What’s wrong with this letter to the editor?
As editorial page editor for the York (Pennsylvania) Daily Record, a big part of my job is to read, edit and print letters to the editor. Sometimes, though, letters leave me scratching my head in confusion.
See if you can identify the problem with the following letter we received via email July 5. The name has been blurred to protect the innocent, the guilty and the confused:
Sir/Madam,
Last week, after a splendid time at ‘Thomas Land’ in Tamworth, my son, his wife and two little boys arrived , after a gruelling 7 hours stuck in traffic, at their hotel only to be told they ‘did not accept children under 12 yrs old’ and their booking and payment meant nothing. (It transpired the agency who handled the booking omitted to refer to the ‘no children under 12 yrs’ clause) My son was effectively barred from entering this hotel by an officious, mean little man who refused to listen to his plight. This person did nothing to help my son with either sustenance or alternative accommodation for his family who ended their holiday by trawling the streets of York until they found a Travellodge where the staff were super efficient and sympathetic.
For a 4 star hotel to allow such a mean spirited, ungracious and totally unhelpfull little man to be front of house is beyond belief – but I believe he is the owner and to add insult to injury he has refused to return their £300!
Sorry York – but this ‘Hotel of Excellence’ has truly let your city down.
Mrs S. M—–
Dunbar, East Lothian