I'd hoped to be blogging about my adventures in Iceland and France by now, but unfortunately, Duane Reade has had other ideas. That's right. I'm so behind technology-wise that I've yet to get a digital camera, and depending on our local pharmacy to develop photos is trying to say the least.
So while I wait, now seems like as good as time as any for a little pre-trip observation: Online reviews are virtually worthless. When I was planning the trip, I was trying to get some background on Icelandair. Online reviews had three recurring themes:
1) The food sucked.
2) The flight attendants were not friendly.
3) Icelandic passengers were given preferential treatment with aisle and window seats.
What did these people expect?
1) It's an airplane, idiot.
2) Flight attendants are there primarily for safety reasons, not to serve you five glasses of ginger ale at inopportune times.
3) This is probably the most ridiculous complaint. First of all, I had a window or an aisle seat on each leg of my trip. Second, how the hell would they know? Because they were stuck with an middle seat, and the people on either side of them were fair-skinned blondes? (Like me, by the way? Perhaps they assumed I was Icelandic?) Did they check every passport? Did they chat with every person on the aisle or by the window on the plane? Even if they did, I would venture that most American tourists could not tell the difference between Icelandic, Danish, Norwegian or Swedish. And even if they had some empirical evidence to prove their point, let's think about it. Who usually gets first shot at the best seats on a plane? The frequent flyers. Now a pop quiz, only one question:
Who would be the most likely candidate for a frequent flyer program on Icelandair?
a) Someone from Iceland who has virtually no other airline from which to choose
b) Phil and Rosemary from Des Moines, who are making a trip to Iceland for a few days and will probably never think about it again save some pictures they took from the tour bus that were tossed in a shoebox a few weeks after the trip
Online reviews are useful only in warning of the real clunker companies out there. I do credit them for saving me the embarrassment of sending a friend to the seemingly bargain-price Hotel Carter in Times Square a year ago. When there are five reviews that mention rats in the room on the first page alone, one takes notice. But outside of those instances, they're a gathering place for shills and overly critical people who have nothing to do but make baseless accusations to keep the chip on their shoulder. Ignore them.
This message was brought to you by Icelandair.
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1 comment:
The important question to ask, however, is was the victim's apartment rent controlled?
And dude! How are things? A belated congrats on the engagement, by the way.
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