a poll on here whether people are concerned or not, I'll bet its more than just some.

Someone set him up with my company, I'll guarantee he'll be take to task on it. >

I have to agree on this one even though the seller is the con artist. No courier with knowledge would have taken birds in such a state. I know I've come across customers who've had no choice but to box the birds in wine boxes because they wanted to get them ready for pick up and would be in work but it takes seconds to rebox the birds in more suitable ones and that's what the courier in this instance should have done. I'm glad the seller was named and doing a lot of custom down that way we'll be looking out for him/her although I suspect they've taken advantage of a courier who doesn't know too much about transporting anything let alone birds.

So back on topic..... People wanting birds taken to or from Scotland in the new year can use us if they choose as we're putting on a service to cater for that, as per my post above. When back to normal mid January it will be Scotland at least once a week probably more. Merry Xmas by the way.

Thanks for the kind words whitenight, and that's what people like bigda don't see. We deliberately shut up shop over xmas to avoid letting people down with false promise to be able to deliver all points of the compass when we knew that because the orders are all over the place it simply wouldn't be cost effective to do so. You have to be a realist in this game and know when to take orders on and and when to be honest with the customer by saying you can't. Some fanciers would have you deliver one bird from Truro to Thurso without batting an eyelid for the fact that it cost over £200 in fuel alone, and if you don't have the numbers on that route then your losing money hand over fist. I'm not prepared to do that and notified my customers in good time of our closing hours so as not to offer empty promise like some I could mention. As I said in a p.m to Darren, there is a lot I could say that would paint a different picture from that being falsely portrayed on here but won't stoop that low, its each couriers choice how to run their own business's and ours was to take a break while we could. So back on topic..... People wanting birds taken to or from Scotland in the new year can use us if they choose as we're putting on a service to cater for that, as per my post above. When back to normal mid January it will be Scotland at least once a week probably more. Merry Xmas by the way.

It's the least I can do as some of the couriers are working their socks off trying to maintain the demand probably none of us expected which has stretched them a bit thin. I can't run at a loss but as long as our expenses are covered I'm happy to at least try and do my bit. Moral of the story is that we've all learned a lesson and one thing is for certain is that I won't close for xmas next year even if its just keeping a skeleton staff on to cover. What's this thing called the credit crunch? I've never seen such business as has been done with pigeons. ??)

With the inevitable problems with couriers over the xmas period and the backlog its going to cause I've decided to put at least one of the vans back on the road to cater for a guaranteed dedicated run to and from Scotland as there have been a number of requests to get birds up and down from there. This will be a limited but guaranteed service provided within the first week of January and as long as the numbers make it a viable option for me to do so we will guarantee that we will get your birds picked up and delivered within a 48 hour period. As most know by now we go as far as the Elliots lofts in Aberdeen so if anyone wants to get their birds to or from Scotland this first week then send me an e-mail or phone us. Sending p.m's can be tricky as there is a limit to how many mail we can recieve. I hope this will go some way to alleviate the stress some people are going through and help ease the burden put on other couriers who are prepared to work through this period. This will be on a strictly first come first served basis and with orders already coming in so if you do find yourself in need of a courier simply contact us and we'll do our utmost to help without making false promise. We won't be picking up from every point of the compass witgh just one van but so far as can tell Devon, Nottingham, and the Newcastle areas are going to be covered and guaranteed to get thier birds delivered to and from Scotland. Thanks

Did you notice whether small van prices had changed?

Over 50 are you Tommy? Your having it too easy. Many happy returns of the day anyway, and have a good xmas.

Could not agree more Bob, which is why we ask for people to try and accomodate early and late drop-offs. This will never be compulsory but its the only way us smaller couriers are ever going to make the best of a bad situation. I see the key to couriers and fanciers avoiding armageddon is to work together and accept that there is no such thing as a guaranteed 24 hour delivery service any more. I'm going to make a post based on what we faced last year with the hope that other couriers and all fanciers with an invite for members to throw ideas into the pot for us all to learn with a view to creating at least some level of happy medium.

The team at Pigeon Tracker would like to wish its customers both old and new a very merry christmas and happy new year and to keep you updated we've now shut up shop for the xmas period to provide some level of sanity and to get the vans serviced ready for the nutty season come late January. Orders are already being taken ready for January when we start back and customers will be served on a first come first served basis dependant on their areas so customers are strongly advised to book early for our restart in January. Customers are encouraged to place orders via the website info@pigeontracker.com and if there is no answer on the phones or they are engaged to simply leave a contact number and name where we will return the call as soon as possible.

It's £10.60 for small vans Paul, Then you have the M6 Toll road, the £8 charges to go into London, the £2 charges to get onto the M25 (First time I'd ever seen that one this week) Wouldn't even give me a reciept to claim vat!. Truth is Scotland is a nightmare in rush hour and only the M25 and M6 are worse but if you plan around these times they have the best road systems in the UK and as dovescot said, they're free.

Turning down business is always the last thing you want to do but the first thing you must learn to do if your ever going to survive long term. I like Debbie and Wayne and don't see them as competition as they actually lesson the burden on Pigeon Tracker by taking on work we'd never be able to handle but at least we're honest enough to admit that. The businessman in me says let them suffer through their own success but the heart in me says no, I have to speak up and tell them to be brave and make hard decisions to stay realistic and not set their targets too high because it really will be their undoing. Allbear, this is the easy period, come real season what D and W are experiencing is going to be ten times as hard because even if we combined every courier out there at the moment we don't have even a percentage of what Amtrak had and that's the problem. If the courier system isn't going to self implode we need to get cohesiveness between couriers where we all work out a system that will allow us to cover the UK more efficiently. Debbie, Wayne, I know you'll get to read this so openly say, take it easy, turn the work down if its threatenin to stretch you to the limits. I know what its like to sleep in vans overnight, I know what its like to almost fall asleep at the wheel, and I'm pretty sure I know what your going through right now more than most on this forum so please, take it easy and learn to say no.

Yes, we were asked by john Capper from Merseyside amongst others if we could find someone because we've closed for xmas. With all the rave reviews of Flying Couriers I thought I'd pass the work on to them but could not get through on any of the numbers. Got a line test by BT just in case but nothing wrong there. :-/ If I'd honestly known there was so much work at this late time of the year and so many people likely to be let down as is the case (not just with flying couriers) I would have kept some vans on the road to help out. Unfortunately I've advised our clients that we've closed for the xmas period which seems to have spread to non customers fast, combine this with the fact other couriers have packed in or gone bust I'm guessing that this may have led to more work being put FC's way than they, or anyone else can realistically cope with.

I think in truth these past few months have been testing times for everyone including myself by putting my passion into trying to get a courier company up and running, it means I have to understand that I need to read how people read my posts etc as often things can get read the wrong way. Hope that makes sense? Let's assume just one thing guys, both couriers and fanciers alike are going to have to work together regardless of personality conflicts, if we work based on this premise we might just get through this first year without Amtrak, the next will get easier. Merry Xmas everyone.

This is Flying Couriers thread Bob so won't jump in here and make announcements about ours as that isn't right thing to do, can tell you we won't be working anywhere near christmas eve though.

Thanks for the kind words, we do try our best but not looking for work as its finding us. Will be posting about our xmas closing times later.

The box would have to get sodden for that to happen Duncan and experience shows that with the right cup attached as in the ad we have in the homing world the water doesn't get to the box anywhere near as much as you'd think if at all. Point taken though if the design is not well thought out.

Actually he wasn't the first to use this method as Brian is aware from our numerous chats, but this doesn't take away from the fact Brian is a great lad and true fancier and one we for one will be working with through the new season. The fact he took the time to make his own cut out showed that he's put some thought into the care of the birds which is what couriers should be doing. Just for the record the concept is patent pending for the feeding flap to be encorperated within the manufacturing process which is something no-one else had done, this doesn't mean people can't cut out the side of the box though which is always an option. People need to remember the boxes are in truth supposed to be disposable and should only be used once anyway so even if the boxes did get wet when offering the birds the chance to dip or feed it wouldn't hurt. In a nutshell it matters little who done what first, what has come out of this is that couriers, or at least some of them have gone that extra yard to look after the birds during transit which is something the Amtraks of the world never dreamt of doing. Here's looking forward to squeaker season.

There's been quite a lot of documentaries on this phenomenon. Its a well known defence system that smaller insects like birds and butterflies have developed to prevent themselves from being prey, same with certain species of fish and animals. The red circles present themselves to the predictor (the Hawk) as large eyes, its believed (or so David Attenborough explained) mimic that of a much larger animal which then puts off the attacker. you can use water based paints like the ones used in childrens schools to paint on to the top and bottom of the wings and it washes off with a sponge doing no damage to the flights. Use it through training and your guaranteed to minimize the level of attack. The brighter the colours of the eyes painted on the wings the more effective the system is.

Just responded Bob, surely he's got our telephone number if he alleges he's been waiting that long why hasn't he brought the issues up with us? Just posted to him, he was waiting for Coopers for three weeks, certainly not us, have also invited him to phone us to see if we can figure out whether in fact he placed an order because we can't for the life of us find one that we couldn't deliver in Gloucester.

Anyone who feels the need to be anonymous and not accept my invitation to air your clear grievance face to face as I requested via p.m nothing more speaks for itself. If you have nothing constructive to add to the forum regarding the problems couriers have and the problems fanciers and breeders alike are going to face then kindly refrain from posting unecessary rants as they get you no-where.

1. Customer satisfaction. That is the one thing that we've always achieved, we've done this by never making promises we can deliver or pickup when we know we can't/ 2. Logistics - something far wrong if you need to pick pigeons up at 05.30 - 06.00 and deliver on the last couple of hours to midnight, which for me means that you do not have a strong enough network of drivers to cope with demand and is especially worrying when we are in the quite time of transporting pigeons. Of course we don't have a strong enough network of drivers just yet, and we're one of the stronger ones out there. If people were prepared to wait the extra day for their birds to be delivered then there would be no need to deliver late at night or early in the morning, but most want us to post a stamp on the pigeons head and get it delivered before the egg has hatched. 3. I don't believe for one minute that anybody has goals at getting rid of any couriers as we are crying out for sound reliable couriers that give the customer the service and respect that they are due with being a customer. You could have fooled me with the attitude shown by some on this forum. 4. You cannot use this open forum for your business purposes and expect to only hear the compliments for pigeontracker if you come on this site you have to take the good and the bad. I don't use this forum for business purposes, I came on here to stand accountable to my customers and to help where needed, but a select few chose to take my straight approach the wrong way and decided to have a go at all costs. You'll notice the lack of complaints about Pigeon Tracker here save for one where there was a genuine error with Delboy and that was down to traffic. The only complaint I've ever recieved until this 6.am debarcle was the fact one of our drivers turned up three hours early because the recipient never took the time to answer his messages left on his phone. He never got out of bed and needless to say even though we waited three hours for him on that occassion we haven't accepted orders off him since. His time to get up was 8.00 btw. 5. Perhaps if you are struggling to run the business because of logistics (shortage of drivers) maybe you should look at increasing your cost of per delivery which in turn will mean a quality service that will keep everyone happy and a service that i and most would be happy to pay for. Logic in your post there for sure but how long do you think it would take for people to start screaming foul that the prices increased? It's a no win situation for the couriers because of a select few idiots, and I have no weaker word for them that rant on how brilliant a courier service is because they deliver from one end of the country to the other end for £25 and give free boxes. This type of courier aren't making money I'm 100% certain of it, but do you think the fanciers using them care a damn about that? NO, all they care about is getting their birds at the lowest price regardless. Its only a matter of time before the couriers offering such a low price are going to be forced to give in to the fact its not viable and bang goes yet more couriers. Honestly, we're digging holes for ourselves here but can't see it.

Wake up BigDa. AMTRAK are DEAD. Things have changed now, christ even Curry's the electrical store are now advertising a delivery service from 6.am to 10.am because they know that's the only way to do things. If Pigeon Fanciers like you stay in the dark ages then the profit of doom who say pigeon racing is dying is 100% correct because trust me, without couriers the entire sport and industry are doomed. For your information I could give you pages of our customers who would be only too happy to get out of their beds to recieve their birds, its the lazy good for nothings who think the world owes them a living that think its a cardinal sin to expect the fancier to help the courier. I've pretty much made my point clear on the subject and whilst I won't get drawn into arguments I will certainly debate the issues with a view to getting us to all work together.

There shouldn't be a problem but as you can see from one of the posts above by Gareth Rankin, that's all you seem to get as a courier here is people constantly having a go. For your information Gareth you tell me WHERE in any of my posts have I ever broken client confidentiality? I wouldn't do that as its illegal and unprofessional to do so. Now if its people's goals to get rid of couriers one by one by constantly bickering at them let me tell you one thing. It's WORKING. I for one am getting absolutely sick and tired of a few big mouths spoiling it for the majority. I have gained very little custom from this forum, quite the opposite with the constant slating by a select few, my custom comes from word of mouth which is how it should be. The problem with this forum is some of the members here think the forum is more important than it actually is and that it is vital to the courier industry, let me tell you a harsh fact, IT'S NOT, point of fact it does more damage than the worth of it as the whiners and troublemakers put pressure on the couriers to do more than what is realistic. I know for a fact that certain couriers on here have left people in the lurch for weeks yet they get praised as the next best thing since sliced bread, (they know who they are) If they only knew what was ahead of them come January they'd stay a million miles away because the demands some people put on the couriers is wholly unacceptable and if they can't cope now, they have little or no chance in the new season. What I can say is god help breeder and racing season if this continues because as a courier myself I see nothing but a gloomy future that is held together by one man and a van setups who are simply not going to be able to cope with even a fraction of the business that goes on in season. Yours, an increasingly disillusioned Jamie