A personal post from Graham Ellis
Lisa and Graham live in Melksham, Wiltshire, England

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For 2023 (and 2024 ...) - we are now fully retired from IT training.
We have made many, many friends over 25 years of teaching about Python, Tcl, Perl, PHP, Lua, Java, C and C++ - and MySQL, Linux and Solaris/SunOS too. Our training notes are now very much out of date, but due to upward compatability most of our examples remain operational and even relevant ad you are welcome to make us if them "as seen" and at your own risk.

Lisa and I (Graham) now live in what was our training centre in Melksham - happy to meet with former delegates here - but do check ahead before coming round. We are far from inactive - rather, enjoying the times that we are retired but still healthy enough in mind and body to be active!

I am also active in many other area and still look after a lot of web sites - you can find an index ((here))
The important customers are the majority, not the celebrity

Last night, I had been planning to go along to the Assembly Hall - to an evening with Dick Strawbridge, TV Celeberity Chef and eco-warrior. But it didn't quite work out like that - and I found myself, as the event got close, still waiting for him at the hotel to check in and thinking "he's cutting this rather fine". I learned he had gone straight to the event when someone tweeted "OMG - Dick Strawbridge is standing right next to me..." and by that time, I would have been rushing to "close" to get up there for the show. Ah well - he'll probably come down straight after the show. And I suppose I have to allow for him popping across during the interval. Alas - 20:40 and I get a message - "he's not staying with us now" and it turns out that all the back-and-forth with his agent, the pressing us for a free room as a "sponsorship" for the Food Festival - was all for nowt. I don't yet know how and why his plans changed (and plans do change), but it would have been joined-up and polite for someone to let us know. It's a triple whamee when someone does this to a supplier - not only do we lose any marketing opportunity, but also we turn away other business (a full hotel) and indeed we have the extra expense with a "no show" situation of staffing / waiting around for hours, and the worry / concern. I'm probably being intemperate in writing this - I should just turn the other cheek - but it hurts. He did, I understand, apologise to Lisa at the event when introduced; that's one cheer, I suppose, but "sorry" can't really make up for an unnecessary messing us about, costing us money and losing us other income.

We have five rooms, and we can sometimes apply the 80/20 rule. 80% of the rooms are 20% of the trouble, and 20% are 80% of the trouble.Let's move on this morning - I'm preparing breakfast, not for a TV celebrity chef (who doesn't know what he's missing), but for an otherwise-full hotel of guests checked in for most of the weekend. I've met all but one couple already, and they're lovely people. Very much "come as guests, leave as friends" and we can do very well, thank you, without the hassle.

Come stay here, pay your way, and we love having you. But please don't ask for too many more favours / pull rank; we'll politely suggest you try elsewhere. And that's for our own sanity and the good of our other customers.
(written 2013-09-08, updated 2013-09-14)

 
Associated topics are indexed as below, or enter http://melksh.am/nnnn for individual articles
Z801 - Pettifog
  [52] International awareness - (2004-09-17)
  [87] Too sittings - (2004-10-13)
  [90] Rude old people - (2004-10-16)
  [323] 1 in 48 steel - (2005-05-24)
  [439] You cant - (2005-09-08)
  [471] And it gets even better - (2005-10-21)
  [478] Watch what you wear - (2005-10-26)
  [519] New Road - (2005-12-06)
  [562] Smoke and mirrors - (2006-01-12)
  [600] It costs nothing to say THANK YOU - (2006-02-11)
  [638] A pile of sand? Where do we stand? - (2006-03-08)
  [783] Good follow up ... my thanks - (2006-06-28)
  [791] Strange housewarming - (2006-07-03)
  [815] Time trickles like water through a sieve - (2006-07-27)
  [826] Fighting illegal net use by imposing download limits - (2006-08-09)
  [1170] Smoking, or no? The law insists we spell out the obvious - (2007-05-01)
  [1337] A series of tyre damages - (2007-09-08)
  [1349] Cash is not an acceptable way of paying - (2007-09-13)
  [1741] Age Concern - (2008-08-07)
  [1783] Think before you send - (2008-09-02)
  [1839] Job application - (2008-10-13)
  [1862] Remember your units - (2008-10-31)
  [1972] Pettifog and forum boards away from public view - (2009-01-03)
  [2122] Commission Creep - (2009-04-08)
  [2193] Excellent product, excruciating customer service. 3 Mobile Broadband - (2009-05-21)
  [2625] Both feet on the same pavement - (2010-02-05)
  [2761] A small business, facing a big government questionnaire - (2010-05-12)
  [2788] Cost of Sales - (2010-06-01)
  [2937] The cat in the dustbin - (2010-08-27)
  [2944] What others cannot do in 10 months takes Virgin 10 minutes - (2010-09-03)
  [3013] Audio equipment - (2010-10-24)
  [3030] Liquorice allsorts and Dolly Mixtures - (2010-11-05)
  [3084] Can you trust the big brand names? - (2010-12-12)
  [3302] Are you a half full or half empty person? - (2011-05-25)
  [3749] Removal of water safety equipment, and how to use a lifesaver ring - (2012-06-04)
  [3835] The Information age - not yet truly with us? - (2012-08-12)
  [3900] The Xxxxx Guest House in Xxxxxxxxxxx - my stay reviewed - (2012-10-20)
  [4140] Riots in Melksham - (2013-07-13)
  [4282] On tipping - and the expectation of a tip - (2014-07-10)
  [4304] Please do not ask me to be the chair! - (2014-09-25)
  [4354] Wiltshire Police - assuming someone is guilty just on the say-so of a member of the public? - (2014-12-16)
  [4630] The story behind the bus cuts, and what they could mean - (2016-01-24)
  [4651] Pressure selling in the fire safety business - (2016-02-19)
  [4720] Celebrating our diversity rather than discriminating for it - (2016-11-02)


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Travelling to and from courses - much easier from December 2013
Some other Articles
Mapping road accidents in Melksham and elsewhere too
Herman Miller coming to Melksham - the Chamber of Commerce is briefed
Around and about - Melksham
Travelling to and from courses - much easier from December 2013
The important customers are the majority, not the celebrity
Pimms and Croquet - Melksham Festival of Food and Drink
Improving travel advise information in Wiltshire
Melksham Market - every Tuesday
TransWilts Community Rail Partnership - formally constituted
Pimms and Croquet at Well House Manor - 7th September 2013
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This is a page archived from The Horse's Mouth at http://www.wellho.net/horse/ - the diary and writings of Graham Ellis. Every attempt was made to provide current information at the time the page was written, but things do move forward in our business - new software releases, price changes, new techniques. Please check back via our main site for current courses, prices, versions, etc - any mention of a price in "The Horse's Mouth" cannot be taken as an offer to supply at that price.

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