Sir, - I was surprised to see your Editorial of April 20th referring to a letter from an American visitor to Ireland, Sean Proctor, who found people here to be less than welcoming. Surprised, because from reading the letter carefully again, his general impression of the people of Ireland is entirely from those in a service role. I would like to assure Mr Proctor that although I am white and consider myself polite, "nice looking" and so on, I too have from time to time experienced sub-standard service and hostile stares.
What Mr Proctor perhaps doesn't understand is that service standards in general may not be what he has come to expect in his home country. No doubt he is unaware that some employers in the service industry here do not treat their workers particularly well and that the words "minimum wage" and "training" are not part of their vocabulary. There are many employers who do treat their workers well and pay a fair wage as well as motivating staff by providing training. How unfortunate that he visited very few places where employees go out of their way to be genuinely pleasant and helpful.
I would suggest to Mr Proctor that a more appropriate vehicle for complaints on poor service and surly employees would be a letter to the management of the establishments concerned rather than a letter to a newspaper portraying this country as another South Africa.
This is no way underestimates the difficulties that may lie ahead as we become a more multicultural society. Nor does it deny that there are racists in our midst. But I suggest that your Editorial based on such a letter has done nothing other than endorse the flawed views of the writer. - Yours, etc.,
Alan O'Flaherty,
St Manntan's Road, Wicklow.