I don't believe in karma, but...

Ashers said:
i lost three phones, on one trip once i lost one on a train going to northampton so i bought a new one. lost that on a bus in northampton, so bought yet another one which i then left on the train back. i also got on the wrong train and ended up in lancaster lol
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Yeah, that's ok when it is something so much cheaper than a lens ... when it's your own goods and when you've had :beer::beer::beer: which seems you've had lots of on that trip :shrug:
 
to be fair, only stewart and the rentee know the full situation, and stewart does not seem concerned bout the bloke running away. lets hope the insurance come back with good news and say it is covered. till then, no point the person buying a new lens as it may well get sorted on its own for cheaper.
 
ok one day the swing chair in the garden broke with me sat on it... first thing I did was hold up the camera mid-fall so it doesn't hit the ground.. leaving me badly bruised as i didnt break my fall :)
When getting out of the car at an event I am attending, first thing im thinking of is camera and kit.... then kids... then car is locked....

Surely this guy is pulling a fast one?
 
kevshore said:
Stewart runs his business on goodwill.
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But with all the p1ss takers, con-artists, theifs, scammers etc in the world today, that's an open invitation to have the p1ss taken out of him.

Like I said, i'm not trying to be funny about it, and i've already said I think the business is an absolutely EXCELLENT idea, but a business being run on goodwill isn't enough IMO.
 
Not going to help Stewart, but I used to travel to and from work every day by train and you do switch off when you do it every day - its the only way to stay sane - so its quite easy to leave something behind if your brain has gone into robot mode when you get off. Yes its careless and it should not happen especially when you have other peoples goods with you :(
 
Ooh, this has provoked some interest! Perhaps I could clear a few things up.

Is it a genuine loss?

Several people seem to think this customer is trying to pull a fast one. I do not. Several reasons:

1. I met the guy in London to deliver the lens to him and he struck me as (how can I say this politely?) more likely to be the kind of person who would leave something behind on a train, than to be the kind of person who would try to steal something.

2. The manner of the loss is very plausible to me. I know some people here have questioned that, but with respect, if you haven't been a regular train commuter you simply cannot appreciate the mindset. susie and some other London-based folk do.

3. The way he reported the loss to me, he fully expected that it would not be covered by insurance and that he would have to pay for a new one. We had a constructive discussion about how to do that, how to square his need to get one cheaply with our need to get one quickly, etc.

So anyway, I sincerely believe he's genuine. And I think it's best that we don't discuss the specifics of the incident any further for now.

Will LensesForHire lose out?

No.

The hire contract makes it quite clear that the customer is liable for any losses, as is only right and proper. So either the insurance will pay out, and the customer just pays the excess, or the customer pays for a new lens. I believe that in this case the customer will do the decent thing if he has to.

I'd rather not discuss the insurance claim any further. Personally I believe that the insurance company should not pay out in this situation, but if they do pay out then I would not want the world at large to think there is a soft target here. (And if that happened, pretty soon our premiums would go up or we'd become uninsurable - neither of which is particularly desirable.) I hope you appreciate my thinking here.

Surely goodwill alone isn't enough to run a business?

Nope. Absolutely not.

Time for a confession here. Whilst it sometimes suits me to come across as a little naïve, I am not. I have a lot of business experience and I know what I'm doing. Yes, I do firmly believe that goodwill is the best foundation for a business, and yes my glass is half full, and yes I do tend to assume the best of people rather than the worst. But that's not all. I'm not quite as stupid as I look. (Pipe down, whoever it was at the back who said I couldn't be!) I've poured a huge amount of money into LensesForHire, and I've just resigned from a well-paid job and a 23-year career in order to try to make a success of this. I wouldn't do that if there were huge loopholes through which all the lenses could disappear.

To address the concerns expressed by Little Man and others, we have multiple layers of security procedures. The fact that you can't see them doesn't mean they're not there. Obviously I'd rather not say too much about the specifics, but I am extremely confident that our business is not unduly vulnerable to theft and loss. Try and cheat us if you like, but don't blame me when it ends in tears, which it will.

Would it be better if we did things differently, perhaps? I'm reminded of the lyrics of a song (and a sad bonus point to the first person to recognise it!):

"If you negotiate the minefield in the drive...
And beat the dogs, and cheat the cold electronic eye...
And if you make it past the shotgun in the hall...
Dial the combination...
Open the priest-hole...
And if I'm in, I'll [let you hire a lens]"

No, perhaps not.
 
StewartR said:
Surely goodwill alone isn't enough to run a business?

Nope. Absolutely not.

Time for a confession here. Whilst it sometimes suits me to come across as a little naïve, I am not. I have a lot of business experience and I know what I'm doing. Yes, I do firmly believe that goodwill is the best foundation for a business, and yes my glass is half full, and yes I do tend to assume the best of people rather than the worst. But that's not all. I'm not quite as stupid as I look. (Pipe down, whoever it was at the back who said I couldn't be!) I've poured a huge amount of money into LensesForHire, and I've just resigned from a well-paid job and a 23-year career in order to try to make a success of this. I wouldn't do that if there were huge loopholes through which all the lenses could disappear.

To address the concerns expressed by Little Man and others, we have multiple layers of security procedures. The fact that you can't see them doesn't mean they're not there. Obviously I'd rather not say too much about the specifics, but I am extremely confident that our business is not unduly vulnerable to theft and loss. Try and cheat us if you like, but don't blame me when it ends in tears, which it will.

Would it be better if we did things differently, perhaps? I'm reminded of the lyrics of a song (and a sad bonus point to the first person to recognise it!):
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I had a read of the Q&A's on your website last night dude, and it seems like you won't just lend them out to anyone who walks past.

So, I retract my previous statements and appologize.

May even test out a lens off you at some point, looking at the Sigma 10-20mm as a next lens, so might have to have a mess with the 10-22mm before hand. :thumbs:
 
StewartR said:
Will LensesForHire lose out?

No.
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Thats good to hear.. I was a bit worried reading the thread... goodwill is good as you say... If I wanted to hire a lens it would be from you because your here...other companies are just that. companies on paper.. i would feel more like i was dealing with a real person from yourself simply because you post on a messageboard.. involved shall we say :) that may be naive of me to think like that.. but hey it's only life :)
 
Little Man said:
I had a read of the Q&A's on your website last night dude, and it seems like you won't just lend them out to anyone who walks past.

So, I retract my previous statements and appologize.

May even test out a lens off you at some point, looking at the Sigma 10-20mm as a next lens, so might have to have a mess with the 10-22mm before hand. :thumbs:
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No need to apologise.

You'd be very welcome to hire a lens. Of course, I'll make sure you get one of the ones with a miniaturised homing transmitter fitted, and I'll alert the Google Earth crew to get me real-time satellite coverage of your home and workplace. (Bet you didn't know that was possible, did you? It's a special subscription-only service they offer.)
 
StewartR said:
No need to apologise.

You'd be very welcome to hire a lens. Of course, I'll make sure you get one of the ones with a miniaturised homing transmitter fitted, and I'll alert the Google Earth crew to get me real-time satellite coverage of your home and workplace. (Bet you didn't know that was possible, did you? It's a special subscription-only service they offer.)
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is that the one that costs bout 3p a year??
 
StewartR said:
No need to apologise.

You'd be very welcome to hire a lens. Of course, I'll make sure you get one of the ones with a miniaturised homing transmitter fitted, and I'll alert the Google Earth crew to get me real-time satellite coverage of your home and workplace. (Bet you didn't know that was possible, did you? It's a special subscription-only service they offer.)
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Damn....there goes my plans to flea the country. :)
 
Glad to see that you have things under tight control, it would be a crying shame to see your hard-worked business run amess becuase of foul clients ...

.. for this instance, I figure you are the best person to attest as to how genuine the client is / was, and it seems you've satisfied yourself at the front.

Again, glad it's going in the right direction and I am sure a lot of lessons have been learnt along the way... sorry you've had to go through this, though.
 
Ashers said:
i lost three phones, on one trip once i lost one on a train going to northampton so i bought a new one. lost that on a bus in northampton, so bought yet another one which i then left on the train back. i also got on the wrong train and ended up in lancaster lol
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Does Stewart operate a black list?
 
Ah, bummer. My dad once left a laptop - it was going to be a surprise b'day present I think - on the train. These things do happen...
 
Stewart,

Not wanting to meddle in your business, but I was just curious as to how things turned out in the end?
 
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