Cosma's Life

Small Update on Matthews Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Fri, 21 Aug 2015 14:59:00 +0100

It has now been 2 days since I emailed Mathews (please see previous posting) And I have had no response from them. I know that they have seen my message...

Your message

   To: Information
   Subject: Re: Matthews Holidays Accommodation Voucher
   Sent: 19 August 2015 19:29:25 (UTC) Dublin, London

was read on 19 August 2015 19:43:47 (UTC) Dublin, London.

So clearly I do not warrant a reply. Time to call them....

I have just spoken to a lady called Kate, she would not give me her last name (I wonder why?? she knows all my details).

Apparently Matthews do not acknowledge emails, they get so many it would take a long time. You would have thought that a letter of complaint would warrant a response? Or maybe they get so many it really would take a lot of time? I guess the question is "Why don't they have an automated system for acknowledging emails?” I did offer to assist them with modernising their systems, but Kate did not want to take me up on my offer! I would like note at this point that their website is very old looking. It appears to be Wordpress, but it needs a serious redesign.

Kate tells me that they will respond within (or was that just "in") 28 days. They need to investigate the situation. I do not quite see what that takes 28 days, it's quite simple, phone the lady on site, phone the area manager.

Alas they do not seem to have a Twitter account. I have found their Facebook page. Lots of complimentary comments, but none of them referenced in any way that I could confirm they are real. Apparently “Liz” liked “La Tranche (Camping Des Dunes)” But that came from AirBNB ( I have had a good look at AirBNB and can’t find the campsite or the review). And the review was about “Don and Khampa” the hosts, not Matthews.

I have left a couple of comments, let’s see if they reply, in the next 28 days maybe?

Matthews Holidays

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Wed, 19 Aug 2015 21:08:00 +0100

The story so far....

We wanted to go on holiday to France. We had done it before and always had a great time. A good google around found a really nice looking camp site called "Domaine des Ormes" in Dol de Bretagne.

We had left it a bit late, and did not want to loose the spot, so we booked with the company we had found (Matthews Holidays). Had we thought, we would have looked for other companies that booked the same place; that we had heard of (note to self for future!).

Off we go. One positive note to start.

Last time we were stressed on the way home as we got stuck in traffic and thought we would miss the train. So we thought we would avoid the stress and pay the extra for a FlexiPlus ticket from EuroStar. Basically it means that you can arrive at any time and just jump on the next train. There was some mention of a lounge, but as we usually blast on through, I did not take much notice.

So we arrived at Folkstone and followed the Flexi+ signs, thinking that we would just go straight to the train. But what's this?? A special lane and (through some coded barriers, hmmm...) a Hut. What's this all about?

We had some time so we thought we would investigate...

In the hut we find.... a very nice lounge with some very nice serving staff (one of which speaks Greek (ok a coincidence, but it made my mum happy)) who ply us with ... Sandwiches, Fruit, drinks, yogurts, enough coffee to sink a battleship, papers All for the grand price of... Nothing, it's part of the deal! Having missed breakfast in the rush to get going, it was most welcome. But it gets better!

"What time do we have to leave to catch our train?", I asked. "Any time you like", they replied. "Err... OK", said I. So we ate drank and made merry and then decided we had better make tracks. Back in the car, we exit the special lane and guess what?? Someone stops the traffic for us and we went to the start of the line and were boarded immediately!

There actually was not really that much traffic, but on the way back there was loads and the special lane etc.. must have saved us at least an hour of sitting around waiting and we would have missed our train.

FlexiPlus, worth every penny!!!

Anyway, moving on....

We arrived at the campsite. The letter below takes up the story.

**********************************************************************************

Sent: 19 August 2015 19:29
To: information@matthewsholidays.ltd.uk

Dear Matthews Holidays,

We have just returned from our trip to France and I would like to bring a number of items to your attention.

1. We were told that the accommodation had 4 beds but the front room would sleep 2. This left us with the impression that the couches would pull out and become, if not full sized, at least reasonably sized beds. You can imagine our surprise when we arrived and the poor lady on site a, did not know there was 6 of us and b, did not know that the vans could hold 6! My Mother and Mother-In-Law had to attempt to sleep on the hard couches, which resulted in both of them falling out of the bed, at least once during the week. They are both in the 70’s and not exactly sturdy! Also there were not enough quilts for all of us, but fortunately Christine managed to find some extra ones for us.

2. We were charged a premium because we had extra people!

Site : DOMAINE DES ORMES 7 Nights

35120 Dol de Bretagne Accom Supp 7 14.00 98.00

Dates : 08 AUG 15 for 7 nights

Accom : Lodge (25ft x 12ft)

2 Bedrooms+Shower+WC 1dbl/2sgls+bunk/1sgl

3. None of the gas equipment in the Van had any certificate or indication that they had been serviced at some point (or ever!). We had no choice but to use the cooker and the hot water, but chose not to risk our lives by using the heater (which had no instructions as to how to use it anyway).
4.       I note there were no C02 detectors in the van.
5.       The Grill did not have a handle, so we could not use it and the van did not have a toaster.
6.       You can see in the attached pictures that the furniture, outside, was disgusting and mouldy. We did try to clean it, but, as I was on holiday, I really did not want to spend my time up to my arms in bleach.
7.       The Sun shade was broken and poorly repaired. As you can see it drooped in just the right way to poke someone (such as an OAP) as they walked past. I attempted to make a small repair, in order to avoid accidents, but with the limited tools to hand there was not much I could do.
8.       The Van was generally in poor condition and very poorly equipped.

We raised these points to the “Area Manager” John. His response was somewhat noncommittal. There was nothing he could do about anything, but he found us a grill handle.

We did note that the 4 vans closest to us also ALL complained. One family were threatening to cut the holiday short and leave (and in fact I do believe they did leave early).

This was our first family holiday in 2 years (and will probably be the only one for the next 2 years) and we are greatly disappointed by the standards that you provide (or not as the case may be). This may have been ok 20 years ago, but we expect better nowadays.

Firstly you really should not have accepted our booking. When we said that there were 6 of us you should have done the decent thing and pointed us to one of the other operators on the site that had accommodation that was suitable for 6!

Secondly you should not have had the temerity to charge us £98 accommodation supplement!

Lastly I note that your paperwork, attached, refers to “1dbl/2sgls+bunk/1sgl” Where is this mysterious 2^nd single? You can’t be referring to the couches in the front room I hope.

Now as a starting point I think that you should refund the £98. I do not see what that is for.

Plus whatever else you think is appropriate to rectify the awful situation you put us in.

________________________________

Cosma

**********************************************************************************

So lets see what they say. I will attached the pictures below....

Looks safe

Apparently not

Yuck

Wot no pads?

In the spirit of fair play....

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Wed, 7 Jan 2015 15:50:00 GMT

Following my last post, moaning about Gambados Beckenham, I feel it is only fair to let you know that the general manager of Gambado Beckenham has been in touch and has resolved the situation. I will not post his name (and the email he sent) here, as he was very nice and I have not asked for permission.

Suffice to say that "All's well that ends well" and thank you Mr Manager.

Not a good start to the New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Thu, 1 Jan 2015 17:39:00 GMT

An Open Email to Gambado.....

Sent to mray@gambado.com and customerservice@gambado.com

***************************************************************************

Hi,

I wish to register a formal complaint against your Beckenham location.

Today we went to Beckenham in order to entertain our kids on a wet and windy New Years Day.

We checked the website and saw that you were open.

Typically we get there for 15:00 in order to get our 2 hours in by 17:30, but today we went in a bit early as we expected it to be busy. See attached receipt.

We actually got in immediately and the receipt says that we have until 17:09.

You can imagine our surprise when at 16:00 (barely an hour later) the manager (a tallish chap in a white sweat shirt (not Gambado uniform)) informed us that we had to leave as they were closing!

I pointed out that it was 2 hours early and I was told that there had been a poster up for a month (that he had just taken down), the information was on the website, and Gambado don’t give discounts!

I found the managers attitude to be rude and disinterested. He clearly just wanted to get rid of me and the other customers.

I spoke to some of the other customers and all of them were upset by the situation. NONE of them had seen the fabled poster (there are quite a few posters in the windows of Beckenham advertising this and that and so no one pays any attention to them). We ALL, however, HAD seen the poster that still said that we only had 2.5 hours during peak times (as it was prominently displayed. Why was the other poster not so prominent??). The young girl on reception had said nothing to us as we paid the usual rate to come in.

When I got home I checked the website and found the following….

Which makes no reference to early closing.

Then I spotted this.

But was unable to find a “News Section”.

Shortly thereafter this popped up.

Which makes no reference to early closing on the 1^st!

I am, or should I say “I have been”, a regular visitor to Beckenham over the last 11 years and am appalled the lack of well-presented information and at the attitude of the “Manager”, who clearly needs to go on a customer service course. I am in customer service and I am sure I would not be in business for long if I treated my customers in such a way. It is only by dint of the fact that we are a captive audience (in that there are few other choices in the area) that will keep many people coming back.

By my calculation we only received 3/5 ths (1.5 hours) of the 2.5 hours we had paid for and should be entitled to the equivalent of 2/5 ths (1 hour) in compensation (2/5 * £26.75 = £10.70).

I would appreciate a response and assurance that someone will be speaking to the rude chap in Beckenham.

Thank you and Happy New Year.

________________________________

Cosma

What is the point of social networking?

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Tue, 4 Mar 2014 19:59:00 GMT

I always thought that the point of social networking was to talk about things (to be social). To exchange ideas, to perhaps have your ideas challenged. Throughout my professional career I have been in an environment where almost every utterance is examined by my peers and, generally, mercilessly torn apart if they do not hold water (and sometimes even if they do hold water). With most of my friends we maintain a level of banter where stupid comments are responded to with stupid answers (All in a spirit of jest).

I have always viewed myself as being of a scientific bent and, as such, view most ideas I put forward to be just that “ideas” until they have been peer reviewed and tested. I have written a few programs and scripts over the years (nothing of any consequence, in case you are interested) and have found that regardless of the time I spend testing something, users seem to have the ability to break anything in new and creative ways, that I never imagined. In security a system is not viewed as secure until it has been beaten on by experts and remains secure.

Getting back to the question. I have noticed lately that most of the social media platforms, far from being a conversation, seem to be a platform for people to show how clever they are, with no come back (or tell the world how much they love their kids/cats/dogs/choice of diet). Similar to someone standing in an empty room and shouting. The only acceptable response seems to be “here, here” and “I agree”. If I have the temerity to disagree or point out the flaws in the logic people seem surprised. It’s as though they had not realised people were reading their utterances and can respond.

While it is possible to turn off comments on most platforms, no one ever does. Is that because they don’t know how, don’t realise they can or are simply soliciting positive reassurance? Is it because the art of conversation is dead and people just want to rant?

Basically. Have I missed the point or is it that many of my “friends” have and I need to “unfriend” them (would that life was so simple J ). I have actually taken to unfollowing certain individuals (half-way towards unfriending them and not as far as blocking them).

<Zipp…> Ok the flame suit is on. Tell me that I am just an unpleasant human being, do not deserve to be in society and have missed the point. Or is it that I am just a socially inept techy (bit of a bugger as I am in customer service).

Chiropractors. Is this Snake Oil or do they do anything?

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Fri, 13 Dec 2013 13:10:00 GMT

I have a problem with my neck/spine that may require me to go under the knife. I would rather not have my neck sliced open and my vertebra pummelled/replaced and so, in common with many people in a similar situation, I am looking in other directions for a "cure". I have seen a Chiropractor twice now (at a cost) and, apart from an ok'ish massage, I am failing to see what benefit it brings.

Clicking a device (a bit like a weak automatic centre punch) against my spine will not (as far as I can tell) achieve (“adjust”) anything. Selling me a foam pad and telling me some exercises to do may help, but definitely lines the Chiropractors pocket with 40 more of my pounds (I did not go with that idea!.) I am doing the exercised with my own “scientifically” designed foam pad (that did not cost £40).

“Adjusting” my posture, in the way that it apparently is being done just seems like voodoo.

I am a simple person. I can understand that if something us not right you do something that changes something and it then things are better than they were. If a computer or a machine is broken I can replace a part or reset some settings and then it works. This is often a process of trial an error and sometimes makes things worse before they get better. Standing on the outside shouting incantations will not help. Running pseudo diagnostic scanners or fake virus scanners (lots of them about) achieves nothing apart from making the person who wrote the scanner, or who is charging for running it, richer.

I am sorry to say that, so far, the Chiropractor feels like the latter and the surgeon feels like the former.

Our local chemist (who apart from being a grumpy old git, also seems to know his stuff) is vehemently of the opinion that much of this alternative stuff is bunk and I should go with the surgeon (he is also of the opinion that they are all quacks and I should go for a second (surgical) opinion).

The only thing that is for certain is that I am in pain and it will only get worse. I can delay the op for a while, before they drop me off the list and I have to start the whole tedious process again.

I can really understand how vulnerable people are duped in to paying a fortune for “treatments” that do nothing and delay getting real help. I will be carrying on with the Chiropractor for a few more session, if it works on me then maybe there is something to it.

Why am I writing this? Not sure really. Maybe I want some other opinions, maybe someone can convince me that this is not all quackery and I am not being duped. Or maybe someone will convince me that the op is safe (ish) and I am right in the opinion that is slowly crystalizing.

Anyone got any contacts in the neurological unit of Queens College Hospital?

Cyclists beware?

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 09:41:00 GMT

Yesterday was a great ride in to the City.

Most traffic lights had coppers to "advise" cyclists.

I have NEVER seen so many cyclists STOPPING for RED lights!

LOL.

Riding home was a different story. No coppers so no stopping. Hmmm....

And this morning?

Same old, same old.... At every red light a gang of cyclists. Some Stop, Some Pause, Some just carry on as if it is a green. It's a kind of Russian roulette on wheels.

For ages Lorries have had reversing warnings. First it was a beep, now it is a voice that says "Vehicle Reversing!!". Today I came across a lorry that blared "Vehicle Turning Left" at me as it (guess what??) TURNED LEFT. The yellow flashing things, what are they called? Oh yes... INDICATORS were also flashing, telling me that it was TURNING LEFT.

What next? A man (let’s not be sexist) or woman walking in front behind, left and right of every lorry carrying a red flag and shouting "lorry coming!", "lorry slowing", "lorry passing" etc.....

I am out on a motorbike most days and see such stunning acts of stupidity and carelessness that I am lost for words (I have not been at any of the recent incidents and so cannot make any valid comment about the circumstances, I am speaking in general terms (It goes without saying that I am sorry for the families of the cyclists that have been killed on our roads, it is a terrible loss and I feel for you)).

Cars are the worst (actually push bikes are, but let’s not labour the point). They pull out without looking, stop for no readily apparent reason and deliberately block the road so that Bikes (motor) can’t pass. I have seen cars, that have been over taken by several bikes (in traffic) move over in to the gap so that other bikes cannot pass. Car’s jumping red lights, closely followed by bikes (push) that must have jumped the light by an even larger margin.

The roads are what they are. Painting Blue Bicycle Super-Highways will not change that and will not make more road space. Perhaps, over time, as new roads are built and old roads are redeveloped, the planners can devise a way to magic some reserved space for each class of vehicle. Until then is it beyond the wit of man for us to coexist?

There is a kind of natural hierarchy that is imposed upon us by the laws of nature. Much like the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors. A motorbike in collision with a car will lose. Metal box Vs Me (I have no chance). A car in collision with a Lorry will lose. Hard metal Vs Soft metal. It goes without saying Cyclist Vs Lorry…

Whatever the rights and wrongs of the situation (I have been knocked off and can say, with some level of certainty, the road is hard! It hurts when you hit it! Lorries are hard, it sounds like a silly statement, but how many of us have touched a lorry? Try it. Cars deform when you push them. Lorries do not.) Look after yourself and just keep as far as is possible away from things (machinery) that can seriously hurt you (however inadvertently).

The thing that many Motorbike riders hear as they lie on the road waiting for the ambulance… “Sorry mate, I didn’t see you”.

Oh and one last thing.

Lycra. It's not a good look.

MAMIL's please cover up.

Physician heal thyself

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 08:32:00 GMT

Today I have given myself a major shock and have, fortunately, been able to recover.

A very important container of information (Microsoft OneNote – if you are interested) disappeared from my laptop! I do not know how that happened, but such is life.

After a short period of running around screaming (metaphorically). I started to work out what to do about it.

The Backup files were not where they should be, or rather they were, but did not contain what I needed.

Fortunately I suffer the paranoia of someone that has lost data before, and try to adhere to a 3-2-1 backup strategy, so (after some digging) I managed to find a recent backup in a different location.

An hours fiddling and I am back to where I should be.

There is the outside chance that some of the data is a day older than it should be. And Steve, my business partner, may well have edited some of it in the last day. But we are in a far better position than we could have been.

I have rejigged my backups to take into account what when wrong this time.

The morel of this story?

YOU CANNOT HAVE TOO MANY BACKUPS!!!

And make sure that your backups take all your data, it is not always where you think it is.

Me thinks it is time for a beer.

At Last a Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Tue, 25 Jun 2013 11:02:00 +0100

There has been a long hiatus in this discussion as I have been doing more interesting things.

Shortly after my last missive an engineer from Solus turned up with guess what… The part that Chrysler (Fiat!) told me that I has imagining!

Apparently it DOES exist and I did not make it up.

They have not apologised for calling me a liar. But at least I have my tow eye!

Incidentally, over a year of playing silly buggers has ended up with us getting a payment for all the agro. I do not understand why it has taken so long. Aviva, RAC, Octagon and Irwin Mitchel have bounced this round the houses, lost paperwork, lost the account, not talked to each other (Irwin Mitchel have take this to a new level), but finally we have reached the end.

This was a simple case, no argument, the chap admitted it was his fault. Wonder what happens when it is contested?

Actually I know. I got rear ended by a lorry, they argued (not sure how as he hit me in nose to tail traffic!) and Aviva dumped on me, did not argue and just caved in (thank you Proddow Mackay for NOTHING!).

A Response from Tesco

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 14:03:00 +0100

Hi Cosma,

Thanks for confirming your contact number. Would you mind letting me know what the reason is for the expected callback? I'd appreciate if you could provide me with more information so that I can explain this to the store.

Kind Regards,
Chrissie - Customer Care

*******************************************************************

My Reply…

I have actually just spoken to someone that identified himself as the Petrol manager. The reason was 2 fold. Initially it was because one of your pumps poured my money all over my car, my tire and my foot and I wanted to bring it to you attention. Then it transitioned to "why are Tesco NOT responding" .

According to you manager all the pumps are ok. Which does not explain what happened. One of the pumps did not stop. I have been filling cars for over 20 years and this has never happened to me before, except in one other case when the pump was broken. So either I made it up or there is a defective pump in Eastbourne and just because no one else has complained (you do realise that many people do not complain, they just go elsewhere for their fuel) they will not address it. Either way Not good.

The Eastbourne manager made the requisite apology, with no indication that he actually meant it, told me the pump was fine and said did I want some dry cleaning.

A better approach would have been a, respond quicker, b, tell me that he would take a look at the pump (even though I know he will not). Or do I come from an old school of customer service where the customer is always right and he comes from a modern school where the customer is always wrong?

Tesco

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 12:43:00 +0100

They have replied to my last missive.

Hi Cosma,
Thank you for your comment. We appreciate all views on our walls, positive and negative alike; after all without constructive feedback we wouldn’t be able to continue to improve our service for customers.
To make sure the online community on the page remains helpful and friendly we have set some Community Rules, please see the link here; http://on.fb.me/LDudyy
These rules cover things like, treating each other the way you would like to be treated and not posting links to non-Tesco sites. There are a few more examples which you can read by clicking on this link so feel free to have a look for more information.
We welcome your open discussion but would appreciate it if you could please keep these rules in mind while posting on our wall.
With regards to your phone call I have spoken to the duty manager who is extremely concerned that this individual has not called you and is in the process of contacting him as we speak with regards to this.
The duty manager is doing all he can to ensure you get your phone call which would be in all likelihood be tomorrow morning I'm sorry.
Kind Regards,
Rich – Customer Care

Well it’s 12:42 and they still have not contacted me!

Tesco’s, What little help!

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 19:55:00 +0100

Sunday, I foolishly decide to fill my car at Tesco in Eastbourne.

The pesky pump decided not to stop and so a quantity of fuel makes it way over the side of my car, the tyre, the floor and my foot.

Does not look like much in the picture, but trust me, it was all over the place.

I went into the shop and complained and was told that Richard the petrol manager would call me.

Then it gets tedious… I just posted the following on the Tesco FB page.

“Please tell me why it is that I had to wait from Sunday, until today for a manager to NOT call me from Eastbourne.

Then tell me why it took a further 20 minutes of my day calling the store and your "help" desk, navigating an auto-attendant to reach someone that wanted to get rid of me as soon as possible!

Guess what….

I am STILL waiting for a call (2 hours later!!)

Is that what passes as customer service at Tesco??

And we have not even started trying to address the reason I called in the 1st place.

Is Tesco's ploy to ignore customers or put them through tedious auto-attendants until they either get fed up and give up or lose the will to live?”

Is technology adding value to our lives?

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 16:01:00 GMT

I was sitting on the train this morning watching two people (obviously friends) sitting next to each other, both furiously stabbing away at their phones. Overhearing their sporadic exclamations it became apparent that they were both engaged in the same conversation with a third party via Facebook.

It strikes me as sad that they did not put the bloody phones down and TALK to the person they were with. Or maybe CALL the third party, have the conversation and finish.

We spend more time 'Chatting' to people we have never met (and probably will never meet) than we do talking to people right in front of us.

Now don't get me wrong. I love technology and have made a career out of it, but I do feel that it is getting beyond intrusive. We can't go out without someone 'checking in' (OK, hands up if you have never done this. I have so this is a person in a glass house throwing stones). We can't have a meal without taking a picture and rating it (actually this is not one of my vices).

I am out with my six year old today. I will admit to taking pictures and posting them, but I am competent enough with tech for each one to take seconds to do. Unlike a chap I was held up behind, that took ten mins to work out how to use his camera while his poor kids sat looking bored and the queue behind him (with me in it), trying to get into a vintage carriage, grew ever longer.

We all seem to be living somewhere else while our lives are happening here (we are almost observers' to our lives while living vicariously through the lives of others). Now I may appear to be a hypocrite, blogging while out with my son, but , in my defense, he is on a train simulation at the mo.

The Book "Lucifer's Hammer" is a great indication (if somewhat extreme) of what could happen. We live in a world of technology that NO ONE knows how to build, operate or maintain. Perhaps we need to teach our kids what makes a bus go and how to build a generator? Perhaps we need to talk to each other, before we forget how.

How many people have managed to keep an email conversion going beyond 2 or 3 exchanges? There was a time that I exchanged Letters with friends round the world for many years, but along comes the internet and something that should have been made easier has petered out and finally ground to a halt.

While technology has allowed me to maintain better communications with some people in America it seems to have killed communications with some friends in North London!

I guess what I am saying is that, wonderful though the brave new world is, we do need to remember the way we used to do it and, sometimes, the older ways are "better".

I still remember the anticipation of receiving a letter from a friend or collecting a roll of processed film....

THOUGHTS FOR THE DAY...!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Fri, 28 Sep 2012 13:01:00 +0100

If you had purchased £1,000 of shares in Delta Airlines one year ago, you would have £49.00 today.

If you had purchased £1,000 of shares in AIG insurance company one year ago, you would have £33.00 today.

If you had purchased £1,000 of shares in Lehman Brothers five years ago, you would have nothing today.

If you had purchased £1,000 of shares in Northern Rock three years ago, you would have nothing today.

But, if you had purchased £1,000 worth of beer one year ago at Tesco's, drunk all the beer, then taken the aluminium cans to the scrap metal dealer, you would have received £214.00.

Based on the above, the best current investment plan is to drink heavily & recycle.

A recent study found that the average Briton walks about 900 miles a year.

Another study found that Britons drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year.

That means that, on average, Britons get about 41 miles to the gallon!

Makes you proud to be British!

I'm back!

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Sun, 2 Sep 2012 22:53:00 +0100

I have been missing London so.

Its sorrow is as sweet to me as a rare wine.

Lee Health Centre

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Sat, 18 Aug 2012 20:29:00 +0100

I have been asked to put this is writing in order that it can be brought to the attention of the management committee at Lee Health Centre.

There are two incidents that you should be aware of.

The first Incident happened to my wife in August 2009. The second happened on the the 26th of July this year.

The following is a copy of the letter my wife sent to the Complaints Department of Lewisham Primary Care Trust.

On Monday of this week I called the surgery at 8:10 in order to make an appointment for myself and my son. I was offered an appointment at 15:00 Tuesday (the following day) with the locum doctor, and I accepted it.

On Tuesday I arrived at the surgery at 14:55, checked in with the receptionist (as is the correct procedure) and was told to proceed to the waiting area.

After 30 minutes, during which time I had to entertain my 3 year old in a very hot room surrounded by sick people (with no provision made for children), I went to the receptionist to ask what the situation was. I was then informed that my appointment was for Wednesday (the following day) at 15:00. The receptionist checked the screen and told me to wait for another 10 minutes as there was a free appointment that I could have.

Fifteen minutes later I was called back to the reception to discuss the situation with her colleague. This turned out to be the practice manager. I was informed in no uncertain terms that my appointment was for the following day, that I had made a mistake, and that was the end of the discussion. I protested and reassured them that the appointment was for Tuesday; I had checked in and the receptionist told me to go to the waiting area. They were not willing to accept this and insisted that I had made a mistake, even after I pointed out that I work on a Wednesday and was, therefore, unlikely to have made an appointment that I could not attend.

The manager was very surly and gave a grudging apology on behalf of the receptionist, but he clearly was not sorry and was merely trying to get rid of me.

I was very upset and left the surgery, in tears, after over 45 minutes of waiting and contacted my husband, who called the surgery.

He spoke to the office manager. He was initially told that it was my mistake and it, therefore, did not matter if I had waited for 45 minutes or 1 hour and 45 minutes, but eventually the manager admitted that the receptionist who made the booking must have made a mistake and this was compounded by the receptionist that checked me in as she should have seen the error and informed me. The manager did not know why I was told to wait as there were no available appointments.

My husband asked the office manager what he intended to do to rectify the situation and was told “nothing”. He asked if the surgery did home visits and was told they did, and so he booked a visit for 16:40 that evening. My husband then rushed home in order to be here when the doctor arrived, but the doctor did not come.

As a result of this we have not been seen and we will have to attempt to make an appointment for next week; due to the booking system I cannot call to book the appointment until Monday next week.

The PCT asked the office manager to reply, and he did. Frankly his reply was a tissue of lies, clearly he had been involved in a totally different incident and it was all my wife's fault! We decided to not pursue the matter any further as she was very distressed by the events and it was clear it would be his word against ours. As he was intent on lying, nothing would come of it.

The second incident started when I attended the surgery on the 26th of July.

I am self-employed and so I try and arrange my appointments in the morning as it disrupts my day the least. A few days before my appointment I received a phone call asking me if I would mind moving the time from 9:15 to 16:45. I said I did mind, but as I had no alternative I would move it.

I arrived at the surgery on time (having left my office at 15:45, thereby loosing 1 hour 45 minutes of work time) and went to the receptionist to check in. I was told that I did not have an appointment and anyway Debbie was off sick. I objected and said I DID have an appointment and was not happy about the situation. I was faced by blank looks from ALL staff in the reception. I asked what could be done about it and was told nothing. When I pressed I was offered appointments with other nurses, all at least a weeks away.

I asked to speak to the office manager and was told he was on holiday and so I asked to speak to someone in a position of responsibility.

Dr Laurence came out and was told by the reception staff that I had no appointment and had turned up incorrectly. She told me that there was nothing that could be done, and that she was busy, and left.

I had no choice at this point but to take the offered appointment. This was on the 14th of August at 9:15 (3 weeks later!). This left me extremely upset. I asked for the office manager to contact me upon his return. David took my details and told me the manager would be back on the 30th.

I went to a local chemist, that I am friendly with, and was explaining what had happened (to make myself feel better) when another customer (that I had never met before, but had overheard me talking) said that he was not surprised; this appears to be a regular occurrence at this surgery and they, especially the office manager, have a reputation for being rude and unhelpful. At this point several other customers all agreed.

On the 30th I had no call. Several days later, I had no call. Eventually I got fed up of waiting and called the surgery myself.

The office manager told me that there was no appointment on the system for me. He could see the morning appointment, but that had been cancelled, and he could not see who by. I asked him to investigate why the afternoon appointment had not been booked, and he reluctantly said he would. He then promised to call me back. I have received no call from him. I then asked why he had not called me and he told me that he had not come back on the 30th and David had made a mistake telling me that that was when he came back (this did seem a bit odd as the 30th was a Monday, which would be a logical day to return to work).

The Plot Thickens.

When I came to see Debbie on the 14th of August I explained all this to her and that I was very upset by this. I did not want to see a different nurse as Debbie was aware of my condition (and my Diabetes) and I wanted continuity of treatment.

She looked on the booking system and found that indeed the 1st appointment had been cancelled (she could also see who had made the change!!), and the second appointment was on the system at the time that I said. I was shown as a “no show” (if that is on my records I would like it removed).

She had been in her room and had been waiting for me (it was a 30 minute slot). It is very rare for me to miss an appointment and she had wondered what had happened to me.

Debbie then asked me to document this in order that she can bring it to the practices attention. The fact that they are gaining a bad reputation in the community is not something that should be taken lightly. Not only has my time been wasted and my condition not treated for weeks, but a 30 minute appointment slot was also wasted (and we all know how rare they are).

Final Words

In case you are wondering, there have been other incidences of poor “customer” service at this surgery, but I have chosen to highlight these 2 as it would take too long to detail them all.

I have posted this on a public forum in order to give the practice a chance to respond. But based on their past actions I do not think they will.

Solus

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Tue, 7 Aug 2012 13:05:00 +0100

Hay Hay.

Just had a call from Mr Fentons Secretary.

I gave her a full description of the missing part and she is going to try and find one.

Progress? We shall see.....

RE: [Cosma's Life] Voyager

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Tue, 7 Aug 2012 12:48:00 +0100

Good morning Mr O’Halloran,

As Group Customer Services Manager, perhaps you would like to get involved in this and assist in getting the issues resolved. A summary can be found at http://cosmap.blogspot.com

Best Regards

Cosma Papouis

From: William O'Halloran [mailto:William.O'Halloran@solusarc.co.uk]
Sent: 07 August 2012 12:45
To: Gordon Fenton
Cc: cosma@papouis.net
Subject: FW: [Cosma's Life] Voyager

Hi Gordon

The attached e-mail was addressed to you

Kind Regards

William O'Halloran

Group Customer Services Manager

Solus Accident Repair Centres - Head Office

Tel: 07989 448373 | Fax: 01279 713701

Web: www.solusarc.co.uk

Email: William.O'Halloran@solusarc.co.uk

**************************************************************************************

From: Cosma Papouis [mailto:cosma@papouis.net]
Sent: 07 August 2012 12:43
To: sales@solusarc.co.uk
Subject: FW: [Cosma's Life] Voyager

Hello,

I have just emailed Gorge Fenton, but his email seems to not be working.

Could you assist please.

Thanks

Please take look at http://cosmap.blogspot.com for a resume of what has (or has not) been happening.

Cosma Papouis

Voyager

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Tue, 7 Aug 2012 12:02:00 +0100

Good morning Mr Fenton,

I hope you had a nice holiday.

I received the rubber bung in the post, thank you, and it fits. Now all I need is the tow eye.

After some research on the net I believe that it may be called a “Tie Down Eye” (or hook). Other people seem to have them, but they do seem to be quite hard to source.

I find it hard to believe that this has vanished in to the ether. Surely it must be either in your workshop, the repairers workshop or the back of the lorry that brought the vehicle in to you. Alternatively, as it was supplied by them, Chrysler must have one.

I would appreciate your attention to this matter.

Regards

________________________________

Cosma

www.papouis.net

cosmap.blogspot.com

P Please consider the environment

Save paper - do you really need to print this email?

Re: FW: Voyager

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Tue, 7 Aug 2012 10:08:00 +0100

Dear Jamie,

I have tried to contact Lee, but he does not respond. I feel that everybody just want's shot of this and I am the one that is left with a part missing from my car.

I have never asked for a written apology, just an acknowledged that the car was returned in an unsafe condition. And for the return of my tow eye (tie down).

Am I being unreasonable? You tell me.

****************************************************************************

On 7 August 2012 09:50, <jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk> wrote:

Dear Mr Papouis,

I'm very sorry to hear this. As I did not hear anything further, I assumed your issues were being addressed. Below is the last correspondence I received from Gordon Fenton or anyone else at Solus regarding your issues. I would suggest you contact Gordon Fenton on the below telephone number if Lee his production manager has not been in contact. Further to this, I would suggest that any correspondence on the matter be escalated to our own complaints department at nuccare@aviva.co.uk

Regards
Jamie Edwards
PMCS Team
Personal Motor Claims- Stretford
Aviva UK General Insurance
( 0800 0515 127
* Email: jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

****************************************************************************

From: Gordon Fenton [mailto:gordon.fenton@solusarc.co.uk]
Sent: 12 July 2012 15:10

To: Jamie Edwards (Aviva UK)
Cc: Lee Dallard
Subject: RE: Voyager

Jamie

I am on holiday so Lee my production manager will be dealing with.

Kind Regards

Gordon Fenton

General Manager

Solus Accident Repair Centres - Solus Erith

Tel: 07970 159451 | Fax: 0208 3124803

Web: www.solusarc.co.uk

Email: gordon.fenton@solusarc.co.uk

****************************************************************************

From: Jamie Edwards (Aviva UK) [mailto:jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk]
Sent: 12 July 2012 12:10
To: Gordon Fenton
Subject: FW: Voyager

Dear Gordon,

I have been helping the PH with his issues and can see that you have written to him with a reasonable effort to address his issues, including sourcing the part and offering to have it fitted.

However, the PH it seems will not be happy until he gets a written or verbal apology for the dangerous condition he feels his vehicle was returned in.

Please could you let me know how you would feel about Solus making an apology for these issues.

Regards

Jamie Edwards

PMCS Team
Personal Motor Claims- Stretford
Aviva UK General Insurance
( 0800 0515 127
* Email: jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

****************************************************************************

From: Cosma
Sent: 12 July 2012 11:59

To: Jamie Edwards (Aviva UK)
Subject: RE: Voyager

Dear Jamie,

I am not an unreasonable person. I accept that parts fail on fit, I have not made a big issue of the shock absorber, dangerous though that was. All I want is my car, and all the elements thereof, returned to me as it was when it went to Solus.

· I would like an acknowledgement that the vehicle was not safe. It was returned in a dangerous condition and whoever did that work has been spoken to.

· I would like the missing "Tie Down Eye" or "Towing eye" or whatever they want to call it returned. And possibly an acknowledgement that I have not been making it all up.

So far it just seems that I am an irritation and all everybody wants to do is brush this issue under the carpet. In which case it makes me wonder how many other cars are driving around that have been poorly repaired and are potential death traps.

As an insurance company I would have thought that you would be slightly concerned as you will be paying when this stuff hits the courts. Just think. Had the break hose failed and the car crashed I hate to think about it and would just hope I had been driving at the time. If my wife had been driving….

Do you (Aviva, not you personally) vet the companies that you use? Or do you just go for the cheapest? Surely the quality of the repairs done come in to the equation?

Regards

****************************************************************************

From: jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk [mailto:jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk]
Sent: 12 July 2012 11:44
To: cosma
Subject: RE: Voyager

Dear Mr Papouis,

Having read the email from Gordon Fenton at Solus, I am satisfied that Solus have put you back into a similar position that you were in previously. The part has been sourced and will be fitted. The garage had sourced a like for like vehicle whilst your own vehicle was in for rectification work, and the garage provided a further MOT upon completion of this work. Clearly you are not happy with the response to the issues from Mr Fenton. At this stage, please could you advise me on how you would like the matter to be resolved and I can look into what can possibly be done.

Regards

Jamie Edwards

PMCS Team
Personal Motor Claims- Stretford
Aviva UK General Insurance
( 0800 0515 127
* Email: jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

RE: Voyager

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 11:59:00 +0100

Dear Jamie,

I am not an unreasonable person. I accept that parts fail on fit, I have not made a big issue of the shock absorber, dangerous though that was. All I want is my car, and all the elements thereof, returned to me as it was when it went to Solus.

· I would like an acknowledgement that the vehicle was not safe. It was returned in a dangerous condition and whoever did that work has been spoken to.

· I would like the missing “Tie Down Eye” or “Towing eye” or whatever they want to call it returned. And possibly an acknowledgement that I have not been making it all up.

So far it just seems that I am an irritation and all everybody wants to do is brush this issue under the carpet. In which case it makes me wonder how many other cars are driving around that have been poorly repaired and are potential death traps.

As an insurance company I would have thought that you would be slightly concerned as you will be paying when this stuff hits the courts. Just think. Had the break hose failed and the car crashed I hate to think about it and would just hope I had been driving at the time. If my wife had been driving….

Do you (Aviva, not you personally) vet the companies that you use? Or do you just go for the cheapest? Surely the quality of the repairs done come in to the equation?

Regards

From: jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk [mailto:jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk]
Sent: 12 July 2012 11:44
To:
Subject: RE: Voyager

Dear Mr Sir,

Having read the email from Gordon Fenton at Solus, I am satisfied that Solus have put you back into a similar position that you were in previously. The part has been sourced and will be fitted. The garage had sourced a like for like vehicle whilst your own vehicle was in for rectification work, and the garage provided a further MOT upon completion of this work. Clearly you are not happy with the response to the issues from Mr Fenton. At this stage, please could you advise me on how you would like the matter to be resolved and I can look into what can possibly be done.

Regards

Jamie Edwards

PMCS Team
Personal Motor Claims- Stretford
Aviva UK General Insurance
( 0800 0515 127
* Email: jamie.edwards@aviva.co.uk

P Please consider the environment before printing this e-mail.

Keeping you in the Loop

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 11:41:00 +0100

Hello Mr Dallard,

It strikes me that as Mr Fenton is away that I should probably forward this to you to keep you in the loop.

In Summary.

1. Do please send me the rubber grommet, it may well be what has been lost

2. I have done some research and it appears that the item that is missing is called a rear “Tie Down Eye” not a towing eye. Perhaps you could see if Chrysler can supply that?

3. I am not happy to brush under the carpet the fact that the brake hose, or connection elements, were fitted incorrectly.

Regards

________________________________

...... I Attached the last email for reference... No point putting it here

Chrysler Returned in a Dangerous Condition!

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Thu, 12 Jul 2012 11:22:00 +0100

My Response to an email from the accident repair specialists Solus.

Good morning Mr Fenton,

Please find my comments below…

From: Gordon Fenton [mailto:gordon.fenton@solusarc.co.uk]
Sent: 11 July 2012 17:27
To: <me>
Subject: RE: Voyager

Good afternoon Sir

Firstly thank you for taking the time to pass on the information to me as this is always useful when looking in to my customers concerns raised.

I understand how your wife must of felt as I too have been in a similar situation with my wife in an accident. Reading through your concerns both regarding the recovery agent collecting your car and how it was delivered into us, I understand you had said to my staff that in your front tow eye securing bracket your vehicle had a rubber bung covering your thread.

[CP] It was actually the rear one that was lost, along with the tow eye itself.

My understanding from speaking to my management staff they had spoken to our parts suppliers and said they have never supplied or fitted held this rubber grommet in stock. I have also spoken to Marlborough another Chrysler dealer and they have also said they have never sold anything like it.

[CP] That does not mean that it has never existed or been lost. I have been doing some research on the matter and it transpires that the item may be called a Rear “Tie Down Eye” and not a Towing eye. Could you please see if your parts supplier can find one of those. Thanks.

But I am pleased to say I have myself found a grommet that I believe will fit in the thread I had a look and a friends PT Cruiser and he had a grommet in the front of his and he has allowed me to have his as he has disposed of his car. If you would like to pop in I will leave it with Lee Dallard my production manager and he can see if it will fit as I believe the hole diameter is the same cross the range of vehicles, or if you would like it sent out just call the office and speak to Lee and he can arrange to get it in the post for you.

[CP] That is a good start, thanks. Could you please drop it in the post as it does seem to be a waste of fuel to come down there for a rubber grommet. Thanks again.

With regards to the two other concerns you had from presenting your car for Mot I’m sorry we had to have your vehicle back but on the first count with the shock absorber leaking this initial work was sub contracted out to the main dealer to replace the suspension part and has been carried out under their parts warranty failure process.

[CP] Could you please let me know which main dealer.

I struggle to understand the testing station saying that the brake hose has been on the point of snapping as these are high pressure reinforced hoses and I cannot see how they can be fitted wrongly but I understand your concerns.

[CP] The hose was connected to a metal pipe that was clearly pointing in the wrong direction and was therefore stretching the hose. The hose itself may not have broken, but the connecting point to the metal pipe was under stress as was the point where the pipe connected to the break itself. It was clearly fitted incorrectly.

When we had your car back to correct your concerns we pushed to make sure we covered you with a like for like vehicle and also had taken care of getting an Mot carried out on your car when it came back from the dealer.

[CP] And I greatly appreciate that. But I would rather have not put you or myself to the inconvenience and simply had my car back, with all the bits it had when all this started, working and safe.

I would like to think we have now resolved any concerns and can now close this off if I can assist you in any other ways I will am now away from the business returning 30^th July on annual leave.

[CP] Sorry, but No. All we have done is possibly replace a rubber grommet. It still leaves me without the towing (tie down) eye and has brushed under the carpet the fact that the car was returned in a dangerous condition. As I said before, I can accept that the shock leaked, parts do fail on fit, but the break pipe was clearly not installed correctly.

Kind Regards

Gordon Fenton
General Manager
Solus Accident Repair Centres - Solus Erith

Tel: 07970 159451 | Fax: 0208 3124803
Web: www.solusarc.co.uk
Email: gordon.fenton@solusarc.co.uk

Customer Service

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Sun, 8 Jul 2012 18:10:00 +0100

Recently I have had a couple of not very good customer service experiences. The interesting part is the way that the two companies have dealt with the situation.

Staples, after a slow start, reacted very well. I was contacted by the support department and then by the store manager. I was then sent some vouchers (cash value £50) to spend in store, by way of a sorry. That was not necessary, but was appreciated, and will encourage me to return to the store.

Domino’s, on the other hand, said (in essence) “Tough Luck”. The drivers can’t be made to read the special instructions, so maybe you want to use a different store (company).

To add insult to injury, their customer services will not respond to my emails and their twitter person will not tweet back to me.

Good move Dominos, just bury your head in the sand and the problems will go away.

Funnily enough I did actually place another order with Dominos, after all this started – so you would think they would be on best behaviour. The driver rang the bell (no surprise there) and managed to drive off without giving me the drink I had ordered. I called the store and a very nicely turned out young lady (I am assuming a manager/supervisor…) came round, knocked on the window (shock horror!!) and gave me the missing drink. I pointed out that she was nicely turned out as the drivers are normally quite scruffy, so she stood out in comparison. She managed to read the special delivery instructions, why can’t the others?

I am currently making a complaint to a company called Solus, that Aviva use to repair cars. They returned our car in a dangerous state and seem to want to brush it under the carpet. So far their manager has ignored my emails, lets see how Aviva and Chrysler deal with this.

I may be coming across as a bit of a “Victor Meldrew” but I do believe that we get the service we deserve. Walking away just means that we loose the utility of the company in question and they loose a client. Is it not better all round if they buck their idea’s up and we carry on using them?

If one of my clients complains to me I see it as a warning shot across the bow. How can I know if I am dropping the ball if no one tells me. I go out every day and work to the best of my abilities. Sometimes I will miss the target, sometimes my staff will not deliver to the standards that I expect. Let me know and I will address it, walk away and we all loose.

Dangerous Driving?

noreply@blogger.com (Cosma Papouis) — Thu, 5 Jul 2012 21:50:00 +0100

This is an email that I have just sent to the manager of a major (country wide) accident repair firm. I want to know how our car was give back to us in such a dangerous condition and I want my tow eye back! Is that too much to ask?

As always I will not name names, not even company ones, until they drop the ball.

Dear Sir,

First some background for you.

On the 13^th of February my wife unfortunately had a crash in our car. She was rammed by someone that pulled out without looking and hit the right hand corner of our car. I contacted the insurance company and they allocated the repair work to yourselves.

I went to the vehicle, removed our contents and waited for the repair truck. This duly arrived (from <name removed>).

The driver decided to drag the car on to the back of his truck and to facilitate this he used one of the 2 towing hooks (eyes?) that the car had stored in the tool bay.

A few weeks later the car was returned to us, apparently repaired, but minus the towing eye and the rubber cover that covered the hole where it screws in.

I contacted <name removed> and pointed this out. I was told it would be found or replaced.

Let’s now move forward to June.

I put the car in for its MOT. You can imagine my surprise when it FAILED!! The right hand shock absorber was leaking (badly) and the brake hose was on the edge of snapping! Had the shock collapsed or the brake hose snapped at any time while I or my wife were driving the car (usually with the children on-board) the car would probably have gone out of control, or at the very least been very hard (almost impossible) to stop (after all it is not a light car).

I returned the car to you and it has now been repaired and MOT’ed, the car is back but I am still missing the towing eye.

So why am I emailing you?

1^st, The car was given back to us in a dangerous condition. Clearly the brake hose had been incorrectly installed. And this was not seen in pre dispatch checking.

2^nd, While I accept that some parts fail, even though they are new, it is still disturbing that the shock went.

3^rd, Your service manager has offered to pay for a new towing eye, if I can find one. My question is WHERE IS THE ORIGINAL. It was on the car when I last saw it. Presumably it was on the car when it was unloaded by <name removed>. It must be either with you or them. Why do I have to search for a replacement?

This whole issue seems to have been brushed under the carpet by your staff, and dismissed, but I hope you can see that sending a car out in that condition is not acceptable! Loosing parts from a client’s car, however trivial the part is to you, is not acceptable.

My wife was shaken by the original accident. This has just added to her anxiety about driving as the car that she felt safe in could have been a death-trap.

Feel free to call me on <My Mobile> or email me. I do hope that we can reach a mutually agreeable solution.

Regards

I am actually very concerned that they could send a car out in that condition and that they have lost a part of my car. Ok so the rear tow eye is not vital to day to day usage, but that is not the point. Does it mean that I have to remove ALL removable items from my car every time it is in for a service; like the spare tyre, jack, spanner? Do I have to get the car checked over by a third party every time I get it back from a service, just in case?

Incidentally, I have also mentioned all this to Aviva and Chrysler Customer Services (In Milan, now they are part of Fiat). Lets see if they take it seriously.