bixy
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Posts posted by bixy
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This latest rant is occasioned by the appalling service offered by a well known chain beginning with C that supplies tools, hardware, gardening stuff. I arranged for a heater to be delivered to friends in France. I received an e-mail from the store to say that the address was unknown. In fact my friends live just outside the village and are very well known. I suspect that the driver just couldn't be bothered. Well, several phone calls later the heater was delivered but on later inspection proved to be so badly damaged as to be unusable. When my friends phoned C, did they offer an apology and an immediate replacement? Not on your life. You'll have to write in and don't expect anything to happen for at least two weeks [two months more like].
It doesn't surprise me. This is only the latest in a long line of examples of poor quality service. Here is another example. I bought an electric coolbox from a supermarket, also beginning with C funnily enough,while on holiday but didn't try it out until I got home, only to find that it didn't work. I took it to the local branch of C. Apology, replacement? -no chance. I was told that I would have to take it back to the store where I had bought it - 500km away!
I could go on - about a large furniture chain, also beginning with C [I think I'm seeing a pattern here] where none of the half a dozen assistants standing around chatting to each other were in the least bit keen to serve me and the item I finally bought was damaged by the person bringing it out.
You get the picture. The general impression I get of people who work for these large chains, is that they just couldn't care less. Very often even the normal politesse is missing. This seems to contrast with the kind of service you get in small shops, where it often seems the people can't do enough for you. Perhaps it account for the fact that many more small shops seem to survive in France than in the UK.
Well, I've got that off my chest. Does any of this ring any bells?
Patrick
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We all know God didn't create anything - it was evolution. So millions of years of evolution and we end up with...George Bush! Oh God!
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Well done BUT I think you may have taken a chance of being shot by our trigger happy police.
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I seem to remember some time back that on the Shuttle if you booked a day return, say, and didn't use the return part because in actual fact all you really wanted was a single and this was the cheapest way to do it, then somewhere in the small print Eurotunnel had the right to charge the full cost of a single to your credit card. Has anyone had this happen to them or has anyone recently got away with this ploy?
Patrick
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Seafrance are offering a £90 long stay return, £58 five day BUT you have to book by 22 November AND try booking. I tried a few experimental bookings for various dates next year - no joy. The best I could get was £139, which is still not bad.
Patrick
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Yes, like you Baz, I did the sums on what superficially seem moderately reasonable offers but after the calculations, come out far from reasonable. Unlike you, Andy,I am a fan of the Shuttle. I believe it has transformed cross channel travel. Unfortunately, Eurotunnel has never managed to stagger clear of its debt mountain. Yes, of course they have taken this move to try and increase income but I don't see how it will. In my own case, I tried to renew my membership in October and pay for the forthcoming year's travel but was unable to, due to the cessation of the POC. Having had to rejig my travel plans I now find I am paying £300 less for next year's travel. Admittedly this partly due to using my points for free travel but two of my trips are with another [cheaper] operator. Is Eurotunnel hoping that every other former POC member, apart from my good self, is incredibly stupid and will cough up for more expensive, less convenient, less flexible fares? I think not. So, as I say, how is this move going to benefit Eurotunnel?
I have known for some time that Eurotunnel is keener on freight than on passenger traffic but what, I wonder, does a lorry have to pay to travel on the shuttle. Does anybody know? My guess is that it pays nothing like the appropriate fare given the size and weight involved - not perhaps much more than a car in peak season? Does anybody know?
Patrick
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No, actually, translating it into English means you're going to pay more. See my earlier post. There is supposed to be a special £98 after 2pm fare for Points Plus customers - tried booking it - hopeless. There was plenty of capacity on the requested shuttle as I found when I booked paying a higher fare. These "cheap" fares are quota limited. For the rest of my bookings next year I have gone elsewhere. I cannot see the sense in the termination of the Property Owners Club.
Patrick
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We know that Eurotunnel are in deep financial trouble but they now seem to be intent on committing suicide. Or perhaps the property owners sector doesn't matter to them. The latest letter from Eurotunnel tells me that "the cost of travelling will not increase as a result of the withdrawal"[of the POC]. Strange then that the cheapest fare they are offering equivalent to the former POC long stay fare, that is to say: fully flexible, travel any day, any time, amendable without penalty, is £313. Maths was never my strong point, but this seems a trifle more than the POC fare of £139.
There are various cheaper offers on the website but they are all hedged round with conditions regarding time/date of travel, penalties for cancellation, amendment etc. None of them are in any way equivalent to the old POC fare.
Am I alone in thinking that this a commercially inept move and that I and many(most?) former POC members will go elsewhere once we have used up our free points?
Patrick
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Yes, Townsend Thoresen were good. The only trouble is, through cutting corners, their ferry sank!
The problem with being on the ferry, apart from it taking a lot longer, is it's too much like being in England. I really don't wish to spend a couple of hours with drunken morons, queueing up for expensive, so-called duty free and eating dreadful, equally expensive food. So it's a sandwich and the tunnel for me every time.
Patrick
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I also tried to renew POC for the forthcoming year and was told about the demise of the scheme. The person who I spoke to me told me that once the new scheme was publicised - in November some time- I would have the option of using the new scheme, if it offered better value or booking tickets at the old prices. Mmm, we shall see.
Prompted by postings on this site, I decided to look at my Points Plus account. According to the website points will no longer be collected after November and need to be redeemed before 31 December 2004.
Patrick
Church with English services
in North East (Champagne-Ardennes, Lorraine, Alsace)
Posted
I have three possible solutions for you:
a) become a catholic
b) learn French
c) become an atheist
I can recommend the latter.
Failing adoption of any of the above, good luck with your search but quite honestly why you want to live in France and go to English church services is beyond me.
Patrick