P&O Cruisers - What are things like where YOU are?

[Bloodaxe]

3 minutes ago, P&O SUE said:

Glad to hear your good experiences Harry. I thought his job was safe being in the food arm but he is worried, rumours are doing the rounds 😞

 

We love our Waitrose in York, great friendly staff, it's our only trip out at the moment, highlight of our week.

How sad is that.

[Harry Peterson]

9 minutes ago, P&O SUE said:

Glad to hear your good experiences Harry. I thought his job was safe being in the food arm but he is worried, rumours are doing the rounds 😞

I’d guess the food arm’s the safest part!  Once we’re able to shop normally again, hopefully in a few months time, one of the things I’m really looking foward to is returning to our Waitrose and their delightful staff.

[AnnieC]

12 minutes ago, P&O SUE said:

Yes COVID is the excuse as obviously they have more people off sick then usual or the knock on effect of people having to self isolate for 2 weeks at a time. Then there is the added pressure of school children being sent home and parents having to stay off to look after them. It’s a nightmare for employers I should imagine.

Yep, that just about sums it up. A nightmare for most of working age as well.

 

Michael Deacon worth a look today if you want a little light relief.

[terrierjohn]

50 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Waitrose is still a pleasure. Lovely staff, good food, and their delivery service works well for us.

 

I could imagine a day coming when Waitrose might be the only bricks and mortar part of John Lewis left, with the rest online only trying to compete, perhaps unsuccessfully, with Amazon.

 

I could also imagine a scenario in which John Lewis and M&S sold off and merged their food operations into one separate entity. They’re probably the only profitable parts of the two businesses.

M&S clothing was making profits prior to covid, just not large enough to justify the number of stores they have.

[AndyMichelle]

Unfortunately, the Furlough scheme, which I am a big fan of, has encouraged many companies to reduce staff unnecessarily and many are using it as an excuse to reduce the wage bill and over pressure remaining staff. 

Andy 

[Harry Peterson]

2 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

M&S clothing was making profits prior to covid, just not large enough to justify the number of stores they have.

That’s the point though, isn’t it. Stores are only worth having if they add to profitability - not if they subtract from it. And Covid may have changed the game forever by bringing forward still further the move to online.

[Adawn47]

1 hour ago, kalos said:

PS  Reading the papers this morning and it seems now is not a good time to be a Mistletoe

farmer 

Um, why? I know I'm about to get a typical kalos answer, but I'm curious😁

Avril

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, Harry Peterson said:

Morning Graham. How’s the speech today?

 

We always used John Lewis in the past, and still do to some extent, but the customer service has become very poor over recent years.

 

For audio and TV Richer Sounds provides much better service these days in our experience. Much more knowledgeable staff, generally lower prices, and a free 6 year warranty instead of the JL 5 years. Nice people to deal with, and it’s very interesting to compare their reviews on Trustpilot (4.7, Excellent) with John Lewis (2.0, Poor).

And Julian Richer is a top bloke as well.

" In November 2013, Julian Richer announced to the press that, upon his death, he would bequeath 100% of the firm to a trust co-owned by employees of the company.^[3][4] In May 2019 Richer, then aged 60, announced that he had transferred ownership to employees by passing 60% of his shares to a trust^[5], as well as separately paying each employee, excluding directors,^[6] a thank you bonus of £1,000^[7] for every year of work from his own pocket to his 500+ employees who had worked an average of 8 years each (circa £4 million).^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]"}

[davecttr]

3 hours ago, P&O SUE said:

Anyway the results of my delivery yesterday- the parcel arrived just after John got in from work  (so 2.15  in the 11-3  slot) - it had come via Royal Mail and he got in and found the card saying sorry we weren’t in left just before he got in. I was in!! One of my pet hates when they don’t ring the doorbell! I was working in the room right above the front door as well 😡

It had been left next door so all’s well that ends well. 

A few years ago I was expecting a royal mail parcel and heard some noise in the porch. It was the red card saying a was not in!. Opened the door before the postman got down the path. on questioning it turned out he did not even have the parcel to deliver 😠

 

Phoned the delivery depot (several miles away) and eventually got to speak to the manager. They had the parcel there. OK I said, the postie should not have put that card through the door so he is in trouble, or will be if I don't get that parcel today. The parcel was delivered in the afternoon by someone in a normal car!. Apparently this was not an uncommon occurrence.

[Harry Peterson]

9 minutes ago, wowzz said:

And Julian Richer is a top bloke as well.

" In November 2013, Julian Richer announced to the press that, upon his death, he would bequeath 100% of the firm to a trust co-owned by employees of the company.^[3][4] In May 2019 Richer, then aged 60, announced that he had transferred ownership to employees by passing 60% of his shares to a trust^[5], as well as separately paying each employee, excluding directors,^[6] a thank you bonus of £1,000^[7] for every year of work from his own pocket to his 500+ employees who had worked an average of 8 years each (circa £4 million).^{[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]"}

He certainly is, and that’s one of the reasons we use Richer Sounds whenever we can, as against John Lewis, which has moved so far away from its original principles. Been using them for many years now, originally instore, but now online.

 

I’ve no axe to grind, but they now set the standards others can’t match. Which? Usually put them at the top of the list, always well ahead of John Lewis. Just wish they had a wider product range.

[Adawn47]

On the topic of Royal Mail, I've just had a heck of a shock this morning. I've opened a letter addressed to my  mum from an insurance company with her annual statement for 2019. Mum died in 1993!!!

Avril

[Adawn47]

2 minutes ago, davecttr said:

A few years ago I was expecting a royal mail parcel and heard some noise in the porch. It was the red card saying a was not in!. Opened the door before the postman got down the path. on questioning it turned out he did not even have the parcel to deliver 😠

 

Phoned the delivery depot (several miles away) and eventually got to speak to the manager. They had the parcel there. OK I said, the postie should not have put that card through the door so he is in trouble, or will be if I don't get that parcel today. The parcel was delivered in the afternoon by someone in a normal car!. Apparently this was not an uncommon occurrence.

No, it's not. It's happened to me too. 

Avril

[grapau27]

12 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

On the topic of Royal Mail, I've just had a heck of a shock this morning. I've opened a letter addressed to my  mum from an insurance company with her annual statement for 2019. Mum died in 1993!!!

Avril

That must have been a big shock Avril.

Hope it has not upset you too much.

Graham.

[kalos]

24 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

Um, why? I know I'm about to get a typical kalos answer, but I'm curious😁

Avril

 

I never kiss and tell ... but seeing it's you   

 

https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-mistletoe-sellers-forced-to-kiss-goodbye-seasonal-sales-12136680

[wowzz]

13 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

He certainly is, and that’s one of the reasons we use Richer Sounds whenever we can, as against John Lewis, which has moved so far away from its original principles. Been using them for many years now, originally instore, but now online.

 

I’ve no axe to grind, but they now set the standards others can’t match. Which? Usually put them at the top of the list, always well ahead of John Lewis. Just wish they had a wider product range.

To be fair, Harry, John Lewis is still a partnership, with the employees earning a share of the profits,  which in previous years was a considerable sum.

The issue now is how they compete in the internet age, a problem that all physical retailers have to face. But their reputation for customer service, within the JL division,  has certainly taken a battering over the last 18 months or so.

[purplesea]

21 minutes ago, Adawn47 said:

On the topic of Royal Mail, I've just had a heck of a shock this morning. I've opened a letter addressed to my  mum from an insurance company with her annual statement for 2019. Mum died in 1993!!!

Avril

How about this?  

Back in April I received a letter from the hospital telling me my last MRI result was satisfactory - for a scan I hadn't yet had!

 

Rang the hospital and told them I hadn't had my annual scan, I was still waiting for it.

[Harry Peterson]

6 minutes ago, purplesea said:

How about this?  

Back in April I received a letter from the hospital telling me my last MRI result was satisfactory - for a scan I hadn't yet had!

 

Rang the hospital and told them I hadn't had my annual scan, I was still waiting for it.

Impressive! I think it's the new World Beating  Predictive Scan system, developed by Dido Harding in conjunction with Apple and Google.

 

Careful though, because the new Predictive Surgery system has had some early failures involving people waking up in the morning to find various body parts added or removed almost at random. 😁

 

 

[wowzz]

1 minute ago, Harry Peterson said:

Impressive! I think it's the new World Beating  Predictive Scan system, developed by Dido Harding in conjunction with Apple and Google.

 

Careful though, because the new Predictive Surgery system has had some early failures involving people waking up in the morning to find various body parts added or removed almost at random. 😁

 

 

Reminds me of an old joke, the punch line of which included the word "addadicktome".

[kalos]

The last time I had an x-ray scan I told the radiologist 

"I don't need one , I'm alright "

A waste of breath really as she could see right through me 

[Presto2]

Was going to say 'morning' but it has to be 'Afternoon everyone' as it has taken me so long to catch up on all the 'chat' since I was last on properly ! Glad you all seem well (though glad I missed some of the debates in the week ...... 😉)

 

Another quiet lockdown Saturday here - we have been complaining but are totally done in this week so it is a good excuse to stay in and be very lazy for the weekend. Probably go for a walk tomorrow but not brought any work home to give time to recharge batteries before next week begins.

 

Can't believe that it is Advent Sunday next week and Christmas so close !! Where has this year gone?

 

Oh well, off to research cruises now --- may even check out the Celebrity site, but as they are now AI I think they've priced us out !!

 

🙂

Edited November 21, 2020 by Presto2

[Ardennais]

Can’t fault Royal Mail around here. We’re in the back of beyond but they deliver every day (apart from Sunday) in all weathers. Couriers are brilliant too apart from Hermes!

[Snow Hill]

Our postman Dan is excellent since he started on the round here we have been getting post at 10.am rather than 2 pm, plus he knows where to leave packages it we are out.

 

The Hermes courier we have is brilliant, she always has a smile, pleasant and efficient both delivering & taking parcels, no complaints there either. 

[zap99]

3 hours ago, Bloodaxe said:

 

We love our Waitrose in York, great friendly staff, it's our only trip out at the moment, highlight of our week.

How sad is that.

We went to M&S food hall yesterday and Waitrose today. The presents will have to wait till after lockdown. We like to buy from shops rather than on line. It amuses me that people but everything online and then complain about the death of the high st.

[zap99]

1 hour ago, Ardennais said:

Can’t fault Royal Mail around here. We’re in the back of beyond but they deliver every day (apart from Sunday) in all weathers. Couriers are brilliant too apart from Hermes!

Ditto all that, except the Hermes bit. We get the same delivery Lady all the time. No probs. The delivery is normally live crickets and mealworms for my son's lizards. I wonder if she knows what she is delivering.🤣

[Adawn47]

7 minutes ago, zap99 said:

Ditto all that, except the Hermes bit. We get the same delivery Lady all the time. No probs. The delivery is normally live crickets and mealworms for my son's lizards. I wonder if she knows what she is delivering.🤣

For goodness sake don't tell or you be one of the Hermes customers with your parcel thrown in a field. I have to say, I haven't had any problems with Hermes either.  I hope I've not just jinxed myself🤞

Avril