After witnessing one of the great Open Championships on the Ayrshire Coast in July, I thought I'd take in the Saturday and Sunday of the Hong Kong Open Golf tournament, which tees off tomorrow at Fanling.
Getting there is proving to be quite an adventure in itself. Monday lunchtime, I walked down to the local branch of Parsons Music, which according to the Open's website was selling tickets for the event along with Cityline. When I requested two 4-day passes for the event – the cheapest option – the woman behind the counter asked a string of questions about venue, dates and times, and then, almost as an afterthought, told me the computer was down and wouldn't be fixed till the evening.
So, yesterday, before setting out, I got my secretary to call and check that everything was in order. The thumbs up having been given, I sallied forth and asked Elvis, the man behind the counter, for two 4-day passes for the Hong Kong Open Golf on 12-15 November. At first, Elvis offered me tickets for Thursday, then for Friday. He was about to offer me tickets for Saturday when I popped round the counter to join him and point to the "4-day pass" option which was staring at him from the drop-down menu.
Having sorted that out, Elvis picked up the phone and after a brief conversation in Cantonese handed the phone over to me. The woman on the other end said something but I couldn't hear what it was because a couple of brats chose this moment to thump the nearest Yamaha upright.
After dispatching Elvis to urge upon them the wisdom of desisting, I had a conversation which was memorable in the rather surreal manner that service encounters in Hong Kong have a way of being.
"You want two 4-day passes for the golf, sir?"
"That's right."
"For the pass, there are no guaranteed seats," she said apologetically.
"That's okay," I said. "I'll take them anyway."
I passed the phone back to Elvis, who confirmed with his superior that I would indeed be willing to watch the golf without being allocated a seat number.
Next it was time to pay and I had an inkling that things might not be straightforward. The chances of the credit card going through I rated about as high as my daughter's favourite player, Nick Dougherty, winning the tournament.
I hate to say I was right, but after Elvis had swished the card through for the fourth time I told him not to bother, I would pay cash. Rather than the HK$400 per head that the website talked about (never trust a bank – the event is sponsored by UBS), the computer flashed up $360.
I paid up and left 20 minutes after arriving with a deeper insight into why Parsons Music is doomed to forever be the poor man's Tom Lee.
Getting there is proving to be quite an adventure in itself. Monday lunchtime, I walked down to the local branch of Parsons Music, which according to the Open's website was selling tickets for the event along with Cityline. When I requested two 4-day passes for the event – the cheapest option – the woman behind the counter asked a string of questions about venue, dates and times, and then, almost as an afterthought, told me the computer was down and wouldn't be fixed till the evening.
So, yesterday, before setting out, I got my secretary to call and check that everything was in order. The thumbs up having been given, I sallied forth and asked Elvis, the man behind the counter, for two 4-day passes for the Hong Kong Open Golf on 12-15 November. At first, Elvis offered me tickets for Thursday, then for Friday. He was about to offer me tickets for Saturday when I popped round the counter to join him and point to the "4-day pass" option which was staring at him from the drop-down menu.
Having sorted that out, Elvis picked up the phone and after a brief conversation in Cantonese handed the phone over to me. The woman on the other end said something but I couldn't hear what it was because a couple of brats chose this moment to thump the nearest Yamaha upright.
After dispatching Elvis to urge upon them the wisdom of desisting, I had a conversation which was memorable in the rather surreal manner that service encounters in Hong Kong have a way of being.
"You want two 4-day passes for the golf, sir?"
"That's right."
"For the pass, there are no guaranteed seats," she said apologetically.
"That's okay," I said. "I'll take them anyway."
I passed the phone back to Elvis, who confirmed with his superior that I would indeed be willing to watch the golf without being allocated a seat number.
Next it was time to pay and I had an inkling that things might not be straightforward. The chances of the credit card going through I rated about as high as my daughter's favourite player, Nick Dougherty, winning the tournament.
I hate to say I was right, but after Elvis had swished the card through for the fourth time I told him not to bother, I would pay cash. Rather than the HK$400 per head that the website talked about (never trust a bank – the event is sponsored by UBS), the computer flashed up $360.
I paid up and left 20 minutes after arriving with a deeper insight into why Parsons Music is doomed to forever be the poor man's Tom Lee.
3 comments:
"Parsons Knows". I wish I'd thought of that. (And I probably will.)
Word verification: "poofskin" - if that isn't a word, it should be.
Isn't poofskin what Liberace wore at his funeral?
I think he wore 4 of them.
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