THE EDITOR, Sir:

HAVING SPENT many years overseas, Jamaicans in the diaspora often romanticise and reflect through rose-tinted spectacles about our country. A few of us seem less affected by the kind of selective memory that causes us to lose touch with many of the harsh realities of our native land.

As my former college roommate chose the island for her upcoming nuptials, I gently attempted to remind her that patriotism and nostalgia notwith-standing, our countrymen in the service industry can be somewhat inept and, at times, downright incompetent. Nevertheless, with foreign fianc? in tow, she insisted on an island wedding.

I must say that the pessimist that I am, even I was bitterly dis-appointed in the response of the wedding coordinators of four of the island's premier tourist resorts. Missed appointments, characteristic lateness, lacklustre response to correspondence, abruptness in attitude and an overall sense that the hotel or the coordinator in question is bestowing a favour on the paying customer. One leading resort in Ocho Rios managed to shore up some semblance of professionalism when her fiance, with the obviously foreign accent, made the inquiries himself. Her fiance felt he should take his business elsewhere, and my friend was too embarrassed to object.

My question is, do my fellow Jamaicans in the tourism and service industry understand the relationship between continued employment and customer satisfaction? Do they understand the power of a dissatisfied customer in this age of online reviews and competitiveness among tourist destinations?

Personally, I urged her to take a look at the Bahamas. Such is the power of the green.

I am, etc.,

WINSOME RICHARDS

winrich23@yahoo.com

Via Go-Jamaica