of Marks & Spencer, hotels and arson
There are times when you read the news, see pictures of the beautiful people on their superyachets & think golly, I wish that were me. The flip side of the coin is that you also read stories & you thank the Gods that this didn’t happen to you – not in the natural disaster multiple car wreck airliner plunging out of the sky in flames sort of way but everyday incidents that would have inevitably landed you in prison. Like this for example…
A mother who complained to shop staff that her seven-year-old son's Superman playsuit was faulty was told data protection laws meant they could only deal with him. Staff at Marks & Spencer insisted that Jacob Hunter-Lamb give consent for his mother to act on his behalf before they would resolve the problem.
The problems arose after Jacob was given the costume as a birthday present, bought online, only for him to realise it had come without Superman's yellow belt. Debbie Lamb, 33, of Lincoln, said:
"The whole thing was just so bizarre. They said because of data protection they had to speak to the recipient of the costume. He had to tell them the address and then give them permission to speak to me. We laughed about it, but I felt really undermined."
Reading this story, there are faults on so many levels. The retailer in question, Marks & Spencer fessed-up that their member of staff had made an error with is fair enough. We all make mistakes. Well all make mistakes at work. The normal issue is how well can you cover them up / blame colleauges for them. However when you make a mistake like this & it appears in the national press, you are completely b*ggered. Period.
On the other side of this blame equation, Debbie Lamb isnt without fault either. According to the report she felt “undermined”. Now what exactly does “undermined” mean when its at home? Clearly Miz Lamb is a wishy washy type of individual who is now receiving “counselling” for the “trauma” that she has suffered.
& if this sort of thing had happened to your humble corrspondent?? If some Johnny No-Stars shop assistant had said that I couldn’t exchange so goods on behalf of my six year old daughter? Well I certianly woundnt have felt “undermined” problably because I would be too busy to feel “undermined”: too busy burning down the nearest Marks & Spancer store & hence, earning me a stint of free B&B at Her Majesty’s pleasure.
Then there are stories like this…
A hotel that refused an injured soldier a room, forcing him to spend the night in his car, was backed into issuing a grovelling apology yesterday after receiving a barrage of abusive phone calls. The Metro Hotel, in Woking, Surrey, called the police as its phone lines were flooded with angry and threatening calls from the public.
The attack on the switchboards came after it emerged that Corporal Tomos Stringer, 24, had been told that it was company policy not to accept members of the Armed Forces.
A soldier since the age of 16 and veteran of multiple tours in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Afghanistan, Corporal Stringer had travelled to Surrey to help with funeral preparations for a friend killed in action.
The corporal, who was not in uniform, presented his warrant card when asked by the hotel for proof of identity. After being refused a room, he had to bed down in his car, with his wrist, broken during a convoy ambush, encased in plaster.
I read this sort of stuff & thank the Gods that I am not in the UK at the moment because I wouldn’t hesitate for second, burning this hotel to the ground. See, there are stories that you read in the newspaper that when you read, you just grateful that it didn’t happen to you!
Comments
My God,
How did your governments turn you all into a nation of sheep? About 15 years ago I remember cheering a 75 year old man who took his pistol and shot and killed the copper and town councilman that showed up on doorstep to tell him that his backyard structure was unlegal and must be pulled down.
English people have really turned into a bunch of pussies and how in the world did that happen? Sheesh, I'm an anglophile! It sure motivates me to fight against this sort of nanny statism in my country.
Posted by: Curtis | September 5, 2008 4:43 AM
Oh yes, things like this make us so very PROUD of our trendy bleeding-heart trendy liberal politically-correct country.
Is it any wonder they define a British Patriot as a man who would do anything form his country - except actually LIVE in the damn place.
Posted by: Gweilicus | September 5, 2008 5:25 AM
Tommy Atkins lives.
Posted by: Fred | September 5, 2008 5:55 AM
The United Kingdom, is a land run by vocal minorities, who punch way too far above their weight. In a society, governed only by Health & Safety, Hi-Viz clothing, once worn by maybe the Police and other emergency services, is now little more than a fashion statement. To be part of a minority in the UK, is to have won the 1st prize in a Lottery. To pay your way through life in the UK, to stay employed, pay your taxes, and to keep the laws of the land, is no longer good enough. The vocal minorities who largely call all the shots in the UK now, are well versed in the use of the carrot & stick principle. They shaft you with the carrot, and beat you with the stick. Funnily enough, in the UK, it is thought we have more CCTV type cameras, than all of Western Europe put together, and yet we have some of the worst crime statistics, of any industrialized Western nation? Our Police are openly mocked by low life miscreants. Our fire fighters & para-medics, nurses & doctors are often openly attacked, abused physically & verbally in the course of their life saving duties. Usually by bored, unemployable youths, drunk on cheap cider, which is sold in 2 liter bottles, often cheaper than no-brand cola & water. Our government which has been in office for 12 years, is completely out of really useful ideas. Is morally & mentally corrupt & bankrupt. The really funny part is, we have no one to replace it with. Because the government and opposition parties all look, sound and behave in exactly the identical manner. That is why, in the UK, when a soldier, a serving veteran, is on compationate leave, can legally be refused place at the Inn. We have basically sleep walked into this situation. It's a cliche, but the patients have well & truly taken over the asylum.
Posted by: SeanS | September 6, 2008 8:18 AM
On our local radio news the "hotel" has been flooded with phone calls, mostly not to their liking. Hotels are suffering with the economy, hopefully this one will suffer more (its not like the loony left put their money where their mouths are)
Posted by: chris Edwards | September 6, 2008 5:17 PM
I see a massive discrimination lawsuit coming on.
In America, most hotels give discounts to the military.
Then you have the Hilton chain of hotels that kicked a restaurant out because they provided a free meal once a week to wounded service people.
The Hilton chain cited liability issues with regard to upgrading to compliance with the ADA. The hotel wasn't gonna put up the money and they weren't going to allow their tenants to do so.
Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act for a business that provides a service to the public is not optional. It is mandatory. That is why they are called 'laws,' and carry stiff fines for non-compliance.
When does the Bonfire Of The Vanities begin?
Can I watch?
Posted by: Cricket | September 18, 2008 3:44 AM