Dalby - anybody know the story

[Gunwitch]

FFS. first they award it to someone else and it's announced all over the internet, then they backstab and withdraw it.
Bloody indian givers

[bongo_bill]

Wonder if Purple Mountain will sharpen their pencils a bit more this time? Always makes me laugh when people enter into a tendering process then complain when they lose either through not knowing how to work the tender process or just being too confident and not giving it the correct attention. Never bother with Purple Mountain anymore after the first visit, aloof, arrogant and tendency to look down their noses at people. Culminated in them mocking a father with 2 kids, who wanted to hire bikes but didn't know what he wanted to hire, they threw a load of acronyms at him and he basically wanted a hybrid or simple hardtail to pootle around forest roads and fireroads on. Reminded me of going into a high end clothes shop and the attitude their workers have towards customers, which is wrong in any walk of life but especially in something social like mountain biking.

[Hobo]

I found that exact same attitude at the Kielder branch bongo. Went up with some non-biking friends for a long weekend. We wanted to hire some basic HT bikes so they could potter along the Blue trails and they were trying to shift us full sus bikes that needed way too much setting up.

Ended up going down to the one in the old garage outside the village (forget the name of it). Fella in there was really really helpful. Even gave us some maps and highlighted trails that would be easy for my friends but still plenty of fun singletrack.

Edit, bike shop is The Bike Place

[gorehound]

When we went to Kielder last sunday the purple mountain wasn't even open.

[alibali65]

Would be interesting to hear why the tender is being redone. I can only think if the one awarded the business didn't want it or the screwed up the tender process. Just hope PM don't get it.

I hope eurest make a better bacon sarnie than the ones that are there now coz they can't make one.

[bongo_bill]

My father told me it was something to do with the tender process, details were a bit sketchy but it was in the local papers they were claiming they never got a fair crack of the whip. Which could explain why they are reopening the whole thing. Tendering is tightly controlled by national and European regulations these days so it all has to be totally above board. I'd still be surprised if they can compete with a big supplier though in terms of price, choice and infrastructure.

[steve_sordy]

If I had run a tender, announced the result, then had to set it aside and rerun it because of my incompetence / mistake / oversight / whatever, not only would I have been deeply embarrassed, but I would probably have been sacked. But that's a private business for you. I wonder whether the civil servant that ran the above tender even got a slapped wrist.