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Sunday, June 21, 2009THAT'S IT THEN INNIT? Hubs was laid off today.  
Friday, June 12, 2009AVARICE TOWERSA (FAIRY) TALE OF WOE Once upon a time, about 12mths ago, a really, really well known Regional Property Development Company - hereafter known as 'The Client' - put out a tender to build (yet another) heap of designer towers on an island nearby. The value of the contract was almost $2billion. Serious bling money eh? The Client awarded their mega bucks contract to a group of 3 international construction contractors. These 3 contractors created a Joint Venture. There was much excitement & the JV couldn't wait to get started! The Towers were to be really iconic in design & the presentation scale model was awfully pretty. It had to be, cos it had to entice buyers to part with their hard-earned dosh when they bought one of the spiffy apartments or took out a lease on a store where they could promote yet more overpriced bling. Multiple site offices were erected & after a "wait small, it's coming insh'allah" period, telephones & internet facilites were connected. The coffee machines & water dispensers were installed, office staff employed & offices assigned to senior staff of each of the JV companies. Without a moment's delay, they were A for away & the work began. Whoopee! Specialised staff were imported from countries in the Southern Hemisphere & with them came their wives & children. Homes had to be found & schools sorted for the kids. There was so much to do & the pressure of working 15hr days added strain to family lives, but people persevered. . After a few months, things settled down & work progressed. Reinforcing & formwork were placed, ready to receive concrete for the foundations, when it transpired that The Client had not received the building permit. Oooops. Cracks started to appear in the professionalism of The Client. . . The Client paid a little bit of money for a heap of work. The JV started to take strain - they needed The Client to pay what was owing as each month progressed (i.e. Monthly Certificate) but The Client had an excuse each time as to why no payment materialised. Then, there were rumours.....................rumours that The Client didn't have money. Oh no! Shock, horror! The chaps in the JV asked themselves: How can The Client expect to have these massive towers built when they didn't have money? . Meetings were held at very regular intervals. The Client assured the JV that they would get their money, but strangely enough, it was never forthcoming. Matters came to a head & at a highly-charged meeting, The Client said it didn't have funding for the project. But, there was a solution to their problem: The JV could fund the project! Ha! How about that then!! Problem solved! Er, no, not so fast said the JV - we're contractors, not bankers! We don't finance projects - we build them! They asked, how on earth could The Client expect the JV to take the risk of building the project at a rock-bottom price, as well as the risk of financing the project, with no guaranteed returns, simply in order for The Client to make their original budgeted profit WITH NO RISK TO THEMSELVES? . The Client then informed the JV that they would attempt (again) to get funding. They were sure they could get it............really.................cos they were The Client & everybody knew them! . . Guess what? . . . The Client couldn't get the financing. . . So they cancelled the project. . . The JV were naturally disappointed, but knew that life had to go on. A large percentage of staff were gradually laid off or re-assigned to other minor projects where possible, whilst others set about claiming money from The Client for work already done. This took a considerable amount of time, as there was much money outstanding. Suppliers & Sub-Contractors were getting impatient - they too wanted their money. . Many weeks passed & The Client still couldn't come up with even a hint of the outstanding amount..............but they were very creative in their excuses. . . Then, a new rumour surfaced - The Client had allegedly entered a 'new agreement' with 2 of the 3 JV contractors. It was to go ahead & build the towers after all! It would be a whole new contract! The rumour apparently became a fact when local newspapers recently published a story about The Client awarding a new contract to build their iconic towers, on an island nearby. Strange, didn't that story appear in the papers a year ago? . The really funny thing is though, The Client STILL doesn't appear to have the funding for the project! . One of the 2 JV partners is ironically the contracting division of The Client - it's all the same company. This particular company also owns a rather large bank in the Region, but strangely enough, it's own bank is rumoured to have refused to finance the project! The Client doesn't seem too bothered about this . It thinks that one day, a Magic Banker will suddenly appear from the depths of a brass lamp & in a puff of smoke, wave a blank cheque at them! . . Meanwhile, back on the island, the 3rd contractor in the original JV awaits its share of the outstanding amount owed by The Client. This contractor refuses to vacate it's offices or hand over any documentation or equipment relating to the original JV, until it gets paid. The Client is acting like an impatient child, stamping its foot & screaming "I want, I want!" because it wants to get started (again) on its project, despite apparently not having secured the necessary funding. It has now resorted to 'dirty' tactics in an effort to get the 3rd JV contractor to simply go away, without payment of course. What it fails to understand is that the longer it avoids paying the outstanding costs, the more it will ultimately cost in the end. The Client created the problem in the first place, but now simply wants to wash it's hands of all financial responsibility & start all over again as if nothing has happened. The Writer hopes this (fairy) tale has a happy ending.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009HOW TO SEND PATRONS PACKING Several weeks ago, a bunch of us made arrangements to travel through to The Cove Resort in Ras al Khaimah. By the 28th of April, rooms had been reserved & confirmed for a group of 10 adults, 2 teenagers & a sprog. Because of work commitments, we all decided to travel at various times during the day of arrival - the 28th of May. Max The Man & His Missus TLT left Abu Dhabi early in the morning & took advantage of riding in 'cooler' temperatures. Hubs, myself & 2 friends could only get away at 1pm. It was brutal riding weather to say the least. The rest of the gang opted to travel by car, also during the afternoon. About 400m before turning into the resort from the main road, my bike developed its wobble - see previous post. This pissed on mine & Hubs collective batteries I can tell you! We chugged into the resort, only to be stopped & redirected into the parking lot by a whistle-blowing arm -waving character. Wondering what the hell was going on, we were then informed by a parking attendant that we couldn't take the bikes up to the main entrance & reception area. We had to park the bikes & then a golf cart would collect us & our luggage. We were not amused. When it came to checking in, some of our group were told that they would be allocated twin-bedded room. This was despite written confirmation that king-sized bed rooms were booked. I'm sorry but if I've booked a room at least a month in advance & have written confirmation of sed room, I don't want to pitch up & be told that my arrangements have been changed on the whim of a reception clerk. Despite a request to have our rooms close to each other, we were scattered all over the place. The actual layout of the resort is like a small village, with dinky little paved streets running between the rows of rooms, which are designed to resemble small villas. Very pleasing to the eye admittedly, but a bitch when you want to get from A to B, especially if your room is on one of the lower 'streets'. You either have to slog your way uphill in the scorching heat, or phone reception for a golf cart to fetch you. The wait can be so frustrating that you end up walking anyway. The majority of the group opted not to go down to the beach, for the simple reason it was too far away. On the first evening, someone from 'Guest Relations' phoned us to ask if we were happy with our room. The room was fine - we had no complaints - but we asked if someone could please come & adjust the TV colour & contrast settings, as the picture was predominently red & green. Both the remote & the actual TV settings had been disabled. I'm still waiting for someone to come & change it. (When I complained about this at the time of checking out, the dingbat on reception smiled that 'Lights Are On/No-one's Home' smile & simply said "Oh yes, the TV's are like that!" I then asked if the hotel had bought a cheap batch of damaged TV's, which were guaranteed to hurt viewers eyes & the 'Vacant' look just got bigger, but the grin faded somewhat.) Sadly, both 'main' restaurants were not of a 5-star standard. The evening buffet offered in 'Cinnamon' was horrible. One guy in our group tried chewing on a lamb-stewish dish, but the meat was so tough, he had to spit it out. The beef wellington, still oozing it's lifeblood (ewww) was tasteless & horribly undercooked. If folks wanted a slab of 'cut the hooves off & wipe it's arse' cow meat, they would have asked for it, as steaks were cooked to order - but in my humble opinion, a dish like Beef Wellington shouldn't look like it's a chunk of raw meat wrapped in pastry & lightly baked for 20 minutes. The following evening we booked a table for 10 in Basilica, the other restaurant. It was an utter fiasco, which ended in tears & frayed tempers. From then on, we either ate at the poolside 'Laguna' bar, or ordered out. I personally don't like Pizza Hut food, but I can assure you it was a damn sight better than what the hotel restaurants were dishing up. Other complaints are minor - such as turning down the beds at night, which happened 1 night out of 4 - but they all add up to leaving a really bad impression of what is supposed to be a 5-star resort. As HOG (Harley Owners Group) members, we're always given a 20% discount on food & beverage at Rotana Hotels/Resorts. We were not given it at The Cove & it was only after phone calls for verification were made after the groups insistance, was the discount promised. Pay first & argue later - that's a pretty bad way to treat patrons. One other thing that REALLY pissed us off though was that 3 of our bikes had been tampered with, whilst parked up away from the main hotel. People had obviously sat on them, tried to 'steer' them & even went so far as to change gear on one of them. The hotel car park is supposed to be secure, but it's blatantly obvious that a blind eye is turned when someone wants to have their picture taken or sit astride a bloody expensive bit of machinery, when the owner is nowhere in sight. Not on I'm afraid, definitely not on. Overall, I don't think any of us will rush back to this resort. I really did get annoyed with the "oh well we've only been open 3mths" excuse & "we're having teething problems". Three months is ample time to sort out the problems. I wrote my complaints down on the 'Tell Us About Your Stay' form, spoke to the duty manager & stated that I would be doing a review on my blog, which wouldn't be favourable. I noticed that several cars were parked in the reception carpark - so I'm curious to know why 5 very expensive Harleys weren't allowed the same privilege? Staff - particularly waiters/waitresses in both restaurants - seriously need a kick up the arse. The only things that are working for the hotel right now are very comfy beds (with feather pillows) & fantastic swimming pools. As a group, we ALL seriously needed some precious 'chill-out' time & we were all so looking forward to our long weekend. It's such a pity this resort never lived up to its expectations. . . . *update* . . Max The Man has added his opinion: When we got to the hotel on our bikes they told us that the front is reserved for VIPs. Later during the weekend said "VIPs" arrived in family sedans and SUVs like Nissan Maximas and Landcruisers. VIP my ass! It took the reception people 3 tries to get us to a room we liked. We checked in @ 9am but did not get to our rooms till around 11 after some mall wandering. We got twin beds - for some reason reception thought we looked like brother and sister (a tanned Emirati and blue eyed blonde? Maybe half sister??). Instantly we called and complained and they switched us to one of the highest rooms in the place, where we had a very good view of the rooftops. I felt like the hunchback of Notredame living in a tower, all that was missing was a big ass church bell. We called again to complain and then they told us that we've been upgraded to a deluxe room while we booked for a classic room. She was insinuating that we should be grateful and shut up... which we didn't. So we asked them to take us to a better room and we don't mind the wait. So we waited at the pool side and I forgot to bring the oh so precious towel cards*. No card no towel! For god's sake! do we look like squatters!? So we hung around the pool towel-less for what seemed hours. I felt like I resembled a dried prune. It wasn't till 4pm that we got the room that we wanted. Food was average at a higher price. I liked the food at Basilco but the service we got was horrendous. The best food we got that weekend was from Pizza Hut - I love junk food. Overall T and I loved the place and we do plan on staying there in the future but the service needs a major overhaul by then. Labels: Rotana Cove Resort Ras al Khaimah
Wednesday, June 03, 2009THROWING A WOBBLE I'm the first to admit I'm pretty hopeless at remembering specific dates, but thanks to THIS I knew our 'problem' wasn't very old.Let me explain..............Hubs, myself & 8 good friends decided to take a run through to Ras al Khaimah for a long weekend. We supposedly were offered a good rate from the new Rotana Cove resort, so plans were made for a getaway. (A review on that will follow shortly. It'll contain much swearing methinks) Anyway, we loaded up Tallulah (my bike) & set off with 2 others riding their Harleys. Apart from numerous rehydration stops (the temperature hit 52C at one stage) our ride was uneventful until about 400m before the entrance to the resort. Tallulah developed a barely controllable wobble & both Hubs & myself knew immediately that we'd felt that same wobble before. Hubs managed to get the bike into the carpark without incident & it remained there until Sunday. On Saturday, Hubs phoned the manager of the Dubai Harley dealership & explained the problem. A recovery vehicle was sent & Tallulah was taken away to be 'fixed'. This is where I have a problem. In November last year, after developing the 'first' wobble, 5 different people rode Tallulah & determined there definitely was a problem with the rear wheel. The manager of the Abu Dhabi dealership reckoned there was nothing wrong. On Hubs' insistance that a closer examination be carried out, it was discovered that the lining of the rear tyre had shredded. It cost us Dh1100 to have that tyre replaced, despite the bike still being under warranty. We were told (after the fact & by another customer who'd had his tyre replaced free of charge) that we shouldn't have had to pay, as the tyres allegedly come with a guarantee. Needless to say, we weren't refunded. Fast forward >>>>>>>>>to a few days ago. When we went to collect the bike from the Dubai dealership, we were told that the tyre had indeed shredded, again. When Hubs said that this was the SECOND time in less than 6mths & only 1800km 'wear' & we shouldn't have to pay for it, he was informed that Dunlop are only guaranteeing their tyres for 50km. After that, it's tough tits. So, after an expensive break, we had to cough up a further Dh1595 to fix a defective tyre, which wasn't our responsibility. It seems that both the dealerships of Harley Davidson & Dunlop in the Middle East really couldn't give a damn about customer service. In recent months, the Abu Dhabi franchise of Harley Davidson has earned itself a rather tawdry reputation. Shoddy workmanship, poor customer relations & an air of 'take it or leave it' is blatantly obvious. When I enquired recently about reporting a matter to someone further up the food chain - i.e. going higher than the store manager/area manager, I was told I couldn't - simple as that. No one gets as far as the franchise holder - in my opinion, the person who is ultimately responsible for running a successful world renowned brand. Gawd forbid anyone should complain to the Al Masaood Group. It's way too busy raking in the dosh. Dunlop responded to an email Hubs sent linking to this post. Their response is as follows:
"For the UK, bar ride issues which are within first 10% of tread life Dunlop motorbike Tyre warranty is 5 years. Any allowances are % based on remaining legal tread depth. Regards Peter Wayte Product Support & Service"
Well at least Dunlop had the decency to respond & I sincerely thank them for that. I'll be taking his letter to Harley Davidson. Stay tuned! Labels: crappy Dunlop tyres, Harley Davidson, kak en betaal, piss poor service
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