I won’t be back because of your smoking ban
I used to buy ramin wood handles but substituted them for ash when ramin was no longer available. Sadly I have to tell you that my most recent business trip to you will be my last.
(By way of interest, my purchases were not that large no more than €400,000 per year, so it's hardly going to affect your gross national product).
I will in future be sourcing them from Eastern Europe. Why, you might ask. Is it price? No, there's not that much difference. Is it service? No, I had a strong personal relationship with my suppliers and they always delivered on time.
No, it is my experience of my most recent visit which was he most miserable one I have ever experienced. I was aware that smoking had been severely restricted but did not realise until I arrived how severely that was.
After I arrived, I found nowhere to smoke in the terminal building whilst waiting for my luggage. Then I got into a taxi sorry, no smoking arrived at my hotel no smoking unless I was in my room. And even then, when I ordered room service I was told if I had been smoking they would have to wait 30 minutes after I had finished smoking before they could deliver any room service!
I went to meet my supplier the next day and we both had to stand outside to have a cigarette and it is his business! It was raining. Not an enjoyable experience. We contemplated lunch in our favourite restaurant (no smoking) and decided against it.
Another point: usually I am impervious to prices and low standards of service. I had on previous trips to Ireland found Ireland to provide both good service and value.
Sadly, no longer. Prices for everything seemed to be outrageous and are there no Irish people willing to provide customer service.
Without exception on this trip, every person I was served by was either of African or Eastern European origin.
In the end I decided to cut my business trip short. Usually we go and play golf together but I thought 'what's the point, another miserable afternoon.'
I'm a smoker and have never felt the need to apologise for it. That was my big mistake.
I decided to fly back on Friday evening and spent three miserable hours in a non-smoking terminal whilst I watched Dublin's finest fire brigade make a mountain out of a molehill they closed runway 27/08 and caused all flights to be cancelled to clean away some hydraulic fluid off the runway. Big deal, guys. Sure you feel really proud as to how much disturbance you caused to passengers, so you could justify your miserable existence.
Why the hell they could not have used runway 34/16 escapes me as there was no real crosswind.
Look, it's your country. Run it as you see fit. But don't expect to see me here again.
Richard Atherton,
20, Willoughby Close,
Alveston,
Bristol BS35 2RW,
England.
