It is such as shame that there is so little produce in the shops for the local people. Fortunately we have adequate provisions on the boat to enable us not to have to buy anything, although some chocolate would be nice. I looked in several shops but the only vegetables that seemed to be available in tins were sweetcorn and mixed vegetables. This is probably not a problem for the local people but a greater variety would be good for us yachties.
I have nothing but praise for the after sales service provided by Panasonic in the UK. I recently dropped the paddle, from the pan of my breadmaker, into the sea. It is lost forever. We sent an email to Panasonic and the immediate response was for them to send us a replacement, free of charge, to the MD of World Cruising club in the UK, who is bringing it with him when he flies to Fiji on the 10th of June.
This is not the first time that Panasonic have been so willing to help us out. While we were in Greece around October 2008, we contacted Panasonic about a fault on our out of warranty, flat screen TV, which we use on the boat. Once again their immediate reaction was positive but because the problem needed on-site attention we were referred to their Greek agent. Unfortunately, we were unable to get any response from Panasonic in Greece but had we been able to get local help, Panasonic in the UK would have refunded our costs. There are few companies that still remain interested in their products once they are out of warranty and certainly when they are no longer in the country from whence they were purchased. Forsheda is another company that we would recommend and will continue to use. We purchased a number of their rubber compensators while in Turkey. These are used on the mooring lines which run from the boat to the pontoon or dock and help to take the jerking movement away when there is a lot of swell or rough sea. One of these compensators failed within the first season and without hesitation, was replaced immediately at no cost to ourselves. Subsequently, a year down the line another failed and was instantly replaced. Ocean Safety should also be commended for accepting responsibility for the automatic inflation of their Jonbuoy, while we were sailing off the coast of Turkey. Although there was no local agent in Turkey, while we were in the UK, they gave Dick a lesson on how to repack the Jonbuoy as well as supplying us with a replacement gas canister, at no charge to ourselves. In addition, even though we had purchased all of the safety equipment for our boat before leaving the UK in 2007, most of it supplied by Ocean Safety, the MD came aboard to ensure that everything was as it should be before we left the country.
We need to look after suppliers like these as there don't seem to be many around who still have an active interest after the sale.