Every Little Helps, apart from if it's Litter.
You know Redditch is famous for it’s roundabouts and needles but amongst it’s highways and byways is a great swaith of woodland and greenland, which offers a natural beauty and harbours important areas for wildlife such as owls, foxes and deer to roam about happily.
One area of Redditch which has come in for special treatment recently by the local council is Oakenshaw wood, a large block of woodland area in the centre of Redditch. Being a designated local Nature Reserve by the local Redditch Council, the woodland has over the past 12 months or so seen a significant investment in woodland paths being put in, removal of trees, and the update and cleaning of ponds. Indeed the area looks rather charming and a pleasant area following the amount of work done.
At the lower end of Oakenshaw wood is the local Tesco Superstore, which possibly takes up approximately half of what the woodland area originally would have been. Adjacent to the store are footpaths around the store with woodland pathways leading to other areas of the town.
How sad it is to see as you walk through these areas is the amount of rubbish appertaining to the Tesco store, which includes hundreds, or even thousands of disposable blue gloves in the undergrowth from the adjacent Tesco petrol station, left abandoned in the undergrowth from customers discarding them in overflowing bins or simply thrown away. Even worse is the trolleys abandoned and thrown into the undergrowth, several littering the area. Dumped and left to rot, trolleys which shouldn’t be able to make their way from the car park according to Tesco thanks to the brake system employed in the trolley…. and yet, they do.
So, who has the responsibility for this litter? Is it the local council for keeping the local areas clean and tidy, or the store for keeping the adjacent areas tidy from the equipment they offer? It appears Tesco wish to take no responsibility for their equipment if it’s not on their property. Having reported the issues to the customer service team at Tesco they appear not to be able to make any difference. I wonder what their stance would be if someone liberated the discarded trolleys for the scrap value? Is it the council’s responsibility to clear the rubbish away from a local companies products being left to spread. I wonder how that would go down with other organisations in Redditch knowing the council are cleaning waste from a company who are failing to deal with their waste responsibly.
It appears everyone has some responsibility to sort out the issue. Certainly Tesco has the responsibility to clear the litter away from the surrounding areas and indeed re-housing their equipment. Maybe they should also consider how to keep their trolleys from leaving their premises.
As it always seems with anything Tesco nowadays it’s all about the money now, and less about the ‘every little helps’ motto. How sad to see an organisation such as Tesco taking such a low moral stance on an issue when they should be flying the flag and showing the local community how in fact even little does help and showing how they can benefit the community by keeping it clean and tidy. Perhaps if they were to show the way and keep the adjacent areas tidy and free from their waste and products, others would consider the environment they live in before they discard their litter as well.
Sadly it appears no one wants to take any responsibility. Same old same old, eh?
Observations on Life
I guess sometimes what you imagine is happening isn’t and what is happening is not at all what you imagine it to be.
At the end of the day life seems to be all about individuals and what they can take without necessarily putting back in. It seems sometimes the magician and the illusionist are far closer to the truth about life than we give them credit for. Meanwhile the rest of us potter on in our own small way, unsure or unaware of what, why, where and when most of the time.
And maybe that’s the best way to be, as sometimes when you do get to glimpse behind the curtain and believe you do understand what is happening it isn’t quite what you imagine it to be and you find just how much it frustrates or simply disappoints.
Time's finally up for McCarthy
Thanks Mick but your time really had come, and gone. Having been a Wolves fan for the best part of 47 years you get used to over extending your expectations as a Wolves fan only to be let down time and again by them. But that is part of being a fan of a football club who do not have a multi billion pound backer who can simply write another cheque for a star who can wow the premiership, before falling out with everyone and anyone and heading out the door to a bumper pay day elsewhere.
Of course in fairness, Wolves aren’t a club on the breadline like others lower down the league who may be, but few would forget we have been there. Indeed, at one point in our not too distant history, there was a time when Wolverhampton Wanderers may not have survived. If it wasn’t for the Golden Tit that was Sir Jack we may all be supporting a different club right now.
However, having done our time in the lower leagues and with Mick McCarthy doing a fine job at getting us out of the Championship back in 2009 in fine style, his limitations have been very much proven at Premier League level ever since. With relegation scraps in spite of money to spend, we have just about survived to date in the greed league, indeed last season only on the back of goal difference, and this season even with the addition of new players, we’ve actually looked worse, played worse and performed worse. The same one-liners have been forthcoming, keeping the media and press engaged and amused, however if you analyse the performances, Mick’s after match performances are far better than the on field efforts of his teams!
Tactically naive at times, and seemingly only interested in players who put in a shift – it seems the only players good enough for a shirt for Mick are the ones who run hardest. Well, it’s fair to say the Molineux faithful always demand a trier, but there comes a limit. In truth McCarthy’s tenure should have come to a close a long time ago. Maybe at the end of last season, even before then. My love affair with the Wolves ended at the end of that first Premier league season when we just about survived. The football was woeful, the excuses were abject and the future bleak.
It’s always depressing to see a Manager go, and in McCarthy case it’s disappointing that with only 13 games left, we’ve wasted a transfer window and have limited time left for any new Manager to make a difference. From my own point of view, Mick’s efforts are appreciated, he stands heads and shoulders as a fine upstanding gentleman of the sport who understands right or wrong, and after all, let’s not forget he was the man who got us into the promised land, and as Wolves fans we will always be thankful for that.
You just have to hope we can find someone quickly enough who can make the difference to keep us there.
Casting Stones
I’ve never been a huge fan of Whitney Houston. Her music is not my kind of thing, but I would concede that in her prime her voice has to rank as one of the best there has ever been. Regardless of the genre of music you have a liking for, I think most people would understand and appreciate the vocal ability that Whitney had in her pomp.
News of her death today is a shock, and considering her age a great surprise, and once again, just as in the case of Amy Whinehouse the world has lost a fabulous talent. The world is full of great singers, Whitney launched a thousand voices with her staggering vocal abilities stretching back over twenty years or so. Just a shame she was unable to hold it all together and grow old gracefully singing which is the way she should always be remembered for.
What I am staggered with is the comments I’ve read online on a variety of social media circles today. People appear to have little respect for those in the fast lane any longer, and seems the bigger the star the more vitriol and bile it appears it’s OK to spout about them.
It would be interesting for those people to step into the lives of people who are constantly analysed, scrutinised and criticised. It’s a shame they are unable to walk in their shoes and understand what it’s like to spend every waking moment spent in a goldfish bowl with almost every one wanting a piece of them.
It appears those who enjoy the simple pleasures and freedom of being able to use social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter without any hassle for instance, are the first to feel vindicated in spouting such comments. Sadly they never face the consequences of walking in the shoes of those most vulnerable regardless of how talented they are, they simply find it easy to arm themselves and cast the stones of wrath at will. Maybe if they did some time in those shoes they would consider their comments and show more respect.
Whatever weaknesses Whitney Houston had we should all stop and consider what an amazing vocal contribution she made to the world, and be thankful we have been privy to such a voice.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JWTaaS7LdU&ob=av2n[/youtube]
Diamonds are Forever
Or at least 60 years in the making as it seems with our Royal Monarch, Queen Elizabeth II. Like her or loathe her you can’t get away from the fact that she has served the UK with honour and pride over those sixty years. Overseeing some of the most technological changes known to man during her lifetime as well as sociological it may well be argued, she has kept herself abreast of her people and really never lost touch with her subjects, or what’s left of the British Commonwealth she reigns over.
During her time in the hottest seat globally she has seen 12 different Prime Ministers come and go according to the BBC’s The Diamond Queen programme which aired earlier this week depicting how she came to power and included some rather wonderful footage of her sixty years in charge. There’s another two programmes to come over the next couple of weeks, so if you haven’t caught up with it, try to, it’s a jolly good spot of tv. It certainly shows how this wonderful woman has come through the bad parts and the good parts of her reign, and how at such an early age (remember she was only 25 when she ascended to the throne) she took it all rather well in her stride, considering she wasn’t the natural successor to become the Queen of Great Britain.
With this year shaping up to be one of the best in a number of years for the UK, it’s absolutely fitting it happens in the year of the Diamond Jubilee. Let’s hope we can all stand together in wishing Her Maj’ a great Diamond jubilee and agree on the fact that whatever our considerations to the monarchy, this woman has done a fantastic job over 10 decades of leading us through some of the most historic years this country has seen.
It seems there’s plenty planned for her including a huge party in London organised by the likes of Gary Barlow. I hope within those great scenes there will be time just to take in the actual historical impact her reign will have had on all of us by the time she hands the baton over to either her son Charles, or indeed grandson William.
Diamonds are not just a girls best friend it seems, they’re also forever as someone once sang!
God Save the Queen!
Customer Service – Indian Take Away Style
Customer Service
Rule #1
The customer is always rightRule #2
The customer is always rightRule #3
The customer is always right
It’s really how you make and keep customers, and the best mantra as to how to keep customers, you may not agree with it completely and it may not be completely right in all situations, but if you follow those three golden rules rarely will you go wrong, and you’ll always keep them coming back for more.
Let me tell you a little story. We ordered a curry at New Year from our normal curry restaurant a very nice restaurant. I ordered something unusual for me, and expressly asked for no peppers in the dish as peppers don’t agree with me at all. After a wait of almost 90 minutes, the meal turned up and to our dismay the dish had peppers in it, in spite of our specific request. We spoke with the curry house, who were pretty apologetic, offered another dish, but having waited 90 minutes I didn’t want another wait so we soldiered on.
Tonight I ordered that very same dish from the very same restaurant, the Essence of Bengal in Redditch. Again, we specifically ordered it with no peppers. After a wait of just on an hour the meal turned up – 2 chicken Bhunas and the main course for me. When we opened the lid, we were faced with what was not at all what was expected. We phoned the restaurant who suggested the wrong thing had been sent and offered to send another. I suggested this was pointless as the rest of the meal was sat there and would be cold before it arrived. I wanted the £8.55 back for the meal, but they declined. Not a great start to sorting a complaint really, much more simple to give the customer his cash back you would have thought.
The Manager then called to assess the situation and suggested the wrong dish had been ordered….. (I’ll let that sink in for a moment). The wrong dish had NOT been ordered. There is a world of difference between a starter and a main course, why would I order a main course, when we wanted 3 main courses for 3 of us. He told us he was standing next to the phone when the order was taken and the order was for the starter special and not for the main course.
I am pretty suprised in this day and age that someone would want to treat customers in this way in fairness, let alone treat retail customer who spend reasonable amounts of money on take away food.
Whatever the reasons and I can assure you we did order the correct meal (there is a lot of difference between trying to order a Sylhet Achar Ghost and Sylhet Special even allowing for any poor reception on a cracky old phone line), you would imagine the Manager of a successful restaurant Indian business such as the Essence of Bengal in Redditch would understand when a genuine mistake had been made and put the issue right to make sure the customer and their friends continue to want to buy from them. After all, there are other reputable indian restaurants such as Redolence Spice who are equally as good in the local area.
My own circumstance is having been on the end of such poor customer service is look elsewhere I don’t about you but I don’t like bad customer service. I refer you back to rules 1, 2 and 3.
What on Earth is Bilking?
So, what the hell does Bilking mean? I’d never heard the expression before today, but having heard it I was interested to know what it meant.
The definition of bilking according to thefreedictionary.com is to defraud, cheat or swindle amongst other bits and pieces which kind of sums it up nicely. According to the Staffordshire Police Force it is often used to describe a customer ‘making off without paying’ for goods or a service.
So, in other words it’s all about doing a runner.
It was reported today that Bilking was on the rise in petrol stations as more and more people were nicking petrol, and they were doing this on the back of rising fuel prices. Now, I can kind of understand why this happens, although of course in no way condone it – after all how can petrol be at the price it is and how can there be such a differential in cost between companies and petrol stations.
Nothing has been more obvious this week than all of the petrol stations putting their prices up in my local town area this week whilst the usual garage I try to use a few miles away has remained stable, and has been for quite a while. How does that happen?
Now what is interesting about bilking is that it’s based on people using stolen number plates. Now as most people are now aware of number plates are very difficult to get hold of and yet most number plates are simply screwed onto cars with standard screws. The answer to saving your number plates from being stolen are tamper proof screws which appears to be for some people mannah from heaven.
Will tamper proof screws stop Bilking, well I guess they won’t. Will they help people from getting their number plates stolen, yes absolutely.
Maybe a better solution would be if someone got a grip on the price of fuel!
Can Someone Slow the Bus Down Please….!
Wow, I can’t believe it’s over a week since I last posted! Already 2012 has started where 2011 left off and is absolutely flying by at a pace.
This first week of the new year has just rocketed past with a return to work, the kids finally going back to school, a sad goodbye to a much loved Uncle in the Wibbly household and a family children’s birthday party. I don’t feel as if I’ve yet started to actually get much done just yet, maybe this coming week will prove less of a roller coaster and more of a return to normal.
I was wondering if I should consider New Years Resolutions, but you know what, I’m no good at them anyway. This year I definitely have to work harder, play easier and get more work done. I also need to get back into a shape which isn’t round! Working for yourself from home has many benefits but long lunches and nibbling away at the biscuit tin all of the time is no real benefit.
It did strike me as a little premature as I was wandering around our local Morrisons a couple of days after New Year how they had certain Easter Eggs out on the shelves – not the main Eggs, but the likes of Creme Eggs and such were all out, and yet only a day or so later my little one was asking when Easter was!
Isn’t it amazing – they still have the Christmas goods on special offer yet are filling shelves at the other end full of Easter promise. I’m confident by Easter my chocolate addiction will be under control and I will be able to indulge in just a little without feeling the guilt pangs I currently do.
Anyway, to anyone I haven’t bumped into on or offline – Happy New Year to you, this year promises to be a super exciting year for us Brits with the Olympics just around the corner together with the small matter of the Queens Diamond Jubilee (do we get another days bank holiday?) along with our England football team in Poland or some other far off country for the Euro 2012 football championships. It’s certainly shaping up to be a great year to be a Brit – let’s hope we can all do ourselves proud this year. I’m thinking I need plenty of Union Jack products like these in my life this year!
End of Year Review 2011
It’s been quite a year. I’m not quite sure where it’s gone, and how it’s disappeared as quickly as it has, but it’s been an interesting roller coaster of a year, and I’ve survived it!
Going from a comfortable position in a multi million pound organisation to being dumped on one’s arse without reason came as something of a shock, but did present an opportunity to do something I’ve never had the chance or the balls to do before. I decided to go freelance as a writer offering services for people who need things written, whether that’s for brochures or websites, for business blogs or newsletters. I write it all and I write whatever I can!
Officially kicking off my business in March 2011, I have worked on a variety of projects. Highlights are always seeing your copy on the sites you work for. The lowlights have to be having one or two customers who don’t appreciate what you do for them, or don’t want to pay you when their payment is due, which I guess must be the same for any small freelancer. As a small self employed freelancer, there is nothing worse and for 2012 I will continue to chase hard outstanding money from people.
Being a self employed freelancer has given me the opportunity to meet some great people in a variety of walks of life I have previously not encountered. It also taught me there is a lot I can offer through the experience I have from 25 years in sales and marketing. I have lots of plans for 2012, scribbled down, in my head, ready to get sorted, organised and put into place. If 2011 has taught me anything it’s the need to earn money, and the fact that flexibility is the key as a freelancer sometimes to do that.
The upside to all this freelance type work is of course family life gets better. I see my 6 year old more often, I spend more time with her, I get to do the school runs with her and I get to plan my movements around her. What better way to live your life than round your kids, so you’re there whenever you want to be for them?
As 2011 slowly ebbs away plans are afoot to cement what has been started. It’s been a great year, hopefully 2012 will prove to be an even better one!
Happy New Year to anyone that reads my blog. See you throughout next year and thanks for the support…