Billing or Newark

[outdoor_ian]

As the title says

Who went were?

And what did you think?

I went to Billing on Friday and just avoided getting soaked!!!!!!!!

[Bobtail-Jay]

I went billing today and Loved it

[landy V8]

As the title says

Who went were?

And what did you think?

I went to Billing on Friday and just avoided getting soaked!!!!!!!!

i went to newark and had to avoid the rain as well.never been to billing(going sunday)so can't compare really.newark was ok but not alot of trade stands and hardly any autojumble(unless they're all coming down today).

i suppose it can only get better.

[NicTheOrange90]

I enjoyed both events from the comfort of my armchair as wallet has been grounded for time being !

[bernie]

I loaded everything up in the 110 for a 2 night stay at Billing, only for the clutch master cylinder to dump all its innards 1 mile from home. Oh well there is always next year.

[yogibear47.lee]

i went to newark today and it wasnt as good as billing last year, not as big as billing and not alot off trade stands

[simon_s]

I don't really care for either.

[maxtherotti]

i went to billing today and what i see of it looked ok

was only there for 20 mins mind as security asked me to leave because my dog is a rottweiller!!!!!

wont be going there again

rob

[big tim]

i went to billing today and what i see of it looked ok

was only there for 20 mins mind as security asked me to leave because my dog is a rottweiller!!!!!

wont be going there again

rob

Thats proper s***. Go to newark chap seen a couple of nice rotty's there today.I remember seeing some signs at billing last year about certain breeds of dog surely you would think the security would be better off doing some thing about the thieving scumbags.

[Gren_T]

HI Rob that is absolute appaling behaviour i'd complain bitterly to LRO as i certainly did not see any signs prohibiting any breed of dog.

My wife made a fuss of a rotty in the afternoon, as an aside i saw loads staffs and chatted to a couple with a bulldog into the early eve.

it makes my blood boil when things like that happen.

[nick w]

went to billing was very good and very friendly no real bargains to be had though but plenty of choice only thing that blighted it slightly was the stupid bitch racing around the grange farm camp site in a blue ford maveric you know who you are you thwack guessing you dont have kids

[treebloke]

i went to billing today and what i see of it looked ok

was only there for 20 mins mind as security asked me to leave because my dog is a rottweiller!!!!!

wont be going there again

rob

Strange, I got mine in ok, no lead, no muzzle. Mind you, she is good with kids, we have three and five grand children

[Boothy]

Went to Billing Sunday and was really disappointed, hardly any trade stands there, loads of sweets, burgers and tat, £14.50 to enter, I will not be going next year, it keeps getting smaller and smaller.

Sorry thought it was c**p. Where were all the other big trade stands ?????

[Godlykepower]

Just got back from Billing, only went for the Sunday. I enjoyed it as I always do, although you could tell that there was another show on, as it felt a lot smaller, and less to see & do, than in previous years.

The entrance fee is exhorbitant at £14 - they should have worn masks & striped jumpers!

I managed to pick up some good stuff at a good price (not GREAT prices, mind) I got a Mantec rear wheel carrier I have been promising myself, and the rear window grille.

Picked up a couple of Wolf boxes, a tree strop and a storage pouch to attach to my dog guard/trip net I designed.

All in all, I am quite happy, although I could have done without the rain.

May I also take this opportunity to mention my heroes & zeroes, supplier-wise.

O.E.C - legends as always.

Devon 4x4 - i really like these guys, a great balance of toys for you off-road lot, plus some great gear for the overland crowd.

Met Fraser Barsby from the Rugged Guide DVD - what a lovely chap.

The biggest losers?

NENE OVERLAND. I dont care about their reputation, I think they are a bunch of arrogant pillocks.

I made a personal visit to them several months ago, and was promised a list of works/prices to be emailed to me for overland prep.

....i am still waiting months later. When i brought this up today - whilst trying to buy a MSS cooker housing (and being fobbed off by a tw@) - apparently I was wrong to take my business to Footloose 4x4, as the several months that have elapsed since my visit, is not enough time for him (Kevin) to type the email out.

When I said that they had lost several thousand £££'s in business due to this, I was again told i was unfair apparently because "an email is just like some paper"........yeah, i dont know what the hell he was on about either.

I also could not buy the cooker housing, as they seem so inept that they cant even get me a price & process a transaction.

Sorry for the slight rant there, but Nene Overland were the only blight on an otherwise lovely day.

[GBMUD]

Went to Billing Sunday and was really disappointed, hardly any trade stands there, loads of sweets, burgers and tat, £14.50 to enter, I will not be going next year, it keeps getting smaller and smaller.

Sorry thought it was c**p. Where were all the other big trade stands ?????

I wonder if Newark was any better? Anyone go?

I know that Devon4x4 had a stand at each show, so I guess that they had no option but to have smaller stands at each. Perhaps other retailers found the same problem or had to scale back their stands due to financial pressures? I know of one company who have gone out of business but who used to have a large orange stand at Billing.

Personally I thought it was very good - though all I really saw properly was X-eng's biggest show stand ever.

I wonder how much bigger it might have been if there had been only one show.

Chris

[GBMUD]

Thats proper s***. Go to newark chap seen a couple of nice rotty's there today.I remember seeing some signs at billing last year about certain breeds of dog surely you would think the security would be better off doing some thing about the thieving scumbags.

There should certainly be signs up, and ideally some mention in pre-show literature if some breeds of dog are banned. Good to see the security people enforcing the rules though, even if you do feel like a victim this time round. I am sure that they would have gone after the thieving scumbags too if they could have identified them.

Chris

[big ives]

hello

ok here is my point of view,

Bearing in mind I have never been to Newark or Billing before, however that all changed this week as I am caravanning in the area.

Yesterday i went to Newark, to be honest I thought it was ****e, not much for sale, no auto jumble sales, in fact i was very disappointed, it had the feel of a garden fate type do. The only thing I did like was the way the security was set up for getting the landy in and out of the show, not fool proof but gave me a feel good factor leaving her in the car park.

Today I went to Billing and what a difference, i found some good bargains, 99.9% of anyone i asked advise from was helpful, yes it rained but when the tap was turned off it was back to checking out the stalls. We don’t have this type of show in Northern Ireland and what i seen i thought was very good, and a bonus for me what I bought I saved on postage.

top stands for me where Ashcrofts, Devon 4x4, Gigglepin, Rebel, Xeng, a wee man YRT Solutions I believe selling battery boxes and door post replacements, to be honest there where more but i cant remember them all, i left at 5 and had a good day.

As I said this is my opinion, HOWEVER forgetting all the bull****e LRM and LRO need to get there act sorted as having two shows on the same weekend is madness, I know which one I will be telling everyone to go to next year.

Ives

[treebloke]

We went to both and as previously said £14. for Billing is a rip off, compared to Newark it is a shambles/tip.

Newark was significantly smaller but probably just big enough for a day whearas Billing needs two or three days to get around everything.

Without question Billing had the main traders and more people.

Seems Billing spend money on chalets and the like but the grounds/toilets/showers remain the same. I did notice a dead Poplar tree adjacent to one of the main isles. If the wind was as bad there as it was at Newark on friday night I am supprised it is still standing. This shows to me how much they care about us. Newark was spotless.

However, Billing is and always will be in the best position, pity they dont tidy it up. Newark is just to far out of the way with a poor road access, only A roads with very few passing places.

[outdoor_ian]

Just got back from Billing, only went for the Sunday. I enjoyed it as I always do, although you could tell that there was another show on, as it felt a lot smaller, and less to see & do, than in previous years.

The entrance fee is exhorbitant at £14 - they should have worn masks & striped jumpers!

I managed to pick up some good stuff at a good price (not GREAT prices, mind) I got a Mantec rear wheel carrier I have been promising myself, and the rear window grille.

Picked up a couple of Wolf boxes, a tree strop and a storage pouch to attach to my dog guard/trip net I designed.

All in all, I am quite happy, although I could have done without the rain.

May I also take this opportunity to mention my heroes & zeroes, supplier-wise.

O.E.C - legends as always.

Devon 4x4 - i really like these guys, a great balance of toys for you off-road lot, plus some great gear for the overland crowd.

Met Fraser Barsby from the Rugged Guide DVD - what a lovely chap.

The biggest losers?

NENE OVERLAND. I dont care about their reputation, I think they are a bunch of arrogant pillocks.

I made a personal visit to them several months ago, and was promised a list of works/prices to be emailed to me for overland prep.

....i am still waiting months later. When i brought this up today - whilst trying to buy a MSS cooker housing (and being fobbed off by a tw@) - apparently I was wrong to take my business to Footloose 4x4, as the several months that have elapsed since my visit, is not enough time for him (Kevin) to type the email out.

When I said that they had lost several thousand £££'s in business due to this, I was again told i was unfair apparently because "an email is just like some paper"........yeah, i dont know what the hell he was on about either.

I also could not buy the cooker housing, as they seem so inept that they cant even get me a price & process a transaction.

Sorry for the slight rant there, but Nene Overland were the only blight on an otherwise lovely day.

Funny you should say that about NENE OVERLAND, I was there on Friday and when asking about the price of internal window grills and if there were and show prices. I was firmly put in my place that there "was no show prices" the only reason I had to buy from Mr Grumpy was that I wanted grills that I could still get to the window latch and MANTEC's didnt have them like that for an earlier Defender.

Trust me I will only be using NENE OVERLAND from now on if no one else does the product I want.

All the other traders I talked to or bought from were very helpful and NOT Mr Grumpy.

[Godlykepower]

Trust me I will only be using NENE OVERLAND from now on if no one else does the product I want.

Thats the thing though, they dont make anything of their own at Nene Overland; they just supply other peoples stuff, and put expedition vehicles together.

EVERY product available from Nene, is available elsewhere.

I just think that the customer service I have now received on 2 seperate occasions from Nene has been very poor.

Personally, and bearing in mind the current economic climate, if someone came to me waving a cheque for just under £8000 in my face, I would certainly jump through flaming hoops to get my hands on that cheque.

I have been left with the feeling that the staff at Nene Overland only REALLY care about customers, if you are buying a £50k SVX or writing out a much bigger cheque for their services than my 'paltry' £8k one.

I will be informing Mobile Storage Systems of the quality of their distributors too.

[outdoor_ian]

To be honest the attitude Mr Grumpy had if MANTEC had of done the grills as I wanted them I would have paid more just so I didnt give NENE OVERLAND the money. I bought mobile storage system products to as it goes.

[Godlykepower]

I think the product range that MSS have, is great. The products seem to be thought out very well, and well made to boot. Its a shame that their distributors are half-wits, as they have been done out of the sale of several of those products now on 2 occasions.

On the other hand, I found Mantec to be lovely people. I was helped by a total of 4 people during the course of my transaction, and every one of them was very polite and took the time to answer my questions.

I only spent £250 at Mantec, but when I left I was made to feel like my custom was valued, no matter how much or little I had spent.

Now THAT is how customer service should be!

Sorry for going on about this, but I have a slightly sour taste in my mouth now thanks to Nene, and the more I think about it, the more offended I feel.

[Les Henson]

I went on Saturday, bought a complete SWB S3 diesel wiring loom from Autosparks for the tidy sum of £240 (a tenner cheaper than last year). Stocked up on zip ties, flap wheels, plasma discs, a blingy 'TDi' badge, and wire brushes that go in an angle grinder.

Chatted to Dave Ashcroft for a while, then Richards Chassis, and also the guys at Mantec, who took the time to show the mechanism of the swing away wheel carrier, and discuss how to move it from it's usual location in order to clear a NATO hook. All the traders were very polite and helpful - even when I wasn't buying anything. The show seemed to be about the same size as last year, the thing I noticed the most was a lot of security and the Police were present as well.

Don't know about Newark, as I've never been, but Billing is still good enough for me.

Les.

[davidlandy]

went to billing... met some great folk from Gigglepin and XEng, so parted with a couple of quid!

[GBMUD]

I do not know the guy from Nene Overland and I did not speak to him to know how grumpy or not he was, but having worked on a trade stand for the whole weekend (for a few years/shows now) I can give you a view from the other side of the fence.

That view is that it is hard work! I can well understand that people get tired and grouchy. I was at Billing from the Wednesday afternoon - my choice to get there then and have a few hours relaxing. By lunchtime on Thursday Si had arrived in the van with all the tents and such for the stand and so we set them up and got the bare bones of the stand set up ready for the Friday morning. The X-eng stand is made deliberately easy to set up, many others require a whole day or even more to set up or break down, plenty of people spent the whole day Thursday setting up marquees and display stands - indeed, by the time I arrived on Wednesday many stands were already taking shape so I can only suppose that went on all day Thursday as well. X-eng also benefits from the help of a large band of volunteers who all work to set up, break down and offer support throughout the weekend which is a huge bonus.

As well as the setup, there is also the job of actually being there throughout the weekend chatting to and helping customers, some of whom are difficult for one reason or another, hard of thinking, obviously time wasters, genuinely interested, asking for charity, asking for discounts, wanting to know all the ins and outs of different products (none of which we mind, it is all part of the service) and my personal favourite; those who know what they want, get it, pay cash, share a joke and depart happy! Gladly we manage remain happy and helpful, largely due to having naturally buoyant serotonin levels and sometimes, artificially high ethanol levels. By Sunday afternoon (at the end of which we have to pack up and drive home) it can be difficult to maintain a smile and a good attitude!

As well as the draining days, getting enough sleep can be hard going - there are a number of trader parties and other things going on after hours and even if you choose not to go to one often people have to sleep on or in their stands for security reasons and I can see that might make getting a decent night's sleep difficult.

I am not seeking to excuse grumpy traders or poor customer service, at the end of the day customer service needs the right attitude, but I suspect that it is more difficult to maintain standards of service under 'show conditions'.

Chris