HQ Office opening hours
Isn't it time the club came into the 21st century so the office was open on a Saturday like every other organisation?
I wanted to amend my ferry booking time for tomorrow having seen the high wind forecast but couldn't do it via the club. P and O Ferries wouldn't help me until they had rung the club themselves and confirmed that they were not answering calls.
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I would have to have done what I did and contact P and O direct.
I am afraid that I am very Luddite in my attitude to Sundays and think that it should be a family day and don't agree with shops and offices being open so that more and more people have to treat it as a normal working day. I know I am in the minority with this point of view and I am extremely grateful to all the emergency service staff who have to work but I don't expect CMC staff to do so. But I do expect them to work Saturdays.
Now you can all shout me down but it is just my opinion.
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Last summer we were in Norway on a cruise holiday.
It was refreshing to find that Sundays were a family day with activities undertaken, and shops were closed. On an excursion in Stavanger it was great to see the Ikea and other shops on retail parks closed.
Strangely Norway has an economy not based on retail and the price of houses, their North Sea oil revenue has been invested in a sovereign wealth fund. Norwegians work to live, not live to work.
Everywhere we went there were lovely campsites, full of families undertaking exercise based activities. Somewhere to go for a tour when we retire.
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Jenny
I have edited the title of your post slightly to show that you mean HQ rather and campsite office hours.
On the point you make I have an alternative suggestion which I will make further down the post. I am not sure it's realistic for the Club to open on a Saturday or perhaps a Sunday as it would be too costly in staffing terms as you would need to employ more people.
My suggestion to the Club which would solve the problem you are encountering is for them to make an agreement with the various ferry companies that members can amend their own bookings rather than having to go via the Club. The Club would have to be prepared to forego the amendment fee but as they would not be involved I can't see that they would be out of pocket unless amendment fees are a nice little earner?
David
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Thanks David for the alteration.
I seem to remember from a couple of years ago the club charged £20 to amend a booking. P and O didn't make a charge this morning but neither did they refund anything for the fact that I was changing to a cheaper ferry.
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Two points on this subject.
1 -- Grimstead Towers employees are entitled to their weekends off and that means that the office is closed.
2 -- Modern IT communications enable selected staff members, from their own homes, to cover enquiries and sales from customers during weekends.
I see no reason why a small number of staff cannot be on standby at home to handle those enquiries. It happens in loads of businesses, why not the CMC.
K
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Hi all,
Thanks for comments. They are all valid and we have trialed opening on Saturdays during historically busier periods, as I'm sure you are all aware.
As David mentions there still isn't a strong business case for opening our offices on Saturdays but we are looking at other ways we can assist our Members - through our busier periods - using methods such as Web Chat.
All comments and feedback are greatly appreciated.
Enjoy the Bank Holiday folks.
Helen
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Marley, Have a look at your ferry reservation confirmation. Is there not an out of hours number to call if it’s an emergency alteration?
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Interesting that the last post before today was over 6 years ago.
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I doubt "easy and inexpensive solutions" exist anywhere? As someone whose whole working career was in retailing working on a Saturday (and more recently Sundays) was par for the course. However for many its not and many of the people working during the week might not be prepared to work at the weekend. Even if they did there might be an expectation that there should be some sort of additional payment for working unsociable hours. So you can quickly see the prospect of "inexpensive solutions" not really being available. We also don't know how common it is for members to amend bookings. If there were dozens every weekend then perhaps it could be justified but only a tiny handful then probably not.
As I mentioned earlier it would be far easier for members to be able to amend their bookings direct with the company running the crossing. However I just wonder if that would mean any discounts disappearing?
David
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What experience do you have Arthur of you or anyone of working from home?
Inexpensive? Why are people who work from home are paid less? They still have to be paid. Do you think they work on their own laptops with windows software with a phone handy? Or are computers and multiple screens provided? Phone headset maybe? Even a special secure internet connection? What about the cost of phone calls?
It is certainly not easy, and if as the club says there isn't enough work for them to do at weekends you still want that expense?
.
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Let’s not try to answer a question (or is it a complaint) without knowing the facts.
We don’t know whether it’s a routine change to a ferry booking which can reasonably wait till Monday, No urgency.
We dont know whether it’s an emergency medical or mechanical problem for this weekend - in which case Red Pennant or another travel insurance company will surely help - and they are open today.
We don’t know whether the ferry company has refused to change a booking for a ferry this weekend if the change is for some other reason..
And we don’t know whether the ferry company has any spare availability for today or tomorrow at a peak weekend.We can only hope the member gets it solved.
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It's all mute anyway EuroT as the OP was made 6 years ago. Let's hope she's found a ferry home by now.
I once had this experience. We had an emergency situation at home with my now deceased Father-in-law and needed to get home urgently from Central France. Not only was it a weekend but a Bank Holiday one at that. Club out of bounds. Nevertheless we made our way to the ferry terminal and asked in French, which I think helped, if they could switch our booking to the next ferry. They did without a problem. I paid the difference in cost and was very grateful to Brittany Ferries.
I do think that if the club are to offer a ferry booking system then they should have an emergency number that members in need of it can contact or come to an agreement with ferry operators that members can contact direct if out of working hours or in an emergency.
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Over 20 years ago a problem arose on Friday afternoon. By the time I was able to ring the club to change a booking the office had closed for the weekend.
while the commission on 2 bookings a year is not great, over 20 years it mounts up, as that fee now goes direct to whichever ferry company or Eurotunnel I travel with.
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We have just been to Ireland via Cairnryan - Belfast. Booked through the other club with Stena. I was given a code to book direct with Stena and received upgrade to Flexi for less than the cost of standard fare. Presume the club forego commission unless the have a different arrangement to CAMC
PS fare was less than CAMC
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Despite the thread being old the the subject matter is still relevant and seems to be asked on a regular basis.
Its certainly clear that if you require maximum flexibility it seems wiser to book directly with the carrier and have proper insurance. If it is a real emergency then you have to take the relevant action and ask questions later. That may leave you out of pocket but the emergency is the important thing. As ET points out insurance should cover such things and its always possible the the Club may be able to help retrospectively. Perhaps where its not so helpful is when people change their minds for non emergency reasons but should that be the responsibility of the Club?
David
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