Nicky T hits Badlands......
Nicky T on Tour !!!
Hot on the heels of the Paintball Extravaganza in Washington DC, I was back on the road again, this time to visit the Eclipse Distributor for Canada, Badlands Paintball, who were running an invite only Dealer weekend for their customers held at their headquarters in Toronto, Ontario. Dealers present were invited to take part in tech courses run by Eric Bratten of Tiberius Arms and myself handling everything Planet Eclipse. Arriving in Toronto Airport I was met by none other than Owen Ronayne, complete with his company car for the weekend; a 'deluxe' people carrier that was ideally suited to ferrying dealers around all weekend! Once I'd guided Owen to the correct terminal we hit the road and after a brief stop at one of Badlands location to pick up some supplies for the weekend, headed straight for HQ to ensure that everything was ready for the dealers imminent arrival.
Eric had flown in the previous night from Indiana, so was already accustomed to hearing "'eh" at the end of every sentence and together with Trevor Moss, the President of Badlands, were busy acquainting himself with the circular binding machine - but that’s a whole other story! Safe in the knowledge that our class room was prepped and that the latest Eclipse products were on display in Owen's Dealer Day Sales room, we headed back to the hotel for dinner and a chat. If you ever need to book a hotel in the Toronto area then Owen is the man to speak to as the Marriott Courtyard was superb; great food, good bar and excellent staff - definitely gets the Eclipse seal of approval from me!
Friday night featured a three course sit down meal with all of the dealers, courtesy of Tiberius Arms. The opportunity to socialise with customers was invaluable as it often gave them to opportunity to provide feedback that they wouldn't necessarily pass on in a classroom scenario. It's always of interest to get feedback of not only what customers feel we could do better, but also the aspects of the company and products that they like and want us to retain in future product lines. One of the major lures for dealers to attend this event were the "sales specials" that Owen was running including mixed pallets of Inka paint, Tiberius packages, Eclipse packages and start-up packages of Badlands very own line of Petrol products. Having spoken to all of the dealers in attendance, the majority of them took advantage of the specials and consequently are all set to start 2012 off on the right foot!
The Eclipse tech classes went down a treat with dealers getting hands on experience with both the Eclipse Etek and the new Eclipse Etha, before being tested on both platforms in order to become Certified Approved Tech Centres. I'm pleased to say that there was a 100% success rate even though this was the first time that some of the students has seen either marker! I am therefore very pleased to announce that the following Dealers are up to speed on both the Etek and Etha, so if you're local to them don't hesitate to drop them a line and pick their brains:
Eric had flown in the previous night from Indiana, so was already accustomed to hearing "'eh" at the end of every sentence and together with Trevor Moss, the President of Badlands, were busy acquainting himself with the circular binding machine - but that’s a whole other story! Safe in the knowledge that our class room was prepped and that the latest Eclipse products were on display in Owen's Dealer Day Sales room, we headed back to the hotel for dinner and a chat. If you ever need to book a hotel in the Toronto area then Owen is the man to speak to as the Marriott Courtyard was superb; great food, good bar and excellent staff - definitely gets the Eclipse seal of approval from me!
Friday night featured a three course sit down meal with all of the dealers, courtesy of Tiberius Arms. The opportunity to socialise with customers was invaluable as it often gave them to opportunity to provide feedback that they wouldn't necessarily pass on in a classroom scenario. It's always of interest to get feedback of not only what customers feel we could do better, but also the aspects of the company and products that they like and want us to retain in future product lines. One of the major lures for dealers to attend this event were the "sales specials" that Owen was running including mixed pallets of Inka paint, Tiberius packages, Eclipse packages and start-up packages of Badlands very own line of Petrol products. Having spoken to all of the dealers in attendance, the majority of them took advantage of the specials and consequently are all set to start 2012 off on the right foot!
The Eclipse tech classes went down a treat with dealers getting hands on experience with both the Eclipse Etek and the new Eclipse Etha, before being tested on both platforms in order to become Certified Approved Tech Centres. I'm pleased to say that there was a 100% success rate even though this was the first time that some of the students has seen either marker! I am therefore very pleased to announce that the following Dealers are up to speed on both the Etek and Etha, so if you're local to them don't hesitate to drop them a line and pick their brains:
Badlands Paintball, Chris Salisbury,
Badlands Paintball, James Meehan,
Badlands Paintball, Jayce Gould
Badlands Paintball, Michael Mason,
Impact Proshop, Patrick Giroux,
Soldier Gear, Kumar Misir,
Soldier Gear, Ashton Misir,
Paintball 68, Christopher St Jean,
Splatter Paintball, Kalan Quintal,
Splatter Paintball, Danny Mazerolle,
Ripple Industries, Dallas Kennedy,
Splashdown Paintball, Michele Gagne,
Splashdown Paintball, Quinton Gagne
Allegiance Paintball, David Oger
Allegiance Paintball, Dustin Brown,
Tactical Sports, Mathieu Mac Adam,
Sycosis Paintball Supply, Sy Snyder,
Sycosis Paintball Supply, Dillon Gervais,
Barnsey Paintball, David Barnes,
Barnsey Paintball, Nathan Loisel
Adrenaline Paintball, Jamie Finnemore
Wasaga Beach Paintball Adventure, Larry Brownridge
Wasaga Beach Paintball Adventure, Chris “Taco” Vincent,
Frontline Paintball, Travis Pinsent,
Splatters Paintball, Evan Schroeder,
Splatters Paintball, Tyler Warkentin,
After the class, dealers were treated to a piece of Eclipse history when Trevor kindly showed off his 20th Anniversary Eclipse set of markers, which he had received only a couple of days previously and was one of only two sets in the entire continent of North America! Suffice to say that the room fell silent and many couldn't believe that they had the opportunity to get within touching distance of what is the most limited and expensive production marker set we have ever produced.
Flying home later on Sunday afforded me the luxury of a tour of downtown Toronto in Owens 1960's Corvair, taking in the sights and sounds of the world's newest "Mega City" with a population of over 10 million! After sampling Brunch at the excellent Four Seasons Hotel, it was off to the airport to await the iron bird home. Thanks to Owen and Trevor, who's hospitality was as always first rate and thanks also to the dealers who made the effort to attend a very enjoyable weekend in Toronto.
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Please get rid of the Badlands monopoly on PE in Canada. I am tired of dealing with their poor customer service and poor attitudes whenever I am looking to upgrade/tech my Ego and Eteks.
ReplyDeleteOn five separate occasions, Badlands employees have insulted paintball gear that I had previously bought from them, told me that i could not purchase upgrades/services for my EGO which are widely available to US customers such as having the board flashed or purchasing specific replacement parts for older EGOs, etc. There are many phenomenal Canadian companies who would be far better representatives of your Company and who would make purchasing your products much easier.