02 January 2011

Happy New Year 2011 - let this will be a good one!

It’s a New Year. I was thinking to act as most of the media channels in the world and review the year 2010 but by end of the day who cares anymore? It’s all gone anyway so why to bother and take a look backwards?

But certainly there would so much to say about the year ended, even afterwards. I could wonder how a long-time friendship turned into a total silence – at least seems to be so. I could also write a long story about flying on Air China and wondering how is it even possible that in-flight staff doesn’t speak English; something that bothers me even on such a small level as security. And yes, I could write a novel about entrepreneurship and how that is just something people have in their attitudes or they don’t. Simple as that! Sorry to say but teaching entrepreneurship is like telling a Muslim that Roman Catholics are right about everything. That is really something that certainly takes me onto a playground that is so fashionable and dangerous nowadays; religion. What the heck has happened, really? I have really lost the track – and interest, frankly – on the news putting people, cultures and countries against each other based on the religion they seem to follow. Last year we all seemed to have jumped back onto 17th century. Let that be changed this year, ok?

Airline taxes; that’s my next goal! Maybe I need to start a 1-Man-Mission against that case, just in principle in the business world. Actually, how it is possible that nobody inside the European Commission Consumer Rights Protection Universe or whatever it’s called inside those palaces doesn’t pay any attention to that? Airlines are advertising cheap flights like “50 euro to London” and then you pay a very strange bulk of money called “Taxes” even that there is no taxes linked to the case. As far as I know, taxes belong to states not to companies, right? I don’t believe a gas provider could set up a own tax on the petrol they sell or cab drivers charge for an addition passenger tax flowing directly into their own pockets. How this can happen in the airline business? Advertising is advertising but still I don’t get how you can sell something for fifty euro if it actually costs you hundred? I give you an actual example here;

That’s the “Breakdown of Taxes” linked to a free (!!!) ticket I got with my mileage points. It should be called Breakdown of Costs, not taxes. Stupid and strange. Let that be changed in 2011. Yes, I know. In my dreams only.

Recession. It’s over so let’s do not mention it in 2011. Deal?

Natural disasters. Let those will be history. Big Guy on the clouds, whatever your name is - I guess this is okay with you, too?

Weather. Let the sun shine and snow coming. But within some limites after all.

Technology. Despite the masses, I stay against the tablet mess. I am still without a reason to actually use an Ipad. But let the 2011 bring something really interesting in the tech world too.

Hospitality business. Let the restaurants fly thanks of happy and experimental customers. Let the hotel managers to understand what is a loyal customer all about.

Smile. Let that rule the world in 2011 !!

What else? Hhmm…oh, yes! This is like a business practice I need to write down for a case. Once upon time, there was a sales manager who handled his work towards my company pretty well, extremely well actually. I was so happy with the service that I decided to use the same company for private use as well. He handled my case but then nothing happened before one day when our mail guy brought an invoice of monthly service – service that never started since the installation work was ever done. I just sent an email to our sales guy and asked whether they could also make the installation before actually sending invoices of that monthly service. No reply. Then came a reminder of the same invoice making me to call the sales guys cell phone number. That call was forwarded to the reception who announced that the person is not working there anymore. Eventually, I was connected with another guy who then asked me to deliver him the order I was talking about and promised to cancel the invoice and handle the installation. But he doesn’t have a clue about the case, no papers, no order, no reports, no nothing.

Not over yet! Next came another letter stating that the original invoice of the monthly service have been sent to the collecting and with pretty angry words that outsourced-collecting-company was asking me to pay that invoice. And by the way, we are talking about forty euros here. This case has been going on for 1,5 months and yes, we are still without the service I ordered. But at least no further invoices of the service doesn’t exist; that’s something after all, isn’t it?

So classical case really. Someone leaves the company and all the open projects and negotiations are forgotten like that. I just wonder how companies can afford that, really? And as the #1 guy in this case joined a competitor and sent me an email later to wish Happy New Year and offered his services I need to say I just deleted the message right away. Should I trust he handles my case professionally if he decides to switch jobs again? But Happy New Year; hope customer service keeps – or begins – developing!

Certainly there would be so much more to start this New Year with but maybe I need to leave something for the next 12 months. After one of the busiest falls during the last 15+ years I wish to have some more time to sit down on my corner seat next to this laptop and write. I have a feeling 2011 will be an interesting year.

Once again, Happy New Year 2011! Hope to see you next to me and my corner seat.