Inconsiderate corporate citizens

THE EDITOR , Sir:

I  have taken note of two recent letters in your publication from Heather Campbell and Winston Barrett concerning the thoughtless and inconsiderate behaviour of some joggers in their St Andrew neighbourhood, and would like to use this medium to address two corporate entities to whom the same behaviour could be ascribed .

Heineken and Trident Hotel are deserving of criticism for their inconsiderate behaviour and the total lack of corporate citizenship over the past weekend. On Saturday, November 16, Heineken staged an entertainment event at the Trident Hotel in Portland. While I was not physically present, the only thing I was missing was a visual perspective of the activities.

The activities started in the early evening on a quiet note and continued in that vein until about 7-7:30 when the national anthem was played. After this, it descended into a profanity-laced tirade interspersed with the music. While I will not describe the music as being disturbingly loud, the DJ's exhortations were certainly lewd.

After every two or three selections, the DJ would come in to say the usual inanities associated with some of these events, always ending his 'speech' with the 'command' to "make some FING noise". This continued for the entire night until I fell asleep later.

Not being present, I couldn't say who was the DJ, but based on the accent, I can only assume that it was the guest DJ who was flown in specially for the occasion.

Now I would like to remind both Heineken and Trident that, first and foremost, the hotel is located in a residential area, and all of us are neighbours.

Due diligence

Trident, being a corporate entity, has as its business to provide short-term residences for its clients at a charge and how you treat with your customers is your prerogative, but remember, FAMILIES are around, and we are entitled to the peace and quiet of our homes without our ears being assaulted by the 'FING' word ad nauseam.

Heineken, you contracted with Trident to host this event on its premises and flew in this person to entertain your paying customers. But what sort of 'due diligence' was done before unleashing him on the residents of the area? Is that the sum total of his lyrical repertoire?

While your paying customers may stay or leave if they object to his lyrics, the neighbours have no such choice without much inconvenience, and not all of us appreciate having inappropriate language hammered into our heads incessantly, and being a reluctant host to an unwelcome imposer.

We should all remember that while we basically have the right to do whatever we want to - within reason - we must bear in mind that that right comes with the responsibility. Neighbours' rights must not be infringed.

If we each - individuals and corporations - subscribe to these principles, we can avoid much of the strife that crops up in our daily lives and make life less stressful.

Heineken and Trident Hotel, you MUST strive to do better.

Henry Thomas

het256@yahoo.com