louisiana

I probably don't need to know anything. I could sit in the hotel for nine days and scoff in the executive lounge morning and night... :-$ But I'd welcome any comments or advice about interesting things of any kind, especially stuff you don't find in the books. And I love my food, so anything interesting food-wise. And music (clubs) too. :)

*Bob* Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Ahh.. The Wombles of Camberwell. > > Not a pleasant bunch at all. Camberwolls

First Direct are the best. I was one of their first ever customers, and still am. But bank insiders tell me that it costs too much and couldn't be rolled out to the rest of the HSBC universe. Which neatly returns us to the cost/price versus value issue.

Trip to Shanghai coming up. Any advice from old China hands? (and no jokes about T'Pau B)) Corrected for punctuation.

Good to *see* you here Barry. Do you cover Forest Hill?

I used to be Vodafone (until two years ago), and had terrible reception always. I had to hold 2-hr international conference from calls from the pavement! Then I moved to O2. The reception is really good. No problems with it ever. I can sit down and make calls! I thought they'd all be the same, but they're not.

+1

A friend of mine got smashed on the head by machinery, went in and out of consciousness and almost drowned. Passers by thought he was drunk. :'( PS My landline is now working! BT managed to hook up my line to a completely different number yesterday. Yes, the problem was at the exchange, as both me and O2 had stated to BT yesterday (but BT weren't interested in listening). Lovely BT Openreach chap turned up this morning. He looked about 10 years old but he knew his stuff, went off to the exchange and sorted it out in 20 minutes. They generally do. It's just all the management/call centres/process stuff that intervenes and makes work for someone I suppose. Edited for spelling and punctuation.

Brendan Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > What I don?t get is why little Al and his big mate > Gordon keep on reiterating that this is a problem > that the whole world is facing.* Every country is > up to its eyeballs in debt apparently. Except China. China is basically bailing out the US etc.

dazeykat Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Hope the coal tit family are ok! Hey, they are fine this morning, cheeping cheeky chappies. Cheep cheep! I must say I'm feeling very protective though... (PS now back online with actual proper broadband.)

Mikecg Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > > > This is where I can tell you that the services you > describe are the fallout of the corporate machine > at it's worst, most of the systems that you have > encountered today are automated to reduce costs by > removing the Human element and stream line service > and reduce costs which are ultimatly passed on to > the consumer, and if you are aware that a service > provider is cheaper than every where else then > they must have cut corners to trim the fat, > otherwise how could they offer their services at > such knock down prices, no disrespect but in the > modern market place full of competition how are > they going to make money? by removing the cost of > having a Human answer the phone. This is just a > small example of how a company would reduce costs > to offer competativly priced services and win > customers. It is after all a business, to my mind > an all too common problem, we crave value and > service but somethings gotta give. Your arguments are good, but bear in mind many of the companies involved in my original tale of woe are not regarded as cheap or budget. For example, O2, my mobile company, have a reputation as not the cheapest but having above-average customer service, and is not in the Carphone Warehouse model; John Lewis have quite a reasonable reputation but buying a kitchen from them (so spending quite a large sum of money) has been anything but straightforward; BT is an incumbent operator, no a cheap company by any means (note BT engineer visit costs ?115 plus ?99 per hour plus VAT, which is more for an hour than my builder, painters or electrician earn per day); Sage provide accounting software that is not exactly budget and their support package (which I had) is costly; HSBC, my business bank, is not cheap in any way, making considerable charges on all transactions (and paying appalling interest on so called savings accounts) though the account is never in the red; Marmoleum flooring many would consider expensive, there is only one manufacturer and the UK distribution is an effective cartel (single firm in each area of the country, and they mostly seem related to each other) and Thames Water is just Thames Water, there is no competition. In other words, this lot, in theory, are not the worst of the bunch by any means, the classic cost-cutters. They just seem to be inefficient and unresponsive monoliths where it takes twenty middle managers to arrive at a decision about whether to have tea or coffee and five more to approve buying a sachet of sugar, and in the meantime everyone's forgotten about the customer experience. And I should know as I used to work for one of them. :-S

Mick Mac, do you have a dad hat? Flat cap or similar.

Your call is important to us.

I got one and you want four It's so hard to help you I can't keep up with you no more And you treat me like it's a sin But you can't lock me in You want me here with you right to the end No thank you my friend I fear the monkey in your soul Won't you turn that bebop down I can't hear my heart beat Where's that fatback chord I found? Honey don't you think it was wrong To interrupt my song? I'll pack my things and run so far from here Goodbye dear I fear the monkey in your soul

You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) - Dead or Alive

All Around My Hat - Steeleye Span

Can't Get Blue Monday Out Of My Head - Kylie Minogue

Who gives a monkey's?

dukesdenver Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Out-of-office messages beginning "I am currently > out of the office until...." > > One or the other, PLEASE !!!!!!! Gratuitous use of all caps, underlining, italics and bold for emphasis. Compounded by ranks of exclamation marks all in a row. :-S But I know what you mean.

Ask yourself, what they would do in Brussels. And there you have the answer.

I'd expect 40-odd medium ones in a nice big deep pan with another nice big pan to dump all the - whole - shells. And an enormous great white cloth napkin. And that's what I generally get. And if I don't, I don't go back. B) Signed, mussel-eater extraordinaire. PS My gran has a great recipe for mussels with a hot red sauce she makes, but that's different.

I'm a little concerned about the coal tit babies. Making quite a noise, magpies see to be quite close too. Taking an interest? Is there any way I could protect the nest (in the wall) I wonder...

The law and politics might be in the frame. Rather than generalised debauchery and cheese. Or monkeys on a stage.

I'm with snorky on this one. There are a few criminals. They are not nice. But there is little point in demolishing all our liberties just in case something happens sometime, particularly when you consider most measures are usually both expensive and ineffective.

indiepanda, I've been a Firstdirect customer for many, many years. 1989. I don't think I would leave them unless they went bust. In fact if they went bust I would probably have a whip round. They have rapped Thames Water across the knuckles etc. etc. Unfortunately they don't do business accounts. Otherwise they would be perfect. And I agree that Amazon is pretty damned good.