Rhino Power restaurant discount cards

Further to the piece carried on July 27 involving a case that dates back to December 2000, we have now received complete clarification on the issue:

We refer to your article on July 27 regarding Rhino Power Ltd and the O'Connors discount cards which my company sold towards the end of 2000.

As can be seen from the correspondence exchanged with Mr Anthony Camilleri, we do our utmost to ensure that our clients are satisfied with what they purchase from us.

Unfortunately, we are occasionally missed by one of the establishments using our services, in spite of our best endeavours not to work for establishments with a bad reputation.

We had no idea that O'Connors, Paceville, was to be closed permanently or otherwise, when we started selling its discount cards and were very disappointed in such cases to compensate clients like Mr Camilleri, which lies with the establishment.

However they refused to accept such responsibility and, when we realised that O'Connors were not going to offer any compensation, we felt obliged to do so ourselves.

We do our best to sell discount cards only for reputable establishments, like Pizza Hut, Burger King, Ta' Marija, and Fluid Casual Diner. I understand you were interested in buying a Fluid card from one of our representatives but declined, on being told that she was a representative of Rhino Power Limited.

Therefore, I am herewith enclosing a complimentary card for you to use. As you will notice, there are great savings for everyone. With a Lm3 card you may save well over Lm20 in delicious meals in a great environment.

We have in the past turned down establishments with whom we did not wish to be associated. This is still our policy, because sometimes what appears to be a good establishment turns out to be bad after all.

We believe your column in The Sunday Times can help us and other small entrepreneurs identify and avoid dubious establishments. (Reuben Vella, Director, Rhino Power Co. Ltd)

Although Mr Camilleri had been compensated as a result of our intervention, Rhino Power Co. Ltd have now gone beyond fulfilling obligations. They wrote Mr Camilleri another letter that I do not have the space to carry. However, Mr Camilleri's reply confirms Rhino Power's positive approach:

I refer to your July 29 letter and thank you for enclosing a complimentary Fluid Casual Diner Card.

As far as I am concerned the case was closed when you refunded the cost of the card, as I was expecting nothing more and nothing less.

I have to add that it took a lot of insistence and determination as well as the exchange of a number of telephone calls and correspondence not to accept the company's initial repeated refusal to refund the cost of the card.

Besides, the refund was only forthcoming after Adrian Muscat Inglott featured the case in the Customer Service Column. On my part I had informed him of the outcome in June, 2002.

On the other hand, the Customer Service Column's strength stems from the exchange of information and experiences, both negative and positive, between consumers.

As you know, Mr Muscat Inglott is not simply seeking to resolve one individual case, which he acknowledged is closed, but also to ensure that other consumers buying the card are getting a fair deal.

It is therefore in your interest to contact the Customer Service Column directly and reply to the issues raised in it. In my opinion it is pertinent to explain:

a) What measures the company has taken to ensure that restaurants in the scheme honour the obligations outlined in the card; and

b) What remedies Rhino Power would offer its customers, should a similar occurrence happen again.

If, as you stated in your letter, necessary action to remedy the situation has been taken, I urge you to inform the Customer Service Column and possibly turn a negative situation into positive promotion. I am sure Mr Muscat Inglott would be delighted to learn about any action taken on your part to ensure that consumers get a fair deal and will inform his readers accordingly.

Finally, to end this case on a positive note, I acknowledge that although the case remained unresolved when I dealt with other employees of your company, your personal intervention helped to resolve the case and once again thank you for the complimentary card. (Anthony Camilleri)

Mr Camilleri has certainly grasped what our column is about. All I can add is that my intention was actually to use the card with a view to commenting about it.

However, my wife and I have not been able to due to other, albeit social, commitments. As soon as we do try the card, I will definitely write about it.

At this stage I thank Mr Reuben Vella for the complimentary card and Mr Camilleri for his comments.