We have just returned from our third holiday in Malta in as many years, so, obviously, we like Malta a lot for, otherwise, we'd not visit so often! However, we had a very unsavoury experience in a shop on our last trip and it all but ruined our holiday.

I am a professional artist and I intended making it a "working holiday", drawing and painting scenes of the very beautiful island. The work would be part of my spring exhibition here at home entitled Travels Through Europe. Consequently, I was so delighted when I came across an art shop at the top of Republic Street, in Valletta, which seemed to be stocked with very good class materials. I went in with the intention of buying more than €300 worth of specialised equipment. I was looking at a jar of acrylic base gel when it accidentally slipped from my hand.

The assistant immediately said I must pay for it and would not listen to my apology. My wife and I refused to pay and left the shop in disgust. The assistant chased us, shouting that we must come back and pay, hinting that she wondered what other stuff we might "have done while in the shop"!

We asked her to call the police, which she did. We were then subjected to the public humiliation of being questioned by the officers in front of other customers until, eventually, I said I would pay, not the full price of €6.99 but a token gesture of €5 to, quite literally, get out of the place.

I should say that the two young policemen were courteous and friendly and appeared to me to be almost embarrassed by the whole thing.

I do not want to pursue this particular incident any further and I only recount it to illustrate a very irritating part of an otherwise idyllic little island and that is the absolute rudeness of shop assistants. I've had my change thrown at me, experienced sullen indifference and a complete lack of customer care.

Contrast that with the staff in restaurants and hotels there who are the most friendly and helpful I have seen anywhere in the world. I could honestly say that in a small or big café we were treated and looked after superbly by smiling waiters both male and female! They actually appeared to want our business unlike their fellow citizens in the any shop we visited.

Malta, like Ireland, needs tourists to come in numbers because the money we spend when we arrive is an integral part of the island's overall economy. Malta is a beautiful place, the pace of life is perfect and the sun shines for most the year but do not ruin it all by almost resenting our presence! We are visitors, holiday makers, young and not so young attracted to the Maltese lifestyle, which we only get to enjoy for a few precious weeks of the year. Welcome us! Don't re-sent us and we will come in our thousands.

Finally, remember that in shops we are customers; we should never be treated like nuisances. Pay attention to our needs when we are in the stores and we will repay the Maltese economy over and over again. So when we visit Malta again soon we look forward to seeing smiling not scowling faces.