I had to wait until I got home to send this as an email. But it was also sent in letter form, in case it gets picked up by a spam filter:

Dear Mr. Beattie,
I have recently learned of a situation involving one of your employees, which you should be made aware of – and likely all ready are.

Over the last year or so, the owner of a Dumfries guesthouse (Mr. Robertson Wellen) has been posting an online pictorial journal of the sights, experiences, and history of regional Scotland. It is to his credit that the gentleman in question does not advertise or feature his business in these photos – rather he posts of his own personal hikes to scenic overlooks, ruins, items of historical interest, local events, and distilleries to name a few. His pictures, while not that of a professional photographer, are nevertheless spectacular and capture (in my opinion) the beauty of Scotland both past and present. He is quite simply an outstanding advocate for Scottish Tourism, and as a direct result of his journals, I have begun planning a trip to Scotland.

However, I have learned that guests of Mr. Wellen’s guesthouse were recently visiting the Dumfries branch of the VisitScotland offices. One of the guests was from the United States. A question was raised about the popularity of the kilt. One of your employees, Mr. Kerr Matthews, reportedly said something to the effect of, “The only kilts we see are on loud-mouthed Americans.”
He apparently 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!” The person Mr. Matthews referred to was, in fact, Mr. Wellen.

I do understand that in this day and age, the kilt is considered an unusual garment. I also understand that there are many people who do not like to see the kilt being worn by anyone – especially someone who is not “Fully Scottish.”

What I do not understand – and what I take offense to – is a representative of your company, while in his capacity as a representative, being so openly hostile about Americans in general, and specifically about one who is doing so much for Scottish Tourism. How exactly does one promote tourism, while simultaneously insulting both the tourist and those that would host them?

It is my hope that Mr. Matthews’s behavior is not typical of your organization, and that Mr. Wellen may expect some form of apology for Mr. Matthew’s clearly unprofessional behavior.

Additionally, it might behoove your organization to provide Mr. Matthews with some sort of instruction on the merits of reserving his personal prejudices until he is on his own time, and not representing your company.

Thank you for your consideration in this matter.

Sincerely,



Kyle Kizzier

(Address included in the letter)

cc: Malcom Roughead - Director of Marketing
Denise Hill - Head of International Marketing
Ewan Colville - Marketing Manager (North America/Asia Pacific)
Donna Black Press Manager - VisitScotland
Elaine Murray - Member of the Scottish Parliament for Dumfries Constituency