Well it has started to bite - the lorry drivers' strike and blockades. At the local Eroski, the problem with tourists not knowing how to weigh their fruit and veg is less of an issue as there is less to weigh. The fresh-meat part of the supermarket was closed. Not good. Apart from local folk, those tourists on a self-catering basis are going to start wishing they'd booked all-inclusive, though quite how well the hotels are catering (or not) I'm not sure.
It seems like bad news, bad news and more bad news. And I'm going to add to it. I'm afraid that the scratch-card problem is really starting to be an issue in Alcúdia (if you're not aware, this is a means of getting people to pay for holiday clubs or time share). The other day, I got an email from a gentleman of nearly 40 years coming-to-Alcúdia experience who was complaining bitterly about the constant hassle and, moreover, the abuse and aggression from those who try and entice folk with the cards. His email to me is basically the same as a letter that appeared yesterday in "The Bulletin".
Look, I have no problem with guys trying to earn some money so long as the deal's legit and they're not giving people a load of grief. But there is a problem if the resort gets itself a bad name; Magaluf has suffered for some years. Alcúdia has certainly not been immune; just now it seems to have cranked up a gear or two, and Puerto Pollensa also is a target. I don't really wish to dwell on whether there is permission or not for this to happen or indeed the nature of the actual offer, but my understanding is that any street selling or promotion has to be licensed. The agreement is that PRs and owners can "tout" for business right outside their own bar or restaurant; this they can do. But to go along the street or beach or wherever, you need a licence. That is one side of it, but the complaint of abuse and aggression is quite another matter.
This is a flavour of the email I had and of the letter to The Bulletin:
"We were shocked and dismayed by the number of street touts who made our lives an absolute misery every time we walked out on the street. We were approached several times on each visit to the Port area. The touts were abusive and aggressive when we tried to avoid them and even shouted at us as we walked across the street trying our best to avoid them. In fact they seemed to take pleasure from upsetting visitors with one of their women members shouting abuse after us at the top of her voice."
I'll say no more.
And today would not be complete without at least a passing reference to the fact that Freddy Shepherd seems to fancy taking over Real Mallorca. What was all that stuff about him and the women of Newcastle? Maybe he finds the babes of Mallorca a more enticing prospect.
QUIZ
Chain - Denny Laine, once of The Moody Blues, was in Wings. And how do you get from Wings to Maggie Bell? Yesterday's title - Weather Report. Today's title - so easy, I shouldn't even be asking.
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Showing posts with label Lorry drivers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lorry drivers. Show all posts
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
It Bites
No, not a mosquito. The strike of Spanish lorry drivers. Different country, same public reaction. Put a bit of a scare in front of Jose Public and he'll panic like crazy and take his own tanker to the local petrol station and fill up and then strip the supermarket shelves on the way home for good measure. Not that I am aware of any problem here as such, but maybe I should join the crowds and start panicking. There again, no petrol and it would be a good excuse not to do anything. Lounge around all day in the sun. The only problem being ... The other "it bites" is the grim weather.
The lorry drivers want a minimum price for haulage, but President Zapatero's not about to go along with the demand. Quite what also he can do about the soaring rise in diesel costs I've no idea. It's not as if diesel is the only energy product that's been affected; butane gas is up to over 14 euros a bottle, not far off a ten per-cent rise in a couple of months. The costs of energy have increased significantly over the past few months, so when people bang on about prices here being high or having increased, they might spare a thought for the fact that all businesses need to try and recoup those costs, and that includes bars and restaurants. Everyone is affected.
You now start to get the feeling of a conspiracy against the season. The credit crunch was one thing, then the euro-pound lack of kilter, then the weather (and still the weather) and now the energy crisis and the hauliers on strike. You wonder if it can get much worse; perhaps a plague of locusts. A drought on a biblical scale is unlikely though.
And returning to yesterday's piece. It happened again. Same Eroski supermarket, different tourist, different bunch of bananas. Fortunately someone was on hand. Me. I watched the gentleman concerned as he returned to weigh the bananas. Put them on the scale and then looked at the buttons. What he saw was a series of numbers. Which one do you press? You have to know that the numbers are to be found next to the relevant items. I did it for him. And on leaving, I asked the girl at the checkout, from whose queue the gentleman in question had been rebuffed in his initial attempt at payment, why there was no dirty great sign in English (and German) to make it clear that most items of fruit and veg have first to be weighed and that the button corresponding to the number from where the particular fruit or veg has been taken has then to be pressed in order to print the correct label. She quite agreed. So I suggested she brought it up with the management. And you know what? There's a meeting tomorrow and she will. Maybe. But were this dirty great sign to be placed in hopefully a prominent position, the only problem then would be explaining the fact that there are certain items that don't need to be weighed. Confused? You will be.
QUIZ
Chain - Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes of Buggles were, for a while, part of Yes and Horn produced "Owner of a Lonely Heart". And what connection is there between Yes and The Moody Blues? Yesterday's title - The Band (see this here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfyjhtOTy1s). Today's title - what was their one and only hit?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
The lorry drivers want a minimum price for haulage, but President Zapatero's not about to go along with the demand. Quite what also he can do about the soaring rise in diesel costs I've no idea. It's not as if diesel is the only energy product that's been affected; butane gas is up to over 14 euros a bottle, not far off a ten per-cent rise in a couple of months. The costs of energy have increased significantly over the past few months, so when people bang on about prices here being high or having increased, they might spare a thought for the fact that all businesses need to try and recoup those costs, and that includes bars and restaurants. Everyone is affected.
You now start to get the feeling of a conspiracy against the season. The credit crunch was one thing, then the euro-pound lack of kilter, then the weather (and still the weather) and now the energy crisis and the hauliers on strike. You wonder if it can get much worse; perhaps a plague of locusts. A drought on a biblical scale is unlikely though.
And returning to yesterday's piece. It happened again. Same Eroski supermarket, different tourist, different bunch of bananas. Fortunately someone was on hand. Me. I watched the gentleman concerned as he returned to weigh the bananas. Put them on the scale and then looked at the buttons. What he saw was a series of numbers. Which one do you press? You have to know that the numbers are to be found next to the relevant items. I did it for him. And on leaving, I asked the girl at the checkout, from whose queue the gentleman in question had been rebuffed in his initial attempt at payment, why there was no dirty great sign in English (and German) to make it clear that most items of fruit and veg have first to be weighed and that the button corresponding to the number from where the particular fruit or veg has been taken has then to be pressed in order to print the correct label. She quite agreed. So I suggested she brought it up with the management. And you know what? There's a meeting tomorrow and she will. Maybe. But were this dirty great sign to be placed in hopefully a prominent position, the only problem then would be explaining the fact that there are certain items that don't need to be weighed. Confused? You will be.
QUIZ
Chain - Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes of Buggles were, for a while, part of Yes and Horn produced "Owner of a Lonely Heart". And what connection is there between Yes and The Moody Blues? Yesterday's title - The Band (see this here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfyjhtOTy1s). Today's title - what was their one and only hit?
(PLEASE REPLY TO andrew@thealcudiaguide.com AND NOT VIA THE COMMENTS THINGY HERE.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
