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The Queen's English

24.04.08

The Plain English Campaign

Earlier this week the Plain English Campain called on police forces to reduce"ploddledygook", the jargon the police so love! On the same day I found this classic example on the Hampshire Police website:

Project Kraken delivers an enhanced counter terrorist ‘vigilance’ capability within the maritime environment of the Solent. It engages key stakeholders together with local communities to provide a hostile environment to terrorists and criminals looking to disrupt the everyday lives and safety of those who live, work, or travel through the Solent Portal."

In fairness to the police though, they are not alone. Reported in today's papers is the comment by a spokesman for rail-users' watchdog Passenger Focus, about changes to rail fares.

“It is a real pity that the train companies have harmonised by going in the direction of harsher policies rather than enshrining good practice,”

Do you have any other examples? Contact me.

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Gwyneth Dunwoody 1930-2008

22.04.08

Gwyneth Dunwoody died last week at the age of 77. At the time of her death she was a serving Member of Parliament and was Chairman of the Transport Committee.

She was one of those rare politicians who spoke her mind and promoted her beliefs. Because they were her own beliefs, she argued the more strongly and with greater passion and won the respect of her opponents as a result.

When I was Chairman of the Airline Public Relations Organisation, I introduced her as the guest speaker at a lunch. She was one of the most entertaining speakers I have ever heard, who made her point with a clear message and won the respect, if not the agreement of

her audience, made up of those charged with promoting the aviation industry.

It was interesting reading the tributes to her. She was always there with a good argument and she is the sort of politician who is in all too short a supply.

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Humour on the Beeb

17.04.08

One of the advantages of staying in a hotel during the week is being able to catch more of breakfast television. There is something comforting about BBC Breakfast. This morning's programme provided much humour with a piece about the effect that trading standards regulations will have on clairvoyants. Almost like the line from a joke, but delivered in true BBC dead pan style, was the headline "an unclear future for clairvoyants".

I am a great fan of the BBC. However, I am slightly disturbed by the gloating way in which they are preening themselves over the breaking of the Northern Rock crisis earlier in the year. Yes I know that it was a scoop for which the BBC won an award but it was also a story which caused misery and uncertainty for many; misery and uncertainty in part caused by the panic spread by the media. This trailer serves no puirpose except self-congratulation; it will not make more people watch the channel.

Do you agree? Click here to make a comment.

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At your service

15.04.08

Wagamama at Covent Garden

My invitation to comment on the customer service that businesses provide has generated some interesting results; remember this is companies providing excellent customer service, sadly those providing poor service are all too common. Two more businesses can step forward and take a bow. KwikFit ("you can't get better than a KwikFit Fitter") provide MOT testing. Book online and it is at a discount, you get a cup of coffee and excellent service!

And if you want a fast, fresh and tasty (and healthy) meal then try the adventure that is Wagamama. Usually located below ground level (they don't need swanky looking restaurants with big windows on to the pavement!), these Japanese style restaurants provide excellent service and good value.

If you continue to be frustrated by rail travel, and in fairness you shouldn't; it is much better than even five years ago, you can get the best deals and information from an excellent website thetrainline.com.

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Do you need directions to your room?

10.04.08

What is it about hotel rooms and the distance from (a) reception and (b) the lift? As part of my job I spend a lot of time in hotels and, inevitably when you are tired at the end of the day and have just checked in and want a pint in the bar, the room to which you have been assigned is miles from reception. I am sure that it is all down to the design of the building. Large footprint, low height means long walk to room. Tall, thin with reception in the middle of the ground floor; short walk. I recently discovered that a hotel I regularly stay in at Heathrow Airport had an entire wing I didn't know existed!

There wasn't a lot of point to this blog admittedly. It was just something I thought about as I walked from the room which was quite genuinely the furthest one from reception at the hotel at which I stayed last night.

However, unrelated to last night's hotel experience, another top name for good service (see below) is Jury's Inn, particularly the one at Heathrow which remains my hotel of choice at that airport.

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Keep your cool...they're trying to help!

08.04.08

Call centres can help!

Anybody who has seen the coverage on television (and there has been ample) about the problems surrounding the opening of Terminal 5, will have seen an oft shown clip of a woman with a heavy European accent shouting at a member of British Airways ground staff. Whatever your view of BA, or for that matter, Terminal 5, it is wholly inappropriate to take it out on the employees on the ground who are trying to resolve your problems for you. They personally haven't lost your bags; nor for that matter did they design the exit to arrivals (lady in grey coat on opening day, who held me responsible for the fact she couldn't find her driver).

The use of that piece of footage over and over again led me to think more about customer service in a broader setting. It is very easy to criticise call centres for being unhelpful and unapproachable and there are many cases where they don't work...ironically take a step forward BT, whose distant call centre's ever repeated script about their email failure led to me removing my business from them.

However sometimes they do work and the staff are incredibly helpful; representing the best in the industry. Take a bow First Direct, the best bank out there and T-Mobile, whose call centre operative single-handedly kept me from going to a competitor to buy an iPhone. If you've got examples of good service click here and drop me a line.

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