Shipping C.E.O’s explanation not good enough

Dear Editor,

P.S. Jeffrey you are an ignorant nincompoop.

Firstly, if you had read the letter properly you would have noticed that the incident in question related to government vehicles returning from Savaii after the fa’alavelave – not on their way there. 

This means that your argument about the villages having to wait doesn’t even apply.

Secondly, you are obviously not a Savai’i person (if you are then you have not recently traveled to the big island) otherwise you would have been more sympathetic. 

Some of these people usually would have been queuing for at least an hour to get their vehicles into the big boat, due to the fact that it offers more protection against the sea spray. 

Again, you would not have known this unless you were a Savai’i person. 

It does not make sense why the public servants in the government vehicles couldn’t wait for another 30 minutes to travel. 

Is the delay of 30 minutes critical to their ‘busy’ schedules? 

I hardly think so. At worst, they would have been 30 minutes late to an important event or meeting – big deal. 

The public servants could easily have called through to let the people in Apia know the situation. The public servants (even MP’s and Ministers) could have gone ahead on the big boat and wait for their transports at Mulifanua, thereby ensuring that they travel to Apia in the comfort of their air conditioned big four wheel drives.

Thirdly, my legal study 101 at a local institute taught me that the CEO’s explanation was far from satisfactory. 

Was there something in the small print in the ticket, which stated that if government vehicles were present on any trip, those with confirmed tickets would be bumped off? 

In this case there was not. 

Vehicle owners had bought the tickets in good faith and Samoa Shipping Corporation were duty bound to honour this arrangement. It is that simple. 

I would like to see this CEO bumped off, at the last minute, from a flight from Auckland to Apia because some meritorious public servant needs be in town for a gathering of ‘well deserving’ CEO’s. 

I can hear the whining from this CEO who would complain that he had a confirmed ticket and would most likely seek compensation from the relevant airline.

Perhaps the claptrap should not be for John but you Jeffrey, and you deserve it.

 

Vai

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