The economic crisis has exposed many companies as parasites, some as Ponzis and others as sophisticated frauds. But I was thinking about this and decided that there were still some companies that do things, produce things or provide services that are needed, some companies are not parasites, some are well run and some I even admire!
Ryanair – I know, there are many people who hate Ryanair, there are some who have been screwed by them, but, they have provided me with many years of cheap and cheerful travel throughout Europe, I have been able to visit Italy, Spain and France for £10 or so, I have received free flights and am able to go home on a regular basis due to Ryanairs cheap and frequent flights. Ryanairs planes are new, Michael O’Leary seems to know when to order new batches of planes, like the time after 9/11 when he replaced his fleet at a knock down price. I also like Michael O’Leary, he has the temerity to blast politicians and ridicule ‘greenies’. He mocked the Meteorological Service in England during the infamous ash cloud event last year when all flights were grounded. The most important thing, is that Ryanair does what it says it will do, it gives you cheap tickets and gets you where you want to go.
Amazon – I love Amazon, I do quite a bit of shopping here and am able to buy and send wrapped presents to family and friends easily and much more cheaply then going to some rip off shop. I started buying books on Amazon and have got to the point where much of my purchasing is from Amazon. I like the fact that Amazon will respond to any problem promptly. Unlike some shops, I can be assured, if there is a problem, they will fix it. Again it does what it says on the tin.
Apple – I have only recently decided I like Apple, I bought an iPhone in January and have been quite impressed with it. I’m able to go on Amazon, Ebay, pay-pal, WordPress, email and internet all on this small phone. I’m able to write blog posts, read news and blogs on Pulse, which is the best app I think I have, and I’m able to do much of what I can do on my laptop. As a result of this, I decided to replace my ageing PC laptop with a Macbook pro last week. It is better than I expected, so yes I’m impressed with Apple and can see why so many mac owners in the past have praised macs to me. Apple are expensive, but they provide quality products.
Nandos – I love Nandos, the service is excellent, if it is not, all one has to do is talk to the management and they will right it for you, the food is excellent and hearty and fresh. The restaurants are cool, a bit quirky, but homely. If you want a good filling, spicy meal, go to Nandos!
Pret a Manger – Another eatery which I can rely on, basically a sandwich shop, but is makes excellent coffees and hot chocolates, everything is organic and fresh, the sandwiches are prepared in store and put on the shelf for a short while and then thrown out. That is why I can go into any Pret and happily buy a sandwich and coffee, I know it will be fresh and tasty.
Vodafone – I hate Vodafone, they are rip off merchants extraordinaire! I am currently locked into a deal with my iPhone for the next year! I am charged £30 a month, but the 3G is only 500 MB, which I was assured would be more than enough, it aint! I regularly go over this with each extra 500 MB costing £5, and for some reason they charge me if I go over 1GB on wi-fi! Why is that? It’s not like it costs them anything? I also have mobile internet for my laptop, again it is not nearly enough and so I use the public wi-fi now, screw Vodafone! I will never go with them again!
3 Network – More rip off merchants, I am no longer with them, but their service was woeful, their internet did not work and they never made any attempt to fix it, all of their call centres are in India, so most of the time I had no idea what was being said! Never use 3 if you can avoid it!
Virgin – Again, more rip off merchants, I had a package deal with these criminals, and they never overlook an opportunity to screw you over, charges for this, charges or that, and what is worse are the outright lies. I was informed that my internet would be wi-fi, it wasnt and when I complained they swore they knew nothing of it, so I had to pay and extra £70 for wi-fi! Well, I’m currently in dispute with Virgin after I found out they were stealing from my account. They were taking out £10 every month for a Virgin phone I never had! So I stopped paying them and demanded the money back and so they have got the bailiffs after me! Screw Virgin and Branson!
Water Companies – All of them are rip off merchants, these things should be publicly owned, but the Conservative party decided to privatise them and now it is more expensive, due to the profits that need to be made. The water companies are monopolies, one can’t change one’s supplier. I wonder if any of the politicians involved in privatising these things have friends or family that made money from it?
Well this is only the beginning, please leave some recommendations for companies you love or loathe!