Madam, - Once again the idea of "Rip-Off Ireland" is highlighted sharply in your edition (21/07/04). Ultimately, the reasons we're all forced to endure this unacceptable situation is due to lack of political will, customer apathy/pusillanimousness and a "take it or leave it" attitude adopted by most "service" providers.
Mary Harney's oft-quoted, ill-advised and ultimately dismissive "shop around" advice highlights succinctly the first issue. Let's face it, when you're earning close to €160,000 per annum, price probably isn't the most pressing issue on your mind. The next issue reflects an ingrained attitude on behalf of a lot of Irish natives and an inbuilt resistance to stand up for oneself for fear of creating - heaven forbid - a scene.
Let me share with you a recent experience of my own which focuses on the customer service aspect to this problem. To be frank, the vast majority of Irish outlets never fully embraced the concept of the customer being always right and this throws up some ludicrous scenarios.
For example, in the lounge of the Marine Hotel in Dún Laoghaire, it's impossible to purchase a single scone. A lone customer wanting one with their tea/coffee will be forced to purchase two. This, explained with typical Irish logic, was because this was a) "policy" and b) it's what constitutes a portion. I helpfully suggested that they could simply divide the price of a portion in two but to no avail. I've heard countless other people complain about this inexplicable practice, in the years I've attended this establishment. Needless to say, I won't be attending in future. It all boils down to a complete lack of logic, accountability and customer care.
Alas, until this type of idiocy and customer disregard alters, we'll all continue to endure "Rip-Off Ireland". - Yours, etc.,
DAVID MARLBOROUGH, Kenilworth Park, Dublin 6W.
Madam, - While staying recently in the Great Southern Hotel Parknasilla, I was charged 0.41 per minute for a local call dialup to the Internet. A 15- minute call which, incidentally, ended when the line dropped, came to over €6.
Crazy as it may seem, it would have been cheaper for me to use my mobile phone for Internet access, though the phone coverage in the area was patchy at best.
To put this in comparison, I spent one night at the Gothia Towers Hotel in Sweden in early May. I was charged 50 Swedish krona (€5.45) for 24 hours of wireless broadband (which was, for the record, significantly faster than anything I have seen in this country).
Perhaps it isn't fair to compare wireless broadband prices to that for dialup. But even still, I have stayed in many places in the USA where local calls were free. A small hotel outside Gatwick Airport charged me £0.70 (€1.05) for a 15-minute call. Why is Ireland so much more expensive? - Yours, etc.
RICHARD BANNISTER, The Windmill, Sir John Rogerson's Quay, Dublin 2.