Reply from the Daily Mail
Yes, after three emails I have finally received the most pathetic response I have ever seen to the emails that I’ve sent.
(For those who haven’t looked a bit further down my original email can be found here, my first chaser here and my second chaser here.)
To: Ethan Kristopher-Hartley
From: managingeditor@dailymail.co.uk
Date: 22/10/2009 17:23:47
Subject: Jan Moir article
Thank you for your correspondence regarding the Jan Moir article. We
welcome feedback-whether positive or negative – about the paper and our
writers.
Our Columnist’s views have prompted a widespread response and debate, and
as formal complaints have now been taken up by the PCC, we will be
responding to them directly.
However, thank you for taking the trouble to send us your own point of
view.
Yours sincerely,
Managing Editor’s Office
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Follow-up email 2 to Paul Dacre
To: paul.dacre@dailymail.co.uk
CC: alex.bannister@dailymail.co.uk; martin.clarke@dailymail.co.uk; jon.steafel@dailymail.co.uk; martin.morgan@dmgt.co.uk;paul.carter@dailymail.co.uk; jan.moir@dailymail.co.uk
Subject: Still no response to my previous emails
Dear Mr Dacre
It has been nearly a week since Jan Moir published her abhorrent article on the death of Stephen Gately and still we have heard nothing from you. It has been 2 days since I sent my first email to you (copied onto my blog at http://efan78.com/140/JanM2). And you still have not had the decency to even acknowledge receipt!
The PCC has received over 25,000 – yes twenty five thousand! – complaints about the article and the Facebook group has over 33,000 members. Yet it seems that you and your colleagues feel that, by keeping quiet and not responding to the public’s justified ire, this will all just die away.
I’m not sure if I made this clear in the email that I sent to you yesterday but that’s not the case. For too long now LGBT people have been vilified and discriminated against by your publication. And why not? We’re an easy target with our “hedonistic lifestyles” that ensure your columnists and journalists can question the clear rulings of a qualified and respected coroner with such headlines as “Nothing ‘natural’ about Stephen Gately’s death” and “A strange and troubling death…”. Heaven forbid that you could actually mention those of us who are in long term, committed, caring relationships raising well-adjusted and wonderful children. Or maybe even just apologise for the awful comments, misinformation, insinuation and bad-timing which Ms Moir’s article was filled with.
Mr Dacre, Mr Bannister, Mr Clarke, Mr Staefel, Mr Morgan, Mr Carter and – most importantly – Ms Moir, we’re waiting. Waiting for you to issue the apology that is so clearly required here. The very apology that you hounded from Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand.
We’re here and we’re waiting. But time is running out…
Sincerely
Ethan Kristopher-Hartley
Follow-up email 1 to Paul Dacre
This was originally posted as a comment to my original email, but I thought it would be better to keep a record using separate posts:
To: paul.dacre@dailymail.co.uk
CC: alex.bannister@dailymail.co.uk; martin.clarke@dailymail.co.uk; jon.steafel@dailymail.co.uk; martin.morgan@dmgt.co.uk; paul.carter@dailymail.co.uk; jan.moir@dailymail.co.uk;
Subject: Re: The Stephen Gately Article – lack of response
Dear Mr Dacre
I am dismayed that neither you nor your colleagues Alex Bannister, Martin Clarke, Jon Staefel, Martin Morgan, Paul Carter or Jan Moir have had the decency to respond to my email. You have not even had the good manners to acknowledge that the email has even been received.
I am aware that you are a very busy man. I mean – trying to fight the fires that your publication cause must be a full time job in and of itself – but I am sure that you must at the very least have a team who can acknowledge receiving emails and give an idea of a timescale in which you intend to respond.
I want to make this absolutely clear. I will not simply let this lie, in fact the anger that is still high in people’s consciousness has brought to light a larger number of ‘stories’ that your publication has chosen to run. It is not helping any defence you may be preparing.
In case you decided to simply delete the mail that I sent to you you can find the full text on my blog at http://efan78.com/140/JanM2.
I look forward to hearing from you soon, of course if you or your team cannot be bothered to respond, I will follow up this email again.
Sincerely
Ethan Kristopher-Hartley
Letter to Starbucks
Every morning when I get the bus into work I stop for a Starbucks, it’s a nice little treat to set me up for the day! Now I know lots of people use their blogs for copying complaint letters to show the world their dissatisfaction so I’m taking a leaf out of their book:
But it’s not to complain!
I visit the Neville Street store in Newcastle and it’s a great little coffee shop. Yes I know that Starbucks is over-priced for what it is but, to be honest, I don’t care. The staff there are friendly, welcoming and always have a smile. They can have a laugh and a joke and are genuinely interested in people. So I had to send this letter to the Area Manager.
She hasn’t received it yet as it only got posted this morning – so you’re getting a preview!
So, if you’re visiting Newcastle and want somewhere to kill an hour or two, or you want to meet up with a couple of friends then just head down to the Central Station and pop in.
——————————————————————–
Here’s the letter:
Dear Starbucks Area Manager for Newcastle I’m a regular customer of your Neville Street store and I really feel that I need to tell you about the fantastic job all of the staff do. Of all the stores in Newcastle this is the most welcoming, comfortable and relaxing. In part this is down to the location, the open, windowed aspect of the store makes it seem spacious, although the fact that you haven’t crammed lots of seats in helps too! But I think the thing that really singles out Neville Street is the staff. I hope you know what stars you have working there! I could wax lyrical about each and every one of them but I realise that you’re busy so I’d just like to single out Christine, Adam and Ali. These three in particular always have a smile and a cheery hello whether it be at 7am or 7pm, their knowledge of the products is fantastic and they (along with all the others) are the main reason that I come back time and again. It’s great to see such fantastic teamwork and excellent customer service, and it’s exactly this that encourages loyalty, so I just wanted to let you know what a credit the team at Neville Street are to the whole of Starbucks. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I’d like to wish you and the partners in Neville Street all the best. Sincerely Ethan
