Back on the island

We have been over on the mainland hence the gap in blogging! The plan was to take our Land Rover back to the dealer in Perthshire to have electric window winding mechanisms fitted, and some warranty jobs done. So we allowed them three days for all the work, which as it turned out was over optimistic. The dealer, Lix Toll, have a great reputation for customer service and had organised a loan car for us.

Our intention was explore the area around Doune for a few days so we stayed in the delightful Red Lion Inn in the middle of the village. Mine host was Jamie Oliver, no not the TV "star" but a young man supported by his family running his own pub. It was friendly, welcoming, comfortable with an experienced chef Donald who produced great food; so what more could you want. Jamie's father provided the icing on the cake. He was always ready to help whether carrying luggage or giving details of nearby attractions. It was he who sent us to the Argaty Red Kite Centre just outside the village.

We spent a happy afternoon watching numerous pairs of kites feeding, though at times frustrating trying to catch them on camera as they are so fast on the wing. Tom, the guide was amine of information about the kites and other wildlife of the area. Leaving the centre, the mobile phone rang - it was the Land Rover dealer to say that there were problems and they had run out of time and needed two more days.

This was not an option so we compromised and arrange to collect the vehicle mid-day Saturday giving them four more hours to complete the windows, and leave one job that was not urgent for a later date.

Saturday turned out to be "one of those days". We arrived at the dealers at the agreed time to find long faces and much head scratching. The electric winders would not work properly so to take the pressure off we went into nearby Killin for lunch and a look around the town. By now we had changed our ferry booking to the last ferry. To cut a long story short, many apologies but no Land Rover (needed a relay no available until Monday), so we were given a Land Rover to get us home. but none of the door locks worked and we were going to Tesco to do a "big" shop on the way home. So more apologies, and another Land Rover quickly appeared with a full tank of fuel and at last we were on our way home. Lix Toll's reputation untarnished as they agreed that they would complete all jobs and then bring our vehicle to the island and recover there own vehicle which in the meantime we are using. When it all goes wrong good customer service saves the day! Pity that some of the larger companies do not put customer first as with Lix Toll and Red Lion Doune!