I don't want to leave a review

Like the rest of the world I am on Facebook.  I constantly check FB to see what is going on with my increasingly large little circle of friends.  I am totally utterly and completely obsessed with FB.  WHY?

Do I really need to know where a friend is having lunch, or when a friend is waiting for the kettle to boil, or when a friends baby has had it's first poo?  Of course I don't.  But FB has transformed our lives.

We're like goldfish - we're all living in a bowl, swimming around in a life that can be viewed by anybody.

I personally use FB as a diary of my life.  And as a 'middle aged ranting spinster' I am very aware that with the click of a button my posts could go 'viral'.  But having said that; why would photos of a middle aged woman drinking wine yep that's what most of my posts show go viral?  Who is interested in me - unless you're a mad stalker that likes wine drinking middle aged women??

Anyway, today's RANT is going to be about leaving reviews.

I 'check in' to places quite a lot.  As I say, I use FB as a diary to record what I am doing in my everyday life.  But what really, really, annoys me is............................ the following day, after I've checked in somewhere I get messages from FB saying, 'You checked into so & so, would you like to leave a review?'

NO, I don't want to leave a review.  I seriously feel like just saying to these messages; 'F*** O**, I'm not leaving a review, I don't want to leave a review, I have nothing to say about my visit to you.  I had a meal or I had a drink.  End of story.  I had a night out.  I had a nice time and now you want me to 'complete some homework' because I tagged you in a FB  post?  Grrrrr.................

Social media has gone a bit crazy.  I personally do not read many reviews.  I could be in the minority here.  I don't know?!  But as far as I'm concerned, if you check out a website and it seems good, then just believe it?!  Would you really not go somewhere because a load of other people had given it a bad review online? 

The world has gone mad.  Does no-one believe in their own decisions anymore?

I recently had a 'Cornish Cream Tea' with a couple of friends.  One of the scones was paler than the others.  It wasn't undercooked.  It was just a pale scone.  But my friend complained and when she was told it was just a paler colour; she then wrote a damning review online about it.  WHY?  It's only a f****** scone

I felt really embarrassed about the whole thing because it was just a pale scone.  It was cooked, there was nothing wrong with it.  And now that poor café (which I have to say was really rather nice) has a bad review.

It's like......................... one click of a button can destroy someone's livelihood, someone's business, someone's whole life.

To me that seems very cruel.  People work hard.  Mistakes are made.  Nobody is perfect.

BUT.............................. why do we have to review everything?

What is wrong with just going out, having a good time, and enjoying it??!!

Manchester

I don't think this is going to be a RANT.  It's just going to be a, 'what is the world coming to'?  type of statement?  To target a place that is predominately filled with kids............................  Why would anyone do that?  Especially a suicide bomber?!  He's dead!  He's not exactly going to get the status of killing 22 people and hurting numerous more is he???

What makes someone do this.  According to the newspaper  reports the 'suicide bomber' was 23 years old.  What makes a 23 year old want to take his own life and kill and maine loads of people in the process.

What do you think was going through his mind when he detonated his suicide bomb?  Would he have been scared?  Would he have been on a power trip - thinking about how many people he could kill?  Was he pressured into doing this?  Was somebody, somewhere, telling him that he had to do this because if he didn't................................. because if he didn't - what?

.................They'd kill him?!!

...............Is killing yourself better than being killed by someone else?????

Who knows the answers to any of the questions above.  And who knows the questions that the answers are actually asking?

#it'sacomplicatedlife.

Automatic Insurance Cover

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from a company from whom I had taken out an annual travel insurance policy last year.  The email said something along the lines of;  'Your policy is due for renewal on xxxx date.'  I ignored it.  I deleted it.  I didn't want to renew my travel insurance with this particular company.

Today I got another email saying, 'We have attempted to take payment through the automatic renewal process.  Unfortunately the payment has been refused by your bank.'

Thank God for that?!!

Fortunately the credit card that I used to pay for this last year has now expired.

...................BUT here comes the RANT.............................

Why is it, that every time one buys something like insurance (whether it be travel insurance or any other kind of insurance or anything that needs renewing on an annual basis).................. companies just seem to think that once they've got all your 'card' details they can go on a spending spree on an annual basis?

WHY?

It's hard enough trying to find the 'best deal' around, without companies deciding that they can take money off ones credit/debit card every year just because they think people will be too lazy to look for the best deal.

And the other thing...........................  I actually thought that it was illegal, these days, to keep a customers payment details on file.  No doubt there's a load of blurb in the 'small print' that means that they're exempt from this.  Grrrrr.............

Anyway, once I'd received this email this morning, I phoned 'annoying travel insurance company' (even though I knew they couldn't take any money off my credit card because it had expired). 

I was in 'very nice customer mode'.  After listening to at least 2 mins of 'blurb' I actually got to speak to a real life person.................  Kay/Katie?  I don't know?   Whoever it was, they obviously weren't very interested in what I had to say?!!

Everyone is just reading from a 'script' these days.

Soooooo......................... Kay/Katie, after listening to my RANT about not wanting to renew my annual travel insurance, (and just to clarify here; didn't ask me why or try to persuade me to reconsider - probably on minimum wage and couldn't care less about 'making the customer happy'.) said that they'd delete everything from my account????

Apparently I won't be getting any more emails from this company, I won't be getting any more promotional stuff, I won't be getting anything???

Time will tell???!!!

.........................BUT I'm still really angry that I actually had to go to the trouble of phoning these people to make sure that I'm not on any of there stupid mailing lists.  Grrrrrr...............

I want a new bathroom

I want a new bathroom.  I've wanted a new bathroom for years now.  I want to rip out the bath and put a super duper high powered shower in there.  In the 15 years that I've lived in this house I can count on one hand the number of times that I've had a bath.  I have an electric shower over the bath and it's fine.  But it's not super duper.

Last year I contacted a 'specialist bathroom company'.  They came and measured my bathroom and I then had to go into the salesroom so that a 12 year old young designer person could design my super duper new bathroom.  Was very impressed with the guy who came to measure up and how fast he got the measurements  to me.  Apparently he does a lot of bathroom fitting as well but was totally booked up.  Grrr....

...........................I digress.

12 year old Young designer designed me a bathroom (which I wasn't altogether happy with) and gave me a quote for buying it and fitting it from her company.  HUGE quote.  But actually (with quite a few changes) I was happy to go with this.  'Fabulous bathroom' company was supposed to phone me to discuss this further.  They didn't.  'Fabulous bathroom' company were supposed to arrange a follow up meeting.  They didn't.

After two weeks of hearing nothing, I emailed and asked what was going on.  Got an email back saying that someone would be in contact with me within 24 hours.  Great I thought.  ..................Not great?!  Didn't hear a thing?!  After another week I contacted them again to ask what was going on.  I was told that the person I had been dealing with had left.  Really???????  So a big company, with loads of staff, just lets someone leave and doesn't even bother to replace their staff and doesn't even bother to follow up customer orders?

Not exactly good customer service is it???  So after that, I put doing up the bathroom on hold.

Fast forward nine months and off I go to another bathroom company.  Same old,  same old.

This time I had to take my own measurements into the store.  Thanks to the previous company who came out to measure I had very accurate measurements.  In all the 'blurb' that I was given before my appointment I was told that the appointment to design my bathroom would take 1-2 hours.  After an hour (where nothing much happened) I was told I couldn't have a shower cubicle the size that I wanted, and they didn't do separate shower doors, and they didn't do made to measure mirrors, and they didn't do hot water tanks, and they didn't do extractor fans, and they didn't do LED lighting, and they didn't do.................................. ANYTHING as far as I was concerned.

I was told it was very difficult to put splash backs into the design so designer would do it in his own time and email me the plans the following day.  He asked if it were OK for him to give me a call before sending these over.  I agreed.

Soooooo.................... the following day, I receive an email with the plans for my new bathroom.  No call before I received these and three days later, no follow up call.  What is wrong with people these days.  Why does nobody want to talk to anyone.

Obviously with so little contact I will not be using this company to fit a new bathroom for me.

I'm seriously not happy, hence the RANT!

Does nobody want work these days?  And whatever happened to 'the customer is always right'?

All I want is a tradesperson who is reliable and who does what he says he's going to do.  Is that really too much to ask???

Holiday lets

I have worked in the hospitality industry for more than 20 years.  I consider myself to be an expert on the totally, ridiculous, stupid, demands that holiday makers often make when on holiday.

Stuff like - 'Why is the toilet paper blue? We thought it would be white.  Are we entitled to compensation?'  And that question was in the days when coloured toilet paper was very trendy.  And even if it hadn't been...........................  Does it really matter what colour toilet paper one wipes ones bum with?  At least they had toilet paper?  Which is a lot more than most people had when I first started working in the holiday letting industry.

20 years ago most people who rented a holiday home had to bring their own bedding, their own toilet rolls, their own washing up liquid and towels and t-towels.  And if you had a washing machine in your holiday let, it was considered 'luxury'.  As was a TV, a video recorder....................... and wifi hadn't even been invented.  Well actually it probably had, but only for the 'yuppies' who came on holiday from London.

..............And actually can anyone these days remember what YUPPIES stood for? - Young upwardly professional people - and that's as far as I remember. Haven't got a clue what 'IES' stood for.  Time to do a bit of googling.

Not sure where I'm going with this RANT?...........................

..............Oh yes.......................... Holiday lets...........................

Why is it that people who go on holiday chose not to respect one's home?

I have been away from my home for a few months now and to make some money I decided to 'holiday let' it.  Mmmmmmmmmmmmm  Best laid plans and all that.

Being an 'experienced person in hospitality' I thought I knew all the pitfalls.  And to be fair I think I probably do.

The problem is.................. holiday makers do stuff that they don't actually even know that they're doing?!!

For example -

They change the furniture around.  Holidaymaker thinks - I'll just move a couple of chairs into a different position and I'll just move the coffee tables and I'll just reposition the table that the DVD is on so that................................  So that what?????????????????

..................Totally oblivious to the fact that doing this has scratched, marked, flaked the painted floorboards.  Will they admit to any of this? - of course they won't.

..............And holiday makers don't EVER like the cupboards where one keeps the crockery.  So they decide to re-organise everything?!  So when the owner returns to their home, where they had a system, they find everything in disarray??? Instead of there being a couple of empty cupboards for holiday makers to put their foodstuffs, these are filled with things like egg cups and teapots. And having left the property with more than 6 mugs on a shelf, one returns to find 2 mugs sitting on the draining board and no other mugs in sight anywhere.

Why do holiday makers do this?

When I go on holiday and stay in a holiday let I try and leave everything single thing as near to perfect as I possibly can.

And the other thing....................... Even when you have photographic evidence; they still deny it???

It's like.................... here is what my property looked like when you arrived and here's what it looked liked when you left.....................

.....................Oh you haven't bothered to open any windows or ventilate the place.  All you've done is crank up the heating to full, close all the curtains and blinds, have really hot showers without using the extractor fan.............................  And you haven't  noticed that all the bedroom walls have turned black and the shower curtain is riddled with mildew

And then the visitor says, ' Oh, I didn't notice anything?'

Seriously??!!  How could you not???????????????????????????

................And being a very 'on the ball' letting person, I always contact my visitors the day after they arrive to check that everything is OK.  Every single time I have done this, my visitors have replied, 'Yes everything is hunky dory'.

.............................And then........................... when they leave....................... they leave me reviews saying such things as; 'the bed wasn't very comfy' or 'there were cat hairs on the rug'.  Bed not comfy?  Check out the rest of my reviews that say that the bed is very comfy.  And surely that's a personal preference thing anyway?  Cat hairs on the rug?.................. in a property where a cat has never, ever been?  Seriously?!!

Sometimes I think people just like complaining for the sake of it?!

It just really annoys me that when people are asked if everything is Ok and they say it is................  Then they complain on a public review?!!

There again, I guess we're living in an very 'online' world where people are too scared to talk to anyone?   They probably think that by responding to messages that everything is OK and then posting online reviews that there are things that they don't like, that they can remain anonymous.

..............But do you know what?.................. the next time anyone who rents my house says that everything is OK and then posts a bad review online..............  I am going to name and shame them.

Rant over!!!

Sat Nav

Sat Nav?  Does anyone actually know where they are going these days????

The funniest story I have ever heard re SAT NAV is from my friend who is an assistant head teacher in a special school...........................  took the kids out on a day trip, keyed in the location of where they were going (unaware that there were two places with the same name), ended up somewhere that they didn't think they should be.  And lets just be a little bit realistic here?!!.......................  Special Ed school trips normally mean that there is one adult to every child. 

Obviously all the 'helpers' didn't have a clue where they were going either??  Just how ridiculous is that?  Why do people never know where they are going these days?

So my friend, with her special Ed kids and all the helpers, ended up in a place where they weren't actually supposed to be.

..................And her answer to the problem.....................  the kids didn't actually know where they were going anyway so they had a good day out.

Seriously.............................

Technology is great. Technology is fabulous.  Technology has made our lives a whole lot simpler.

BUT...................  can anyone actually read a map these days???

I'm trying to be cool?!

My nephew is coming to visit me tomorrow.  He's coming to stay overnight with his friend.  They are on a bit of a 'Thelma & Louise' road trip and I just so happen to be on his route.

About 10 days ago he messaged me on FB and said, and I quote, 'X and I are doing a bit of a road trip between 3-7 April so may be able to come and visit you'.

'Come and visit you'?  ..................Why would two 20 year old boys want to come and visit me?  Obviously I am the bestest Auntie in the whole wide world but even so......................  When I was 20 years old, I'm sure I wouldn't have wanted to visit my Aunt & Uncle if I were on a road trip with a friend?

But times change and there is not such a big generation gap as there was when I was a teenager in the 1970s.

So as I am a very nice Auntie I told him to come and stay.

The boys said they'd sorted out 'hostel' accommodation and it would only cost them £10 a night.  Mmmmm................... they're travelling in a car.  Car parking will be at least double that for 24 hours but ho hum - students don't think about stuff like that

So to cut a very long story short - Nephew and his friend are coming to stay tomorrow night.

I am sooooooooo looking forward to it.

BUT here starts the RANT..........................

It's Wednesday 5th April at 11.15pm.

Do I know what time my nephew and friend are arriving tomorrow?  I do not.

Do I know if my nephew and friend need feeding when they arrive?  I do not.

Do I know if my nephew and friend want breakfast before they leave?  I do not.

In these days of social media and messaging one would have thought that communication would have been easy.  But apparently not???

My nephew has my email address and mobile phone number, he follows me on FB, messenger & twitter,  how cool am I?, so why can't he just let me know when exactly he is coming to visit me?

.....................Possibly I'm not actually as cool as I thought I am??? 

Perhaps my very lovely 20 year old nephew just thinks that he can rock up at whatever time he wants tomorrow and I'll just be sitting here in my rocking chair doing my knitting.  I don't have a rocking chair.

And actually, come to think of it; that's exactly what we did in the 1980s.  I distinctly remember living in Leicester and friends just rocked up to stay for a couple of nights because I'd written them a letter and said that they could.  And at that time - I was in and - they did stay probably in sleeping bags on a floor, - and I had absolutely no idea that they were arriving, but we dealt with it.

BUT times change.......................

And now I'm a middle aged woman....................................

And actually, I would quite like to know if my nephew is actually going to turn up tomorrow with his friend?  I would like to know if he wants me to feed him and his friend?  I live by myself so I can't just rustle up a meal for two 'growing boys' unless that I know that two 'growing boys' are actually coming to stay. 

Well actually I can; because tomorrow morning I will go to Asda. I was in the Guides - Motto - 'Be Prepared!!!'

There again.....................  Maybe I'm just worrying too much.  In the 1980s I lived in a teeny, weeny flat and I always seemed to have loads of people staying overnight etc.  Haven't a clue how I coped.

There again................... years ago................... people DID just cope.

40 years ago we were living in the shadow of 'World War Two'.

Morals, standards, commitment, respect, loyalty.

.....................I actually don't think that society thinks any of the above are very important in todays
world???

I do!!!