10 September 2014
9 September 2014
Happy birthday Tolstoy (and a few thoughts)
Through the evil Google, I learned that today is Leo Tolstoy's birthday (whatever this means: dates then, 1828, and now, keep shifting as the period of the Earth's orbit around the Sun and around its axis are not rationally related and so, to catch up, we have to revise calendars) and the following sprang to mind:
It is a fact that, had the world been without modern (19th c. and later) Russian literature, it would have been a much poorer world: Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, Lermontov, Gogol, Pushkin, etc. etc. They have formed an inspiration for the whole world.
Which brings forth the next observation: When learning a language, one of one's criteria (at least mine) has been the ability to see a new world through the writings in this language. And Russian is worth learning not least for this reason. (Alas, I do not know Russian beyond tourists' phrases.) Even though, as modern linguists tell us, all languages have the same expressive power, it is not true that all languages have achieved the same quality of literature. One criterion for learning a language is one's ability to communicate with the speakers of this language: languages whose speakers are good communicators can be learned more easily. Another criterion is the writings in this language: literature inspires and opens up new worlds. (By analogy, why should one read poor mathematical/scientific papers?)
How come some nations, some peoples, have a much richer literature than others?I do not know the answer: Is it education? Is it social structure? Is it wealth? Is it religion? Is it language? Is it history? Is it political freedom or its absence? A combination of the above? Which combination? Why? The answers are not straightforward because for every yes there is an exception and for every no there is another exception.
It is a fact that, had the world been without modern (19th c. and later) Russian literature, it would have been a much poorer world: Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, Lermontov, Gogol, Pushkin, etc. etc. They have formed an inspiration for the whole world.
Which brings forth the next observation: When learning a language, one of one's criteria (at least mine) has been the ability to see a new world through the writings in this language. And Russian is worth learning not least for this reason. (Alas, I do not know Russian beyond tourists' phrases.) Even though, as modern linguists tell us, all languages have the same expressive power, it is not true that all languages have achieved the same quality of literature. One criterion for learning a language is one's ability to communicate with the speakers of this language: languages whose speakers are good communicators can be learned more easily. Another criterion is the writings in this language: literature inspires and opens up new worlds. (By analogy, why should one read poor mathematical/scientific papers?)
7 September 2014
Scandinavian airlines and the refusal of responsibility: a reply
SAS sent, through my travel agent, a reply to my grievance against them. In my previous posting, I explained in detail that I went to Stockholm airport in order to fly to Buenos Aires via Frankfurt, the flight was delayed, SAS refused to help me, and when I pointed out to them that they have a responsibility to do so, they replied that "out of all people, a Greek should not talk about responsibility".
The SAS letter is below (in Swedish). They basically say, without going into any specific details, "sorry, we are going to tell the people at the airport not to do this again" and that "we offer you a gift voucher in the amount of 20 Euros". Their reply shows that they still avoid to take any responsibility about the fact that they refused to help me, they do not mention at all the insult, and, in addition they insult me further: they offer me 20 (twenty!) Euros. That is, they insult me further! What do they think, that I am a beggar or what? I would rather they addressed my concerns directly, rather than offer me pennies. I told the travel agent to send the gift voucher back with the reply that I remain offended by their ridiculous gesture.
Amazing, isn't it?
Has anyone encountered a company that avoids responsibility as much as SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) does?
The SAS letter is below (in Swedish). They basically say, without going into any specific details, "sorry, we are going to tell the people at the airport not to do this again" and that "we offer you a gift voucher in the amount of 20 Euros". Their reply shows that they still avoid to take any responsibility about the fact that they refused to help me, they do not mention at all the insult, and, in addition they insult me further: they offer me 20 (twenty!) Euros. That is, they insult me further! What do they think, that I am a beggar or what? I would rather they addressed my concerns directly, rather than offer me pennies. I told the travel agent to send the gift voucher back with the reply that I remain offended by their ridiculous gesture.
Amazing, isn't it?
Has anyone encountered a company that avoids responsibility as much as SAS (Scandinavian Airlines) does?
From: sascustomercare@sas.se
Sent: den 2 september 2014 12:02
Subject: SE- Customer Care 14-056336/JP (KMM6306571V29192L0KM)
Hej!Det var mycket tråkigt att höra om bemötandet på Arlanda, och det är absolut inte så det ska gå till. Å SAS vägnar ber vi om ursäkt, och jag kommer att skicka vidare din feedback till personalansvarig på Arlanda och vi kommer internt att ta åtgärder så att detta ej sker igen.Sen till själva ansvarsområdet så är informationen från LH samt från check in-personalen en sanning med modifikation. Vi hjälper enbart LH med incheckningen av väskor då det inte finns någon LH-representant på Arlanda. De är dock fortfarande ansvarig över resan, medan all information som läggs till och dras ifrån en biljett ska gå via dom som du har köpeavtalet med (inom de regelverk som resebyrån har givetvis). Det innebär att blir det en förändring i flygschemat ska den informationen skickas till resebyråerna som sedan ska informera passagerarna.Dock är det annorlunda när det gäller ofrivilliga schemaändringar tätt inpå avgång. Rutinen är att det flygbolaget som påverkar reseplanen ska göra sitt bästa för att få passageraren vidare till sin slutdestination. Detta resulterar i att man antingen blir ombokad till en senare/tidigare flight, eller blir ombokad till ett annat flygbolag. Anledningen till varför SAS-personalen ville att du skulle resa vidare till Frankfurt är för att där skulle LH strukturera upp den nya resan till dig (då vi som sagt inte har någon LH-representant på Arlanda). Sen går vi även över till Star Alliance-samarbetet, vilket innebär att de olika biljettkontoren, ex. LH och SAS, kan endast använda sig av de egna flighterna. Hade passageraren rest till Frankfurt, hade personalen där kunnat använda sig av resterande Alliance-flyg för att ta sig vidare till Buenos Aires.Dock innebär inte detta att vi har uppträtt korrekt, utan jag vill erbjuda passageraren ifråga en kompensation för dåligt bemötande med en giftvoucher till ett värde av EUR20. Vänligen återkom med hemadress så skickar vi dessa med posten så fort vi kan.Hjälp oss att bli bättre! Klicka på bifogad länk och besvara några enkla frågor om hur du upplevde din e-postkontakt med oss. Tack för att du vill hjälpa oss att ytterligare förbättra vår service.
https://www.csatfeedback.com/se.ashx?s=5C0A2BE22FB1440CMed vänlig hälsning
Josefin
Customer Care Team
SAS Visit us at flysas.com
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