Mr. Njie, I must first thank the Almighty Allah for making sure that our parents return home safely. I would also like to thank you for attempting to explain the reason(s) behind the delays in their travel back home. Your message should have been more like an apology to your customers not a cheap attempt of shifting blame on to your back-end contracts as someone else have already pointed out. As a seasoned businessman, you should not have had any qualms about publicly apologizing for the mishaps. Everyone understands that there are certain things beyond your control as the manager of Globe Travel, especially when dealing with unscrupulous politicos who would be happy to sell their country in order to gain power. But, you have a fundamental obligation to your customers, that is to acknowledge to them that you've failed their expectations. Simple business ethics! Customer loyalty cannot be forced or left to chance. Think about that for a minute. I spoke with my mom this morning and as I very well expected, the only thing she had to say was that when one goes to perform the Hajj, they should not expect to have it easy. It's part of the whole exercise of performing the Hajj. What else do you expect such humble customers to say about your services? It is true that, as confirmed by my mom, you have tried to go out of your way to make them feel comfortable and realaxed during their ordeal, but that is in no way sufficient to negate the distress caused on them and their family. Your customers are not interested in knowing which one of your deals went sour. Their expectations should be your concern no matter what. Most of us are aware of the political/competitive distractions regarding the Hajj this year and because of that your customers had the confident in your services and thus expected you to honor that confidence. You have betrayed their confidence, not of your own volition of course, but be ethically sound enough to accept responsibility and strive to avoid such situations again. That's not a lot to ask for! With due respect. Abdoulie A. Jallow www.dalasigram.com Making sending funds home more fun than hassle. [log in to unmask] [log in to unmask] 402-639-1105 _______________________________________________________ Send a cool gift with your E-Card http://www.bluemountain.com/giftcenter/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/gambia-l.html You may also send subscription requests to [log in to unmask] if you have problems accessing the web interface and remember to write your full name and e-mail address. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------