[Oct. 2023] On the day we toured Glasgow, Scotland, our main meal was steak at a chain restaurant called Brown’s.
Beef is one of Scotland’s specialties, isn’t it.
When we chose this restaurant, we didn’t know it was a chain restaurant, and when we found out later, I was a little disappointed.
The steak and chips were okay, but the duck salad I chose as a starter had very little taste of duck.
Merlot wine wasn’t good at all.
We took one bottle, but unusually for us, we left quite a bit behind.
It was a very large restaurant, and I was impressed by the man who didn’t look like a waiter and had an earthy, out-of-place appearance was working very hard.
This meal cost £71.
In the UK, prices and reviews are often determined by the location and decoration of the restaurant rather than the taste the meal, so you should be careful.
Perhaps that is because the rent for the building is too high.
Well, after finishing our meal and thinking it was time to head to the airport, disaster struck as we headed back to the hotel to pick up our luggage.
I received a notification that the British Airways (BA) flight we had booked was cancelled.
The replacement flight would be the next morning, and on top of that, it would be from Edinburgh.
I was furious at the cancellation at such a last minute, and the impossible alternative plan.
I called BA, but they didn’t answer and I got more and more frustrated.
I was talking to my husband about going to the airport to negotiate, when a voice that appeared to be Indian from the call centre finally answered.
Many companies in the UK have call centres in India.
And I always have a hard time with Indian people’s heavily accented English.
To my dismay, the person at the call centre also recommended another flight from Edinburgh.
It was hard to make him realise that Edinburgh and Glasgow are two different cities.
And BA is a British airline!
In the end, we managed to get the next day’s flight from Glasgow.
When I asked if we would be paid for the hotel, he said, “Please choose the most economical one,” which made me angry again, so I said, “Are you asking us to stay at a youth hostel?”
Then, he said “three or four stars, please.”
Unfortunately, the Ibis Style we were staying at was fully booked, so we moved up a steep hill to a nearby Ibis hotel that was recommended by them, and settled there.
This is not ‘Style’, so it was poorer.
At times like this, people normally would probably look for a better hotel, eat a big dinner, and then bill the airline for the price.
Since we were already full, we ended up having the hotel’s not-so-tasty pizza.
By the way, after we claimed the hotel and dinner fees, they were refunded by BA without any complaints.
