Soaring Community Consumer Warning

Wow. This thread is what I call "circling the wagons."

No mention of such a policy is mentioned on the website. It is just very poor business to hang up on a customer and I find it hilarious how the "regulars" come to the aid of their dear friend so blatantly and dramatically. It almost brought a tear to my eye hearing the stories. if you listen to it with some sappy music you'll be balling your eyes out.

Obviously Tim was highly unpleasant to deal with if the result was this thread.

Tim is a nice guy (and always has been to me) but IMO he is wrong for treating a customer(s?) so poorly when there is no stated policy stated on his website. Clearly he does not want to publicize this policy or he would do so. If something is so important to him that he would pull an ad it then should be clearly stated on his website for all to see.

Wings and Wheels has been popular for want ads but it is not the only choice. But sure he can do whatever he wants...

Overall, I would say this thread has, unfortunately, been a bit damaging. Obviously not to the regulars, but maybe to the softer spoken folks who do not know the people involved. I don't think many customers want to be told post with me only or ill hammer you. Soaring cafe is not competitive. The other one must be a threat if he is so concerned as to take such drastic action and ruin his relationship with a customer and likely many others...

Tim...here is a funny clip Ill call "lighten up Francis!" Just sayin... ;-)

http://youtu.be/0OnpkDWbeJs

I am going to destroy all of these want ads sites in 1 week. Here it goes...

All, please feel welcomed to add your for sale equipment to a new Facebook page called "Free International Sailplane Want Ads."

You are welcomed to have your ad on any other similar website or just ours. You are welcomed to share your ad with any other Facebook user, via Facebook, or email or twitter or whatever.

Please join this new page and please share it with your soaring friends!

Here is the link: https://www.facebook.com/SailplaneWantAds

Enjoy!

Sean
F2

Interesting. I noticed that a recent RAS post (copied below, or link he https://groups.google.com/forum/m/?f...ng/OK8wPduHU-U) by glidersource.com included what I imagine is Bill Elliot's JS-1b. But if you click the link you can see that it is removed. This post was from March 7. So it has been removed in the past few weeks.

I imagine Bill (owner of soaring cafe) was recently strong armed in much the same way as the originator of this thread. Hilarious. This is just too funny.

Let the soaring want ad wars begin!

EN GARDE!

--------------------------------------------------------
Items listed alphabetically within each category.

*** Sailplane ***
Blanik L13 LZ12, (http://glidersource.com/cgi-bin/post.cgi?id=250 ) (photo)
Jonkers Sailplanes, JS-1B 18m, $139,900 (http://glidersource.com/cgi-bin/post.cgi?id=288 ) (photo)
L-23 Wingtip Extensions, $800 (http://glidersource.com/cgi-bin/post.cgi?id=209 ) (photo)
Lak12 LZ 615, (http://glidersource.com/cgi-bin/post.cgi?id=252 ) (photo)
Libelle Canopy, $ (http://glidersource.com/cgi-bin/post.cgi?id=210 ) (photo)
Nimbus 2B, $24000 (http://glidersource.com/cgi-bin/post.cgi?id=314 ) (photo)
Schweizer SGS 1-35 ("ZT"). S/N 30. , $ (http://glidersource.com/cgi-bin/post.cgi?id=244 ) (photo)
SZD.41.A Jantar Std. LZ604 , (http://glidersource.com/cgi-bin/post.cgi?id=251 )
T65C VEGA SPORT, £11500 (http://glidersource.com/cgi-bin/post.cgi?id=273 ) (photo)

Sean, it appears Wings & Wheels is alone in sometimes requesting exclusivity for glider sellers who want to post their ads for free. So just what is it that will have glider sellers rushing eagerly to list their gliders on your new facebook.com/SailplaneWantAds site, in the process "destroy[ing] all of these want ads sites in 1 week"? Those who were already using one or more of these sites aren't going to remove their other listings. And anyone who chooses to list on Wings & Wheels anyway could care less what you do.

Maybe I'm missing something, but with the possible exception of Wings & Wheels, it seems like the biggest difference between your new Facebook site and Soaring Cafe, GliderSource, et al., is that all of the others have established reputations whereas yours is backed by...you.

ROFL!!!!!

Sorry, I couldn't resist. Hang onto your day job.

This thread passed 2,100 views sometime today making it the most popular RAS thread in the month of March. This says something about our sport; I'm just not sure what.

Chip Bearden
ASW 24 "JB"
U.S.A.

Sean,
I'd be interested to know if Tim will apply his world-pad-dominatin policy to your facebook page too. Why don't you ask him?

Lets just say a seed has been planted. And the power of Facebook and social media for selling an item is something that most of you are not fully aware of.

Lets just say that I'm pretty happy about the chances of a Facebook method for selling gliders becoming very popular.

Lets also say that the fact that nobody in the sport of soaring understands how to use social media channels is hilariously obvious. The sport of soaring is predictably stuck in the 90's in terms of its web marketing and websites including the various want ad sites. None of them use social media in the slightest because they do not understand the value of it. They think static websites are "good enough" and cling to what they know...unable to adapt.

Anyhow. So far I have about 6 minutes invested in my Facebook want ads page. Give it a week, a month, 6 months and a year.

Then lets see if your still a smart ass ;-).

Happy soaring and of course happy "selling" my fellow glider pilots.

Ciao!

Me thinks ;-) someone needs to consider apologize for a very poor policy, very poor treatment of some customers and move past this. Do the right thing rather than have your buddies try to explain your very rude behavior away as "good business."

Before it gets any further out of hand. It's spring, soaring season is amping up and everyone is on RAS, talking via phone, email, in person at glider clubs and (of course) on the social sites...

Just sayin...

Learn to spell Sean, and, while you're at it, take a class in grammar.

"...balling my eyes out..." Sheesh.

Most of us who are "stuck in the 90s" have no need to buried in a cell phone
for validation.


"Sean F (F2)" wrote in message
...
Me thinks ;-) someone needs to consider apologize for a very poor policy,
very poor treatment of some customers and move past this. Do the right
thing rather than have your buddies try to explain your very rude behavior
away as "good business."

Before it gets any further out of hand. It's spring, soaring season is
amping up and everyone is on RAS, talking via phone, email, in person at
glider clubs and (of course) on the social sites...

Just sayin...

On Monday, April 1, 2013 7:54:25 AM UTC-5, Sean F (F2) wrote:
Me thinks ;-) someone needs to consider apologize for a very poor policy, very poor treatment of some customers and move past this. Do the right thing rather than have your buddies try to explain your very rude behavior away as "good business."



Before it gets any further out of hand. It's spring, soaring season is amping up and everyone is on RAS, talking via phone, email, in person at glider clubs and (of course) on the social sites...



Just sayin...

Thanks so very much Sean for pointing out to the poor old fogeys in US Soaring that we are hopelessly out of touch with 'social media' and that - gasp - some of us are still talking on the phone to each other! We are surely blessed to have someone of your generation to flog us mercilessly into understanding that.
There's actually a UK TV series that my grandkids love that is dedicated to a person of your smarts (listen to the lyrics, folks, sing along). I'll get into trouble for this, but here it goes...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mtfb4m6xGCA

If I was younger and less mature I would finish with: just sayin...