Horror: German-owned bus company dumps cello along the way
OrchestrasCellist Daniel Crompton was travelling from Lancaster via London to play with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. He took FlixBus to avoid adverse weather and a threatened rail strike
He tells slippedisc.com: ‘The driver of the coach removed cello at a stop-off on the way. Said it wasn’t his problem. FlixBus and their drivers would not investigate and I am headed back to Manchester now to try find it. ‘
FlixBus says on its website: ‘FlixBus not only prioritises comfort and convenience for your journey, but also ensures that you can travel with all your necessary luggage. Each passenger is allowed to bring one carry-on and one stowed luggage with them on the coach.’
Except for musical instruments, apparently.
And of course the root cause of the problem is the fact the bus company is « German owned »
Why is Norman obsessed with race and countries? His headlines are intentionally divisive. Music is about what unites us all, regardless of differences, and yet he does not seem to comprehend this basic ideal.
It is well-known that Germans cultivate a particular dislike of the cello, which is collectively suppressed in Germany itself but occasionally is let loose beyond the borders where there is less German social control. Well-known cultural philosopher Berndt Hofstädter has explained this as the result of forced listening to Bach’s cello suites at primary school level throughout the country.
What kind of nonsense is THAT? I don’t know where Herr Hofstädter or anyone else gets off contending that Germans have a particular dislike of the cello, blaming Bach or “less German social control”! Does this mean that since I played Bach’s two- and three-part inventions as a child, I should dislike piano. This reminds of what the musicologist Adorno contended, i.e. that writing a symphony in C-Major was no longer acceptable in the 20th century … whereupon Sibelius wrote his Symphony No. 7 … in C-Major! So much for the likes of Messeurs Hofstädter and Adorno!!!
Numerous are the Germans who break down in tears on hearing snippets of Bach’s cello suites, due to youth trauma. Recently researched by the Deutsches Kulturelles Sozialforschungsinstitut in Gallmischstadt.
true dat
Sorry for him, but if you expect best care of your instrument from the bus company for a safe and sound journey and arrival, you shouldn’t take the cheapest bus company. Simply saved the wrong way.
It baffles me that there are always people like you who blame the victim when something terrible happens due to negligence/crimes that clearly demonstrate the lack of responsibility on the other side. If you get into a car accident, I will be sure to tell you: Well you knew the statistics, it was your responsibility. You shouldn’t have gotten in that car if you didn’t want to get into an accident. You got murdered? Well you should have lived on a deserted island. Please grow up and read up on what the rule of law means in a democracy, as well as what individual rights and collective freedom mean.
It´s not about responsibility or who is wrong. Of course, the shipping / bus company is responsible for the safe arrival, but you can simply avoid that kind of trouble if you pay a bit more and get a better service. Now he has to spend time for asking for a refund, maybe hiring a lawyer- yes, who probably in the end will have to be paid by the bus company – , but does it bring back his wonderful cello? No! Pay a bit more, get a better service, then you have no trouble!
You ready to pay the musicians more to make up for your ridiculous “solution”?
It is in the musician´s best interest that everything works smooth regarding the arrival of his instrument. If he has to count the pounds so carefully that he has to go with flixbus, then he should ask his agency or the promoter for a better salary.
I wonder why this topic is at all on this website. How got Norman know about it? From the musician who´s angry with Flixbus and told him the story? Again: of course, the bus company is responsible, but if I have an important concert and take my valuable instrument with me, I know I won´t go with Flixbus, but rather pay a bit more and have a safe journey for me and my instrument! Is it so hard to understand???
“He took FlixBus to avoid adverse weather and a threatened rail strike”
This was during the week long ASLEF strike and overtime ban in addition to snow storms and there was no alternative way for me to travel that day, the ticket price was similar to a train ticket, plus I followed the company’s protocols and paid extra for it to be stored in a safe place by itself. I’m very used to forking out extra to ensure I’m set up reliably for engagements, however I’m yet to negotiate a private helicopter with my agent 🙂
that’s just appalling!
I do hope the instrument will be safely reunited with its owner.
(of course, the “Horror: German” – headline perfectly captures the essence of the story and does so much to clarify the central problem …
readers must also be dying to know: was the instrument Italian? the driver Polish? the cellist Scottish? the coach Japanese? the mobile phone used to make initial enquiries American, but manufactured in China?)
What does being German owned have to do with it? Many of the British rail operators are ultimately foreign owned too, often by the state railways of their respective countries. Or are you just using German as a convenient synonym for “evil” because of stuff that pretty soon will have happened a century ago, committed by people who even now are long dead?
Please don’t try to sweep EVIL under the rug.
it is a widely-known secret that the British Royal family is German. Among each other they speak German but as soon as a lackey enters the room they switch to English. I heard this from my PA who knows the sister of one of the Paki dishwashers at Buckingham Palace.
You may have been trying to make your point ‘humorously’ [sic] – but if that is not the case then thank you, Mr Borstlap, for giving me the perfect reason to never again waste my time accessing the Slippedisc site and having to wade through the frequently splenetic, racist and utterly contemptible comments of ‘music lovers’ [sic] like you. (I refer to your last sentence, 15th & 16th words.)
“What does being German owned have to do with it?”
Perhaps anticipating one of the equally silly anti-English generalisations we read here from time to time?
Many years ago I took an overnight bus from Luton to Middlesbrough. The driver was very unhappy that I insisted on putting my violin on the bus and not in the luggage boot. My violin arrived ok, my luggage arrived weeks later, they had transferred it to a connecting bus as I slept.
What about giving some details? Why and where was it removed? From where in the bus? Was the owner noticed in advance? “German-Owned” seems to be the most important info……
According to the Flixbus website, which by the way is German owned, the distance for this trip was 260 miles and the fastest bus (which by the way is German owned) is 6 hours and 55 minutes. That hardly seems long enough for the driver (who by the way was employed by Germans) to start off-loading luggage as if it were a sinking ship that needs to lighten up. Something is odd here. I wonder if a passenger who got off at an intermediate spot somehow claimed the cello as his (or hers)? Time to start searching the local pawn shops if they have such over there.
the bus stopped at Manchester, and Birmingham before arriving at London. At the Manchester stop-off, the driver removed the instrument from its safe storage place and left it on the pavement. At the beginning of my journey in Lancaster I told him I was travelling to London and he had a printed out itinerary with which he confirmed this. I was able to recover the instrument the next day, like you say, I was very worried that it would have ended up on Gumtree!!
I live in Austria and also have had to dodge train strikes by taking Flixbus. The problem with Flixbus is that (1) most of the drivers do not or can hardly speak German much less English, and (2) each driver tends to interpret the baggage rules as he well choses. I just had a similar incident with “bureaucratic driver” who would not allow me to take a small overnight case as well as a carry-on bag into the bus, but insisted that I put the carry-on case in the hold because I had TWO pieces of hand luggage. This had never happened to be before with Flixbus, so I really had no alternative. These same two pieces I carried with me on an Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna to Kopenhagen and back – NO problem. Hand luggage for an airline ist an overnight case, NOT a carry-on bag! I am NOT trying to accuse or praise any country, be it Germany or Austria. However, the main problem with Flixbus is that they have cornered the market and fear no competition. A tip for all in the future: Always book a second large bag which can be put in the hold, costs only 5 Euro and could save problems later.
I’m glad you understand! I made sure to follow their official protocol as I know its very much up to the driver whether a large hard case can occupy a paid for seat. In my case there were 2 drivers on the bus, the first said I can take it on board, the second overruled it and said it has to go in the special compartment. As for the unwarranted unloading at the stop-off, that was something of a freak accident I guess
Where was the cello? It could not possibly go in an overhead on a bus, so presumably in/on a seat. Paid for?
If it had a good case, the cello could have travelled as checked luggage, in the under-bus compartment. I took a guitar on a bus that way.
What has “German-owned” got to do with it? Was the driver German? Was he German-trained in — what, making life as hard as possible for passengers? But I thought the Germans prided themselves on efficiency. That usually means “can-do.” “Can’t do” is a more English response, in my experience, and even that is a generalisation that does not hold across the board.
I begin to think this site needs an editor.
It was stored in a premium, paid for luggage space, as according to their official guidelines.
Slippeddisc needs not only a competent editor, it needs desparately a change in perspective, i.e. renouncing acceptance of comments that are obviously racist, e.g. those which refer to the role of Germany during World War II. In the case of a lost violoncello, it is completely IRRELEVANT in which country headquarters the bus company are located, EVEN MORE IRRELEVANT what language the members of any royal family speak in private. Mine is NOT the only comment in this respect. The comment of Mr. Bee sums up the situation. Mr. Lebrecht, wake up and grow up … or give up, leaving the reigns ot this blog to someone who is not prone to prejudice.
I entirely agree! And also, think of the comments with so-called information which is utterly and dramatically distorted. The brother of my dear friend Anika is not from Pakistan but from India! And he is not a dishwasher but a First Range Gardiner, and works his tail off because he has to mown that big stretch all on his own under the woke eyes of Charles from the window.
Sally
Your criticism of the editorial policy of this site is to be welcomed.
And thank you for the clarification, Mr Borstlap, though your ‘Paki’ reference is still appalling – maybe not in today’s Right Wing Netherlands, but certainly in this UK household, where we are reminded that ‘Pakistan’ means ‘the Land of the Pure’ (admittedly sometimes hard to believe these days).
I wonder how often your First Range Gardener (Gardiner? – a musical gag perhaps?…), though of Indian heritage, has faced racists chanting ‘Paki!’ at him. Use of that term, even in an esoteric classical music website visited by only a tiny fraction of the population, only serves to prolong the life of this word as a repellent insult to be hurled at any person of colour by Whites[sic].