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
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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.