I never mentioned during my UK travel blog that on our way out of London, security at Gatwick airport filed a report when my wheelchair tested positive for "kit." I had no idea what that meant (I later asked and found out it was traces of an explosive.) I started to panic as I saw the pens and papers coming out complete with a round of twenty questions. Is this your chair? How long have you had it? I failed the test twice (they swab the chair with a white piece of cloth looking for anything suspicious.)
Mom had her own issues as she was carrying too many liquids in her carry-on and they were having a field day pulling everything apart. I'll admit it, I started to panic, my first thought was "Should I be calling the Canadian Embassy? I know it sounds ridiculous, but when you see something like this unfolding in front of you, your first instinct is to try and protect yourself. This is a new day where everyone is a potential suspect, no matter how benevolent they may seem. As soon as they finished with the paper work and Mom had gathered all of our bags, I made her backtrack and ask the lady what this all meant. "Don't worry about it." She said, complete with a smile.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they were nice about it, but I am currently in the process of trying to find out what filing that report could mean for my passport and future travels. As I've already said, I'm going back to the UK in August, so clearing this matter up has taken on new importance. I came home determined to clear things up quickly, but a call to customs agents here yielded little help. Because the issue happened at Gatwick airport on the way home, officials here told me it had nothing to do with them and that if I wanted to know what had been written about the incident, I could file a request under the "Freedom of Information Act." Honestly, I had no clue where to start with any of that, so I did the next best thing. I went to the Gatwick airport site and discovered that they have a facebook page and "will do their best to answer any questions." I laughed cynically at the thought, an airport actually answering questions from someone half a world away? Yeah right.
I was astounded when I went to their page. They had actually posted pictures of the grand opening of their newly refurbished North Terminal . When we had passed through it, it was an absolute mess. Anyway, they were posting a live minute by minute account of the ribbon cutting cermony with the mayor, and John Mayer was on hand to sing at the festivities. It was so bizarre. You would never see anything like that in Toronto. Sure, you'd read about it in the papers, but you'd never get a birdseye view of it all. It reminded me of why I loved the UK so much. This is truly how they live their lives, a slower pace, a feeling of inclusion, and a quiet pride about where they live.
People had already commented on the wall, offering suggestions and talking about how great it looked. Each suggestion has been acknowledged and any that might be implemented, met with enthusiasm. "Great idea, we'll pass that on to our customer relations department for consideration!"
I bit the bullet and posted about my situation (not my first choice on a public board but the site had no relevant email addresses) and they got right back to me, saying that they will contact the necessary department and be in touch. I couldn't believe it, an actual person read/responded to my plite. There is an accountibility over there that is becoming a thing of the past here. Mom and I didn't see one messy store or hear a cross word from anyone. You get that "small town" feel even though you may not be in a small town. People stop what they're doing and listen, they take things in. It's a welcome change.
I also have to commend Gatwick for marketing themselves full throttle. Last I checked, there was an ad up for a cannon camera "that was 60 pounds less than retail" at one of the airport stores. It was so neat reading about the different stores, restaurants and internet servies in an AIRPORT. I can guarantee that Toronto's Pearson International would never market themselves like that. Waiting in line for an hour? Too bad. Bad food? Oh well.
And kudos to Gatwick for having new scanning kiosks for their UK passengers to self-scan their passports. I wish they would allow this for international passengers as well, but I can understand why they might be leary of that option. (Canada doesn't even have chipped passports yet and as it turns out, I will be one of the last to get one because my passport is due for renewal in a few months and they aren't switching to the chip until the end of the year.) On one hand I am thrilled because the chipped version of Canadian passports is going to cost $287 for a five year term. Compare that with $87 for the current passport and $135 for the chipped US version that is good for ten years instead of five. For whatever reason, Canada is forever high on the price scale of just about everything.
Anyway back to my quandary. I am waiting for the promised contact from customer service and somehow I believe they just might come through. It's nice to know that even if it's only sometimes, the customer can in fact, be right and get some decent service, even if they have to travel half way around the world to find it.
Mom had her own issues as she was carrying too many liquids in her carry-on and they were having a field day pulling everything apart. I'll admit it, I started to panic, my first thought was "Should I be calling the Canadian Embassy? I know it sounds ridiculous, but when you see something like this unfolding in front of you, your first instinct is to try and protect yourself. This is a new day where everyone is a potential suspect, no matter how benevolent they may seem. As soon as they finished with the paper work and Mom had gathered all of our bags, I made her backtrack and ask the lady what this all meant. "Don't worry about it." She said, complete with a smile.
Don't get me wrong, I'm glad they were nice about it, but I am currently in the process of trying to find out what filing that report could mean for my passport and future travels. As I've already said, I'm going back to the UK in August, so clearing this matter up has taken on new importance. I came home determined to clear things up quickly, but a call to customs agents here yielded little help. Because the issue happened at Gatwick airport on the way home, officials here told me it had nothing to do with them and that if I wanted to know what had been written about the incident, I could file a request under the "Freedom of Information Act." Honestly, I had no clue where to start with any of that, so I did the next best thing. I went to the Gatwick airport site and discovered that they have a facebook page and "will do their best to answer any questions." I laughed cynically at the thought, an airport actually answering questions from someone half a world away? Yeah right.
I was astounded when I went to their page. They had actually posted pictures of the grand opening of their newly refurbished North Terminal . When we had passed through it, it was an absolute mess. Anyway, they were posting a live minute by minute account of the ribbon cutting cermony with the mayor, and John Mayer was on hand to sing at the festivities. It was so bizarre. You would never see anything like that in Toronto. Sure, you'd read about it in the papers, but you'd never get a birdseye view of it all. It reminded me of why I loved the UK so much. This is truly how they live their lives, a slower pace, a feeling of inclusion, and a quiet pride about where they live.
People had already commented on the wall, offering suggestions and talking about how great it looked. Each suggestion has been acknowledged and any that might be implemented, met with enthusiasm. "Great idea, we'll pass that on to our customer relations department for consideration!"
I bit the bullet and posted about my situation (not my first choice on a public board but the site had no relevant email addresses) and they got right back to me, saying that they will contact the necessary department and be in touch. I couldn't believe it, an actual person read/responded to my plite. There is an accountibility over there that is becoming a thing of the past here. Mom and I didn't see one messy store or hear a cross word from anyone. You get that "small town" feel even though you may not be in a small town. People stop what they're doing and listen, they take things in. It's a welcome change.
I also have to commend Gatwick for marketing themselves full throttle. Last I checked, there was an ad up for a cannon camera "that was 60 pounds less than retail" at one of the airport stores. It was so neat reading about the different stores, restaurants and internet servies in an AIRPORT. I can guarantee that Toronto's Pearson International would never market themselves like that. Waiting in line for an hour? Too bad. Bad food? Oh well.
And kudos to Gatwick for having new scanning kiosks for their UK passengers to self-scan their passports. I wish they would allow this for international passengers as well, but I can understand why they might be leary of that option. (Canada doesn't even have chipped passports yet and as it turns out, I will be one of the last to get one because my passport is due for renewal in a few months and they aren't switching to the chip until the end of the year.) On one hand I am thrilled because the chipped version of Canadian passports is going to cost $287 for a five year term. Compare that with $87 for the current passport and $135 for the chipped US version that is good for ten years instead of five. For whatever reason, Canada is forever high on the price scale of just about everything.
Anyway back to my quandary. I am waiting for the promised contact from customer service and somehow I believe they just might come through. It's nice to know that even if it's only sometimes, the customer can in fact, be right and get some decent service, even if they have to travel half way around the world to find it.
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