Holiday Hypermarket Blog
Tuesday, 20 February 2007
Underground, Overground Wombling Free! – Southern Trains
London’s public transport system is a source of much frustration for many regular London commuters, and now a bone of contention with members of the Holiday Hypermarket team.
On a recent visit to our nation’s capital two Hypermarket team members found themselves wandering around West Brompton station. Their intended destination was Gatwick airport station. At West Brompton there are underground trains to a variety of destinations along with a good old-fashioned ‘over-ground’ train to Gatwick, which is operated by Southern Trains. Searching for somewhere to buy a ticket they came across the ticket booth for the underground and asked the salesperson where they could buy tickets for the Gatwick train. “You can’t” came the rather surprising reply. The underground ticket operator advised the hapless northerners to simply climb aboard and buy their tickets on the train. The barrier was opened and the duo approached the platform along with and a handful of other ticketless travellers that had found themselves in a similar position.
As the train pulled into the station at Gatwick there was still no sign of any member of Southern Trains staff selling tickets. At this point our wombling wonders seemed to have gotten, through no fault of their own, a completely free ride. Nice work you might think. They certainly didn’t intend or expect to travel without paying but they hadn’t exactly been given a great deal of choice in the matter. On stepping off the train they noticed that some of their fellow passengers were being approached by a gang of burly ticket officers with a “You’re nicked mate” look on their faces. Apparently there’s a £20 fine for failing to buy a ticket on Southern Trains, and oddly enough, this still applies even if you’re not given the opportunity to but one in the first place.
With a gritty determination, Great Uncle Bulgaria and Orinoco (as we shall call them to protect their identity), put their heads down and forced their luggage trolleys through a gap in ticket officers, escaping the entirely unwarranted and frankly unfair penalty for non payment. Back in the north the pair recalled their unfortunate experience with Southern Trains and gave hearty thanks that they are not forced to endure the Southern Trains ethos of extortion on a regular basis. Is this an isolated incident we wonder? Can the rail companies continue to hold us to ransom while the government encourages us to use public transport? Will the Wombles ever return to our t.v. screens?
On a recent visit to our nation’s capital two Hypermarket team members found themselves wandering around West Brompton station. Their intended destination was Gatwick airport station. At West Brompton there are underground trains to a variety of destinations along with a good old-fashioned ‘over-ground’ train to Gatwick, which is operated by Southern Trains. Searching for somewhere to buy a ticket they came across the ticket booth for the underground and asked the salesperson where they could buy tickets for the Gatwick train. “You can’t” came the rather surprising reply. The underground ticket operator advised the hapless northerners to simply climb aboard and buy their tickets on the train. The barrier was opened and the duo approached the platform along with and a handful of other ticketless travellers that had found themselves in a similar position.
As the train pulled into the station at Gatwick there was still no sign of any member of Southern Trains staff selling tickets. At this point our wombling wonders seemed to have gotten, through no fault of their own, a completely free ride. Nice work you might think. They certainly didn’t intend or expect to travel without paying but they hadn’t exactly been given a great deal of choice in the matter. On stepping off the train they noticed that some of their fellow passengers were being approached by a gang of burly ticket officers with a “You’re nicked mate” look on their faces. Apparently there’s a £20 fine for failing to buy a ticket on Southern Trains, and oddly enough, this still applies even if you’re not given the opportunity to but one in the first place.
With a gritty determination, Great Uncle Bulgaria and Orinoco (as we shall call them to protect their identity), put their heads down and forced their luggage trolleys through a gap in ticket officers, escaping the entirely unwarranted and frankly unfair penalty for non payment. Back in the north the pair recalled their unfortunate experience with Southern Trains and gave hearty thanks that they are not forced to endure the Southern Trains ethos of extortion on a regular basis. Is this an isolated incident we wonder? Can the rail companies continue to hold us to ransom while the government encourages us to use public transport? Will the Wombles ever return to our t.v. screens?
Monday, 22 January 2007
Your website
What is so good about your site is that I've found holidays with HolidayHypermarket.co.uk that I haven't found on other holiday web sites. I booked a holiday on-line last year through your site and ended up travelling to Turkey with a holiday company called Holidays4U. I'd never heard of them but it was one of the best holidays I've ever had. Further more there was only an extra £22 fuel surcharge on top of the basic holiday price unlike a lot of companies who charge a bloody fortune on top of their basic prices!
The only thing that does frustrate me about all holiday websites, including yours, is that when there are only two people travelling you all keep showing prices based on 4, 5 or sometimes 6 people sharing and then add all these bloody extra bits to the price! However, when I rang your call centre last week, your sales advisor Katie, told me that in the next few weeks that you're changing your search so that all your prices will include all the extra components and that HolidayHypermarket.co.uk will be one of the first companys, who sell all ABTA tour operators, to do so, FABULOUS!
Thank you to Katie for booking my latest holiday to Barbados, which at least for now, if I do get frustrated by the tour operators pricing policies, I can phone you free of charge and be quoted an all-in price!
The only thing that does frustrate me about all holiday websites, including yours, is that when there are only two people travelling you all keep showing prices based on 4, 5 or sometimes 6 people sharing and then add all these bloody extra bits to the price! However, when I rang your call centre last week, your sales advisor Katie, told me that in the next few weeks that you're changing your search so that all your prices will include all the extra components and that HolidayHypermarket.co.uk will be one of the first companys, who sell all ABTA tour operators, to do so, FABULOUS!
Thank you to Katie for booking my latest holiday to Barbados, which at least for now, if I do get frustrated by the tour operators pricing policies, I can phone you free of charge and be quoted an all-in price!
Labels: Holiday
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The Holiday Hypermarket Blog is intended as a convenient source of information to keep you up to date with the latest happenings both here at the Hypermarket and within the travel industry generally. We’ll keep you informed about the latest improvements to the site and let you know which destinations are proving most popular. Maybe you’re looking for a few hints and tips on finding a great deal holiday deal? Watch this space for the latest insider information on the cheap holiday availability! Let’s not forget, holiday hypermarket has literally millions of holidays to choose from, and this huge selection is changing constantly as availability comes and goes, so it’s definitely a good idea to stay ahead of the game.
We’ll be featuring a range of items for discussion in our blogs, including such varied topics as new destinations, website changes, big news in the travel industry, special resort features and a whole lot more. Most importantly, the blog will be a way not just for us to speak to you, but also for you to respond to us and leave comments to tell us your thoughts on a particular topic (See our Blog Comments Policy). We can’t promise to respond directly to any questions posted in comments, but we will endeavour to answer the most interesting questions, allowing everybody that reads the blog to benefit from the discussion. We’d like the blog to be a light hearted and informative resource of Holiday Hypermarket and travel industry information, so please read our ‘comments policy’ before posting any comments. Check out the latest blog entries and please feel free to browse a few holidays while you’re here!
We’ll be featuring a range of items for discussion in our blogs, including such varied topics as new destinations, website changes, big news in the travel industry, special resort features and a whole lot more. Most importantly, the blog will be a way not just for us to speak to you, but also for you to respond to us and leave comments to tell us your thoughts on a particular topic (See our Blog Comments Policy). We can’t promise to respond directly to any questions posted in comments, but we will endeavour to answer the most interesting questions, allowing everybody that reads the blog to benefit from the discussion. We’d like the blog to be a light hearted and informative resource of Holiday Hypermarket and travel industry information, so please read our ‘comments policy’ before posting any comments. Check out the latest blog entries and please feel free to browse a few holidays while you’re here!
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