Su problema, mi problema

Like everyone else in Britain my plans for the day were rendered unfeasible by the worst snowfalls in 18 years. Right now I'm supposed to be boarding a flight for Oslo but Heathrow is closed for the day. Perhaps I'll have better luck tomorrow but somehow I doubt it.

So I've spent much of the day dealing with two suppliers: my travel agent and my printer-cum-courier. Given that I have longstanding 'account managers' within both companies I thought that each understood my business pretty well; that I'm self-employed and that if I'm not working I'm not getting paid. I need to be delivering a programme in Oslo tomorrow*.

The travel agent kicked into gear immediately. They checked direct flights out of every possible airport and then every conceivable permutation of European connections. It was all to no avail because the UK has closed up shop for the day and quite possibly the week. Still, when I spoke to my client I could honestly say that I'd left no stone unturned in trying to make tomorrow's meeting.

Su problema, mi problema

The printer was less helpful. They had assembled a pile of documents I need for the meeting but they couldn't get them to me as we couldn't find a mutually convenient drop-off point. The overwhelming impression was that it was all too hard. In the end they simply declared that they couldn't help me and that I'd better arrange my own courier service. This despite the fact that after a well-publicised 2004 merger they are arguably the best-known courier company around.

Su problema, su problema

It's all easy on the easy days. It's on the hard days that we need help.


* And take a moment to imagine the guffaws from my Norwegian client when I said that Britain was closed on account of a 30cm snowfall...