September 24, 2005

Dear Sir,

As the years march on, our little Island in the Atlantic changes to keep up with the times. Most of these changes have happened on an international business level. If Bermuda is going to compete as a vacation destination, we need to step up our tourism product. In doing so we need to reach back in time to the things that made Bermuda what it was, and bring those ideas and ways of living up to date.

For instance, if we were to take places such as the ?Hitching Post? and turn it back in time, we could have guides dressed in the period of the day informing guests of the history, thereby providing an attraction. These and many other ideas come to me as I work as a concierge. Guest who have been here before or for the first time are always looking for more things to do in Bermuda for a reasonable price.

We also need to look at destination packages, where like-minded individuals and others can get together and explore things on the Island that they are all interested in, such as forts, gardens, our courts of law or antique shops. You would be amazed at how much of a response you would receive if there was a hotel stay/fishing package. There are so many things that could be done to get visitor arrivals back to the numbers they were at during the 1970s and 1980s.

Another issue that needs to be addressed is nightlife in Bermuda. Have we really become just a place of crazy nightclubs after the shops close at 5 p.m.? The questions that are asked are: ?What happened to the shows? Where can I go with my kids in the evening that?s fun, maybe some live music? Does Bermuda have any dinner cruises?? Year after year, we get the same questions. Here is my question, when are we as a country going to do something about it?

The Department of Tourism began a very good idea with its Pop and Sizzle promotion. I believe that it too can be improved upon to make it a great idea. Not many Bermudians have the time in their day-to-day lives of earning a living to be able to erect pop by flags so that they can speak with visitors. Now, if there were pop-by booths at places such as Spittal Pond, you could have our pensioners or college students running them. They could share information on the area as far as the things to see and do with a refreshing ginger beer soda at the end of their presentation.

Imagine if you were a visitor here staying at a West End resort. You?re on a fixed vacation budget, and you are travelling with a seven year old and a 15 year old over a period of four days from Friday until Monday. How many different things can you do and get to do so that everyone is entertained (remember there is a teenager) and you do not blow your budget? You arrive on Friday, $30-$40 cab fare from the Airport and have dinner at the hotel at a cost of close to $200. On Saturday you get a three-day bus and ferry pass for everyone with the purpose of getting around. Your family decides to spend the morning at the beach, not wanting to spend $50 to $75 per person at the nearby water park (two slides/three pools) and then go to Hamilton for shopping and dinner.

Upon finding out that the stores in Bermuda generally close about 5 p.m., you race to get there. Then you also find out that the last bus travelling on your road leaves the city at 9.15 p.m. Deciding not to stay in the city, you have dinner at Henry VIII instead, $150 plus cab fare to the hotel because it is too dark to walk. On Sunday your family walks to the lighthouse for breakfast and sightseeing then head out to Dockyard: a) too expensive to swim with the dolphins; b) no train running because there is no cruise ship. You go to get the ferry to St. George?s except there isn?t one on Sunday (not getting much use of the pass.) So you decide to go to an early dinner in Hamilton only you do not know that the last number seven bus leaves the city at 6 p.m. on Sundays. Now you are spending more money on a cab back to your hotel. On Monday you?ve finally got it figured out, promising the kids a good day, you set off to Hamilton via bus then ferry to St. George?s. Feeling good, you bus to Crystal Caves, and lunch at Swizzle Inn then race by bus to the Aquarium before it closes. Hearing about the street fair in Flatts you stay in the area until it starts, have a great time, then take another cab back to the hotel, but at least now you feel as if you?ve done something on your vacation before you leave on Tuesday.

In retrospect, once you?ve arrived home, you realise four days, two bored kids, and a blown vacation budget after breakfast, lunch, and dinner, including money spent travelling around, jamming most of your activities into one day, next year you are going somewhere else where you can at least rent a car or there is a better system of getting around. Somewhere that gives you a better value for your dollar and has more entertaining things to do. Too often we see this type of vacationer pass through our Island and just think what that one family can tell 12 others about Bermuda.

During the last five years or so the United States has had to deal with the seriousness of actual hurricanes. Bermudians have lived with the threat of hurricanes all of our lives. We need to share our knowledge of the storms with other countries to calm their fears of coming to Bermuda during hurricane season. Bermuda can promote itself as the ?third little pig? for instance, showing guests the architecture of our homes that make them sturdy during a storm. If we show our guests that Bermudians are not immediately destitute after a hurricane, and that we can still get fresh water from our tanks, and showing guests how we camp out would help to calm their fears over coming to Bermuda. Also looking back at our track record, Bermuda is one of the safest countries to be during a hurricane.

Bermuda needs to be more than just a pretty face. We need to open the mouth on that face, and let our visitors know what it is about Bermuda that makes us to be the most interesting, exciting, sub-tropical place to be visiting more than anywhere else in the world.

On hold ? for 17 minutes

Dear Sir,

I was going to write to Butterfield Bank but as they were bragging about their high rating in your Business section I decided to ?go public? as well.

On September 8, I called the bank to enquire why a deposit had not reached my account. A recording told me to wait for the next available representative and kept saying that he knew my time is a most valuable commodity. He told me this for 13 minutes. The phone then rang for another four minutes before it was answered by a live person. Seventeen minutes, in my opinion, is not the service one should expect from any business ? especially a bank. This is not the first time calls have taken a long time to be answered.

Come on, Butterfield Bank, let?s spend less money on rebranding and more on basic customer service. I nearly forgot ? why was the money not in my account? ?We were very busy and got behind by a day!? Appalling.