My client takes matters of health and safety extremely seriously…

That was on the 24th March 2009. A couple of years down the line, Whitbread have changed their management in the Premier Inn [...]]]> I’m reminded of a comment by a lady called Beverley who works for Gerald Eve. They are the company that manages property for Whitbread.

My client takes matters of health and safety extremely seriously…

That was on the 24th March 2009. A couple of years down the line, Whitbread have changed their management in the Premier Inn London Euston twice now, but the same basic problems of safety still exist. The previous manager, Mark, gave us the direct line for reception so we could call if there were any problems. We do that, but we still have to keep calling back because no-one takes charge of the issues and resolves them.

I’ve been banging on at the PILE since 2008 because they have a problem with glass in their car park. When the staff empty their glass bin into their recycling bin, some inevitably falls out, but they aren’t trained sufficiently to know to sweep it up, it gets ground down to small, sharp shards of glass, and I get a puncture.

I had two this weekend, fixed one, then pumped my tyre up again this morning to get me into work, got most of the way in, but I’ll have to change the inner tube at lunchtime.

As a test, if I carry my bicycle out of their car park, I don’t get punctures. As soon as I go back to cycling through it, I get them. I asked myself if I should carry it all the time, but that’s unfair to anyone else who uses their car park. PILE should really sort themselves out in that respect.

Noise

Everyone is affected by noise in their life at one time or another. PILE generate a fair amount with their contracted-out delivery staff slamming cages around the car park, vehicles reversing because the hotel lets cars park where they like which blocks access for their deliveries. The biggest problems, by far, are the garbage crusher and the ‘new’ air-con.

The air-con emits a low-level whirring noise, akin to a helicopter passing overhead. When the fans need to stop, it emits a screech.

The garbage grinder emits a 2kHz tone, which pearces your thoughts. It’s designed to do that, it’s a warning tone, however I have stood in the car park watching the hotel staff operating the machine with this noise emitting. You would not believe how many times the hotel’s number appears on my ‘phone bill. It’s not like I’m calling them to say hello, or have a chat. Each call is a problem.

To help explain the noise, here is a recording of the garbage grinder, with a frequency analysis. That solid yellow line by 2k means it’s a very loud noise, at that frequency.

Coffee, anyone?

Now, we all know what double-yellow lines mean? No parking. And if there are double-yellow kerb markings? No loading (or unloading).

I have referred to that piece of the highway code a few times in this blog. Here it is again:

And here’s the Kuehne & Nagel delivery driver for Costa Coffee parking where he shouldn’t to unload. It’s not like there’s a whacking great car park out the back.

Lets just make sure he is unloading, otherwise he w0uld be allowed to park briefly, say if he had an emergency to deal with…

That looks like someone making a delivery to me. This is a daily occurence, not just a one-off.

It’s not just a hotel…

I’m now reminded of the licensing hearing last year, where the hotel was asking to allow outside drinking (until 1am in the morning!) and their solicitor John Gaunt said:

We’re not a budget chain, this is a premium budget hotel.

I’ve yet to see what’s premium about it. Just remember next time you stay at the Premier Inn London Euston that you’re encouraging the hotel’s management to continue this lacklustre style of dragging the hotel along by the hair.

If you care for your car tyres, or you have children, you may want to [...]]]> I’ve been telling the Premier Inn London Euston (PILE) that they have a problem with glass in their car park for quite some time. They don’t take the issue seriously, and haven’t actually replied to me about it.

If you care for your car tyres, or you have children, you may want to consider this:

The area you drive through isn’t that wide, your car tyres would go over the bottle. Since July 2009 I’ve got five holes in my bicycle tyres because of this glass. I’ve told the hotel manager, and I’ve told the hotel area manager. Neither have shown that they care about the safety of their staff, customers, or those living and working around their hotel.

How can I say with such certainty that the hotel has a laxed attitude to safety outside the confines of the hotel itself? Because if they did care, they would not let this happen.

It’s almost a daily occurence. The staff empty their empties into the recycling facilities. Not all of the glass makes it into the bin though. Perfect if you want to damage your car, your children, or even yourself!

Update – Sunday 6th March 2011.

Looking back over my logs, I can see that I’ve told the General Manager at the Premier Inn London Euston FIVE times that glass is an issue. I’ve been into the reception to let them know about it no less than SEVEN times in 2011 thus far. Broken glass is still an issue the hotel is having serious trouble keeping on top of.

In other news on the company, they’ve just launched a “flat white” mediocre coffee, [...]]]> The Times newspaper has reported that Starbucks (the mediocre coffee chain) has complained to the Advertising Standards Authority because it disagreed with a claim by Costa Coffee (the mediocre coffee chain) that people prefer one type of mediocre coffee over another.

In other news on the company, they’ve just launched a “flat white” mediocre coffee, it’s CEO has announced he’s leaving, and the man in charge of easyJet is to take charge at Costa Coffee.

It’s allso came to light that the people who taste-test Costa Coffee love their jobs so much, one has insured their tongue for £10m.

That’s the corporate face of Costa Coffee. The face of Costa Coffee that I see is very different. I’m lucky enough to live near three of their coffee shops. The coffee giant that I see provides overly-heated milk (if you overheat the milk, it doesn’t taste nice and sweet, leading to a sour coffee). The outdoor seating areas are always a mess with napkins and empties, obviously they can’t be bothered to clean up. Then there’s the deliveries…

I’m not sure how clear this one is. It’s well after 6:30pm, and those double yellow kerb markings are accompanied by a sign on the lamp-post which says “no loading or unloading at any time”. This is the mediocre Costa Coffee on the corner of Euston Road and Duke’s Road in London. The manager of this particular place – Premier Inn London Euston (doesn’t that spell PILE?), and his area manager Peter, deny that this ever happens.

Costa Coffee park here, and deliver to their mediocre coffee shop every day.

This Costa Coffee truck is delivering to the new Marchmont Street mediocre coffee shop. The double yellows are “no parking at any time”. You may also notice the cycle lane the truck has parked over. Its a one-way street, with parking bays on the right as you drive.

Camden Council are in the process of re-paving Marchmont Street outside the Brunswick Centre, because of the dropped pavement, caused by the Costa Coffee deliveries. Who pays for this new pavement? Well, let me put it this way, Costa Coffee aren’t paying for it.

Whitbread, which owns Costa Coffee, contracts out its logistics and deliveries to Kuehne & Nagel. I’ve spoken at length to Whitbread about their deliveries, they try to pull up their socks, but it only lasts 5 minutes. I’ve emailed Kuehne & Nagel, they aren’t interested at all.

So it looks like it’s you and me, the respectable taxpayer, left to foot the bill because Whitbread, who own Costa Coffee, won’t take corporate responsibility for their actions.

Do yourself a favour. Buy your coffee independently.