Stockpiling

Since the news of ASP etc going under i have received a substantial increase in orders for unrealistic numbers of spare parts for Laser engines. its obvious that people are stockpiling spares in their own inventory and its becoming quite a problem. Engine stockpiling has been an issue for a few months, but spares is a new one.

Its pretty obvious what is happening as noone needs 15 silencers of each size, 5 of each valve, 15 piston rings and so on.

I can only assume the same is happening with ASP spares and my simple suggestion to you all is stop it. You are only making the problem of availability worse by doing this.

In the case of ASP, i assume just engines will keep a stock of their spares until they sell out. If spares sold at normal rates this might take many years, decades even (motors and rotors still have super tigre spares). But if everyone rushes out to buy all the things they think they might need it will all be gone in weeks, most of it will just sit in a drawer never to be used. Then in a decade you will find the pair of valve springs or conrod etc you ordered 'just in case' and throw them away as the engine is long since dead/sold and they are no good to you.

In my position, if i spend all of my time/parts sorting out grossly inflated spares orders i wont be building many engines so please, only order the parts you actually need.

Edited By Jon - Laser Engines on 18/07/2019 17:24:03

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I wonder how many of those spares are being aquired with the intent of reselling them at a later date?

All of them.

This is the business model of hedge funds? Smaller capital expenditure.

Percy your fuel strike example is spot on. On the news we all hear there is a sniff of a fuel shortage after pirates hijacked an oil tanker or whatever. The next day we all go out to top up, just in case...oh look, a fuel shortage. If we had carried on none the wiser it would never have been a problem.

And yes, someone really did want literally one of every component of the engine, plus multiples of carbs, exhausts etc. several have not gone quite that mad but mad enough that it obviously wasnt a legit requirement.

Bob, my suspicion is that its an investment for later. Be that their own personal stash or, as you say, ebay. I suspect that latter being the most likely as it has happened before.

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Maybe due to Mick's policy of free spares fitting? He told me he couldn't understand why anyone would want to fit them when he would do the work for them free and how he actively encouraged people to send engines in to him.

...while I was buying a ST part from him, but I got away without a lecture!

It's a shame his reputation for frank expression of his opinions didn't reflect his knowledge and friendly attitude when chatting face to face.

Probably why I cant find a spare piston ring for my ST 3000 great engine but not without a piston ring.

I know what you mean Jon.

I crashed my model a few weeks back damaging the cylinder head on my OS 52 Surpass and losing the rocker cover. Spares have proved impossible to find. Friends have found me someone who is willing to sell me the parts but he wants 70€ for them! That's £63 or $79 US! Not long ago such sums would have bought a complete second hand engine but no-one is making glow engines these days, specialists like Laser excepted of course, so prices have gone up.

Gavin Carter will be able to make a piston ring for your ST 3000 Tony, that is, if he doesn't already have one in stock. He trades as gaviscool on eBay and this is his email address: **LINK**

Like Jon

There are many engineer/machinists who will make you parts

And you can source threaded and bored parts easily that convert with little machining

To manifolds, and header outlets

Have done such mods recently on parts manufactured for other uses

Making steel headers for both Saito and OS

Saito header at M10 x 1mm, And OS at M10 x 0.75mm threads

Small motors BTW

I suppose the only way to deal with someone trying to buy up all the ASP or Laser spares has to be a little bit of (polite) rationing like that which occurred round here when there was a petrol shortage - our local chaps put their heads together and agreed that they would only sell 4 gallons at a time - seemed to help.

Spoke to that gentleman only once on the phone and found him, in my opinion, to be one of the rudest people I've ever encountered. Never bought another ST engine again after that, and all over a mountain out of a molehill regarding postage for a wire needle costing a few pence. I can't excuse blatant unprofessionalism. TBH, if I'd have spoken to a customer in a similar fashion when I was at work, I'd have been in serious trouble.

Alas i think that is the only option. I have already rejected some orders that were clear attempts to hoard stuff.

Cuban, depending on how far back it was that may have been Mick you dealt with and he had a bit of a reputation for that sort of thing. His son Dave now runs the shop and while he will gladly call a spade a spade i cant fault his service and really doubt he would be rude to a customer.

Rudeness in customer service terms is not always easy to define. I upset a chap the other day by saying that i was unable to offer him a spare part for his engine as it was discontinued the year i was born and we no longer support it. Apparently i was being rude and unhelpful, an accusation which did amuse me slightly given that less than an hour earlier i was able to do a 'while you wait' service on a crash damaged 70.

"I upset a chap the other day by saying that i was unable to offer him a spare part for his engine as it was discontinued the year i was born and we no longer support it. Apparently i was being rude and unhelpful, "

Perhaps the word you need is "child" not "chap", as it seems you were on the end of a small tantrum.

This hoarding mania is mystifying - I've hardly used any ASP spares over the years despite my engines having heavy usage - I suppose bearings are consumable, but you can get them anywhere. I don't get why people are panicking over Laser Spares - what on earth has the present ASP issue got to do with Laser?

Customer service..............my wife works in the NHS in a patient facing roll, it's quite outrageous how some members of the public think they can speak to NHS staff, who after all, are trying to help them - usually it's people who are selfish (some have mental problems or are scared, and that, of course, is a totally different issue and requires a high degree of professionalism to deal with) but others are just intrinsically bombastic when they can't get their own way, much in the fashion of your chap with discontinued engine spares, Jon.

I don't expect a sales/customer service person to grovel at my feet when I go into a shop or when on the phone about something or other, and some big companies do tend to overdo the 'soft skills' which can be equally off-putting. Just a simple and short pleasantry is all that's needed.

Someone in another thread, said I was a misery when I commented about being 'interrogated' by Supermarket check-out people as to how my day was going, am I on holiday soon, and how much they liked the type of cheese I'd bought as they passed it through the barcode reader. Aldi and Lidl have the right idea, no time to faff about, just a simple and friendly hello, thankyou and goodbye. In and out......job done.

Not sure why there is such sudden demand for spares. Perhaps people think we will be next, and the price of our parts is low enough to make a stockpile viable financially? not sure.

On the customer service bit, i have worked in a customer facing job since i was 16 starting in a diy store. It didnt take me long to realise its really not hard to get right. Be polite/friendly, be helpful, offer relevant advice...if it was an older lady/chap ask if they wanted help to put their 5 bags of bark chippings in the car..thats about it. Unfortunately larger companies seem to think that customers enjoy some sort of fake friendship in their dealings with staff and many staff members are pushed to engage customers in pointless conversation as, apparently, its good service to pretend to be someones friend. I was certainly pushed to do this.

The problem is some customers are chatty, some just want to get out of there asap. just spouting all the lines you were given at the customer service chat during induction will only serve to annoy people.

In any case, it also did not take me long to realise that good service is not enough for some and that contrary to popular belief the customer is not always right.

I prefer it when shop staff are friendly and interested. It makes me feel that they actually care about you or at least have some interest. Being nice to them not only makes me feel better but must help them in a most tedious job when they have to spend the day dealing with grumpy old men..

There is one lady in my Waitrose and when she is not busy we have quite long chats, It makes my day.

My local Coop is the same but I refuse to even go into Sainsburys,

Fair comment Peter.....I accept that is quite possible that there are people whose only contact with others is a chat with shop staff.

I used to use a Greek barber. They were lovely people, so friendly and they'd  always speak in English whilst having my hair cut or waiting, so I didn't feel excluded. The only thing was when one of them started to moan about the Turks and the invasion of Northern Cyprus...........the place would erupt, scissors would be put down, heads left wet after washing, customers ignored until they'd blown themselves out and normal business would continue. I think the longest was a haircut that took a couple of hours, when they really got going on one occasion. Hilarious!

Edited By Cuban8 on 20/07/2019 10:38:34

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