Road Angel Professional Connected

[Pincher]

As Hopsta said - good to see a senior bod trying to address issues and respond to posts

[Golfer]

As Hopsta said - good to see a senior bod trying to address issues and respond to posts

Yes I agree with you, this will enable us to get beter service in the long run from Road Angels.

[craigyb]

I emailed the camera locations back to customer support yesterday, they responded by zapping my RA with a factory reset which sent it into a complete download, serveral hours or GPRS activity, and made the unit useless whilst driving as it had no camera locations loaded.

So I left it powered up overnight to reload it's database and sure enough it was ready again this morning. I drove past the locations I emailed to RA yesterday and sure enough they were still the same, no change whatsoever to the database, so why did the support numpty blast my RA if no updates were done?

[Golfer]

I emailed the camera locations back to customer support yesterday, they responded by zapping my RA with a factory reset which sent it into a complete download, serveral hours or GPRS activity, and made the unit useless whilst driving as it had no camera locations loaded.

So I left it powered up overnight to reload it's database and sure enough it was ready again this morning. I drove past the locations I emailed to RA yesterday and sure enough they were still the same, no change whatsoever to the database, so why did the support numpty blast my RA if no updates were done?

It would seem Craige that you have bought to light a problem that is almost a trade "description breech" to me, these new RA's do NOT do what they state , and IF they are employing people to "Update", then they themselves are getting paid for Naf-all.

I for one will NOT be buying one.

[grahammackie]

Craig - firstly apologies for the factory reset on your device. Our support team often assume that 'missing cameras' are caused by a corrupt database file on the device and therefore ask our servers to send down a complete file of camera locations i.e. a factory reset. This isn't an issue on our PC connected devices - however this clearly isn't the best course of action when the data is being handled by a GPRS connection ! A polite reminder has been sent to the team here :mad:

With regard to the cameras I have a response from my Camera Team Manager:

1. A56, Cross Street Sale, Cheshire, Fixed Speed camera alert set at 30Mph when it has been 40Mph for at least a year and is clearly signed at 40 Mph.

This camera was on our database as a 30 MPH. On the strength of Craig’s email we have changed it to a 40 MPH this morning. We have also marked it for a verification check. As I explained briefly earlier, speed limits are very difficult to manage (although we do quite well) and given the number of cameras on the database we get a very, very small amount of information back from customers or the camera team that speeds are incorrect.

2. A5067, Talbot Road, Old Trafford, heading East near Gorse Avenue, fixed camera alert, no camera has ever been sited there.[/font]

There is a northbound camera on the A56 Chester Road, between Portland Road & Cavendish Road. The heading of the camera is 28 degrees and when travelling on the A5067 you are at a pretty much a fixed heading of 54 degrees. The distance between the two roads at worst case is 150M or so. With a 250M distance warning set you will see something on the display although I doubt that it will go to the full 5 bars. The greater the distance setting on the unit the more bars will be displayed.

To explain response number 2 a bit further. Our camera locator devices work on a combination of GPS location, vehicle heading (direction) and distance to warn of cameras, blackspots etc. They do not have a database of 'roads' in them as such. When there are two roads or two cameras close together there is the chance of an occasional false alerts, particularly as the warning distance is increased.

Golfer - I'm not sure what part of the Trade Description Act you think we are breaching? We are a UK based company founded on the principle of providing quality products backed up by world class customer service. Yes we make mistakes occasionally, but the important thing for me is that we recognise these mistakes and do something about them. If ever you or Craig are in the Silverstone area feel free to pop in and see the operation here and hopefully your opionion of us will change.

regards

[craigyb]

Graham

I'll accept the description of the problem for camera 2, the Pogo does the same. I always thought there was a reasonable distance between the Chester Rd camera and Talbot Rd.

I'll check camera 1 later as it wasn't updated at 7:20 AM this morning when I passed it.

[grahammackie]

7:20 am ! Matt and the team were probably still on the way home from partying the night away at that time of the morning

It was updated mid morning this morning.

[craigyb]

Careful Graham, I'm beginning to wonder where my £4.99 a month is going.

[bazza_g]

bonza to see manufacturer feedback and action - top effort Graham

[Golfer]

Craig - firstly apologies for the factory reset on your device. Our support team often assume that 'missing cameras' are caused by a corrupt database file on the device and therefore ask our servers to send down a complete file of camera locations i.e. a factory reset. This isn't an issue on our PC connected devices - however this clearly isn't the best course of action when the data is being handled by a GPRS connection ! A polite reminder has been sent to the team here :mad:

With regard to the cameras I have a response from my Camera Team Manager:

1. A56, Cross Street Sale, Cheshire, Fixed Speed camera alert set at 30Mph when it has been 40Mph for at least a year and is clearly signed at 40 Mph.

This camera was on our database as a 30 MPH. On the strength of Craig’s email we have changed it to a 40 MPH this morning. We have also marked it for a verification check. As I explained briefly earlier, speed limits are very difficult to manage (although we do quite well) and given the number of cameras on the database we get a very, very small amount of information back from customers or the camera team that speeds are incorrect.

2. A5067, Talbot Road, Old Trafford, heading East near Gorse Avenue, fixed camera alert, no camera has ever been sited there.[/font]

There is a northbound camera on the A56 Chester Road, between Portland Road & Cavendish Road. The heading of the camera is 28 degrees and when travelling on the A5067 you are at a pretty much a fixed heading of 54 degrees. The distance between the two roads at worst case is 150M or so. With a 250M distance warning set you will see something on the display although I doubt that it will go to the full 5 bars. The greater the distance setting on the unit the more bars will be displayed.

To explain response number 2 a bit further. Our camera locator devices work on a combination of GPS location, vehicle heading (direction) and distance to warn of cameras, blackspots etc. They do not have a database of 'roads' in them as such. When there are two roads or two cameras close together there is the chance of an occasional false alerts, particularly as the warning distance is increased.

Golfer - I'm not sure what part of the Trade Description Act you think we are breaching? We are a UK based company founded on the principle of providing quality products backed up by world class customer service. Yes we make mistakes occasionally, but the important thing for me is that we recognise these mistakes and do something about them. If ever you or Craig are in the Silverstone area feel free to pop in and see the operation here and hopefully your opionion of us will change.

regards

Graham, many thanks for a frank and constructive reply to my and others concerns:), I will have a look at the new road angel with "Home update" and use a perminent feed (power suppy) too it.

[gizze]

Graham,

I would like to see, as would many others I speak with, a device that consists of a small, easy to read display that you could change the colour of to match your interior lighting, that can be placed pretty much anywhere. This would be maybe 1" high by 2" wide and no more than say a 1/4" deep.

Then you could have the actual unit that does the processing anywhere you want, with a dedicated gps antenna coming from that.

This would allow a neat install and one that you could feel safe in leaving in your car in any area.

The only thing that made this a bit tricky was updating the unit, but now you are using gprs for updates it doesn't matter.

First company to release such a thing would be onto a winner imho.

[grahammackie]

To build this kind of product you would need to base it on a device that you don't have to take out of the car to update cameras, i.e. one with a sim card built in. Now if only someone had that technology already

[techieboy]

Graham,

I would like to see, as would many others I speak with, a device that consists of a small, easy to read display that you could change the colour of to match your interior lighting, that can be placed pretty much anywhere. This would be maybe 1" high by 2" wide and no more than say a 1/4" deep.

Then you could have the actual unit that does the processing anywhere you want, with a dedicated gps antenna coming from that.

This would allow a neat install and one that you could feel safe in leaving in your car in any area.

The only thing that made this a bit tricky was updating the unit, but now you are using gprs for updates it doesn't matter.

First company to release such a thing would be onto a winner imho.

To build this kind of product you would need to base it on a device that you don't have to take out of the car to update cameras, i.e. one with a sum card built in. Now if only someone had that technology already

Count me in as soon as you've developed it. In fact I'll take three of them please. Currently still using my RoadPilot Micro as it's still the most unobtrusive device out there (without fitting one of those replacement rear view mirrors and losing some of the cars features) but am not convinced by it's database anymore.

[gizze]

To build this kind of product you would need to base it on a device that you don't have to take out of the car to update cameras, i.e. one with a sim card built in. Now if only someone had that technology already

Exactly!

It needs to be no taller than the interior trim you get on cars, I mean the aluminium, wood etc.

And the wire needs to come out of the back too, no point having it come from the bottom or top, it needs to be a really neat install.

[zippier]

am following this with interest as I'm 'detectorless' at present and am in the market for a new one

I was searching for something else on Google and came across this thread and I hope you excuse my hi-jacking it.

I'm in the same position as both of the above - i'm currently looking at getting a new detector and happened to notice this thread via Google...so i hope no one minds if i also 'hi-jack' it a little...

I've been considering the Road Angel Navigator 9000 - although my questions equally apply to the RA Pro:

- is there a demo login for the online tracking function?

- what information is actually logged (is it purely a snapshot every few minutes or is the speed and exact path logged)?

- is the logged information available to download?

- what your privacy policy regarding the information?

- is there only one tracking account available per unit - or can sub-accounts be set up or is it anticipated that people give out the one set of login details to anyone they wish to have access?

and finally - do Blackspot not really care about sales? The reason i ask is that i emailed most of these questions to the sales email address and the info email address and got absolutely no response. I then opened up a support ticket and found it closed without a response. I would have expected Blackspot to do more ... especially given that the reviews for the units aren't particularly fantastic (although that applies more for the Nav. 9000 than the Pro Connected).

Thanks

[gtiller]

I was thinking about buying the new Road Angel Professional Connected.

...With Graham's comments, and Craig's observations, I think I will stick with the trusty old Valentine One until the super dooper new "Road Angel Professional Connected Integrated Edition" is released!!!

[RedRobin]

gtiller - I wouldn't hold your breath waiting for anything which Road Angel say they are going to do. I had 18 months of experience of them - Always sounded very pleasant and keen to help on the phone (if you could get through!) but they simply don't walk their talk.

Also very frustrating when they bring out a new product and dump support of the older ones.

I bet you still don't support the Mac platform, Graham.

[AH101]

Wow, I was so close to ordering the Road Angel Professional Connected this weekend - I thought I'd double check online reviews!!

Few questions......

(1) This thread was started a few months ago, have things improved with the latest firmware levels Graham refers to?

(2) The optional ‘EU Camera & Blackspot Data’ looks very attractive to me – is the EU data updated in the same way as the UK data, namely, wirelessly whilst I’m driving?

Cheers

AH101

[zippier]

Wow, I was so close to ordering the Road Angel Professional Connected this weekend - I thought I'd double check online reviews!!

Like you i was close to buying one of their products, however, i'm glad i haven't:

- i've emailed them asking a couple of questions about the product with no response

- i've raised a support ticket - again no response

- i chased up the support ticket with the comment "i can only asume that Blackspot aren't interested in the sales of these units..." - again - no response

I can only assume that i'd get a similar (poor) level of support post-sale of the item - so not going to waste my money.

And even then, i'd probably be wasting my money as i'm hard pushed to find many positive reviews of their products (especially the Navigator 9000 - which seems to simply be a poorly executed, half-baked, poorly supported product).

I sincerely hope Graham Mackie takes the time to read this thread because it really paints Blackspot / Road Angel in a poor light. Given the limited amount of praise them seem to get in reviews, i'm suprised that they seem to care so little about their image.

[CarMad]

Having read and watched this thread I think its great that Graham has spent the time to come on and answer everyone's questions and hasn't ignored any either.

No product or company is perfect at least they are listening and that can only help with this and future products from them. It seems some products may have a few issues but with the adage that if you have a good experience you tell 5 people and a bad one 10, the people happy with it probably haven't posted yet.

[Chav]

I agree CarMad, Graham's obviously a very sincere MD doing his damnest. Good on him!!

Like Gizze, I'd like to see units with screens and a brain box so you can position in the car as discreetly as poss. They should also concentrate on reducing price, rather than adding new features to increase cost. In times of decreasing levels of spare cash,

people won't be spending X hundred pounds on camera detectors en masse. however

£50-100 pounds is a bracket more will purchase at - especially as gifts for friends/spouse etc.

[RedRobin]

....Yes it's all very well to praise Graham's efforts but you can't justify the behaviour which zippier reports and I've had exactly the same experiences 2 years ago and over the period of a year!

Let's just assume for a moment that the Road Angel products are perfect - Great! but their customer service and support sucks!! They simply don't walk their talk and it needs saying so they can either do something about it or others are informed. If they walked their talk, you wouldn't be reading any complaints.

[Chav]

Show me how many other managing directors come on here to try and help potential/existing customers. Not many.

Yes customer support appears to have failed on occasion from above, but forums are places where people moan far more than praise. So you're not going to get the 1000s of happy customers sticking up for Graham's support team are you?

Every company has a few unhappy customers/potential customers. For one, some people are just plain arses. The customer is always right - my arse!!

[RedRobin]

....Chav, I would much prefer that my experiences with RA were happier and I am one of those albeit rare people who frequently do sing the praises of those I think deserve it.

Hats off to Graham as an individual but the facts remain as I've stated.

[Rustynuts]

And truth be told, customers don't really care that much whether or not the managing director is "a nice bloke" or not, What they just want is a product that works and support / rectification if it doesn't.

I've never felt the need to invest in a speed camera detector, as I know where they are where I live and work, and I rarely stretch my legs anyway. But I'd check on here before I bought one, and if I came across this thread then I'd be considering the recommendations and observations of Craigyb's Pogo long before I bought a flawed product with a nice bloke trying to fix it.