Irish Horse Meat in UK Food

Yes !!!!
I could not believe what I was hearing.

For a company spokesman to display such arrogance and disrespect to that company's customer base was staggering. He seemed to revel in insulting the intelligence of viewers.
 
Mrs Sheikh is into the marketing lark. The expression on her face as he single handedly went about dissolving the companies rep was hilarious.
 
Absolutely, ............... like Mrs Sheik my jaw was dropping too !
Yer man from Iceland made the Tesco spokesman look as angelic as one of the cuddly "Care Bears" by comparison. At least the Tesco guy came across with all the correct soundbites ( a bit of remorse; a promise to be more diligent in future, etc etc).

The Iceland guy literally had a "So What" attitude to his company's products containing horsemeat. A quote of his that sticks in my mind was his glib answer to whether Iceland would be testing for horsemeat contamination in the future. His reply:- "No, and we won't be testing for cat, dog, or monkey, either". :blink:
Car-crash stuff.
 
Where've you been icebreaker you were the only regular poster on my thread relied on you for the occasional feedback,on an incredible run you mustv'e won bombs in the last 6 months.
 
Hey Gigilo .............. my main man !
All respect to the best pundit on the internet !

Fella, I've had a lay-off for a couple of weeks from regular punting -- actually an enforced lay-off due to a few accounts having been closed as a result of "doing" your picks ( Bet365, Boyles, even Laddies). :lol:
(Just betting on the USA racing via Betfair at the mo').

But I'll be opening some new accounts shortly -- I'm waiting until the tasty sign-up bonus's that the bookies usually offer in the run up to Cheltenham. Then, normal business will resume. :)

I'm still looking in daily at your posts tho', marvellous stuff as always.
Keep up the good work, dude. :thumbsup:
 
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icebreaker said:
The Iceland guy literally had a "So What" attitude to his company's products containing horsemeat. A quote of his that sticks in my mind was his glib answer to whether Iceland would be testing for horsemeat contamination in the future. His reply:- "No, and we won't be testing for cat, dog, or monkey, either". :blink:
Car-crash stuff.
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O'Leary (Ryanair) has been spouting that kind of stuff for years. Hasn't affected his business much.

So long as you aren't carrying luggage and don't mind being treated like sh1te he'll happily take your money off you and you'll 'happily' get from A to B.
 
I dislike O'Leary, however,Ryanair does what it says. It gets you there,(or closeish !)
no frills attached. Flippantly dismissing peoples concerns over what they are actually eating when you are relying on them to buy the product in order to have a business is a different matter .
 
But O'Leary flippantly dismisses people's concerns over how they are being treated when he is relying on them to buy his product. That isn't that different in my opinion.

I would now only fly Ryanair if no other airline could get me to my destination but I can't imagine enjoying it the way I did when it started out. In those days it was 'cheap & cheerful'. Now it's not-so-cheap and ever-so-nasty.

Back to the horsemeat stuff...

Yes, we do need to know what we're eating but I don't see this as a big health scare or anything like that. It's more about are we getting what it says we're getting?

I used to buy Lidl's lasagne (the big one) as it tasted better than any of the other supermarket stuff. But a couple of years ago they changed the recipe. I think it might even have said 'improved' on the label. It was horrible. Nothing like the original. And I have to say, my first thought was, 'That isn't beef.' I'm sure the label said beef (but I'll check tomorrow when I'm there). It was more like the stuff you get in 'Scotch pies', originally known up here as 'mutton pies'. I haven't eaten that lasagne since. It might well be horse.

I don't have a problem with horsemeat, as I said. I used to get it (and enjoy it) when I worked in France.
 
But O'Leary flippantly dismisses people's concerns over how they are being treated when he is relying on them to buy his product. That isn't that different in my opinion.

I would now only fly Ryanair if no other airline could get me to my destination but I can't imagine enjoying it the way I did when it started out. In those days it was 'cheap & cheerful'. Now it's not-so-cheap and ever-so-nasty.
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I hear ye..... but I've never heard him joke about the quality of the aircraft :)
Back to the horsemeat stuff...

Yes, we do need to know what we're eating but I don't see this as a big health scare or anything like that. It's more about are we getting what it says we're getting?

I used to buy Lidl's lasagne (the big one) as it tasted better than any of the other supermarket stuff. But a couple of years ago they changed the recipe. I think it might even have said 'improved' on the label. It was horrible. Nothing like the original. And I have to say, my first thought was, 'That isn't beef.' I'm sure the label said beef (but I'll check tomorrow when I'm there). It was more like the stuff you get in 'Scotch pies', originally known up here as 'mutton pies'. I haven't eaten that lasagne since. It might well be horse.

I don't have a problem with horsemeat, as I said. I used to get it (and enjoy it) when I worked in France.
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Was that the chilled or frozen Lasagne ? I used to get the one in the freezer which tasted very different to the chilled one which was in very similar if not identical packaging.

I suppose the issue with horsegate is we can't have any confidence in what they're putting in other processed foods.
 
Sheikh said:
I hear ye..... but I've never heard him joke about the quality of the aircraft :)
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I take your point, but I remember him remarking when presenting the trophy for the Ryanair Chase to the winning owner (Ogden, Hemmings, I can't remember who) that he was a Ryanair passenger and he would get his money back by charging him for excess baggage.

Ryanair have acquired a reputation for being almost predatory, lying in wait to catch passengers out and charge them big money, whether for not printing their boarding cards, arriving a few minutes late, their bag being slightly too big, or whatever. The only thing which brings people back to them is price, but a lot of people prefer to pay a bit extra and know that nobody's trying to catch them out.
 
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We could have a whole thread on Ryanair.

On the arriving a few minutes late thing, I think they are dead right. I fly over and back to London most weeks, and I am acutely aware of how easy it is for flights to be delayed. You can miss your slot. And become late to your destination. I sometimes get frustrated by people being late and affecting me at my destination. I actually think it is fairer to have a rule and to stick to it. Rigidly. I don't want to be late because of someone else's tardinesss. On a similar note, I hate the way they let people skip the airline security queue as they are late for their flight. I make the effort to arrive on time at the airport. Last Monday, 8 people were moved to the front of my queue at the bag scanning area. This meant I couldn't have a cup of coffee on the other side before I got on my flight. I find it hard to function at 7am with no caffeine.

On the bag being slightly too big. Again, I agree with Ryanair on this. Back in December, I was on a flight from London with Aer Lingus. It was full. I had one of those girlie wheelie bags, as I had done an overnight for 2 nights in London. When I got on the plane, there was nowhere to put my bag. I had seen people with three or four bags each or one bag that was too big getting on the plane. They had to tag my bag and put it in the luggage hold. When I got to Dublin I had to wait for my luggage, which was delayed. I got back 30 minutes later than I would have otherwise, and so didn't get home in time to allow my wife to go to her pilates class. Minor inconvenience for me I guess, but I still blamed the 4uckers with big bags and extra bags for d!cking me around.

I don't really like flying Ryanair, but if I am being honest, the above experience are caused by the "relaxed" attitude of Aer Lingus and I think they need firmer rules.
 
In summation: No one like flying with the cynical f'ers Ryanair but they are more efficient and cheaper (not so much anymore)than Aer Lingus.
 
I speak as somebody who has been a major beneficiary of Ryanair, who through their competition with Aer Lingus have certainly saved me a five-figure sum on my travels back and forth over the years. There was even a time when I preferred their service to Aer Lingus, but they have taken things too far.

There's a difference between enforcing rules for the sake of efficiency and using them to catch people out. Why not let people go ahead and check in if the flight is delayed? If a bag looks ok, why insist on measuring it anyway? What possible justification is there for fining people £40 if they forget to print their boarding pass? And while you might resent people skipping the security queue in order to make their flight, you might be grateful for the same flexibility yourself some day, people aren't always late through their own fault.

By the way, Aer Lingus have improved enormously. On the Brussels route I can't remember the last time a flight was delayed, check-in queues are short and they manage to be punctual without being unpleasant.
 
Grey said:
I speak as somebody who has been a major beneficiary of Ryanair, who through their competition with Aer Lingus have certainly saved me a five-figure sum on my travels back and forth over the years. There was even a time when I preferred their service to Aer Lingus, but they have taken things too far.

There's a difference between enforcing rules for the sake of efficiency and using them to catch people out. Why not let people go ahead and check in if the flight is delayed? If a bag looks ok, why insist on measuring it anyway? What possible justification is there for fining people £40 if they forget to print their boarding pass? And while you might resent people skipping the security queue in order to make their flight, you might be grateful for the same flexibility yourself some day, people aren't always late through their own fault.
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Very fair, reasoned post, Grey.

I travelled with the KLM no-frills subsidiary Transavia last weekend and they were very pleasant. It was like a scheduled flight without the free food/drink.

Only one gripe (but it also applied to the connecting KLM scheduled flight): they make you queue up in the covered gangway - which can't possibly be healthy - while all the inconsiderate people who bring on oversized bags (for which I blame company) and stand in the aisle taking off their various layers hold everybody else up.

If I'm travelling cattle-class I at least try to make sure any extra layers are over my arms before getting on board and my bag, if I have one, is also ready to be wheeched into the overhead stowage so that I can get seated and make sure any inconvenience to others is minimised. That just seems a common courtesy.
 
Ryanair make only three commits.

1. Leave and arrive on schedule = Check
2. Cheaper than competition = Check
3. Don't lose your luggage = Check

They ask for three commits from their passengers.

1. Arrive on time
2. Print your boarding pass
3. Obey the luggage rules.

Nothing else; no smiles, blow jobs or hand towels.

On balance, who do you all think meets their commitments best?
 
an capall said:
Ryanair make only three commits.

1. Leave and arrive on schedule = Check
2. Cheaper than competition = Check
3. Don't lose your luggage = Check

They ask for three commits from their passengers.

1. Arrive on time
2. Print your boarding pass
3. Obey the luggage rules.

Nothing else; no smiles, blow jobs or hand towels.

On balance, who do you all think meets their commitments best?
Click to expand...

This is easily your best post since you posted a provisional rating of 212 in 2007.
 
Bar the Bull said:
We could have a whole thread on Ryanair.

On the arriving a few minutes late thing, I think they are dead right. I fly over and back to London most weeks, and I am acutely aware of how easy it is for flights to be delayed. You can miss your slot. And become late to your destination. I sometimes get frustrated by people being late and affecting me at my destination. I actually think it is fairer to have a rule and to stick to it. Rigidly. I don't want to be late because of someone else's tardinesss. On a similar note, I hate the way they let people skip the airline security queue as they are late for their flight. I make the effort to arrive on time at the airport. Last Monday, 8 people were moved to the front of my queue at the bag scanning area. This meant I couldn't have a cup of coffee on the other side before I got on my flight. I find it hard to function at 7am with no caffeine.

On the bag being slightly too big. Again, I agree with Ryanair on this. Back in December, I was on a flight from London with Aer Lingus. It was full. I had one of those girlie wheelie bags, as I had done an overnight for 2 nights in London. When I got on the plane, there was nowhere to put my bag. I had seen people with three or four bags each or one bag that was too big getting on the plane. They had to tag my bag and put it in the luggage hold. When I got to Dublin I had to wait for my luggage, which was delayed. I got back 30 minutes later than I would have otherwise, and so didn't get home in time to allow my wife to go to her pilates class. Minor inconvenience for me I guess, but I still blamed the 4uckers with big bags and extra bags for d!cking me around.

I don't really like flying Ryanair, but if I am being honest, the above experience are caused by the "relaxed" attitude of Aer Lingus and I think they need firmer rules.
Click to expand...

Agree with all of this.

I also haven't found flying Ryanair to be particularly unpleasant either. In contrast to the image that they go out of their way to hassle people or be generally disagreeable, I have never had any trouble and have found the staff to be fairly pleasant.

O'Leary is an arsehole. Maybe he thinks he has to maintain that persona in keeping with the "no nonsense" image of the company. Or maybe he genuinely is a disagreeable arsehole. Whatever about it, the airline does what it says on the tin as far as I'm concerned.
 
an capall said:
Nothing else; no smiles, blow jobs or hand towels.
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No one expects blowjobs or hand towels.

Smiles and good manners cost nothing, though. Not many workers who are the public face of a company would last too long if they weren't polite to customers or smiled a little.

It is a while since I flew with Ryanair - five years? - but I did everything asked of me: paid up front, printed my boarding pass, arrived on time and kept to the luggage rules.

And has been said, sometimes people are not to blame for not being on time although it is hard to excuse not keeping to luggage rules.

I smiled and said good morning - as I always would - as I boarded. The cabin staff looked at me as if I'd sworn at them.

At least the few times I've flown with Easyjet the staff seem up for a laugh.

OK, Ryanair is basically a bus in the sky. And at times it does remind me of the old Glasgow Corporation or SMT bus drivers and conductors/conductresses, who could be a bit rough around the edges.

"Come oan! Get aff!" wasn't really a joke, you know.
 
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