In December 2009, I purchased a used boat from Inverloch Marine. Overall, I was quite satisfied with the way in which the purchase was conducted, however there were some "old school" sales techniques being employed, especially when I was having difficulty in getting the bank to provide the relevant funds. I would recommend getting in contact with them if you are in the market to purchase a new or used boat.

After visiting the Melbourne Boat Show, we decided to pop in for a quick meal whilst on the way home - It is easy & convenient for us as it is just off the Monash Fwy outbound. After being seated, we were promptly offered drinks and a garlic bread, which were brought to the table rather quickly.

Unfortunately, it all started to go down hill from there - When I ordered my first main meal (Grilled Chicken Ceaser Salad), I was told that it was not available (first time I've ever been told that a salad was not available). As such, I asked for some more time to select another option. I then proceeded to order the Angus Beef Steak and again was told that this was not available!

At this point I was about to walk out, however the waitress informed me that they could do a Porterhouse Steak - I agreed to this as it was getting close to 9pm by this stage. When the meal arrived, I was suprised to find that it only had about 6 vegetables and the steak, which wasn't really a meal at all. It was however nicely cooked and the pepper sauce was great, however more vegetables would have been better.

My wifes pasta on the other hand was readily available and of really good quality, so she was quite pleased with the meal she recieved.

The worst part about this whole experience is that the restaurant still charged me the same price for the Porterhouse Steak when I received a lower quality cut of meat, compared to the Angus Steak.

Approximate cost: $25.00

Normally, every Bunnings store I have been to in the past has provided excellent price and great service. Unfortunately, I recently experienced the worst service at a Bunnings store I have ever been to. After recieving some gift vouchers for Christmas, I decided to buy an outdoor setting that I saw at Bunnings not long ago. Firstly, I went down to enquire about the price and options for getting it home as it was quite large. In the initial visit, the staff member was very helpful and they informed me that I would hire one of their trailers to get it home.

I returned a few days later, got some assistance from a staff member to load it on the trolley and then took it to the counter to pay. As I was finalising payment I requested a rental trailer from the staff member at the counter (after explaining what the previous guy had told me), to which he replied that there were none. I informed him that there were some still out the front and he bluntly said that they were booked and that I could not use them. I then asked when one would become available and he said that he didn't know - Again very bluntly.

By this stage I wasn't sure what I was going to do so I asked him if he knew of any other way I could get the setting home and he walked away from me, turning back just in time to say no and that I should have thought of that before I came down here - He then called someone else to the counter and motioned for me to move aside.

At this stage I was in disbelif and simply walked outside to attempt to fit it in my Sedan - With no luck. I ended up standing outside for about two hours before someone offered to follow-me home in their ute to deliver it for me. This guy didn't even want anything for going out of his way, even know I was offering payment!

Unfortunately you simply have to use Bunnings - especially out our way where the next one would be some drive away.

The food and service aren't the best, however it is quite nice and very inexpensive. It is not a restaurant you would goto in order to have a quiet chat over the meal as it is a high-turnover business, but if you go for a quick meal or with a bunch of friends it is worthwhile.

Approximate cost: $30.00

These guys are fantastic if you have a Holden you want to customise. Over the course of a year, I spent $10,000 with them and had very minimal problems. The only real issue I had with them was they accidently sold a set of tail-lights I had purchased as one of their staff didn't realise they had been sold. They promised to order the lamps ASAP and also open up the shop on a weekend to fit them (not normal practice). Sure enough I got a phone call a week later saying the lamps were in and that they wanted to meet me at the shop at 11:00am on Saturday. I did this and the lamps were fitted, tested and provided at a discount for the inconvenience. Another time, after I had my body kit fitted, one of the fog lamps blew (suspected) and they invited me down for a look. I made some time and after about 1/2hr of looking into the issue, they had replaced the lamp, tested it and provided it and the labour free of charge. Excellent customer service.

Approximate cost: $10000

After a bad experience at a tyre place in Box Hill, I went to see these guys as they were local. I was after a specific set of wheels and tyres, which I was able to find quite easily in their range. After organising to get the wheels fitted, I rang to confirm my booking only to find that they had sold the wheels by mistake. I asked if they could find some more in the same type and they said they could, but they would need to be shipped from WA. They said that because they had stuffed up, they would ship them over free of charge and I would still pay the same price, which I agreed to. After having waited for 2 weeks, I was called to say that they wheels were in and they could fit them whenever I wanted. I arranged to have them fitted on the following weekend and it was done professionally, in quick time and they threw in wheel balancing, cleaning etc free of charge (for the inconvenience - all up $300 worth of additional services).

Approximate cost: $3000

After having spent over $350 per tyre ($1,400 just for tyres), I was expecting quality, expertise and value for money. When I took the car in to fit the tyres (Bridgestone Potenza S-03), the quality of service was poor and the job was very rushed. In just a couple of months, one of the rear tyres blew and I was extremely annoyed. After taking the tyre back to Donnellans, they insisted that it was my fault, even though I take consistent and careful care of my cars. I explained this to them and they said to take the tyre to Bridgeston, which I did. One morning I made time to visit their HQ in Avalon and they indeed told me that the blowout was a manufactiring fault and that it would be repaired free of charge. All I had to do was take the tyre back to Donnellans and they would honour the warranty. I took the tyre back there and they said they would have a look at it and get back to me. After a week of no contact, I followed up and they said that they had lost the tyre and the paperwork and as such, I would still need to pay $175 for a new tyre, regardless of what Bridgestone had said (made up some lie that they too lost the paperwork). In the end I was so frustrated that I just paid the money, got the tyre, took it to another tyre place, traded it in (as it was near new) and bought a set of Falken tyres, which were a third of the cost and a better tyre.

Approximate cost: $1400

Getting urgent computer parts on a Sunday in the South-Eastern suburbs in extremely difficult. Luckily, these guys are open from 11am to 3pm on Sundays, which made my life so much easier after one of my computer power supplies died. It happened to be my mail server!

I have used these guys for many years now to purchase computer parts - They are the cheapest around and stock good quality, brand name parts. Whilst they are the cheapest, they are very popular and it is not uncommon to spend an hour waiting in the queue to purchase one item. Also, the customer service is extremely poor but you can put up with it for the low prices.

I read about this place in The Age as being Melbourne's number 1 Parma place, so I had to check it out. With a good friend, we visted some weeks ago and the meal was absolutely exceptional. We went early, which was a good thing as it filled up so fast just after 12 noon, which meant others couldn't get a table. The food was fantastic (beware: the parmas are almost the size of a full chicken), service was great and fast, plus the range of beer on tap was a big plus.

Approximate cost: $20.00