[Misc] What 'good' things would you keep from how the world changed this year?

[BBassic]

Now that I've gotten into the swing of it, WFH is definitely the biggest benefit.

I feel like I'm getting more done here than I did in the office, there's fewer distractions (read: people nattering incessantly) and I'm saving money on things like shabby meal deals for lunch and the occasional (read: every bloody day) coffee and cake in the morning.

Our office is open but the company is, thus far at least, continuing to operate a "WFH if you can / want to" policy. I hope it continues for the foreseeable. My only concern is if / when I choose to get a new job that their policy will be in office working.

Walking is also a nice benefit. My girlfriend and I have started taking daily evening walks around the park and down to the beach. It's refreshing to get out of the house and catch up with each other away from TV screens and the home environment.

 

[Braggfan]

I think we all hoped that if anything positive was to come from the massive change to how we lived from March onwards, it might be a recalibration of what's really important and perhaps a better balance to the rhythm of our daily lives? But I suppose over time things will get back to exactly how they were before CV19 hit the UK. But are there any unforeseen positives that from the restrictions you'd happily keep? Anything now that is better than how we did things before?

It's only a really small thing but on Sunday afternoon I met an old friend at a village pub. This pub has always operated in the 'traditional' manner, in that everytime you wanted a drink you'd pop back inside and queue at the bar, pay and then carry your drinks back to your table. Now, however, you stay at you table and bar staff keep on eye on progress and everytime you look like you may want another drink they come over, take the order, clear any empties and put in on a tab that you settle when you finish. Like I say, only a really small thing but it is so much more civilised and relaxing than standing at the bar, waiting to be served then carrying glasses sloping drink back through a crowded bar to your seat. There MUST be something more profound than table service in pubs that we can take from CV19, surely?

There are some pubs I know where the kids behind the bar struggle to pay attention long enough to spot people waiting to be served. So waiting at your table for them to get their arse in gear and bring you another round of pints could wear thin very quickly, especially on a busy night.

Sorry for being a grump, I actually quite liked your positive themed thread. It's just table service has always been a bug bear of mine.

 

[autopsyturvey]

"With the pub staff now coming over to your table to take your orders, then delivering them, are we now in the area of giving tips, as per in the US and France.
Your right it has turned the pub experience on its head, but hopefully things will return to the norm of tradional British queuing."

Quite. Is it only me, or does anyone else hate table service in pubs? When you go in for lunch and you're pretty much pushed towards a table by staff, then the server gets out a pad and asks what drinks you want... Well, I don't know, do I! I haven't had a chance to get near the bar to see what beers, etc are on. Fine if you always just ask for "Lager", but if you want something that might be interesting you have to ask, then coyly ask what strength each one is, like some raging alcoholic, because you don't want to accidentally order a 2.5abv dirty-water beer.

Then there's whisky - I always look for a bottle that's near empty on the shelf. Always has a more mellow tone when consumed (try it!), plus it's good to finish a bottle once in a while - you usually get a bonus end-of-the-bottle measure, to boot.

 

[Seasidesage]

Three years ago my missus asked to work from home. Her entire set of worktasks is done online so it is a no brainer.

The company said no, basically because if they let her do it everyone would want one. The exact quote was 'it sends out the wrong message' (to other staff). The manger making the decision is in her late 60s. Mrs T left the company; and they will all be working from home now - who knew?

That kind of attitude appears to remain prevalent. The dicks.

In answer to the OP....I'm not sure that anything lasting of benefit has arisen. When we have a vaccine, my expectation is all the old shit will resume, but with added mass unemployment, debt and Brexit. Sorry.

One very British thing is the glee of middle management in this country to impose petty restrictions just because they can. We are a nation of pen pushers in my experience.

 

[autopsyturvey]

There are some pubs I know where the kids behind the bar struggle to pay attention long enough to spot people waiting to be served. So waiting at your table for them to get their arse in gear and bring you another round of pints could wear thin very quickly, especially on a busy night.

That's another thing: Not everyone drinks at the same speed. If I meet someone after a hard day's work, and they've not been working, I might drink my first order before they've blown the froth off theirs. Then I've got to wait for the server to spot that we ALL need refreshing?

 

[Bozza]

Thought I heard something about flexible tickets being made available for people who only travel a couple of times a week. Maybe I am imagining it, but it would be helpful.

I heard this being discussed on the news earlier this week.

A quick search now suggests GWR are looking at that - https://www.yourmoney.com/household...way-proposes-part-time-worker-season-tickets/

Southern did have a page up about this a few weeks ago, but no longer, but you can see it in Google's cache - https://webcache.googleusercontent....rking+&cd=6&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk&client=safari

More general piece from a few weeks ago here - https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/t...part-time-work-uk-coronavirus-lockdown-451075 - suggests that it's something in the works across the industry.

 

[Seasidesage]

Do I sound too grumpy if I say I don't think anything is better? I cannot do the two things I love most in life, go to the football and drink in pubs at the bar.

I worry that those two elements of my life are over to a degree as I think it'll be a long time before I can go away to the football and a proper pub atmosphere is restored.


Shallow? Me? Huh!

 

[BLOCK F]

It was mooted but it hasen't come to pass.

Aside from anything there are umpteen different companies all with their own ticketing structuring.

Down here, I can buy a first class return (to Victoria) that allows me to use the 'high speed' train to St Pancras. If I buy a 'high speed' only ticket, I can't travel on first class to Victoria, but the ticket costs more than a firts class return that lets me travel i the high speed if I want (I like to go up on the high speed and home from Victoria pr London Bridge, depending on where I am working that day).

If I travel before 9 the cheapest way to do it is to buy an ordinary single, plus a 'super off peak' return, using my over-60s discount card with the latter ticket. I discovered that through one of the people working at Fav station knowing about it. The other guys there don't get it and I have to talk them through it every time ('why do you want two tockets? When are you travelling exactly? I've never herd of that' etc).

If you ask for 'the cheapest way to travel to London leaving now' they can't press a button on a computer, so we are being ripped off either by incompetance or deliberately. If they don't know the cheapest way (and it is stupidly complicated if you have a discount card like me) you either have to explain it to them of get ripped off. That's what you get with a private monopoly; captive market, and don't give a shit

Thank you, John Major, for ****ing up the railways in a craven attempt to buy votes with a rushed and ludicrous privatisation.

Sounds like nightmare pain in the arse.
Thank God I never have to go near a train. The nearest I get is either dropping someone off at a station or picking them up!

 

[Madafwo]

The problem is the commute. Mine is 55 miles. If I wfh three days a week the two return tickets cos a bit less than a weekly. If I wft only two days a week the cheapest ticket is a weekly. Of course to get a real discount you need an annual season ticket. With one of those, every day you don't travel to work feels like wasted money.

Before lockdown, because I can work at home a great deal anyway, I was making arrangements so I could travel to London when needs be after 9 (or better still, after 10) to take advantage of discounts. I have a senior rail card but I can't use it for travel before 9. I was keeping travel costs down by about 30-40% by cutting the amount of travel I did by 60% (do the maths....).

Bottom line, the bloody rail companies need to bring in proper discounted tickets for people who are not going to travel long distances 5 days a week. They won't, though, will they though?

The railway industry is going to have to change, it won't survive in its current form if WFH is the preferred option going forward. I do see an implementation of carnet style ticketing possibly, there was talk about it a few years ago but this might bring it back to the table again.

Struggling to think of things I'd like to see continue after this has blown over, I like fewer cars on the road but even that's getting back to pre Covid-19 levels by the looks of things now.

 

[BLOCK F]

Do I sound too grumpy if I say I don't think anything is better? I cannot do the two things I love most in life, go to the football and drink in pubs at the bar.

I worry that those two elements of my life are over to a degree as I think it'll be a long time before I can go away to the football and a proper pub atmosphere is restored.


Shallow? Me? Huh!

Not at all.
A number of normal things and activities we have taken for granted, are no longer.
I just hope it isn't too long before normal service is resumed. One of the worst things about all that, is that we have no idea of the timescale.

 

[raymondo]

More caring community, fewer cars on the road, fewer planes in the sky, even greater respect for the jobs done by nurses, teachers. etc

 

[albionalbino]

The return of the 'Vic Reeves' Pub Singer

I'm Dill Danding.

 

[LamieRobertson]

Fewer cars on the road.

Umm...is that really happening now? Would be lovely ..but personally as I drive round from job to job I’m finding the roads busier than pre lockdown..is this because less people are using public transport...less people going in shops so just driving round all day ....or maybe I’m wrong
Definitely still more people out cycling and walking

 

[Swansman]

Nothing. I want my life back.

 

[Simster]

The problem is the commute. Mine is 55 miles. If I wfh three days a week the two return tickets cos a bit less than a weekly. If I wft only two days a week the cheapest ticket is a weekly. Of course to get a real discount you need an annual season ticket. With one of those, every day you don't travel to work feels like wasted money.

Before lockdown, because I can work at home a great deal anyway, I was making arrangements so I could travel to London when needs be after 9 (or better still, after 10) to take advantage of discounts. I have a senior rail card but I can't use it for travel before 9. I was keeping travel costs down by about 30-40% by cutting the amount of travel I did by 60% (do the maths....).

Bottom line, the bloody rail companies need to bring in proper discounted tickets for people who are not going to travel long distances 5 days a week. They won't, though, will they though?

I don't disagree with your point on the cost of commuting, but it's not really a barrier to working from home is it? It just means there is no saving on transport. On the other hand, a) we still save on overall weekly commuting hours and b) the trains ought to be less crowded when we do use them.

 

[pasty]

There are some pubs I know where the kids behind the bar struggle to pay attention long enough to spot people waiting to be served. So waiting at your table for them to get their arse in gear and bring you another round of pints could wear thin very quickly, especially on a busy night.

Sorry for being a grump, I actually quite liked your positive themed thread. It's just table service has always been a bug bear of mine.

Mrs P and I went for walk along the undercliff path last Sunday and ended up stopping at the White Horse in Rottingdean. Its a Greene King pub, and we were told we had to download their app to order, and drinks would be brought to our table. I have to say, it worked perfectly well and our beers arrived within 5 minutes of ordering.

There did seem to be some confusion among the staff though. Some were wearing full plastic face masks, some weren't, and when the chap (not wearing a face mask) brought our drinks over to us we were asked to take them off the tray ourselves as he wasn't allowed to touch glasses. Yet when the table next to us had food brought out, it was carried by hand not on a tray.

 

[KZNSeagull]

Agree with working from home, greater appreciation as a society for those people doing essential work especially the NHS and care workers, online GP consultation.

One thing not mentioned so far is that A&E visits dropped massively during lockdown. Whilst this had a detrimental effect to some people who didn't go but should have, there was also the benefit that those who would have gone in the past when they didn't need to, didn't go. I hope that some people have finally got the message that Accidents and Emergencies are exactly that.

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I don't disagree with your point on the cost of commuting, but it's not really a barrier to working from home is it? It just means there is no saving on transport. On the other hand, a) we still save on overall weekly commuting hours and b) the trains ought to be less crowded when we do use them.

No, indeed. Mine was just a personal gripe. The train companies are private businesses, not public services, so their responsibility is to their shareholders.

I have my annual appraisal this afternoon (by Teams). It will be interesting to see whether my 'line manager' expects me to be showing my face more regularly, now my workplaces is, apparently, 'open' for workers again (albeit under the yolk of new and labyrinthine Health and Safety protocols).

 

[Garry Nelson's teacher]

The hedgehog currently residing in my garden.

 

[Stat Brother]

Umm...is that really happening now? Would be lovely ..but personally as I drive round from job to job I’m finding the roads busier than pre lockdown..is this because less people are using public transport...less people going in shops so just driving round all day ....or maybe I’m wrong
Definitely still more people out cycling and walking

But we were asked 'what good things would we like to keep'.

It's such a shame I think you're right and we've gone straight back to the old ways.