It's not often we slam some company for shoddy work, but the time has come for this one.

In an attempt to help Gary Stevens with new batteries, I first asked for the date codes of the current Lifelines. Gary was frustrated, since he bought the batteries new on May 29, 2008 from Birdland and they should still be in good condition.

I converted the dates over and here was the outcome:

4 8DL's Dated 8/05
1 8DL Dated 8/03
1 8DL Dated 4/03

So Gary paid for new batteries and ended up with old stuff as much as 5 years old. Birdland charged him full tilt for the aleged new batteries and sent him on his way.

I then talked to Jim Godber, owner of Lifeline and they helped verify the old battery ages and codes. They also tracked down who had stocked those batteries and were the source for Birdland purchasing them. I won't go into anymore detail on that.

Mr Godber than said the batteries have his name on them and he would provide new batteries to Gary at no cost. Now boys, that's customer service you need to remember. Lifeline had no responsibility in this deal, but stepped up anyway.

So the good news, I ordered Gary's new free batteries today and the bad news is, stay away from Birdland.