2017 , New Year/ Old Guff – My petty and irrelevant view of UK business travel
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at 19:56 by PhilipHart.
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canuckladParticipantFor the last 3 months of 2016 I’d been traipsing up and down these green and pleasant shores, and I thought I’d share some of my observations, opinions and moans with my fellow forum BT’ers
Firstly, I’m no journalist so don’t expect a masterpiece of literary warbling’s,, nor expect factual statistically proven data that you can research and disprove anything I should opine about .
This is more an expression of a mind (mine) driven to extremes of human endeavour whilst I went about keeping UKPLC’s wheels of industry turning.And for easier reading and the sanity of fellow contributors please indulge me in allowing me to post my comments in stages…….
1) Hotels –
2) Trains-
3) Planes
4) Other stuff and conclusionsSo today we start with Hotels
As a Top tier IHG & HH guest, I tried to book those chains, alas Hilton lost out because their prices are ludicrously much higher than my company will authorise through their TMC.
So I stayed at the following during my adventures ……..
+Newcastle :HI Express, Indigo and Crowne Plaza
+Manchester: MacDonald and HI Express @Oxford Road,
+Derby : HI Express
+Warrington : Pentahotel
+Cardiff : Holiday Inn city centreLet me start with IHG …..Why oh, why do I expect so much from a brand , that has become so disjointed , that I’d be as well chucking a sleeping bag onto the back end of a trusted old Labrador. Maybe since they’ve introduced another level above platinum I’m no longer deemed to be loyal enough, after all, is it their fault I sometimes to choose to wake up in my own bed..
Only in the Indigo was my loyalty properly recognised and upgraded accordingly. Including a room that had a familiar Sky TV remote and channels
In Cardiff, I felt as if I’d walked straight into a time tunnel, back in time to a Blackpool B&B circa 1970. .Giving me a drinks voucher rather than miserly points as compensation for lack of an UG is fine, especially if I’m in Derby, where they seemed to have confused themselves into thinking they’ve re-located onto the Champ des Elysees, but in the whole, if you you know I’m coming try harder to UG me where you can..
Now for the HI-EX non-standardised sausage scandal, thumbs up to sumptuous Oxford Road sausage but not the lovely, sorry rubbery offerings elsewhere. But Oxford Rd, where’s the “Oh s***t slept-in” carry out option that Newcastle and Derby offer?To summarise, maybe IHG’s marketing team should resurrect Cilla Black and her famous catchphrase.
Warrington next…..Please Penta, tell me, are you are a pub desperately pretending to be a hotel, or a hotel pretentiously trying to be a pub. The last thing I need whilst checking in on a Sunday night is a parade of rap crap trancing temptation seen through the brightness of the dying moments of dusk. . And why do you have a television and remote that would befuddle Mr Hawking? Less Krypton Factor and more Playschool please!!
Finally Manchester and the Scottish hotel that has decided it wants to take on the obesity crisis all by itself, from rooms so large (not complaining) you need binoculars to magnify the remotes infra-red signal to find the TV. Then to the, lifts so small and perennially broken that stair scaling is now being considered as an Olympic Sport, and Q standing at check-in as a viable 2nd contender because you’re computer was designed by Barney Rubble .
Alas , being Scottish, you’ve realised that Dunbar’s finest is the best ale in the UK, so all that exercise is all but negated. By the temptation of a pint or few of Belhaven Best.An overall summary……….
Overpriced, over complicated food, probably created by a wannabe next on the telly celebrity chef. My god man, a pizza is a bloody pizza, I’m not wanting to display it in the Tate ! .
And, hotels take note, my local Chinese delivers the right order, still piping hot and charge a 1/3 of the price of to travel at least 1000 times the distance., why can’t you?
Fed up of free Wi-Fi that makes a week a week in jail feel like a trip on Concorde
And rooms with more cushions and pillows than a hippy fest at a cannabis convention.
Plus bathroom fixtures that would encourage a drought but are more likely to inspire NoahFinally and most importantly, I doff my cap to all the ladies and gents who work hard, for comparatively very little, who carried out their duties with professionalism,, humour, warmth and at all times where engaging with me. I hope your employers truly value your contribution to their sometimes overpriced proposition. .
10 Jan 2017
at 15:04
CathayLoyalist2ParticipantThe bottom line and the expense of the customer is the 2017 mantra. Executives who know the price of everything and the value of nothing!
11 Jan 2017
at 11:08
canuckladParticipantTODAY it’s RAIL TRAVEL
3 months of turgid dreary soulless travel, interspersed with the occasional ray of sunshine that should give us all hope, but sadly just re-enforces the eraticicness of our overpriced railwaysBut where do I start?
Well why bother starting at all …………
Regular rail users will recognize the following al too frequent station sounds……….BING BONG
“ < Insert TOC of choice> would like to apologise for the late running of the < insert time & service> …… this is due to < insert barking mad excuse>Or that other cardiac inducing classic …….
BING BONG
“ This is to announce a platform change to the < insert time & service> from <Where you’ve been happily standing next to your luggage for the last 30 minutes” >, TO < up that crowded stairwell and then along a passage way thronged with an oncoming tide of people who’ve just got off the train your trying to board “ >And once on the train………….
BING BONG
“We regretfully announce that seat reservations are no longer valid on this service ,this is due to < insert barking mad excuse> ……….<{ Insert TOC of choice> apologise for any inconvenience caused”MY DIARY, f I had kept a diary its low/highlights would read………
Friday 1.58pm Stockport Station
Trying to get home, some poor desperate soul has decided to take their own life somewhere down the line, without any thought to the driver’s sanity. Now can’t now get to Manchester Piccadilly for my connection. It’s now 3.07 and I’m cold and miserable, I selfishly console myself with the fact that there is a family (and driver) somewhere in real distress rather thanme bemoaning a late arrival back in my local. I wonder why it takes so long to get us all back on track. I hear that on the continent ,suicide incidents are managed much more efficiently? Finally get home almost 4 hours late.Sunday 7.00pm Waverly Station
WOW, travelling Virgin West Coast First Class, carriage almost empty, as opposed the jam packed coaches at the rear. Glad I broke my company policy, thus saving them a tenner on the standard class fare so I can sit like a King . And I get a free snack box of gerbil size vittles’ . Fortunately I brought my own alcohol, RESULT. But I wonder why in this day and age, the rail companies discriminate against their weekend 1st class passengers regarding alcohol?Wednesday 4.00 pm
En-route to Derby, .2.5 hours on a 2 carriage train with no heat, no power sockets and a toilet right out of that Slumdog millionaire scene. East Midland’s hang your head in shame.
At least I wasn’t the young lad , sitting next to Hyacinth Bucket bemoaning the regularity of the conditions and the tardiness of the service.. I’m sure he and his tormented lugs alighted early to escape her sour grapes at the waste of money on HS2.Saturday 1.00pm Waverly
What a difference travelling on a Saturday makes, pleasant journey down to Newcastle, and at a great promotional price, and a table too. Brought our own buffet and all is how it should be, so no need to buy anything from the very pleasant and engaging Mr T lookalike steward…A credit to Virgin East Coast. And what a difference it makes to the weekday sardine scrum that I associate with this service, where the trolley struggles to navigate the mass of humanity inhabiting any available space.Friday 5.15pm Piccadilly station platform 13
Actually, standing halfway up the stairwell as there is no more space on the actual platform
Missed my reserved TPE to Edinburgh as a result of the overcrowding and I wonder how many of those now trundling northbound are using this service as a local commute. Thinking on my feet, I consider my options and am advised to catch the next train to Warrington and change to a VWCL service. An hour later and I’m at Warrington Central station, no sign of a train to Edinburgh…….WHAT, there’s 2 stations in Warrington ….TAXI !!!!! ….
Just made it, wish I hadn’t …. Sardine scrum on east coast is like a pleasant amble through the outback, compared to this replication of a Calcutta commuter crush.So in summary , TOC marks out of 10 and why
(5) Northern rail ==: Rolling stock so old , it’s unlikely that a despot run African country would buy the rolling stock.
(3) Virgin West Coast: == Consistently chaotic unless you travel first class and get a derisory snack
(6) Trans Pennine Express Seemingly a poor relative to the other intercity operators which means they’re more susceptible to delays whilst Virgin race by them!!
(3 or 10) Virgin East Coast == Utterly rubbish or easily the best
(6) Scotrail == Not disagreeable just very expensive
(4) East Midlands ==Are you Northern Rail in disguise, just colder
(4) Cross Country ==: Overcrowded Yukky trains, odious odours and legroom Ryanair would baulk at!!And finally, my 2 pet hates to do with etiquette ……….
Firstly, why oh why do some people disembark directly onto a platform, drop their luggage , blocking the door and then take in the view as if they’ve just conquered Everest!!
Lastly, the opposite of the above, I can’t get off a train if I have nowhere to stand….so to those people who insist on rushing the door waiting for it to open….” Get the hell out of my way”And finally, finally, a plea to all inter-city TOC’s, if you insist on trying to emulate the airlines with airline style seating, please, please can you design a table that can be used as a table and not just a a backrest decoration…..Thank You !!!!
11 Jan 2017
at 12:41
SimonS1ParticipantI had a long delay before Christmas due to a trespasser on the track in London. At the same time as the jokers at the BTP were tweeting they couldn’t find the individual another member of the public was tweeting a video of the said individual on the tracks…watched by one of the jokers from the BTP.
The power was off for 2 hours but GTR then denied my delay repay claim saying there were no delays and I had to resubmit it. I suppose the rail companies lying and cheating in this was is the railway equivalent of airlines getting out of paying EC261 compensation.
Still I have worked at home all this week due to combination of Southern Fail strikes (no trains) and tube strike on Monday.
When you travel in Europe it really just reminds you of how third world we are these days.
11 Jan 2017
at 12:55
AMcWhirterParticipantcanucklad – Thanks for all the trouble taken in providing this useful feedback.
It shows the difference between regional and those rail services operating to and from London.
There’s been a boom in rail travel and it appears the regional operators simply can’t cope.
New rolling stock is on order but it takes time to be delivered let alone to get the funding organised.
And then there’s the testing. It can take two years (maybe longer) to test trains in the UK and have them certified for passenger use.
VTEC’s Azuma is a good example.
11 Jan 2017
at 19:17
LuganoPirateParticipantMy pet hate is travelling First and they allow those in second class to sit in first. I wonder why I paid so much extra for the seat? This never happens in Switzerland!
12 Jan 2017
at 03:22
MartynSinclairParticipantFlying and driving around the UK is pretty similar to Europe. Roads are busy, airports continue to be a hassle – but there are clear similarities between UK and European roads and air travel.
Train travel however, is significantly different in the UK and Europe. Travelling by rail in Europe is very reliable, cost effective, clean and on most occasions enjoyable. Even when there are cancelations (in Europe), there is always an alternative train / route available. Buying tickets is made easy, even when crossing borders.
If only the same could be said about train travel around the UK… trains are unreliable, unions appear stronger than management and the train operators appear unable to effectively work / interact with each other….
12 Jan 2017
at 06:10
canuckladParticipantToday it’s FASTER THAN ROAD OR RAIL!!
That’s the proud boast splashed across FlyBe’s turboprop engines…….And it raises that perennial problem faced by business travellers here in the UK.
Is their proud boast justified, or just a marketing ploy……Plus, speed isn’t the be all and end all !!
Convenience, Comfort and Cost must surely be added into the mix…….,My journeys where between EDI and BHX,, EMA, MAN and CWL
First let’s concentrate on my moans……….
>>> BHX has a train station attached to it, MAN does not, surely an inter- terminal transfer bus is a must…. Either that or supply Sherpa’s for the trek between the station and T1. I’m fit with little or no luggage and I’d have availed of Tensing’s ancestor!!
>>> Broken down moving walkways, yes MAN that means you & see above!!
>>> Or a walkway that only goes one way, if the distance is such that a walkway is deemed to be required surely it means it’s the same distance going and froing regardless of lovely pictures and quotes of Britain’s best city!
>>> Forcing me through a shopping mall immediately after security—-at least they offer you complimentary refreshments to keep your spirit up. But enough said elsewhere on the forum
>>> The personality by pass training that Security staff must go through before meeting us, the general public. . Oh, and to the crew at CWL —Just wearing a Christmas Jumper doesn’t make you merry and cheerful : (
>>> Gate announcements left to the last moment — A piece of advice to airport logistical planners, airlines do publish timetables !
>>> To fellow passengers, it’s a ********* prop plane not a ********** camel train!!!!And my top new pet air travel hate
>>> Automated check-in machines -AAAARRRGHHH,. Beggars the question, have airline personnel suddenly developed an allergy to paper or gum. At CWL I was “assertively” directed towards the machine where a good ol’ welsh rugby scrum was developing whilst people tried to figure out how to work the damn things. This took one FlyBe BusyBee to assist at each machine , all this whilst the check-in girls mused themselves by idly chatting to each other!! Finally, my colleague manages to apply her tag, only to be directed to wait in the drop off queue. Totally pointless and indicative of how businesses are abdicating delivering proper customer service in favour of technology.Now my highlights
>>> The FlyBe cabin crew. Not one bad flight, and a special mention to 3 CC. The ages with me CC lady who noticed I must have had a hard week ,recommending a cheeky wine and was so confident I’d enjoy it, gave me 2 bottles for the price of 1. Next, the young lass who noticing a “I’’ll do what I want” dipstick talking loudly on his phone whilst we taxied to the terminal at EDI pretty much humiliated him by rebuking him publicly over the PA. . And finally the steward who took it all in good grace when he was roundly rebuked by a wee boy for daring to call Tyrone the stuffed Stegosaurus a mere teddy bear. A credit to FlyBe all of them.
>>> The FlyBe Embraer e-jet, simply the most comfortable short haul plane I’ve flown on. If FlyBe’s top brass doesn’t choose this on their LHR–EDI rotation they need locked up in an insane asylum. Could really give BA’s new sardine can configuration a run for their money!
>>> FlyBe’s thank you chocolates as you disembark, a nice little touch that costs very little!!
>>> Having CWL pretty much all to yourself, our flight, a flight to Jersey and another small plane off to Norwich, shame about the check-in and security set up though.
>>> A clear day’s view of the Beautiful Lake District and spotting a northbound train disappear. below us whilst sipping on a glass of vino.
>>> And finally, my top call-out is for the security chap at EMA. A man who clearly understands that being cheerful at your work makes your time at work more enjoyable and pleasant. I thank you for bringing some much humour and relaxed attitude into my commute. You’ve proven with your smile, humour and Caribbean demeanour that airport security doesn’t have to be endured. I salute you and hope your peers can follow your lead!Without doubt for me, Flybe definitely delivers on its boast and more importantly it costs less, generally more comfortable and in the main this all results in more convenience
12 Jan 2017
at 14:30
AMcWhirterParticipantThanks again, canucklad, for an interesting report.
Sorry to disappoint … I read you like the Embraer but Flybe will be using the Q400 for those LHR flights.
Timetable showing a flight time of one hour 40 mins for LHR-EDI and no less than two hours EDI-LHR.
12 Jan 2017
at 15:53
nevereconomyParticipantOn the train front – maybe the privatization was not such a good idea after all – the Europeans are in many cases State-Owned (and subsidized – hence lower fares) or at least so dominant that they may just as well be. And let us not forget that a very large chunk of UK rail operators are owned by these very same State owned European rail companies. I guess they can get away with lower quality than at home as the taxpayer is not footing the bill.
12 Jan 2017
at 18:40
MrMichaelParticipantCanucklad, try the 3×2 seating I have to put up with down South on Southwest Trains. You Northerners have it so easy and just dont see it 🙂
The reason we are soft Southerners is the daily full body massage We get every time we jostle for a bit of space on a train.
12 Jan 2017
at 19:53
canuckladParticipantFirstly, thanks for the kind words Alex, and happy to finish with these thoughts……
In summary and simply put, I’ve concluded,
Take the cheaper plane to avoid the strain of the overpriced overcrowded trainAnd now my hopes for 2017……….
Simply put, the government realises just how bad the railways truly are, and either ditches HS2 and properly invests in existing infrastructure or realises that they have an opportunity to create something special if they have the nous to future proof the project and extend it rapidly to Edinburgh where it’ll offer real competition to the 60+ daily flights between the capital and the SE.
That airport operator’s finally grasping a fundamental reality. That it’s quite easy to reduce our stress and frustration levels. Firstly, either employ or train existing security staff to simply act like and treat us like “human beings”. Secondly, I like most business travellers don’t have a Kim Kardashian “I love shopping gene” in my DNA. Cramming every available space with another shop ,thus turning a visit to an airport into a Christmas Eve shopping experience doesn’t bode well for my personal space and consequently my sanity.
Hotel’s in and around Manchester stop cynically profiteering . Realise that we are not all interested in United/City or who they’re hosting. And more importantly, I’m don’t have premier League footballers bank balance. So why is it acceptable to bloat your rates to beyond my companies limit when there’s a game at either the Etihad or Old Trafford…. Truly eye wateringly high rates to match that only a premier league player could afford!!.
And EDI continues to attract new airlines, new routes and of course all at affordable prices.
YVR and HKG may be a wish to far, but you never know. I’d even settle for a CX add on to their MAN service : )Finally,
An appeal to taxi drivers, the breadth and width of the UK…….Stop your bloody whinging !!!, Whether it’s in a Welsh, Jamaican, Geordie, Glaswegian, Latvian or whatever bleedin accent you choose torment my ears with….The cost of petrol…blah-blah-blah
The cost of tax discs…blah-blah-blah
The cost of Brexit……blah-blah-blah
The cost of migrants….blah-blah-blah
The cost of fish and chips…Blah-blah-blah
The cost of toe nail clippers….blah-blah-blahBe warned, once you start I’m going to go into Eddie and Martin mode……….
And on that note, I’d love to hear what’s on everybody else’s wish list for the coming year?
16 Jan 2017
at 13:26
LuganoPirateParticipant[quote quote=785816]Sorry to disappoint … I read you like the Embraer but Flybe will be using the Q400 for those LHR flights.
[/quote]
Not to worry, the Dash-8 (Q400) is an extremely comfortable plane. You’ll be very happy flying in them.
17 Jan 2017
at 05:33
FDOS_UKParticipantI went on a Northern train for the first time recently, after they took over a franchise from TPE.
Their strapline should be ‘We’re well ‘ard and we’ll give you’t first punch’.
Or at least that’s what it felt like sitting on Daisy the Diesel and trundling through Bolton.
17 Jan 2017
at 05:44
GivingupBAParticipantCanucklad, you wrote “my top call-out is for the security chap at EMA. A man who clearly understands that being cheerful…”, I agree with your sentiment. Once a security guy at Heathrow was very friendly and chatty to me, and all smiles: that really made my day, and for that day at least transformed my [normally low] opinions about LHR.
17 Jan 2017
at 07:38 -
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