As a parochial and unglamorous antidote to the Hollywood Oscars that took place last weekend, London Underground was crowned Public Transport Operator of the Year at what LUL are desperately trying to sex up as the "transport Oscars" but are actually more prosaically known as the London Transport Awards. The MD of LUL explained they had scooped the gong for: delivering a record volume of service, carrying more passengers than ever before, while at......

Londonist arrived at work a few days ago to hear some distressing news: AMT, which only serves 100% Fairtrade coffee to its punters, appears to have lost the contract from Network Rail for their outlets at ten of London’s major railway stations. The company that has won the franchise in AMT’s place does not, we are told, offer any Fairtrade products. Our distress stems from the fact that not only will we be losing......

Every so often you hear about a piece of customer service that sounds so bad, you almost wonder if it's made up. Last week, Manne and a friend went to Nude at Ministry of Sound. There were problems with the ladies toilets and the pair left early, a little disappointed with their night. On Sunday Manne's friend sent the club this email: " Hi, Just thought I'd drop a line to say how disappointed......

Naming babies after where they were conceived or where they born is slightly embarrassing. If the former, then it's rather too much information to present strangers with your child Pizza Hut Fire Escape. If it's the latter then there is the risk of bringing up a child called Minicab or Somewhere Between Car Park and Maternity Ward. Risky though it is, sometimes it can just about work in the child's favour. 32 year old......

A while ago we reported on the somewhat confusing situation concerning Ofwat's decision to make Thames Water 'agree' to spend money on fixing their leaks instead of fining them. Well today it it looks like they're going fine them as well. Industry regulator Ofwat said on Wednesday it was considering fining Thames Water for customer service shortcomings. The move relates to failures under a so-called guaranteed standards scheme (GSS) that have occurred since July......

No not the latest customer service policy from the Met, but a strange photographic treasure hunt, now in its second year. Rather than running around EC2 looking for chocolate eggs or cryptic clues, registered teams of 2 to 4 people, will be given a list of 10 locations to photograph in as inventive a way as possible. Prizes will be given at the end of the day for the best entries. So you'll probably......

The catchily titled Sea Fish Industry Authority National Fish and Chip Shop of the Year Prize has been announced today, and the winner is...Hodgsons Chippy in Lancaster. The family run business scooped the award for their "customer service and high quality food", and the owners (who met and fell in love over the fryers) were presented with the award by sleb chef Brian Turner at a ceremony in London this week. But don't fret......

You can fault London Underground for a lot of things, but you have to admit that their timing is impeccable. Honestly, what better time is there to ask commuters to nominate 'outstanding' Tube staff than directly between two controversial strikes, the first of which threatened to ruin everyone's New Year celebrations? It's nothing short of PR genius. The catchily titled London Underground Station Customer Service Team of the Year Award is the part of......

Oh please. We're having trouble keeping up with Gwyneth Paltrow's opinions on London. First, we're "dirty" with bad customer service (i.e. if you go to the loo in a London shop, you are expected to wipe your own arse. Oh, the humanity!); then she denied it; now she is once again proclaiming her love for the Big Smoke and denying ("that's such bullshit") she ever slagged it off. Once more we refer our readers......

It appears Gwyneth Paltrow, Oscar-winning actress and macrobiotic mother, has a bone to pick with our "dirty", "cold", "depressing", "relaxed" (no, we don't understand that last one, either) city. She advised fellow Americans in this month's Marie Claire - the US version, of course - to watch out for "dirty streets" and the rain - how original of her. Goodness, what a wonderful way to make herself popular with her adopted home's inhabitants! Also,......

Foot Locker. JJB. JD Sports. You could be anywhere on this sceptred isle, be it Balham or Bognor, and your experience of buying running shoes will be the same. You will be pushed and pulled as you compete for scarce space against a multitude of teens desperate to get their hands on the latest tracksuits, and you will find that glaciers will melt before you are assisted by a clueless member of staff. If......

Do you think getting treatments done at beauty therapy schools is a good way to save money, or is the savings not worth sacrifice of quality? -Laura P. It depends on your budget and standards, but basically yes, beauty schools are worth the savings. Prices for a facial/leg wax/manicure at the London School of Beauty & Make-up start at £11/£10/£6.50, compared to around £25/£20/£10 (or more) for a regular high street salon. Plus you......

We awoke this morning to a little glimmer of gold hidden among the dirty rocks of viagra, penis extensions and offers of money from Nigeria that form the Londonist email folder. Flickr, one of our all time favourite online innovations, sent us the following happy tidings: You may have heard on the grapevine that we planned to reward our dear Flickr members who bought a Pro Account in the early days. Well, it's true!......