Why are we so bad?

[steveo]

Why is this Country so bad and how can we fix it?

Having just returned from holiday, once again, I find it exasperating that we are rubbish at so much stuff.

We used 5 airports, Heathrow terminal 5 was ok, JFK, La Guardia and Tampa were all excellent. Arrived back at Gatwick. Plane stops, sit on the plane for 15 minutes while they get a walkway thing. Finally get off and have a 20 minute walk to get to immigration. 20 desks, only 12 open. 25 minutes to get through. Get to baggage reclaim, no bags yet. pop in the loo. Paper all over the floor, water on the floor and all round the basins, some toilets blocked. Disgusting mess.

Yellow shirted "Gatwick Porters" offering to take peoples cases from the carousel to outside for £7.00. All non poor English speaking asians.

Nowhere outside the airport for the minivan bloke to park without infringing traffic regulations and having to argue with a parking attendant bloke. Why not? People need to be collected.

Temporary lights still at Hambro hill due to roadworks over running by two weeks. Same old rubbish.

Will it ever change?

 

[graysblue]

fraid not mate unless the goverment sorts it.

 

[Napster]

Funnily enough, I've been to many airports this year and Terminal 5 was by far the best. (although I was there after it had just opened). Beijing airport is quite nice, Shanghai's a bit dull. Moscow's two airports are below average, as is St Petersburg. Istanbul was good. Paris was just OK. Detroit was awful, and Calgary was a nightmare.

So, I suggest compared to a lot of places we do quite well.

 

[steveo]

Funnily enough, I've been to many airports this year and Terminal 5 was by far the best. (although I was there after it had just opened). Beijing airport is quite nice, Shanghai's a bit dull. Moscow's two airports are below average, as is St Petersburg. Istanbul was good. Paris was just OK. Detroit was awful, and Calgary was a nightmare.

So, I suggest compared to a lot of places we do quite well.

You didnt mention Gatwick though.

 

[TrueBlue]

Why is this Country so bad and how can we fix it?

Having just returned from holiday, once again, I find it exasperating that we are rubbish at so much stuff.

We used 5 airports, Heathrow terminal 5 was ok, JFK, La Guardia and Tampa were all excellent. Arrived back at Gatwick. Plane stops, sit on the plane for 15 minutes while they get a walkway thing. Finally get off and have a 20 minute walk to get to immigration. 20 desks, only 12 open. 25 minutes to get through. Get to baggage reclaim, no bags yet. pop in the loo. Paper all over the floor, water on the floor and all round the basins, some toilets blocked. Disgusting mess.

Yellow shirted "Gatwick Porters" offering to take peoples cases from the carousel to outside for £7.00. All non poor English speaking asians.

Nowhere outside the airport for the minivan bloke to park without infringing traffic regulations and having to argue with a parking attendant bloke. Why not? People need to be collected.

Temporary lights still at Hambro hill due to roadworks over running by two weeks. Same old rubbish.

Will it ever change?

Vote BNP Mate

 

[seany t]

Vote BNP Mate

Surely the first thing they'd do would be abolish airports entirely? Keeps those dirty foreigners out...

 

[TrueBlue]

Surely the first thing they'd do would be abolish airports entirely? Keeps those dirty foreigners out...

It has its merits

 

[South Bank Hank]

Surely the first thing they'd do would be abolish airports entirely? Keeps those dirty foreigners out...

...and replace those poor English speaking Asians charging £7.00 for disinterested poor English speaking English people charging £12.00!

:'(

Unfortunately, there lies the root of so much of the problem.

 

[Napster]

You didnt mention Gatwick though.

Ok Gatwick was quite good. Quick check-in, security was good, let us take the pram all the way to the plane, and help was readily available.

 

[TrueBlue]

Ok Gatwick was quite good. Quick check-in, security was good, let us take the pram all the way to the plane, and help was readily available.

thought you would have the baby walking by now and reading books!

 

[Napster]

thought you would have the baby walking by now and reading books!

walking yes, reading almost there. But this was back in March, when she was only 11 months.

 

[TrueBlue]

walking yes, reading almost there. But this was back in March, when she was only 11 months.

I expect a best seller by age 6

 

[Uncle Leo]

Funnily enough, I've been to many airports this year and Terminal 5 was by far the best. (although I was there after it had just opened). Beijing airport is quite nice, Shanghai's a bit dull. Moscow's two airports are below average, as is St Petersburg. Istanbul was good. Paris was just OK. Detroit was awful, and Calgary was a nightmare.

Show off ;)

 

[Sussex Shrimper]

A lot of our public services are in desperate need of a fundamental overhaul, but the trouble is that these days governments are only interested in measures likely to bear fruit during their time in office and encourage re-election.

The trains are a classic example. Electrification of the country's rail network is obviously the way forwards, yet we continue to hand out short term franchises for the rail network to companies who have no interest whatsoever in doing anything that may pay off over decades. The result is that we remain dependant on fossil fuel supplies to run outdated technology which is never going to perform optimally no matter how much you tweak it.

 

[steveo]

A lot of our public services are in desperate need of a fundamental overhaul, but the trouble is that these days governments are only interested in measures likely to bear fruit during their time in office and encourage re-election.

The trains are a classic example. Electrification of the country's rail network is obviously the way forwards, yet we continue to hand out short term franchises for the rail network to companies who have no interest whatsoever in doing anything that may pay off over decades. The result is that we remain dependant on fossil fuel supplies to run outdated technology which is never going to perform optimally no matter how much you tweak it.

All valid points, but they dont explain why you can get off a plane in Tampa, be transported to the baggage collection via a shuttle, to find the baggage has already arrived as opposed to the fiasco that takes place at Gatwick.

Just plain bad organisation I suppose. Maybe it will improve when BAA gets broken up.

 

[canveyshrimper]

All valid points, but they dont explain why you can get off a plane in Tampa, be transported to the baggage collection via a shuttle, to find the baggage has already arrived as opposed to the fiasco that takes place at Gatwick.

Just plain bad organisation I suppose. Maybe it will improve when BAA gets broken up.

I don't think the fragmentation of BAA will be any help at all, while I largely supported the Privatisation of British Rail the way it was done proved to be an unmitigated disaster. The way that the BAA has been ordered to be broken up indicates to me that we will have another **** up on our hands sooner rather than later.

 

[steveo]

I don't think the fragmentation of BAA will be any help at all, while I largely supported the Privatisation of British Rail the way it was done proved to be an unmitigated disaster. The way that the BAA has been ordered to be broken up indicates to me that we will have another **** up on our hands sooner rather than later.

The difference is that most people dont have a choice of train line, you just use the nearest one. However, Gatwick, Heathrow and Stanstead are all reasonably close to us so if one becomes a lot better than the others people may choose to use it. At the moment my preference would be terminal 5 at Heathrow. If BAA gets sold off, hopefully Gatwick will get better. Its 2008, why should we have to put up with for example dirty toilets?

 

[canveyshrimper]

The difference is that most people dont have a choice of train line, you just use the nearest one. However, Gatwick, Heathrow and Stanstead are all reasonably close to us so if one becomes a lot better than the others people may choose to use it. At the moment my preference would be terminal 5 at Heathrow. If BAA gets sold off, hopefully Gatwick will get better. Its 2008, why should we have to put up with for example dirty toilets?

That isn't entirely true about train lines particularly in this area as Southend and surrounding districts have c2c and National Express or whatever they are calling themselves this week.

I haven't sampled the delights of T5 yet, and have never been keen on Gatwick, and when I've flown from Stansted I've never had a problem. Unfortunately dirty khazis aren't unusual at airports, stations or even in shopping centres in this country, in fact they seem to be the norm.

 

[steveo]

Unfortunately dirty khazis aren't unusual at airports, stations or even in shopping centres in this country

Key words "in this country".

The restrooms I used at Tampa airport had a cleaner in them full time and were spotless. With all this "cheap" labour we apparently have here, why cant we keep up with other countries?

 

[graysblue]

Key words "in this country".

The restrooms I used at Tampa airport had a cleaner in them full time and were spotless. With all this "cheap" labour we apparently have here, why cant we keep up with other countries?

well we are constantly told that immigrants take the jobs brits wont do alledgely,shame those in work cannot carry out their duties correctly.