The totally off-topic thread

[Must...Fly!]

snip

The winds at FL280 may have been more favourable than at other levels.

 

[MissBurrill]

Quick duty free run tomorrow am. Will see if I can Jedi Mind Trick the others into not buying duty free ie "you're not buying any duty free today are you" type rhetorical question & see how I go.

Should stop lurking on the forums now, go iron shirt & set alarm clock for 0400! :shock: :shock:

If it's the flight I'm thinking of what's with the raw bacon on the BLT muffin? I know I can eat it raw but I prefer mine cooked!

 

[straitman]

On my flight the first officer said we'd be at 28k feet, a bit lower than normal, to try to make up as much time as possible. Maybe a bit on topic; but I was slightly surprised by this as I thought flying higher was faster, in general, because of the thinner air meaning less resistance. I guess with less oxygen at altitude the engine is less efficiency, but isn't that why the air gets compressed by the engine hence giving similar speed at all heights. I realise that there are varying winds at different altitudes.

I'd appreciate any guidance, would the lower altitude be due to wind speed/direction or is there a more fundamental physical explanation for being faster at slightly lower altitude?

Every flight is different. It is always necessary to look at altitude, temperature, wind and a variety of other lesser factors.

In this case the decrease in engine performance, in flying a little lower, was obviously outweighed but the better winds.

 

[medhead]

The winds at FL280 may have been more favourable than at other levels.

Every flight is different. It is always necessary to look at altitude, temperature, wind and a variety of other lesser factors.

In this case the decrease in engine performance, in flying a little lower, was obviously outweighed but the better winds.

Thanks. Laying in bed this morning half awake I realised another factor would be that the distance is slightly shorter at a lower altitude - a lesser factors I guess.

I was thinking in general terms on this without trying to get to specific. Remember I'm a physicist, I know how most things work, in theory.

 

[anat0l]

I was thinking in general terms on this without trying to get to specific. Remember I'm a physicist, I know how most things work, in theory.

Yes. That is why there are scientists.... and then there are engineers.

 

[straitman]

Yes. That is why there are scientists.... and then there are engineers.

At least he is not a Lawyer :!:

 

[Nigelinoz]

I like this quote

“Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems.”

 

[markis10]

I like this quote

One could use the same quote for the legal profession, or policiticans, or are they one and the same :evil:.

 

[anat0l]

One could use the same quote for the legal profession, or policiticans, or are they one and the same :evil:.

Marx Brother 1: "How we gonna find it?"
Marx Brother 2: "We'll search the whole house."
MB1: "What if it's not in the house?"
MB2: "We'll search the next house."
MB1: "What if it's not in the next house?"
MB2: "We'll search the next house after that."
MB1: "What if there's no house after that?"
MB2: "We'll build one!"

 

[JohnK]

What has happened to custsomer service? Are we the only country in the world that has to put up with rubbish? They actually call it customer care which is not even remotely close to the truth.

I could not get through to Vodafone about anomalies in the billing and I finally gave up and sent them an email. Now I have received 2 emails asking me to respond to the email (between this line and the next line) if my issue has not been resolved yet.

I have called 3 Mobile today and I have been waiting on the phone for 55 minutes and still going. My call was answered after about 20 minutes and the person could not help me so transferred me to another area.

 

[anat0l]

What has happened to customer service?

Telecommunications companies are all faceless and answer to shareholders. Shareholders don't care about you, only the bottom line.

Customer service was sold to the lowest bidder.

Are we the only country in the world that has to put up with rubbish?

Nope. It's a worldwide thing. Except perhaps if you live in India and need to call your local telephone company, you at least can talk to someone and understand their accent without fail.

They actually call it customer care which is not even remotely close to the truth.

If white lies didn't exist then it'd be called Long Winded Customer Pacification.

 

[JohnK]

Telecommunications companies are all faceless and answer to shareholders. Shareholders don't care about you, only the bottom line.

Don't shareholders care about customer service? I am a shareholder and customer service is important to me.

Sad world we live in when everything is ruled by greed and profit....

 

[anat0l]

Don't shareholders care about customer service? I am a shareholder and customer service is important to me.

Sad world we live in when everything is ruled by greed and profit....

Try going to an AGM and making this very point and see how far you get.

 

[Mal]

Try going to an AGM and making this very point and see how far you get.

The NAB AGM was interesting in this regard... Some people do push for this, others don't push.

 

[Mal]

I hate diagnosing unidentified driver issues with laptops. I upgraded several drivers and applications recently... Now there's a driver issue causing random "blue screens". Removed one culprit - things aren't as frequent now, but I'm still getting one every 24 hours or so.

As I'm involved with several beta programs too, one of them could be the cause. Aaah the joys! Plenty of diagnosing involved.

 

[JohnK]

Try going to an AGM and making this very point and see how far you get.

So what we are saying then is that poor customer service is a way of life and there is nothing we can do about it?

 

[markis10]

If you are not getting anywhere lodge a complaint with the TIO, it then costs them money

TIO - Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman home page

 

[RB]

John there have been news items in the last couple of days saying vodafone is not meeting service standards & people may/will be able to walk away from contracts

 

[JohnK]

I spoke to someone at the Vodafone store through the week and they told me that they have to put up with this "customer service" for 9 hours a day everyday. She was trying to help me and she was on hold waiting for the call centre. :shock:

I have been busy this week but I am going to get around to contacting the Ombudsman if this issue is not resolved. There is no way I am paying for something that was not my fault.

It is extremely frustrating havng to deal with these call centres. I think most people know where I work. We have 2 call centres in Kawana and North Lakes. We have a polcity that the phone must be answered in x minutes where x is a very small number.

I wish Australian companies would stop outsourcing call centres to India and Philippnes. These call centres are useless. Leave call centres in Australia.

 

[Mal]

I wish Australian companies would stop outsourcing call centres to India and Philippnes. These call centres are useless. Leave call centres in Australia.

Not all o/s call centres are useless. I have dealt with some that are very good. It depends on who the AU company contracts and their various policies, training and ongoing support.

Consumers are a big part of why call centres head overseas. The constant wish for everything to be super-good and super-cheap does help build up the case to outsource overseas.

Plus TBH, call centres in Australia are well known as being expensive due to wage costs, land costs, fixed costs and the general attitude of Australians towards work.