Look Before You Leap

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Dublin transport systems LeapCard log

A Leap of Faith ?

Had I not been excessively busy with too many projects and deadlines flying away in the winter wind, I would have been taking the National Transport Authority to task over my disastrous experience with the LeapCard.

I’m sure there are some people down on the Beara Peninsula that don’t yet know about the LeapCard, but given the amount of money, press and radio coverage given to it’s launch a couple of months ago, then I would say anyone who ever catches a Dublin Bus, an Irish Rail commuter train, the LUAS (that’s our Dublin tram system for anyone not familiar) or the DART (similarly our urban rail system) must now know that we have a new facility to ease our stressful lives.  The LeapCard.  One credit-card-sized “smartcard” (said in context, believe me), that you top-up with money and use on all those services…. I even hear they’d like to get Dublin Bikes on board, if you’ll forgive the pun.

But to cut a very long, inconvenient, embarrassing situation creating, unnecessarily stressful tale, very, very short; my card didn’t work.  As my wife disappeared up the stairs at Tara St station one late Saturday night, with my wallet in her handbag, I stood stranded at the barrier with the ticket gard telling me my LeapCard wasn’t valid.

OK… these things happen…but it was followed up by some fairly dismissive responses from the “support” team.  Anyway three weeks went by and no-one who tried to use the card could get it to work; eventually my laser account was automatically re-credited with my unused travel funds.  I fired off a reasoned email explaining why I was dissatisfied.

Surprise, surprise, and kudos to the man in charge.  I got a phone call…quite a lengthy one from the head of customer services for the LeapCard.  Apologising for the my experience, the support responses I’d received and asking if we could get the card checked for faults.

So we’ll see.  I like the idea, it’s a useful convenience… if it doesn’t cause me more inconvenience than it saves me.  So I’m going to do as asked, follow through and find out why the card didn’t work….so stay tuned… I’m taking a Leap of Faith.

Is beer an essential service? – Probably

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Or definitely if you are the Carlsberg brewery in Lithuania where the workers decided to call a strike, a perfectly legal thing to do in Lithuania….or at least that’s what everyone thought

Carlsberg, the employer, challenged their right to strike in court. In Lithuania, pretty well everyone accepts that workers have the right to strike; except if we’re talking about an “essential service” at least that’s what the law says.  So Carlsberg told the court that beer production was an essential service; not even probably, but definitely; the court agreed, and the workers have been banned from striking. I suppose now all activity that contributes to inward investment, or to some other economic “necessity” will be deemed essential.  It’s a common enough tactic, set a precedent in a weaker region, then use the threat of capital emigration to make it universal.  Whatever, else you may think it’s certainly no “Comedy Carnival”.

Oh, and don’t stress even if you do consider beer to be essential, you can still support their right to be treated fairly by the law in Lithuania.

You can send your thoughts to Dalia Grybauskaite, the President of the Republic of Lithuania by clicking here.

David Marshall

Caveat Emptor

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Butlers honest Irish "Creamy Toffee"

Lets just mash a few salient observations together here about our economic culture and our economy.  We’re a small country with a massive debt, due almost entirely to the improper conduct of bankers.  Irish bankers. Irish bankers operating in a milieu that we have all denied; apologize for; or claim we have corrected. We’re a small country that still deludes itself with its own digital hub mythology.  We are a small country that desperately needs to restore its own credibility and integrity at home and abroad.  We’re a small country that has never learned to be honest in business or politics. We’re a small country that still thinks its OK to stick it to the man, not realizing that now we are the man.

“The Loop” our Dublin airport shopping mall has been promoting itself as one of the cheapest shopping venues in Dublin. Ok there’s no duty free in the EU anymore, but you’ll get a bargain or a good deal at The Loop and its associated stores.  At least that’s what the honest PR campaign would have us believe.

So it’s Christmas and I’m flying off to visit family abroad. And being Christmas I always take some kind of flag bearer as a present.  A gift that says “this is Ireland”, that represents what and who we are; our quality, our honesty our integrity.  It’s especially important when we remind ourselves that we are once again a poor country with €65 billion in debts, who gave birth to bankers and a banking system that ripped off, not just us, but our friends and neighbours on the international scene.

Butlers honest Irish "Vanilla Fudge"

So I’ve checked in my bag, survived security, and I’m taking an espresso shot to ready myself for the rest of the journey.  I’m in Butlers, the chocolate maker, actually, the Irish chocolate maker, flag bearer  of the right sort; and a “featured retailer” of The Loop.  An honest product at a price we can easily distribute to the rest of the world. There are bags of Butler’s toffee, fudges and other delights as I queue for my coffee. Brilliant I think.  The ideal stocking filler. Simple, honest, Irish fare.  So I buy a bag. Actually several bags; sisters brothers, cousins, nephews, nieces.  You get the picture.  Lots of stockings, lots of fillers. At €2 a bag, job done.  Trip made, gifts distributed. Done and dusted.

Then today I’m enjoying Christmas Eve in Dublin.  All my Christmas shopping done, and all I have to do is wonder the city, hand in hand with my wife and soak up the atmospere….its brilliant… and the generosity of many Dubliners is a reputation well earned… shops we normally visit are truly generous; everything from bottles of wine, to bottles of ink.  Enchanting.  And after a satisfying meal in Coruncopia on South William Street, we drift over the Liffey and amble around the North Side.  The chocolates in Butlers looked especially inviting.  Lets go in and buy a couple says my wife Shash… I eagerly agree. As we are choosing the chocs for our afternoon street desert I notice the same fudge, toffee and other assortments that I bought in the airport. They are €1.80 a pack…..more than 10% less for the self same confectionary I bought less than five days earlier in the airport.  And checking their web site, I notice they are advertised at €1.80, not the €2.00 they are billing in the “discount professing” airport.

Butlers honest Irish "Chocolate Caramels"

So my brain is immediately asking the question.  If they think this underhand practice is OK, what other, bigger things are being smuggled under our gaze.  And if Butlers think they can get away with it, without guilt or concern, who else in business, in politics, in government is happily pulling the wool over our eyes, continuing to deceive us, continuing to get rich while the rest of us get poorer. Such a simple thing this 20 cents a bag.  But it says we are still being duped, still being ripped off; and that the culture that gave rise to our rape by the bankers is still alive and well and living in our high street retailers; and who knows where else.

Thank you Butlers, shame on you Butlers. I wish it was someone else standard you were bearing, But I guess now I know it’s really ours. It really says just who we are, and explains clearly, just the way we expect to behave; towards each other, and towards our visitors. To the rest of the world I apologise.  I can only tell you that there are some people in our land that neither share nor propagate that ethic.  We are working to become the majority. In the meantime, when you visit our country, remember the old latin warning: caveat emptor; let the buyer beware.  No wonder the Romans never hung around here.

David Marshall