Strange Days
Posted: Sat 12 September, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Domestic, Five Year Plan (now Ten), Own Business, Work-related | Leave a comment »In some ways the week just coming to a close has been pretty strange.
For one thing, in the space of five days I’ve managed to sort out an extension to the current contract (allbeit ‘only’ for two weeks) and sort out what I’ll be doing straight after that. I can honestly say that’s never happened to me before – there’s usually at least a week of time between contracts, but in this one I’ll be finishing the current one on Oct 2nd and starting the new one on Oct 5th.
Along the way, there’ve also been a few other decisions made, thoughts had, and stuff worked on. But there’ll be more details about that as time goes on.
But all told, it’s been a positive week – just slightly stranger and more organised than I’m used to.
Travelling – Results
Posted: Thu 10 September, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Getting Organised, Travel, Work-related | Leave a comment »The interview in Cambridge today went well. In fact, it went so well that I already know I’ve got the work, starting in October for a minimum of two months, and almost certainly carrying through ’til January 2010.
The day started pretty well, with travel through London running so smoothly that I got the earlier train than the one I’d expected to get. Sure, it meant I got to Cambridge an hour before the interview time, but that also meant I wasn’t belting for trains/taxis/whatever, and was generally less stressed.
During the journey, I also got a call from another agency about another contract down in Reading. I’ve been put forward for it before (it’s a long-term project, and obviously has quite a turnover) by two other agencies but it’s never got any further. No idea why – and as today shows, my CV and interview stuff normally serves me pretty well – but those are the breaks sometimes.
So all told, it had already been a pretty productive day by the time I got to the interview itself.
After the interview, things went a bit tits-up, but still survivable all told.
First, the bloody taxi to get me back to the train station took nearly half-an-hour to turn up. I’d given the location where I was standing, without knowing there were two similar places on the same road – and the cockstick despatcher hadn’t asked which one I was at. So of course it went to the wrong one. Two snotty calls later, he finally arrived.
As a result, I belted through Cambridge station to get to my train back to London. And because I’m a twat, mis-read the signs, and ended up on a different train. Fortunately it was one that wasn’t due to go until well after the one I’d planned to be on, so I was able to get off before ending up on the way to Points Unknown.
It did, however, mean that I couldn’t get another train for another half-hour, which put me as getting back into the office later than I’d planned. (Not that it matters massively as I’ll still be over the contracted hours for the week by the end of tomorrow)
Other than that small fuck-up though, it’s been a good day.
Travelling Again
Posted: Thu 10 September, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Own Business, Travel, Work-related | 1 Comment »This morning I’m travelling back up to Cambridge for an interview.
It’s still a contract role, but will be back to decent lengths of time and a decent rate. So fingers crossed for it, really.
Travel Fuckups
Posted: Wed 9 September, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Customer Services, Cynicism, Driving, National Express East Anglia, Travel, Work-related | 1 Comment »Just to add to my general joyous demeanour, there’s also news today that my train route is going to be hit by a week-long strike from 21st September. It turns out that ASLEF’s workers have rejected the deal offered by National Express East Anglia (and written about by me here) so the strikes are back on.
What I still don’t understand is what ASLEF et al expect to get out of these strikes. Any support or sympathy they might’ve got from people (and let’s bear in mind that passengers get treated abysmally by NEEA too, not just the staff) is going to be wiped out by the strike action affecting everyone for a week.
People might have a bit more sympathy and/or understanding if they knew just what ASLEF/RMT were demanding as a deal for their drivers, and/or what NEEA had offered in return. But neither organisation has either the common sense or the PR knowledge to do that.
So instead, assuming I’m still working on the current contract, I’m going to be going in to London by car instead of train. I’m going to angle for doing some work from home as well, which would be nice – although I’m not yet convinced it’ll happen. But it should make for an interesting week…
Un-fucking-Believable (Part 5)
Posted: Tue 8 September, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: Customer Services, National Express East Anglia, Travel, Work-related | 1 Comment »Just so people know I’m not just pissing in the wind when it comes to the way National Express East Anglia (NEEA) have doubled their prices overnight on the Norfolk->Cambridge line, I have also contacted NEEA’s Customer Services department via email. (I did this over the weekend, but haven’t yet had any response – hardly a surprise, I know)
The email read as follows…
How do NEEA justify doubling the cost of a ticket from Attleborough to London overnight with no warnings?
Upon arriving at the station, there is a piece of A4 paper wrapped in plastic on one noticeboard explaining that suddenly NEEA have decided that Attleborough -> Cambridge is a peak-time line until 10am “to bring it in line with other services leaving London”
It may have escaped NEEA’s notice that the line from Attleborough -> Cambridge neither leaves London nor comes from London. It is the line between Cambridge and Norwich. One has to change services (and in fact train operator) to get to London from Attleborough. And considering that I took the 7.55 train from Attleborough, and don’t get in to London ’til 10.15, that journey in no way constitutes a peak-time train, according to NEEA’s own Terms and Conditions.
So – how do NEEA justify this?
Also, how do they justify doing so overnight, with no advance warning. My £40 ticket – properly paid for on TheTrainLine.com – was invalid, so I’ve also had to pay £74 extra. The price rise isn’t mentioned on NEEA’s “News” page, nor is the arbitrary change of line to a peak-time line. In fact, even the guard and ticket inspector weren’t aware of it ’til Friday.
Are NEEA trying to get rid of customers? It’s now cheaper to drive to Cambridge and/or London than it is to take the train. (It’s also likely more convenient, as it means not having to hang around on stations while changing trains etc.)
I have no expectations that it will ever be responded to, because NEEA are (on current appearances) a bunch of profiteering scumbags with no regard for their paying customers at all. The only thing they appear to be interested in is their profit margin – although that, I suppose, is privatisation for you.
I’m also going to be putting the same complaint in ‘proper’ writing, and sending it in to NEEA
However, I’ve also contacted a couple of the local papers – who seem far more interested in the whole ‘ripping off customers’ thing. In fact I’m due to speak to one of their reporters today…
Adding Discomfort
Posted: Wed 2 September, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 1BEM, Charm School, Own Business, People, Work-related | 5 Comments »When I have to work in London, I always remember how much I dislike doing so – but also how much fun I can have at the same time.
Currently one of my favourite pastimes is being nice to people, or just talking to them. It seems to shock so many Londoners when it happens to them – and as such is of course very funny.
Just in the last couple of days, I’ve talked to complete strangers in the lifts at the office, (being up on the 14th floor, I really can’t be arsed to use the stairs!) given directions to confused-looking people at Waterloo, and just saying hello etc. to people in the local shop. (In fairness they’re getting used to me, and are far less phased by the entire thing of being talked to)
It’s just something I find fun to do. And it takes a fair amount of skill to be malicious by being civil or helpful to people. Which is why I do it.
Un-Fucking-Believable (Part 3)
Posted: Sat 29 August, 2009 | Author: Lyle | Filed under: 1BEM, Customer Services, National Express East Anglia, Travel, Work-related | 1 Comment »I’ve been doing some more research into the enormous price-rise by National Express East Anglia from the 5/6th September (as written about previously here and here) whereby the ticket that used to cost £39.50 has gone up to £74.
What it looks like is that National Express East Anglia have added a “peak time” definition to travel between Norwich and Cambridge – although they don’t say as much on their website. As written about in Part Two, the T&Cs for Off-Peak tickets still say…
For National Express East Anglia journeys it is valid for any train scheduled to arrive at London Liverpool Street or London Kings Cross at or after 1000, Stratford (London) after 0950, Tottenham Hale/ Seven Sisters after 0940. Not valid on any train departing London Liverpool Street or Kings Cross before 0930 or between 1629 or 1834 inclusive (1900 from Kings Cross) although travel is permitted on the 1636 from London Liverpool Street to Braintree, for destinations Hatfield Peverel to Braintree inclusive.
Which makes no mention of peak-travel times for non-London trains.
But if you look on National Express East Anglia’s own Journey Planner (That link only goes to the front page, you can’t easily link to inside the Journey Planner) and look at travel between Attleborough and Cambridge, the off-peak ticket is only valid for travelling after 10am.
I think I’m going to have to do some experimenting with this while actually travelling on the train – that should be fun!