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Post by Scott (Former Account) on Oct 19, 2008 17:37:03 GMT -8
Some of the ship profiles on the BC Ferries site have now received new photos..! These include the Coastal Renaissance, Coastal Celebration and a few minor and major vessels... www.bcferries.com/about/fleet
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Post by Nickfro on Dec 11, 2008 15:54:47 GMT -8
BC Ferries has updated their banner at the top of the page with the Coastal Celebration replacing the Coastal Renaissance (or was it CI?) as the ferry in the picture. . .and. . .of course. . .a new catch phrase: "This Celebration is Just Getting Started!"
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Dec 11, 2008 15:59:56 GMT -8
Wow, they're getting worse and worse...
Time to get some fresh blood in their marketing department, I think.
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Post by Canucks on Dec 11, 2008 16:26:51 GMT -8
Uhh! [groans] I am pretty sure that kids could come up with better slogans. The sad part is these people are getting paid good money and this is what they come up with. Anyways, it's a paradox because the Celebration is the last ship to arrive so wouldn't the celebration of new ships be over?
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Post by WettCoast on Dec 11, 2008 18:10:13 GMT -8
Perhaps the slogan should read...
This Celebration is just tied up to the dock most of the time!
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Post by Low Light Mike on Dec 11, 2008 21:29:35 GMT -8
They chose that quote, because there wasn't room on the webpage header to write this: =================
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,175
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Post by Neil on Dec 11, 2008 22:18:54 GMT -8
Two things that really irritate me about Flugel Horn:
1. He makes the assumption that there are people who know just as many awful songs and remember as many bad television shows as he does. And he's right.
2. He's put a really horrible Carpenters song in my head that will be there until I go to sleep tonight.
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Dec 16, 2008 22:42:36 GMT -8
I know that recent updates to the website have already been mentioned in general, but I just noticed that one of those updates was to change the silhouette icon for the Kuper. Makes her look pretty diminutive now.
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Post by kerryssi on Dec 17, 2008 9:48:01 GMT -8
Flugel....be ashamed, be very ashamed. I just had breakfast and now the milk just curdled.
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Post by WettCoast on Mar 27, 2009 21:48:33 GMT -8
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Post by Esquimalt Queen on Mar 28, 2009 6:56:09 GMT -8
Have you seen the profile for the Queen of Vancouver lately? They mention what her last sailing date was, and the fact that she is no longer in service. Very nicely done, and thoughtful.
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Post by WettCoast on Apr 14, 2009 21:44:31 GMT -8
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,175
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Post by Neil on Apr 14, 2009 22:13:14 GMT -8
Oh, come on WCK, cut them some slack. Haven't you heard- they've outsourced their promotional writing to a firm in New Delhi; that blurb was probably written by some poor schmo making about six rupees an hour.
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Apr 15, 2009 7:00:44 GMT -8
Oh, come on WCK, cut them some slack. Haven't you heard- they've outsourced their promotional writing to a firm in New Delhi; that blurb was probably written by some poor schmo making about six rupees an hour. I think it's more likely a question of our literacy standards. Don't blame the guy in New Delhi; blame our education system.
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Post by Northern Exploration on Apr 15, 2009 8:14:26 GMT -8
Oh, come on WCK, cut them some slack. Haven't you heard- they've outsourced their promotional writing to a firm in New Delhi; that blurb was probably written by some poor schmo making about six rupees an hour. Websites are not typically done overseas so BCFC doesn't have that excuse. For some reason their editing/proofchecking just wasn't done. At least the website can be changed easily unlike 10,000 printed brochures . And now I digress into a semi-related diatribe. I know you are joking and we have all heard Letterman, Leno and others make similar jokes about jobs going overseas. And they are funny. However, the common misconception that most people have and general dislike of foreign outsourced tech help and call centres, and overall dislike of telemarketing, is based upon wrong information. 1. It is exploiting some poor schmo making six rupees an hour. The wages that outsourced phone help makes in India, Costa Rica, or other developing country is very generous in that country and represents a very large economic boost in the arm for not only the individual but for the whole family. 2. Everyone remembers the individual who can't speak English well. However when someone does speak well 9 times of 10 you won't know where that individual is. If you hear a gentle British accent you probably are speaking to an Indian who has learnt his English in a British run school. 3. Until the recession there was a shortage of high quality outbound and inbound telemarketers. The constant revolving door of poor quality service staff is a major drain on the companies that rely on this to deal with their customers. While high tech was the sector mostly effected by foreign outsourcing, the total number of net jobs lost wasn't significant and other good quality jobs were available. The industry is small in a country with as massive a population as India. To the Indians (and others) this is a career for them and they treat it as seriously as we would a career here. It changes their lives and their loyalty and stability is something we rarely see here in phone service staff. I know of one NGO (nongovernmental organization) development charity that was speaking about the impact a good quality call centre can have on a poor region. I recall one very indignant individual who was spouting off about his hatred of any company that uses this service. So I asked if he was a donor to one of the well known development organizations (two as a matter of fact). He gave to the above charity and I related their story and comments. He then indignantly said I still don't like taking jobs from Canadians. I then asked him if he would do telemarketing. The answer was a very emphatic NO. Would he like his family to do telemarketing? He said no and then added well if they were stuck and had to. I said how do you expect a company to have superior customer service if Canadians view the area as a second rate job like working at McDonalds that you only do as a last resort. I am very familiar with the telemarketing industry and in particular very high end companies. Such as a service centre that answers all the On Star calls for North America. And the same company has a service centre for car dealers to help them with warranty information. In once case I know of a high end service company that was purchased by an Indian company. Ironically while they have moved some jobs to India they at the same time have opened additional call centres here. 4. The Do Not Call List has given an unintended boost to foreign poor quality telemarketing companies. Canadian companies are required to respect the list and purge their files of people on the list. However, if your address is written differently in various files, your phone number has changed, or there is a spelling mistake you won't get caught anyways. However, there is no way of policing foreign fly by night companies. In this recession smart companies have given their marketing a boost. However, some companies just simply are trying to stay alive and the loss of jobs in the phone service area is large. I know of one company looking to set up in smaller Ontario city that is planning on hiring the best of three very large companies that have closed shop. So the shortage in the industry is less. The average longevity in a telemarketing job in Canada is measured in weeks not alone months. Now all that being said I still get squeamish when I think of my financial records being accessed from any foreign company and country. That includes the US. I know the firewalls and security the banks have gone through with this, but still am not comfortable. I know we have at least on person on the board who does phone customer support. My perspective comes from the slice of higher end service companies and reputable charities. I was involved with an organizations with the creation of the Do Not Call List. And I still want to get a live operator over an automated phone support with endless options and recordings. And nothing beats being able to ask a question and discuss something live rather than do it online, as much as I MSN and Facebook off and on all day. My bottom line is if a company can pay for Canadians to do the job without jacking up the cost of their products unreasonably, then I am all for that. If the cost becomes too high then I am ok with foreign suppliers, if the service is exemplary. However, I don't want sensitive financial or personal information shipped all over the world, (despite the irrationality of that) and the fact that it is no less safe than being done by a third party here.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,175
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Post by Neil on Apr 15, 2009 10:14:22 GMT -8
I think it's more likely a question of our literacy standards. Don't blame the guy in New Delhi; blame our education system. I was going to further suggest that maybe it was the fault of the cutbacks at BC Ferries' head office- maybe the former Manager in Charge of Cutlery Procurement (there is such a position, right, Kerry? ) was now doubling as promo copy writer, but... ...taking another look at that ad, I suspect it's neither the fault of the guy in New Delhi, or our education system. I think it was probably written by the travel company that's putting together the package, and they're probably not as solid on ferry names as we are. Anyway, I kind of like 'Northern Explorer' better.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Apr 15, 2009 10:38:27 GMT -8
...taking another look at that ad, I suspect it's neither the fault of the guy in New Delhi, or our education system. I think it was probably written by the travel company that's putting together the package, and they're probably not as solid on ferry names as we are. Anyway, I kind of like 'Northern Explorer' better. The mixed-up names are also both names of Ford SUVs. I'm not suggesting that BC Ferries has an alliance with Ford, but it is interesting to compare the names. Here's a list of Ford vehicles. How many would make good ferry names under the current BCFS naming strategy? 4wheeldrive.about.com/cs/ford/------------------------ Northern Explorer Northern Expedition Northern Excursion Northern Escape
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Post by WettCoast on Apr 15, 2009 19:37:32 GMT -8
Perhaps Northern Escape was the name that was to have gone to the QPR's promised sister?
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Post by kerryssi on Apr 16, 2009 12:39:47 GMT -8
Cutbacks at head office? Don't I wish. Don't know about the cutlery manager but I do know there was a manager of newspapers. I know a guy who has a telemarketing company. He loves pregnant 14 year old runaways. They work hard and don't ask questions. My objection to foreign workers being brought in to Canada is that most of them are just here to make money to send back home or spend a few months at relatively high ( for their country) wages and leave. It is not really them I object to so much as the government and business touting them as a boon to the economy when they are in fact draining money out of the economy. A lot of the workers on cruise ships are Phillipino. They make about $ 600.00/month which is peanuts here but a small fortune back home. Their government runs training facilities for all the jobs on cruise ships and their wages are tax free as they bring a good income to their country. This is something our own country could learn from. There used to be training facilities here for various jobs but the government decided to get rid of them. A very foolish move as the training provided career paths for Canadians.
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D'Elete BC in NJ
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Dispensing gallons of useless information daily...
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Post by D'Elete BC in NJ on Apr 17, 2009 2:50:03 GMT -8
Oh, come on WCK, cut them some slack. Haven't you heard- they've outsourced their promotional writing to a firm in New Delhi; that blurb was probably written by some poor schmo making about six rupees an hour. I think it's more likely a question of our literacy standards. Don't blame the guy in New Delhi; blame our education system. lol...I was looking for a good opportunity to drop a link to a certain book. heh heh...I figured Fluge would have been the victim...but instead, I choose you.
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Post by kerryssi on Apr 20, 2009 8:41:41 GMT -8
It is interesting to note that Delta airlines, among others, are now bringing support lines back to the U.S. from India due to customer frustration and dissatisfaction.
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Apr 22, 2009 10:30:17 GMT -8
Just did a check, and QPR's silhouette and profile have already been removed from the fleet list. The Norex is now there, with quite a nice photo, and the specific point that she boasts 55 modern staterooms . Also just suddenly wondered why they've arranged the links and silhouettes alphabetically. It makes it look disorganized, because ships of the same class are scattered randomly around if their names start with different letters.
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Post by Dane on Apr 22, 2009 22:36:13 GMT -8
It has almost been alphabetically, hasn't it?
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Post by Queen of Nanaimo Teen on Apr 23, 2009 7:23:06 GMT -8
Yes, the BC Ferries fleet profiles have always been in alphabetical order, and you can go to the webarchive and see for yourself. They stopped staying alphabetical when the Coastals and some other new ones were added to the fleet, but they've been changed lately, and now they are in order.
I do think it's dumb however, that in two places they've got one ship in the line, and not two......
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Post by Scott (Former Account) on May 29, 2009 11:22:00 GMT -8
The header on the BC Ferries website has now changed to the Coastal Inspiration. IMHO, I think it looks much better than the C.Cel one.
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