HELP- a call to arms!

[Chef]

I'm happy to send emails, I was just wondering why you are not sending emails to the Head Office in Edinburgh. Also, I would suggest that as many as possible send an actual letter to the Head Office. Unfortunately emails don't have quite the impact that letters do.

Complaints to the Head Office can be sent to:

Mr. John Beattie
Head of Information and Sales
VisitScotland
Ocean Point One
94 Ocean Drive
Leith
Edinburgh
EH6 6JH

his email is john.beattie@visitscotland.com

I'll hold off my complaint there until I hear from you in case there is a reason you don't want to go to the Head Office at this time.

[RK-REX]

Several emails sent.

[McClef]

I sent the following:

"Dear VisitScotland,

I am writing in response to information I have been given regarding an incident that occured in your Dumfries office when derogatory comments were made by your representative, a Mr Matthews, about both kilt wearers and "loud mouthed Americans."

I gather others have also written and furnished you with the full details so I will not repeat them here. I also understand that the "loud-mouthed American living in Dumfries, who owns a guest house, struts around the town in his kilt and even does his shopping in it!" that Mr Matthews alluded to has written to you requesting an apology and has been greeted with silence on the matter.

As a kilt wearer and a frequent visitor to Scotland I am quite frankly appalled at such an unprofessional and discourteous attitude which is so totally against the ethos and spirit of projecting Scotland as a welcoming country that deserves to be visited and explored.

Whatever his private prejudices may be, they have no place when Mr Matthews is acting as your representative and having made them in this capacity it reflects badly not only on him but also upon your organisation, reinforced by the lack of response upon the matter.

It may surprise you to know that Scotland is linked with the kilt, even though few people may wear them every day. It may also surprise you to learn that visitors are very happy and glad to see such kilt wearers "strutting" in the streets. Every time I visit Scotland I am asked for photographs and to pose with such people. It may also surprise you that Scotland is a popular tourist destinations for Americans and that Scotland is famous for the welcome that it extends to visitors, not only from America but from all over the world as well as other parts of the United Kingdom. It may also surprise you that when people visit and make use of the facilities provided by your offices that they expect a professional and courteous service from those who work there. They also expect the same in how any complaints are dealt with.

You may wish to dismiss it as a "storm in a teacup" but you do so at your peril and to that of the reputation of Scotland. You have a rating system for accomodation that states "Using 1 to 5 Stars, Visitor Attractions are graded for the standard of customer care they provide for the visitor. The star awards focus on the standard of the welcome, hospitality and service..."

May I also suggest you look to doing the same for your Dumfries office. Based on the information about this incident it clearly fails your own criteria.

I trust that a written apology will be forthcoming to the gentlemen who visited and also to the gentleman who raised the complaint with you.

I remain,

Yours Faithfully,

Trefor Heywood M. Theol (St Andrews)
Abertillery
Wales"

[cavscout]

Email sent. I also included a bit of personal sentiment as well

Dear VisitScotland-

I'm contacting about an incident some of my friends experienced in one of your offices in January. A recap is documented below but I would like to add my personal statement to this as well. It is very sad that The Kilt is held in such little regard to the VisitScotland organization for a remark such as this to be spoken. Even if the remark is accurate, it is even more sad that the Scottish people have turned their backs on The Kilt as a symbol of their culture, so that when someone see's a Kilt in Scotland is is expected that they are an American.

If the VisitScotland office has this view of The Kilt, and those that choose to preserve it (whether Scots, Irish, English, American...) I wonder what your view on all other things Scottish might be. It saddens me very much to think that a part of my heritage that I value so much is not valued nearly as much by those who are more directly tied to it.

It appears that the root of this issue is that VisitScotland feels insulted by Americans presuming to wear a Kilt. My question to you is, Isn't it more insulting that the people who should treasure the Kilt do not wear it and are willing to relegate it to the tourists and museums.

I challenge you to encourage Kilt wearing by men in a respectful manner by educating them as to the heritage and pride that is embodied and symbolized by The Kilt. You can start in your own office by setting the standard and example of how to properly wear The Kilt. As tourists visit you for information on enjoying their trip they will also be educated in the proper way to wear the kilt with respect and honor. This would be a great service to the tourists as well as the community and the nation of Scotland.


Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

[Richland]

I'm On this!
This is a must do!

[cessna152towser]

I've sent the following to each of the three recipients. As a native Scot my wording needs to have a slightly different take from what others are sending, but should make the point. I've sent as three individual e-mails since if sent to multiple recipients in an organsation these are often delted by spam filters.

Dear (name),

On the occasion of a get together in Dumfries for a Burns Supper weekend in late January, two Englishmen and an American were present in the tourist office in Dumfries, all wearing kilts for the occasion, when one of the English men asked Mr. Matthews whether many men wore kilts in Dumfries. Mr. Matthews replied that the only people who wore kilts in Dumfries were outspoken Americans, including a local guest house proprietor. This comment was not only derogatory of the guest house proprietor referred to, with whom the three gentlemen happened to be staying, but was grossly insulting of the American visitor who was present in the tourist office at the time with the two Englishmen.

Mr. Matthews comments, apart from being insulting to the American tourist present, were grossly untrue. I am a Scot living in Hawick in the south of Scotland and wear a kilt almost daily, including when I visit Dumfries, and I resent Mr. Matthews' assumption that because I choose to go kilted this implies that I am a loud mouthed American..

I understand that a written apology was sought from Mr. Matthews on behalf of the American visitor. As none has been forthcoming, the incident has received a certain amount of adverse publicity from the American visitor. Mr. Matthews failure to respond to the complaint letter means we have not heard his side of the story and compounds his arrogance.

As a Scot I do not wish this rude and arrogant image being presented to visitors by people purporting to be our representatives by holding down a front line job in a tourist office in a main centre such as Dumfries.

At very least, the impression I get is that Mr. Matthews needs to be given some training on tact and diplomacy. At worst you may need to consider whether he remains competent to hold down a front line post dealing with the public..

Yours faithfully,

Alexander J. Cunningham

[turpin]

Here is what I sent.

Dear Messers Roughead and Colville, and Ms. Hill:

On Monday, January 29, 2007 three Guests of Scotland, two from England and one from the U.S.A., all wearing kilts, visited the Dumfries office of VisitScotland. One of them enquired of the man behind the counter, a Mr. Matthews, whether many people in Dumfries wore kilts. Mr. Matthews (who is alleged to be English) replied something to the effect that “The only kilts we see are on loud-mouthed Americans.” The three tourists were taken aback at the rudeness of the statement . Then Mr. Matthews went on to say, “There is, in fact, one loud-mouthed American living in Dumfries, who owns a guest house, struts around the town in his kilt and even does his shopping in it!” Mr. Matthews clearly was unaware that these three gentlemen were guests of the "loud-mouthed American".

Such an attitude from a representative for Scottish tourism can only be counterproductive to the objectives of your organization. Perhaps it is Mr. Matthews' English heritage that makes him so disparaging of both the Scottish National Attire and of the citizens of a country that pulled England's chestnuts out of the fire twice in the last century (current American politics notwithstanding). Surely this can't be representative of Scotland's well-known tradition of hospitality.


I am acquainted with said owner of the guest house, Mr. Robertson Wellen. You should know that Scotland has no greater advocate for tourism than he is. He has published thousands of pictures on the internet showing all of the aspects of Scotland that would encourage me to visit. I know for a fact that many of my acquaintances on this side of "the pond" have made trips to Scotland, and spent thousands of dollars in doing so, based primarily on information they have gained from this "loud-mouthed American".

I understand Mr. Wellen has requested a formal apology from your organization, and I strongly encourage you to do so. Any apology should include a statement of VisitScotland's position on the extent to which it values American tourism to Scotland. There are many of us over here planning (or planning to plan) a trip to Scotland, and VisitScotland is not the only way to go about it. Until such time as an apology is tendered to Mr. Wellen, with copies to the three guests, I think I can speak for many of us over here in saying that we will patronize other Scottish tourism promoters in preference to you. And there is always Ireland.


Sincerely

Wm. Turpin Ballard

Roswell Georgia, USA

[beloitpiper]

I sent an E-mail. I hope they have the decency to aknowledge you!

[Robin]

Working on it...

[beloitpiper]

Here's a reply I got from John Beattie:

I am out of the office until 15 February 2007, and will respond as soon as possible on my return, if your enquiry is urgent please contact Marie Tolland (marie.tolland@visitscotland.com) who will assist in redirecting your query.

John

Now there's customer service for you....Feb. 15!!!