A traveller's tales .. and responses to the recession

The recession poses a question to businesses. In the face of declining demand do they work even harder, cutting margins and providing a great service to attract customers in a buyers' market? Or do they adopt a slash and burn policy of making money wherever they can regardless of the longer term consequences for their brand. Of course, companies with monopolies will be more likely to adopt the latter approach - Virgin Trains being a case in point.

Last week I was forced to cough up three times the pre-paid cost of my train ticket from Manchester to London because I caught a train 30 minutes earlier than the one I was booked on to. There was no lack of unreserved seats on this train and, had there been, I would have been happy to stand. Indeed, given that the pre-ordered ticket was reduced price I would have accepted paying some kind of inconvenience fine. But for Virgin the issue isn’t fairness - it is screwing the passenger. This may be why the ticket inspectors treat those who are on the wrong train (there were three in my carriage alone) as if they are fair dodgers.

What is really galling is that while Virgin is charging me £48 for my minor misdemeanour travelling I am unable to get any recompense for Virgin’s many failings: late trains, closed buffets etc. This morning on the way to Birmingham I was next to an overactive heater. To avoid expiring I was down almost to my underpants by the time we reached New Street. I have little or no choice but to use Virgin and to pay even more to do so next year. But in a classic Taylor act of impotent rage I will spend the rest of my life avoiding any other product with the Virgin brand.

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Sticking on the combined topics of the downturn and my grumpiness, it is depressing that Tory health spokesman Andrew Lansley has agreed to apologise for his comments about the health consequences of recession. He simply said on his blog that by reducing consumption on things like booze, fags and sweets a downturn can be good for our health. Not only is it true but it is a rare example of a politician engaging seriously with what the downturn will mean for us. Governing politicians (here, and particularly insanely in the US) are like drug dealers encouraging us to get hooked onto debt again, while the Conservatives try to imply there is another way out of the crisis without ever quite telling us what this is and why no other Government in the world seems to agree with them. In contrast Andrew Lansley said something honest and thought provoking – no wonder he was forced to recant.

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Turn away if you don’t like swearing…I love the West Midlands. This morning after my speech to the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust I popped into a New Street outfitters to buy a cheap suit for the RDI dinner tomorrow night.  The assistant and I got talking about politics as I tried (successfully) to negotiate a discount. As is often the way in this part of the world other customers were soon joining in.

As I was leaving he shouted after me ‘anyway since the VAT cut we’ve been flooded with customers’. Call me gullible but I was genuinely interested to hear that the PBR has been such an instant hit. ‘Really’ I said taking a step back into the shop .To which he jovially replied to the immense amusement of the rest of the shop ‘have we f**k, you daft bugger’. Now, that’s what I call service.  

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