As readers may know I’ve lost my luggage…the worst nightmare of travelers. It leaves you feeling dirty, wearing old clothes and socks, and generally unclean. Fortunately quality hotels offer shaving kits and toothbrushes for personal hygiene. That’s a consolation at least. The Wrest Hotel where I’m staying in Hobart, Tasmania offered such an amenity for which I’m grateful.
I’d also like to say that everyone I’m met in Tasmania has been very kind, and even went out of their way to offer me amenities last night to help me through my travel troubles. I declined with thanks knowing I’d be able to get a shaving kit at the hotel.
It does add insult to injury though when you discover that whatever corporate person chose the shaving kit did so on the basis of cost alone. I discovered with a soap laden face that the shaving kit gave a new meaning to the term “safety razor”. It is so safe in fact, that it does not cut whiskers! Truly a design of the orient made at rock bottom prices.
I suggested to the concierge that the person that made this purchase decision should try shaving with it himself. He replied “yes sir, I know they are terrible”. There were no other options, the hotel store was closed, and none within quick walking distance.
Combine that with the fact that they block outgoing SMTP for email on their Internet service ($10 per hour!) and I’m one really unhappy camper.
So I’m going to leave this up until the Wrest Hotel shows me their new shaving kit. Leave a comment. After all shouldn’t the paying customer be king?
I want to reiterate that Alan, Garth, Bruce, Beth, and many others here have been gracious and my visit was otherwise splendid. Hobart is a great town of beauty and of warmth. I just despise corporate weasels trying to save a nickel where it really is important to provide a basic courtesy for the distressed traveler. At least I can help future travelers left in this situation get a clean shave.
So if anyone sees a smelly, disheveled, unshaven man wandering through airports in AU today muttering about blacklists and weather stations, please come up and say hello. 😉
UPDATE: Some people didn’t see the humor and satire in the headline or in the body. Chill folks. I found the whole thing silly because the razor was 100% nonfunctional, and the concierge agreed with me. Sometimes management needs a prod, and this prod done with some humor might help the next guy that needs help. Besides, you haven’t heard half of my inconvenient travel adventures. 😉
BTW I did catch up with my luggage in Adelaide…so now if you’ll all excuse me, I need to shave. -A
Did you fly Qantas or Jetstar?
Well… you are not the only one!!!
It’s amazing that a corporation would actually spend real money on crap, to cause even more distress, on someone who paid for a room. Are they the only place to stay on a budget? On the other-hand, it is also a Casino, maybe some of the shaving kits are great?
Anthony said “Fortunately hotels offer shaving kits and toothbrushes for personal hygiene”.
Careful Anthony. The CAGW’s will say you’re in the pocket of “Big Hotel”.
It looks to me like the Wrest Point tower is falling over.
The Leaning Tower of Hobart?
Anthony, sorry to hear about the problems you had in visiting our country. I’m afraid some Australians have a she’ll-be-right-mate attitude to problems like the shavers. And Australian customers tend to be less articulate and forceful in responding to such problems than folks from your part of the world. They may even see such forceful response as typical of those terrible Americans who (supposedly) cause all the world’s problems. The Australian way does make for a more relaxed atmosphere, but also can leave significant problems unfixed.
Our mailserver listens on port 26 and a few others on our “dedi”, to circumvent the SMTP control that most ISPs indulge in. Webmail interfaces help too, of course. We have that too. If you follow “the trail”, you could give me a shout without needing to use email and I’d happily set you up with an account to use on our box as a quick solution.
Tassie is a lovely place – so many contrasts between the east and west coasts – the people are decent too. Enjoy.
if you are flying Qantas, you should visit this website.
http://qantoct.blogspot.com/
Also Qantas is known for losing luggage
Don’t worry, the same thing has happened to me a couple of times. I’ll be very surprised if you don’t get get your luggage back (after it’s made a round trip to Singapore or somewhere).
Very glad to hear how well the OZ tour is going. If you do manage a visit to the UK, I’ll do my best to get to a talk.
John
Based on you experience with Wrest Hotel so far *ahem* I will be thinking twice about availing myself of their accommodations, should I travel there.
You might forward the link to your article and the comments – posthaste-sir. As soon as you get outgoing email, that is.
Now if you later report some significant apologies and booty-kissing by the hotel management, perhaps I might reconsider.
Hope you are reunited with your luggage soon Anthony. I always keep a minimal kit with me in hand luggage. Safety razors are allowed, plus 100ml bottles of lotions etc. Other essentials and emergency supplies I always have with me as I go through security include:
LED headtorch
Writing case
Space blanket
12oz inflatable mattress
Empty water bottle
Snacks including dried fruit nuts boiled sweets etc
polythene bags
foldaway umbrella
Socks and briefs
travel plug and charger
mosquito headnet
small first aid kit
lighter
Teabags (its a Brit thing)
Hat
Small towel
Keep your stubbly chin up!
The TSA lost my purple polo shirt for me. My favorite.
Pawing through my things on the last trip. Grrrrr.
In the good old days we used to fly Pan Am from Puerto Rico to the U.S.
Delicious meals served on china by smiling stewardesses.
Those days are long over.
Flying is now something to endure.
Hope you get your luggage soon.
Anthony wrote: “As readers may know I’ve lost my luggage…the worst nightmare of travelers.”
Which is why experienced travellers keep all their essentials in a carry-on case 🙂
Many thanks for your and David’s presentations last night. SWMBO * was most impressed having largely ignored the Git’s pronouncements on climate for the last thirty odd years. She now feels much better informed. A pity the audience wasn’t larger, but it was a very cold night. It was a great relief that the execrable John Hunter didn’t show!
If there’s a next time, you are welcome to stay with us. While we are 40 minutes drive from Hobart, the accommodation is comfortable, the food and drink excellent and all for free. So’s the broadband Internet access.
*SWMBO = She Who Must Be Obeyed
There’s something to be said for web-based mail (I use GMail)…
I hope you have your luggage returned soon.. See you tonight!
“When the first astronaut sets foot on Mars, his luggage will arrive on Venus”
Anthony, lost luggage is common. It happens to me on about one flight out of twenty, and I usually stay inside the US. Frequent travelers usually have a basic change of clothes in their carry-on.
Might there be other hotels with better shaving kits, etc. nearby – a cut above the Wrest?
Speaking from experience, the Wrest Point prides itself on achieving an international standard that the more discerning among us refer to as mediocre. Having been served punched out skate wings as scallops in the Revolting Restaurant, I have never voluntarily been back.
REPLY: Oh that has me in stiches! Don’t get me started about revolving restaurants. The spin reaches the food. Waiting now at the terminal for my lost luggage. This is the first time in 10 years it’s happened to me. Next opportunity I’ll make an emergency kit.
Good to me you last night. Many thanks for the jovial flyer. – Anthony
Perhaps the Wrest hotel could host the next IPCC conference by way of atonement.
CAGW people are canny gamblers, with model predictions accurate to 1 ppm, astonishing statistical prowess, and most importantly imperturbable beliefs.
The inquiries into where the grant money had gone would be a sight to behold.
Well, Anthony, good luck with that. I’m here in Marysville, CA, just down the road from your place. I presume you have locals who can take care of things here, but if I can do anything here on the right side up part of the planet, you have my e-mail address.
George M.
Hey, look at the bright side, just think of how small your carbon footprint is now that you are not hauling all of that luggage around. That is, unless your luggage was somewhat transferred onto a flight to London in which case your carbon footprint is HUGE and when Guam capsizes we’ll know who to blame!
Bon chance, mon brave! You are doing a great job even though you are filthy and ragged!
When I must fly, I always have basic personal care items and a couple of changes of clothes in my carry-on baggage.
I hate checked luggage with a burning passion, because even when it doesn’t get lost, it is beaten to Hell and back and you have to jostle for position at the carousel and wait to get it. And now you have to pay extra for it too! Might as well pay UPS or FedEx; they’ll at least get the job done.
This is off topic, but I do think it’s important.
As pointed out at Real Climate, both the “Amazongate” and “Africagate” stories have been retracted. If the reasons are valid for the retractions, should we not also make note of it. After all, as critics of sloppy / inaccurate reporting of pro AGW climate issues, should we also not tolerate sloppy journalism of skeptic items?
You must be having some kind of positive effect.
Kevin Rudd just got rolled by his caucus – was it the ETS? Was it backing down on the ETS?
I’m crediting Anthony,…
The Tasmanian Times ran a less than supportive press release:
http://tasmaniantimes.com/index.php?/weblog/pr-article/climate-activists-urge-people-to-pay-attention-to-the-science-not-the-clima/show_comments
“Community members speak out in response to the news that “Watts Up with the Climate? Australian Tour” speakers Anthony Watts and David Archibald are coming to Hobart to spread misinformation about the climate at the Stanley Burbury Lecture Theatre, UTAS, Hobart, 6.30 pm on Wednesday 23rd June.
“While we believe in freedom of speech, we call on the public, the media and other organisations not to get hoodwinked into believing the climate deniers. Real science is conducted through peerreviewed publications in respected journals”, said Phil Harrington from Climate Action Hobart. “If these people had any credible science to present, they would be presenting it through such a journal as well as going on a national speaking tour.””
Not exactly rolling out the red carpet, I wonder if Phil also works in baggage handling… 🙂
United Breaks Guitars.
Jeff, it is that kind of humor that gives my wife headaches from rolling her eyes. And it is that kind of humor that gives me trouble when I have to explain why I am laughing out loud while reading a climate blog, then upon explanation cue the eye rolling and headaches.
I attended last night and very much enjoyed the talks. I knew that there were problems with the weather stations but I never guessed how ridiculous some of the sites were – next to incinerators, aircon outlets, car parks etc. Little surprises me anymore but some of those picture were real eye openers!
Great work everyone involved.
I am sure that a new set of clothes will be a mere trifle to someone with all those petro-dollars.
Got time to spare -go by air. Luggage? No problem-we’ll check it for you. Late arrival? Just go to the ticket counter and a friendly agent will help you. I’m from the government-I’m here to help you! Yada Yada!
Sorry Anthony, from now on carry a small duffle with all your goodies in it.
Geez Anthony … you’ve only been in the country a week and you’ve already managed to oust our prime minister! Nice work. We now have our first female PM and she’s a “ranga” too!
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/
Headlines galore… at least this will mean the death of the mining tax (RSPT).
“LED headtorch
Writing case
Space blanket
12oz inflatable mattress
Empty water bottle
Snacks including dried fruit nuts boiled sweets etc
polythene bags
foldaway umbrella
Socks and briefs
travel plug and charger
mosquito headnet
small first aid kit
lighter
Teabags (its a Brit thing)
Hat
Small towel”
Uhmm……you get abandoned on an island as a child? I couldn’t possibly get all that stuff in a “carry on”! But I do carry a change of clothes with me. But, wow. Sorry, Tallbloke, just poking a little fun. I thought I was anal.
Commiserations, Anthony. Hang in there!
Lost luggage and in Tasmania could make a person become one of these: http://images.friendster.com/images/widgetDirectory/widgetThumbs/3a60b3764791f2d9434092cc82dcabec_71202.jpeg
Bulldust said: June 23, 2010 at 5:19 pm
“Geez Anthony … you’ve only been in the country a week and you’ve already managed to oust our prime minister! Nice work. We now have our first female PM and she’s a “ranga” too!
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/
Headlines galore… at least this will mean the death of the mining tax (RSPT).”
You misspelt RIP 😉
Your beef with this hotel over the crappy razor is so utterly petty that it reflects very poorly on you.
Have you compared what other hotels provide, or are you holding the Wrest Hotel to some undefined standard.
They gave you a free shaving kit because you lost yours, and you complain it’s not up to your standard. Take a good look at yourself, and stop this pointless and petty vendetta.
Too bad I’m not in Hobart. I’d love to heckle you for this.
REPLY: My issue is that the razor is 100% nonfunctional, and its all tongue in cheek. I guess you missed that…note the title. -A
I might add, I am a dedicated reader of your bog, which is why your pettiness in this matter is so annoying.
@ DirkH says:
June 23, 2010 at 5:07 pm
Sweet! Had a Taylor once. Held it’s tone quite well, and had a really nice sound. Burnt with my house about 4 years ago. I wrote a song with it once, but could never put words to it. Played the ditty around the campfire with friends and family often(we do that a few times every summer) and asked for words for it. Never got them. I heard a song on the radio the other day that sounded good so I endeavored to learn it. A little quicker pace, but same chords, same chord progression, slightly different melody (one different note). I’m not saying they stole it, because it’s a simple song and country music isn’t as complex as say jazz, so it is easy to run parallel to other people’s inclination, but dang it! As the old boxer said, “I could’ve been a contender.” Oh, the song I heard on the radio, is a ditty called “Toes”.
I’ve a Johnson now, it holds it tone quite well, too, but it isn’t the same. And, no, I don’t let anyone play with my Johnson.
Pompous Git says:
June 23, 2010 at 3:45 pm
Science News had an article about the declining population of skates off the new England coast many years ago. They attributed it to an example of by-catch having an effect on fisheries, but then got a couple letters, one from someone who’s first job in a New England restaurant was to make “scallops” from skates.
Apparently skate wing pseudoscallops are common.
Google scallop skate for more than you can read. Or, charge you up for the next trip to the Revolting Restaurant.
Now, Mr Sock Puppet, let’s not be petty about pettiness. Surely, you understand about being a long way from home and every thing that you’ve brought with you has vanished. It makes for a grumpy person. Even the most rational of people, when out of their element and fall victim of happenstance and negligence can lash out from time to time. Sometimes, it’s best to just let people vent. I’m told its healthy.
Cheers
Mr sock
You sir are an %##-****
I hate when I lose suitcases full of oil money.
And BP is cutting back now that the government, having federalized the cleanup, in an act of naked aggression, is shaking them (and therefore the employees and the consumers) down for 20 billion dollars. Your next BP suitcase will include:
LED headtorch
Writing case
Space blanket
12oz inflatable mattress
Empty water bottle
Snacks including dried fruit nuts boiled sweets etc
polythene bags
foldaway umbrella
Socks and briefs
travel plug and charger
mosquito headnet
small first aid kit
lighter
Teabags (its a Brit thing)
Hat
Small towel
Perhaps you could purchase one of those khaki Aussie outfits with the alligator fighting hats as a souvenir.* That’d be good.
*Having consulted SWMBO.
Not just lost luggage, but lost letters…
My sister was visiting hobart a few weeks ago, for two weeks, with her two daughters and husband. Three birthday cards to my father, for his 80th birthday, were put into the mail. There was three containers, or mail boxes to choose from so it was decided to try each mail box with one birthday card each.
On June 14th the first card arrived here, a city near Vancouver, Canada.
On june 22nd the second card arrived.
The third one has not shown up yet.
James Sexton,
Vent away I say. But the vendetta is pathetic.
jack morrow,
Calling some “sir” doesn’t excuse your infantile rudeness.
[snip]
contact number 5 heathrow airport thay say thay have 7000 lost bags in storage tell them your bag is black with a red ribbon .
I’m picturing Anthony with Einstein hair and Tolstoy whiskers…
*snicker snicker*
I trust you will be sartorially elegant in Adelaide tonight
I will be attending but will not shave today, just to make you feel more comfortable.
I’ll bet that Al Gore never loses his luggage…flying via private jet and all.
Speaking of Al, he has a massage to relieve this kind of travel related stresses.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/33472914/Portland-Police-Bureau-report-on-Al-Gore
Anthony, my sympathies for your lack-of-luggage predicament. Although this probably won’t help the immediate situation, it is good to remember what the letters in Delta Airlines actually mean.
D E L T A — an acronym for
D on’t
E xpect
L uggage
T o
A rrive
I wish I could take credit for this, but it is not original to me. Cannot remember where I heard that.
You are less than a kilometre away from a supermarket. If you walk towards battery point along Sandy Bay road past the University and the McD’s, you’ll find it tucked in behind the shops on the left by the traffic lights. Why not just walk down there and buy yourself a decent disposable and some shaving soap.
QANTAS sent my luggage the wrong way once. It wasn’t a disaster but a major inconvenience (abbr.: PITA).
It so happened that the suitcase was stuffed with Christmas goodies; chocolates, etc. from Melbourne to put under my parent’s tree. It was a hot December. I flew (home) to Perth. The suitcase somehow went to Darwin. It took another day to reach me.
I understand that you’re entitled to compensation if your luggage doesn’t reach you within 24 hours. That’s to cover the purchase of clothes.
The chocolates were saved by careful packaging; insulating layers of paper and aluminium foil; in a rigid plastic case.
When travelling away from home, I have at least one change of underwear and several pairs of socks in carry-on; along with a small towel. They’re used to cushion my “precious” appliances; electric razor, camera. etc. And I can roll my small change into a spare pair of socks prior to going through the security checks.
More precisely it is 1.3km or 16 minutes walk according to google maps. Supermarket is at 195 Sandy Bay Rd.
david elder says: “…The Australian way does make for a more relaxed atmosphere, but also can leave significant problems unfixed.”
And leave insignificant problems fixed.
Mr Sock Puppet says: “Have you compared what other hotels provide, or are you holding the Wrest Hotel to some undefined standard…?”
Well, old sock, the universal standard for “free shaving kits” is that they shave the possessor. Otherwise, they’re not “free shaving kits,” then, are they?
Ric Werme said: June 23, 2010 at 6:32 pm
“Science News had an article about the declining population of skates off the new England coast many years ago. They attributed it to an example of by-catch having an effect on fisheries, but then got a couple letters, one from someone who’s first job in a New England restaurant was to make “scallops” from skates.
Apparently skate wing pseudoscallops are common.
Google scallop skate for more than you can read. Or, charge you up for the next trip to the Revolting Restaurant.”
Rick, Hobart is replete with fine restaurants where the scallops are not pseudo, so we dine in those. Since you’ve made pseudoscallops, you’ll know that real scallops are adorned with a prominent orange portion called roe here and coral elsewhere. The waiter told me my scallops were devoid of roe because the roe had been cut off and discarded! Made me glad that I’d not ordered T-bone steak for the main course 🙂
John Trigge said @ June 23, 2010 at 7:43 pm
“I trust you will be sartorially elegant in Adelaide tonight
I will be attending but will not shave today, just to make you feel more comfortable.”
Anthony looked fine last night. And I haven’t shaved in over thirty years, so I suspect that my whiskers will have affected Anthony’s demeanour far more than mere designer stubble will 😉
James Sexton says:
June 23, 2010 at 5:27 pm
“LED headtorch
Writing case
Space blanket
12oz inflatable mattress
Empty water bottle
Snacks including dried fruit nuts boiled sweets etc
polythene bags
foldaway umbrella
Socks and briefs
travel plug and charger
mosquito headnet
small first aid kit
lighter
Teabags (its a Brit thing)
Hat
Small towel”
Uhmm……you get abandoned on an island as a child? I couldn’t possibly get all that stuff in a “carry on”!
Heh, that’s the ‘minimal kit’ My lady and I squeeze a full backpacking kit into hand luggage when we take cheap flights to the Mediterranean mountains on our hiking trips. If you do some research and choose or make your kit carefully, you can keep it light and small. Our stormworthy tent weighs a pound and a half. The stove weighs half an ounce.
I use an electronic gram scale to check everything. It is a bit anal, but when you’re cruising up mountainsides with only 15 pounds on your back including food and water, it makes sense.
Ian H said @ June 23, 2010 at 9:03 pm
“You are less than a kilometre away from a supermarket. If you walk towards battery point along Sandy Bay road past the University and the McD’s, you’ll find it tucked in behind the shops on the left by the traffic lights. Why not just walk down there and buy yourself a decent disposable and some shaving soap.”
And if you’re really lucky, you won’t be assaulted by drunken young thugs, who will be let off with a caution when brought before the beak, having promised on their honour to never, ever do it again. Well, not ’til the next time they’re drunk anyway…
Ah, but did they have cable? I caught on that you are also a fan of DC. The latest episode was indescribable. What did you think, A? Did you get to see it?
Mr Sock Puppet says:
June 23, 2010 at 6:02 pm
S’funny. I had a different reaction. I put a few bucks in the jar for a beer.
But Anthony, when in in Tasmania, along with two larger islands to the east, you are supposed to morph into a greenie and grow a beard.
The Horror!
No outgoing SMTP… My tongue has been cut out. Good job you have your blog to communicate through Anthony.
Surely you have a webmail service on your domain?
Re: Bernd Felsche June 23, 2010 at 9:08 pm
The chocolates were saved by careful packaging; insulating layers of paper and aluminium foil; in a rigid plastic case.
—
That kind of careful packaging can backfire. I did a similar thing once with some nicely gift wrapped Turkish Delight for my mother. Resulted in being pulled over by customs and unwrapping it as it looked a little dodgy on the x-ray machine. Also learned not to pack vintage Port in hold luggage.
As for Tallbloke, he’s missed off his copy of HHGTTG and Thumb
Antony you got it exactly wrong way 😉
The management has saved nothing by making this arguably cheap purchase .
On the contrary they WASTED unholy amounts of money .
Indeed as there is nothing that holds them to provide shaving kits to travellers who only pay for sleep accomodation , the right decision should have been to buy no shaving kits at all .
Alternatively if they decide to invest money in order to increase their turnover then it is absolutely necessary to do so in an efficient way because otherwise the customer not only won’t see any improvement but he’ll feel unhappy .
And in this latter case they have to check if the turnover indeed increases with such an investment done .
You are right to blame the management that is clearly incompetent in this case .
But not because the shaving kit was cheap .
It was too much expensive for what it did and they should stop buying such …. altogether .
Advantage is that it saves money and the 0.1% of customers who lose their shaving kits will neither add nor substract anything significant to the turnover if they are told “Sorry we provide no shaving kits here .”
Atomic Hairdryer:
That level of packaging is probably OK for domestic air travel. It came to mind while packing. I have the habit of thinking “too much”.
No customs checks between Victoria and Western Australia; until we secede so that we’re no longer compelled to feed the rent-seeking States. 😉
Atomic Hairdryer says:
June 24, 2010 at 1:57 am
As for Tallbloke, he’s missed off his copy of HHGTTG and Thumb
Ah yes, I forgot to mention that one end of the small towel is soaked in vitamin complexes and reduced proteins, and the other is soaked in anti-depressants. 😉
Regarding razorgate, just use one of these as it’s totally natural, sustainable, and renewable: http://www.northwestmagazines.com/images/razor_clams.jpg As Ivar would say in Seattle, “Keep clam.”
Think, dear Anthony, you didn’t understand the satire: That razor was GREEN!
Zeke the Sneak:
Teabags (its a Brit thing)……hmmm, quite suspicious. Are you a “tea-bagger”?
I can say that jeans and a t-shirt, with a blazer and some leather shoes can look quite presentable in a pinch.
Above all, Anthony Watts can stand tall and deliver his message without any need at all of fancy cologne or a fine suit, since he has done his duty and toil in research, and his work has the potential to change many lives for the better if heeded. And it will be.
Enneagram says:
June 24, 2010 at 8:50 am
Zeke the Sneak:
Teabags (its a Brit thing)……hmmm, quite suspicious. Are you a “tea-bagger”?
Ha ha, yes, as a matter of fact I am TAXED ENOUGH ALREADY! 🙂
Anthony.
Whenever you get a chance remind The Aussies that England beat them easily in the first one-day cricket international and are doing pretty well against them in the second!
Cheers!
Jimmy.
Perhaps you misunderstood. The twelve-inch knife in the Australian shaving kit is what you use to shave.
I took an internal Malaysian flight from Kuala Lumpur to beautiful Bintulu, in Sarawak, the other day. I went to the pharmacy shop in the airport and gathered up some essentials which included safety razors. They wouldn’t sell me them!
I’ve given up on arguing with airport employees about some of the inane rules they have but I had to ask the girl at the checkout why they stocked the things.
LED headtorch
Writing case
Space blanket
12oz inflatable mattress
Empty water bottle
Snacks including dried fruit nuts boiled sweets etc
polythene bags
foldaway umbrella
Socks and briefs
travel plug and charger
mosquito headnet
small first aid kit
lighter
Teabags (its a Brit thing)
Hat
Small towel”
How the heck you get a lighter through the security. And it is illegal.
(Impression of Paul Harvey voice)
“And now… the WREST of the story!”
Pompous Git and others,
I’m sure you mean well but you’re all forgetting one thing…. I’m sure Anthony, as smart as he is brought some things in a carry on bag but, as I’m sure you’re all aware… you aren’t allowed to bring sharp instruments or anything that could be turned into a weapon, on to an airplane (In America or any other country).
Anthony just a thought… I’m sure the hotel management bought the dull razors on purpose… they’re a casino… what casino management in their right minds would supply people that have possibly lost tons of money in their casino sharp instruments to slash their wrist or their throats and sully their rooms with blood… Risk management man….
Something similar happened to me twice. I was in Hawaii on May 18th, when Mt. St Helens blew. We couldn’t fly home to Portland, OR and we were forced to fly somewhere so we chose Oakland, CA where our family lived.
For some reason the airlines sent our luggage to Seattle rather than on our flight to Oakland. We were there for 2 weeks and had to buy shoes, pants, shirts etc for my father, mother, and myself. Pleasant memories.
Also when my wife and I got married in Vegas, we found a beautiful painting of Romeo and Julliet. We had it quadruple wrapped in extra large/thick bubble wrap. I called SouthWest Airlines… That’s SouthWest Airlines… in advance and asked if it would be safe, they said they would put it in a special spot in the cargo hold.
I asked again at the checkout counter in the airport and that agent again said it would be perfectly safe and that it would be ok.
We got to Portland and the glass in the frame and the frame were shattered and the painting was scratched all over, ruining it.
I took it and my “tude” to the SouthWest complain counter and the lady basically told me I was an idiot and should know better. I filed a complaint with the main customer service department manager at the company headquarters and they assured me no customer service rep would ever have told me that it would be safe, and that they were sure they told me to carry it onboard. (picture me rolling my eyes)
Regarding the Revolting Restaurant, Wrest Point Hotel has a good unpretentious small restaurant and bar on the lowest level, almost down to water level. There is a theory covering revolving restaurants that says food quality is inversely proportional to altitude. I am reminded of this every time I fly.
Tim Clark says:
June 24, 2010 at 11:45 am
How the heck you get a lighter through the security. And it is illegal.
In my shirt pocket along with my tobacco and papers, and it’s perfectly legal here.
AnonyMoose says:
June 24, 2010 at 9:40 am
Perhaps you misunderstood. The twelve-inch knife in the Australian shaving kit is what you use to shave.
“Call that a knife”? Might be more useful for that trip to the supermarket past the drunken thugs mentioned upthread Anthony.
I see that Aussie got himself a fine blade. In Texas.
http://www.myculpeper.com/photos/TX-Bowie.jpg
Maybe it’s just my old eyes but the Wrest hotel seems to lean to the left. Is it just an optical illusion or does it reflect the political views of the region?
Hi Anthony, I’ll chime in late to say that you’ve modeled a rather polite form of vigilante consumerism that I think is instructive. Yes, the customer needs to have a say, and this way is probably 100x more effective than dropping a customer feedback form into their little box by the desk that probably only gets opened once a year and is treated as a joke. And, if they know your blog, they’ll know that when they show you the new shaving kit (and their new email and internet pricing policy) they’ll get positive press here about it.
You’re not only an innovator in the climate debate, but in consumerism.
Airline baggage handlers are all former US Postal Service employees.
Glad you had a basically good time, except for the shaver.
I agree with tallbloke that you should pack the things that you consider to be absolutely essential in your hand luggage.