So in the space of one day I've had dire service and fantastic service from the same place.
We've just been in Cannes for my brother-in-law's wedding. It's expensive there and it's hot.
It was a chaotic few days as my brother-in-law does not speak French, but my wife and I do. Guess who had to spend most of their time sorting out last minute detals rahter than relax with the kids and enjoy the show. He's family, so we help. But I'm slowly boiling to a rage as some of their watch it all go by them and never seem to have cash to pay for the cab.
On top we've lost a bag with the camera, my glasses and charger for the kids' gameboys etc… We hadn't noticed for a while (when the gameboys died) and so assumed it was in the restaurant from the first day.
Time passes and it's manic so there is little chance to resolve it the lost bag but we figure to sort it after and get other family to collect it.
So anyway, we leave to return and at the airport join a queue to check-in. There are 2 queues, both with 40 odd people in. An yes, the other goes faster. Much faster. Two good looking girls join the other queue after and us and we've moved 2 familes in the time they get to the desk and are done.
Turns out our desk girl is just incompetent, the other guy is processing faster. So of course our queue are now all getting very cross. Remeber it's hot and it's midday. The people in front of us eventually get served and leave. Not being gratefull for the poor service they leave with no word of thanks or goodbye. The service girl goes mad. She starts yelling after them in broken English "Goodbye! Thankyou! Goodbye" etc… Then mutters loudly to herself to proceed to deal with us.
Now at this point our queue has only 4 people behind us and 6 in the other queue. the other queue had processed nearl 3 times as many people. So we are nearly last to checking and there are no more seats in groups of 2 or more, meaning the family is split up. Our kids are 9 and 11 so can cope; "Fine," I say, "please just sit us where you can."
She just explodes again. "It's not my fault you know!" she yells at us as the children visibly flinch. Through gritted teah and suppresing the desire to do her violance I explain I meant that it was fine, just ge us a seat. She finaly does so but then appears to want to check something with her colleague… who is very busy actually processing his queue. After seemingly minutes withut even attempting to interupt her colleague she finaly attaches the luggage stickers to our case. 
? No wonder she's slow.
And now the plane is due to leave so there is no time to find lost luggage for our missing bag from the begging of the week. We fly out with me vowing never to go to Cannes again.
The great service however restores your faith in humanity. On arrival home we start phoning the places the bag could be. My sister-in-law is still out there an could pick it up for us.
And of course the bag is sitting in the airport Lost and Found, the one we had no time to go see on the way home! The woman on the phone is an angel of mercy;
"Let me see sir. You arrived when?"
"and what flight?"
"Can you describe the bag and contents?"
"Well yes sir, we have it here" Elated yet frustrated!!
"And are you still in the country?"
"Ah. Sorry sir we can't send it but you can have some one pick it up or the usual alternative is to get FedEx to pick it up." etc…
All I had to do was send and email confirmation with my sister-in-law's details and they'll happily hand them over to her.
"Is there anything else sir?"
"You welcome sir, good evening."
Fantastic!!
I'll probably still not go again, but I'm quite glad that God chose not to answer my prayers to wipe the place from the map with a tidalwave, I'd have been sad for the lovely woman at the Lost and Found desk.
Steve P
