Kicking Rather Than Feeding The Downed Man

For anybody who happens to read my blog, I owe you an apology. I lied to you in my last blog about Christmas at the Estevas/Burnsies. Or should I say, the British Airport Authorities lied to us, which in turn meant I lied to you.

Learning that our flight had been cancelled was no major surprise to us. Learning that there were no possible flights out of the UK until December 30th was. Thankfully it was not quite so drastic and after a while on hold on the phones, and scouring the internet, we worked out a route back via Switzerland. I am now sat in a cold but sunny Nova Scotia and both HJ and I have smiles on our faces.

Of all the inconvenience of two significantly delayed flights, one cancelled flight, and an unnecessary round trip to Heathrow, none of that particularly annoyed me. What did annoy me was how some companies are clearly trying to maximise profits out of the chaos in London right now. We returned our hire car at Heathrow, only to return a couple of hours later to try hire another one to get home, seeing as though the trains to Leeds were all cancelled too. A taxi was slightly ridiculous so we hopped back on the bus to Europcar who promised me a car. They also offered me a great deal. Instead of £350 for hiring a car for one day, they were going to give me a special rate of £232 for the day because I had only just brought a car back – lucky me!

I am particularly stubborn about these things. I have been known to walk six miles from Leeds City Centre to Crossgates at 3am in the morning for refusing to pay what some taxi drivers want. 200 miles was a bit of a stretch this time however and it was -5c, so I had no other option than to pay the money.

Some people may argue that it is a clever business model – taking advantage of the demand and maximising revenue. The thing is, I will not use them for a good long while after this one such is my annoyance. An absolute rip off and they will only lose this one long term. At times like this, companies can really make a name for themselves and make a difference helping people who are having major difficulties. Europcar chose the other route, and I’ll abandon them from now on.

That is enough whingeing for now. I am feeling creative right now and am going to offer Christmas gifts to anybody who reads my blog. The first five people who click like on the Facebook page, and send me their address, will receive a mixed CD from yours truly early in the New Year. You should know what to expect on the CD by now so no complaints!

Happy Holidays folks!