This is so unrealistic it is unreal. and of all my years on the forums this has to be the highest form of sheer muppetry I have ever had the unpleasant task of reading. Have you ever tried to call bt, they specialise in the telecommunications industry and can't get call answering right. How can you honestly attack the customer service of a company based on a few simple missed calls. There are alternatives out there for anyone wishing to spend there hard earned. However many choose to wait not simply because the product is good but because the back up and customer service is always excellent. Ionics have also suffered from the same supply and demand issues of the grafter pole recently however there is no comment attacking there customer service. Where else can you honestly say you get as much info, and continuous support for products out of office hours. And have an issue with a product resolved within minutes on this forum. The truth is the competition simply aren't in the same league as far as customer support. When you buy a product from gardiners you are not just buying the product you are buying the piece of mind that your product has guaranteed support for issues and good sound advice and will have spares backup for many years to come. A company can in no way be blamed for the simple incompetence of the client to not carry spares or at least a backup. No one is capable of predicting the future if we could we would all be millionaires so how can a company predict the demand for a product increasing in such a short space of time. I have asked questions of other suppliers openly on the forum before and gave them the chance to respond however I am still waiting months on. With alex you simply get honest professional feedback and a quick response. He simply takes a genuine interest where others fail to do so and has an enthusiasm to make our industry a better one with ongoing innovation and design and supply of very sound reasonably priced products. You are never going to please everyone as this world is far from perfect but I'm sure as a company they will continue to thrive and long may it last for the benefit of us all the truth is they prob don't need your custom anyway but as professional as they are they would never look at it in that way. Maybe alex is a casualty of the sheer volume of backup he provides on here and other forums and I am surprised he even bothers at times there are simply other nicer more appreciative forums out there sadly. I wouldn't blame him for simply disappearing to the background like all the others. Where else do you get a care user guide for a pole you purchase.