Getting the support you need

Posted on 3 January 2012 | 8:23 pm

Sometimes online sellers can be cunning in their way of offering seemingly rock bottom prices. Often, they would break a product package apart and sell the components separately. For example recently we have been asked to price match a GPS that was some $70 cheaper. This was quite unusual for such a large difference, upon investigation, we have found that the online shop does not include the vehicle mounting kit, which was worth $75. This is a common practice and many consumers are tricked without knowing the difference and think that they have gotten a bargain. Most shops are happy to match prices, you just have to ask. However, do remember that when you purchase online, you are ONLY buying the product. Buying it in the shop, you are buying the product, AND customer service, AND technical support, AND warranty service, AND physical demonstration AND technical advise. Imagine if all physical retailers have to match and sell at internet pricing, eventually they won’t be able to afford professional staff, shop rent and quality customer service that takes time. You are then left with having to do the research yourself in your own time, trust everything you read on a screen and never get to touch the product before you spend the money. Shops will be closed, streets will be empty and jobs will be lost. In the end, you do pay for what you get.

Christmas

Posted on 5 December 2011 | 10:17 pm

The Christmas spirit has now taken over the shop. Christmas cards are being sent, store is being decorated. To make it even better, the renovations have started! The yellow walls that haven’t changed colour since the 80′s are now being stripped out of the old school posters and painted a nice Electric Bug blue colour. One wall at a time, we will give a new look to this place. Who knows, maybe with the new year will come a new, improved look. Only time will tell…

Solar Car Challenge 2011

Posted on 6 November 2011 | 10:35 pm

The World Solar Challenge 2011 has come and gone. Since we were the official suppliers of UHF radios and satellite phones for the teams and organisers, we shared some of the stress that went with the race. From teams booking months in advance to people deciding days before the race that they needed some equipment: we had it all. Planning ahead to make sure we could supply for the high demand wasn’t easy. Not to mention the distance factor: they needed the equipment in Darwin for the start of the race.

With distances like that comes the unpredictable factor that is the courier. Finding out an item hasn’t arrived at the right time can give you such a lack of control that it will stress out the calmest of people. Not to mention it will stress out the team members and the organisers (who can’t let the team race without the equipment). We can plan ahead as much as possible, send out the equipment days in advance, but the chance of something going wrong will always be there. I’m happy to say all teams got the equipment they needed by the time the race starts. Really, that is what we aim for.

There is a list of improvements for the next race that includes making sure teams book the equipment they need at least a month in advance. When one team leaves something to the last minute, domino effect takes place. Hopefully the next time will be bigger, better and smoother. Keeping the environment clean is what everyone should aim for and the Solar Car Challenge helps people take the next step into clean solar energy.

We sponsored 2 teams for this race, who came in for some happy snaps. CalSol, from the USA and DUSC from the UK. Here they are with their cars:

Slowly but surely

Posted on 22 September 2011 | 4:53 pm

It seems that every channel on TV has decided to make their own renovating show. It seems so easy to the point where anyone can do it. We have decided to give that theory a shot. The next step on our to do list: renovate the store. We know it won’t be quick or easy. This will be more of a marathon than a sprint. It is about doing it well and right the first time. A good challenge is always good to keep people motivated. Change is always welcome to a place that has barely changed since it first opened. You can’t replace tradition and reputation, but you can give it a face lift.

On another note, September the 2nd has come and gone. That means the bet between Anthony and Damien is over. Or so we thought. Damien didn’t manage to get down to 80kg on time. He was a couple of kilos over. Somehow he has managed to convince Anthony to keep the bet going for a bit longer. Stay tuned for the next episode of this soap opera…

SPOT

Posted on 30 June 2011 | 4:31 pm

Due to the recent End of Financial Year rush, we have been inundated with purchase orders for SPOT devices.  These are GPS satellite tracking devices suitable for personal and recreational use.  It tracks your movement in the wild for your family and friends to look at on Google Map.  It adds a peace of mind when you are travelling away from civilisation.  Furthermore, it is a safety device where you can signal an SOS beacon in an emergency to call for help.  For businesses, it adds a new dimension to just personal safety, it becomes a personnel and asset management system.

SPOT is normally activated and registered via an American portal.  This is suitable and sufficient for personal use, but when it comes to being a business OHS tool, you need a much more sophisticated software package than Google Map.  Pivotel is Australia’s leading satellite phone provider, they have a fleet management product called Tracer Trak which is used by international shipping and freight companies for tracking their cargos.

If you are a business, here is why Tracer Trak is better than FindMeSpot.

Tracer Trak can do everything FindMeSpot can do and includes the following as extra benefits:

• Access for multiple login names with different access rights assigned
  • This enable various staff to check on the status of SPOT with various access rights and authority to change parameters
• Business grade software that can generate reports for OHS, audits or travel data
• Allow Exception Management
  • Generate scheduled check-in reports and notifications
  • Generate alerts if SPOT did not check in during scheduled check-in time (excellent for remote / lone workers)
• Address matching down to street level
  • Greater safety to guide emergency personnel or staff to actual location of the SPOT device
• Setup “Geo-fence” alerts to ensure staff does not enter or leave a predetermined area
  • Useful to monitor accidental entry into restricted area or lost staff that strays out of work location
  • Monitor of time of entry and exit of an area
• Multiple SPOT units can be monitored and managed on one screen / map
  • Staff management and assignment of job to the closest staff made easy
• Different profile with different alerts can be set for each individual SPOT unit
• Inactivity alert
  • Alert generated for unit that has not moved for a certain period of time (possible man down function)
• SOS alert is managed in Australia not USA
• All SOS messages are tracked and delivery is guaranteed
• Free Training in person or via teleconference on the use of software
• $28 per month with tracking at every 10mins, or $24 per month per unit without tracking.  Inc GST.

There is no hidden costs.  We have looked at all the satellite service providers, Pivotel is by far the best available.  Even though we are located in suburbia of Adelaide, we are in fact the largest Satellite Phone Retailer in Australia.

Additional costs only occurs if you send more than 10 sms a month to a mobile, then each additional sms is $0.25 each.  However, if you are not sending SMS, but only sending the alerts and messages as emails, then it is free and is unlimited.  You can also send unlimited device reports, which includes status of the SPOT unit, ie. Battery low alert.

There is a lot more benefits than the extensive list above.  It can be overwhelming, so why not just give us a call and speak to a real person to get it cleared up.  Enjoy the Australian outback working or having fun, in a safe and connected manner.

Upgrade to 80 channels

Posted on 14 June 2011 | 6:24 pm

80 channels have now been approved and released. If you have a 40 channel radio that is upgradable to 80 channels (it would say so in the box) you can now upgrade it. It could be user upgradable, in which case all you need to do is press some buttons, or dealer upgradable, in which case you’ll need to take it back to your dealer to upgrade it.

We have all the user upgradable instructions in store and we are also able to upgrade the dealer upgradable radios. Just give us a ring if you need any help in finding out if your radio can be upgraded or not.
If your 80 channel upgradable radio was purchased from Electric Bug since Feb 2011, then you are eligible to get it upgraded by us for free.

On a side note, Damien has joined the gym and is doing spin classes 3 times a week. He is now below 89kg!!! Keep going.

80 channel UHF radios

Posted on 21 April 2011 | 12:52 am

The Australian Government has decided to increase the number of CB/UHF radio channels to make it easier for people to find a free channel to talk on. The 40 channels available now are Wideband (25kHz) and will be split in half into Narrowband (12.kHz) channels.

The changeover hasn’t happened yet and there is not set date for it to take place. The latest information is that it should be out late April or early May. Once it does happen, there will be a 6 year changeover period, where 40 channel radios will still be available to use. After the first year of 80 channel radios being used, suppliers will not be selling 40 channel radios anymore. But there will still be 5 years when anyone can use wideband radios.

Wideband and narrowband radios can talk to each other with no problems. The only noticeable difference is a slight sound change for people with a wideband listening to someone talking on a narrowband radio. That is, if you have a 40 channel radio and someone is talking to you from an 80 channel radio, they will seem quieter than if you were talking to another 40 channel radio.

There are 80 channel radios available from GME, Uniden and ICOM. Some are user upgradable and some are dealer upgradable. That is, they are all still 40 channel radios but once the licence takes place, an unlock code will be available to change those radios to narrowband, without any hardware change. Some will be as simple as putting in a few numbers; others will need to be taken back to the dealer to have the new channels added. When the 80 channels do become available and you have a dealer upgradable radio, make sure you don’t try to change it yourself and take it back to a trusted dealer. There will be scams around, which could change your radio in a way which won’t meet legal or technical specifications.

Damien’s bet

Posted on 17 March 2011 | 8:27 pm

There’s nothing like a good healthy competition at work, it builds team relationship and comradeship. One of our sales people, Damien once said “I can lose as much weight as I want, I just have no good reason to do so”. Obviously, someone decided to take advantage of this and say he couldn’t do it. And that’s how the bet started.

Anthony, the boss, has a pool at his house that hasn’t been cleaned since 2005 (photos still to come). What better way to get it cleaned than to win a bet? Yeah, you got it. The bet involves Damien losing weight and, if he doesn’t, that pool will be scrubbed from top to bottom.

So here is the bet: Damien has to weight 80kg by September 2^nd. If he wins, he gets a blank check to have dinner at a restaurant of his choice. If he loses, that pool with 2 metre worth of sludge has to be cleaned. Pretty simple. To make sure no one cheats, I will be weighting Damien every Friday from now on and taking photos so we can all see the difference. I must point out that Damien doesn’t like the idea of having his photos here, so make sure you mention something when you come into the store.

So here is the start:

March 4^th 2011 – Damien’s weight: 94.8kg – weight to lose: 14.8kg

Innovate SA

Posted on 11 November 2010 | 3:15 pm

The foundation to a successful business is people, where staff gets along and effective teamwork is the norm. It all seems simple and easy but it can all fall apart very quickly. First off you need to find the right people. As simple as it seems, getting people to work well together can only happen if you are totally committed to a set of core values that is embraced by the entire company. But how do you start?

Innovate SA puts together a few courses to help your business work. They run half-day showcases and we went to one of them a few days ago. The idea is very simple: implement values, develop a positive culture, improve the team and its members. Simple ideas tend to scare people. If something is too simple, people tend to think it won’t work. But this idea works. Setting it on stone, making sure everyone is on the same page, working out the business’ values together, as a team, will ensure they stick.

For a movement like this to work, you’ll need to have everyone on board, starting with the head of the company. If they believe in it and act to make the changes, it will slowly leak through to the whole production team. It’s a matter of getting everyone on board. Demanding that everyone else changes without making changes yourself won’t work. This whole process is about improving you and your team. Getting together as a group and giving out constructive criticism. As hard as it may seem in the beginning, you’ll be impressed by how much people take in.

Take the humour and personality out of it and focus on the person and objective. Each member of the team would write down one thing for the person to keep doing, stop doing and to start doing. As time goes on, team members become very comfortable with telling others how and what to improve on based solely on the values they have all agreed on and nothing personal. Hence no one needs to be defensive and can be more active in pushing the team improvement juggernaut.

It’s a simple idea that takes time and effort to accomplish. But from what we’ve seen in companies that have joined in the movement, it is worth it in the end.

Movember

Posted on 2 November 2010 | 6:31 pm

Movember is upon us! Electric Bug will once again raise money and awareness for men’s health. Women have an average life expectancy of 83 while men are sitting on 78. This is mainly because men don’t seek a doctor until a later stage of the problem for various reasons. Movember is not just about funding prostate cancer and depression research, it is about ensuring health problems are found on early stages and can be resolved without major dramas.
The next time you come into the store, make a donation and more importantly, bring up the issue with people around you and spread the word. Grow a Mo if you can, it will certainly start a few conversations with people around you. What better way to spread the word than being a walking, talking billboard for 30 days?!
Donate online here