My reply from Land's End

[Not Me]

Recall last week, Land's End brought in "Motivational Speaker" Rudy Guiliani to address their employees. Guiliani then turned the opportunity into a Bush stump speech.

As a Lands End customer, I wrote them...here's their reply.

Dear XXX XXXX:

I am very sorry we disappointed you with our decision to grant Mr.
Giuliani the opportunity to speak to our employees here at Land's End.
From your concern we realize the timing of the visit may not have been
well considered. However, politics aside, the former mayor of New York
is still thought of by many to be an important figure in a very tragic
and terrible event of our country's recent history.

We apologize that we disappointed you and have lost you as a customer,
but we do thank you for sharing your thoughts and concern. We have
removed your name from our catalog list as you requested. Thank you for
having been a Land's End patron in the past.

Sincerely,
Richard Mensch
Customer Relations

[La Lioness Priyanka]

1. guiliani is sickening

but the response from lands end was rational

[tomfodw]

27. No it wasn't, because...

...Giuliani gave a Bush campaign speech. If he had spoken on some non-partisan topic (he wouldn't have been Giuliani but) it would not have been as objectionable.

Land's End "fails" to realize/recognize this (actually, of course they do, they're just pretending not to in hopes you will be distracted and miss the point). Don't be distracted and miss the point. The problem is not that Giuliani spoke; it's that he shilled for Dubya in an inappropriate setting.

[shaolinmonkey]

2. I live near Madison and hadn't heard about this.

I'll never buy from them again, either.

[Clinton Crusader]

3. Guiliani is a ghoul

oh sure, he was god on earth on 9/11, but before that he was thought of as a absolute pig, having his mistress, wife and children all in the same house.

Since 9/11 he's made MILLIONS off the backs of the victims of 9/11, I cant even LOOK at him. He makes my skin crawl.

GHOUL
:grr:
:kick:

[meow2u3]

10. You mean GHOULiani?

:evilgrin:

[spanone]

4. Guiliani has CASHED IN on 9/11

He has turned it into a profit center. Along with his ex-NY police chief he has a huge security consulting firm that charges millions to corporations playing on the fear factor.

[KoKo]

5. Well...Land's End turned to the dark side years ago when the company

was sold. I stopped buying from them because their quality went down along with the change in management.

Figures this would happen. What kind of company brings in Guiliani for "Motivational Talks"...huh...pure politics.

I read that Lands End employees complained to management about him on another article from a Wisconsin Mag listed here on DU, though. So, maybe there's hope. Of course the result of employee complaint is just "out the door...you're fired!" today. :-(

[Minimus]

23. Yes, when they became the "softer side of Sears"

[sendero]

6. Lucky me...

.... after buying a couple shirts from them a long time ago I decided their products did not match their hype or prices.

LL Bean they ain't.

[DebinTx]

7. Bet you get MORE cataloges

than ever before.

[fudge stripe cookays]

8. Ugh!

I had no idea. I bought a heavy coat from them to canvas in Iowa.

Looks like I'll be making special trips to Mountain Equipment Co-Op in Calgary for outerwear needs from now on (I don't have them that often in Texas anyway).

FSC

[City Lights]

9. I just talked to them and got a different story.

I called to ask them to remove my name from their mailing list. When she asked why I wanted my name removed, I told her about my disappointment that they had allowed guiliani to turn a motivational speech into a political rally. This employee told me that lots of employees were upset about it and that management was also upset. I read her this email and asked her if she knew who richard mensch was. She said she doesn't know this guy, but was very surprised that this was the official response sent from the company because they are getting a different story. She's going to have someone call me to clarify their "official" position on this, since the email response differs from the phone response. This woman seemed as disgusted as I was with what guiliani did, and is fed up with how political everything has become these days.

[RhodaGrits]

11. Just sent my request to be removed from mailing lists. I've been

a customer since the early '80s. And yes, they have deteriorated since the early days. I can live without Lands End products but I can't live with Bush getting re-selected.

[NanBo]

14. Lots of folks were very unhappy

And I'm not shopping there any more and told them so.

http://www.channel3000.com/politics/3768833/detail.html

DODGEVILLE, Wis. -- Some Lands' End employees said Tuesday they were hoodwinked into attending a speech by former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani at the company's Dodgeville plant.

Viewers said the company told them Giuliani's speech would be motivational in nature. Instead it was a political speach supporting President George W. Bush for reelection.

Prior to the speech, CEO Mindy Meads e-mailed workers, saying, "Excitement is building this morning. In a few short hours we will hear from former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. Please note, Lands' End does not endorse any political candidate."

Many viewers expressed outrage at what ensued. <snip>

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

12. Got an e-mail link?

I'll give em what for

[ComerPerro]

13. Rudy should be Bush's running mate. They can run as

The two men who beniffitted most from 9/11.

[neomonkey]

15. Required school clothing

I know someone whose children are in a private school which requires the school uniform to be bought from Land's End.

Glad my kids aren't there or there would be a hulaboo going on over that requirement :)

[colonel odis]

16. i emailed land's end a few months ago to ask what percentage

of their clothing is manufactured in the united states.

about a week later i got a reply assuring me that such and such percentage is made in ..... north america.

assholes.

[spooky3]

19. Here's another reason to stop buying at Lands' End.

Follow Georgetown U.'s lead:

http://www.georgetownvoice.com/news/2004/01/29/News/University.Drops.Apparel.Contract-591470.shtml

University drops apparel contract

Lands' End violates Code adopted in 2000.


The discovery of workers' rights violations in a Lands' End factory in El Salvador prompted Georgetown University not to renew its contract with the company this year.

Lands' End, whose contract with Georgetown expires this January, was responsible for manufacturing apparel bearing the Georgetown University logo. The Georgetown University Licensing Oversight Committee made the recommendation to cancel the contract after Lands' End failed to comply with Georgetown University's Code of Conduct for Licensees.

In his Jan. 22 letter to Lands' End, which finalized the decision to cancel the contract, Vice President for Public Affairs and Strategic Development Dan Porterfield cited the Code of Conduct for Licensees as the reason for the cancellation. "Licensees shall recognize and respect the right of employees to freedom of association and collective bargaining," the Code of Conduct states.

The LOC made the decision to end relations with the company after learning that it was engaging in "blacklisting," the practice of refusing to employ unionized workers.

snip

[KharmaTrain]

17. I Hope You Thanked Them For Replying

So many of these companies hide behind their emails and voice mails and never give you the respect of even a spam form letter anymore.

I'm no Land's End customer, but I do respect an attempt at some positive customer relations...especially since there's a name attached. I'd email back and let them know you appreaciate that they responded...a little honey always goes a long way.

Cheers!

[sr_pacifica]

18. "disappointed you"

I'm sure that is minimizing what your feelings really were.

[drscm]

20. Jon Stewart interviewed Rudy the night of the Kerry-Bush debate.

Watching Jon was priceless as Rudy squirmed around trying to turn a *bush comedy into a dramatic win.

Rudy lost whatever credibility he had left that night.

[Francine Frensky]

21. I sent a comment to them several days ago and have heard nothing.

I'm really surprised that they haven't emailed me with some type of response.

[flpoljunkie]

22. Link is outdated, but everyone should read this about Giuliani Partners...

Send Land's End this about how Giuliani Partners is cashing in on 9/11 by helping Bush keep seniors from ordering cheaper drugs from Canada.

http://216.239.39.104/search?q=cache:I-p1TjtKKLAJ:www.f...


Bernard Kerik, Kerik-Kerik, LLC
 

First, I would like to thank the task force for the invitation and the opportunity to make these brief remarks. The purpose of me being here today is to advise the task force that the former Mayor of the City of New York, Rudolph Giuliani and Partners has been retained to conduct an independent review of the safety issues related to the wholesale importation of medicines from outside the U.S. 

As many of you know, I am the former Police Commissioner for the City of New York and as of recently was a senior advisor for the Minister of Interior for Iraq and a senior advisory to Ambassador Bremmer on the reconstitution of Iraq’s interior ministry . Today, I’m the CEO of Kerik-Kerik, and we’ll l be working with the Mayor on this review.   

The review includes documentation, site reviews, and we are making every effort to speak to people and groups on both sides of the issue, including those who support it as well as those who oppose the importation. Although the review will be on-going over the next few months, we anticipate having some preliminary findings this month, and we would be anxious to share them with the task force, as well as others. We are quite concerned about the growing support for wholesale importation of drugs or the purchase of medicines over the Internet when there are clearly so many unanswered questions regarding the safety of such practices. There are many risks to the health and safety of Americans with respect to the importation of drugs from outside this country.

____________________

Bush administration is doing everything they can with the help of Giuliano Partners, the corrupted FDA to stop Americans from buying their drugs from Canada. The Republican Congress has done nothing because their paymasters are the big drug companies even though Americans overwhelmingly support importation.  

[CBHagman]

24. Perhaps I've bought my last item from them.

Thanks for warning me about this. I'll have to e-mail them and see about getting taken off their mailing list, and I'm going to tell them why.

The posters above who mentioned how checkered Giuliani's record was are absolutely correct. We forget about the police brutality cases, the excessive force, as well as Giuliani's unpleasant persona.

I was willing to believe his heart was broken on September 11th and that he was completely given over to the good of his city. Thanks to his disgusting performance at the hate-fest that was the GOP covention this year, I'm not so sure. Friends of mine in NYC described the city as being reduced to a "concentration camp," and of course Giuliani's address to the convention was gratuitously nssty.

[Iris]

25. Kick.

Waiting to see what DesertDem comes up with on this.

[progressivebydesign]

26. They didn't address the REAL issue..

.. that the employees were duped into hearing a Bush campaign speech. THAT was the issue, NOT that Guiliani was asked to speak near the election.. it was that they allowed him to deliver a stump speech for Bush. Sorry they didn't get that... Didn't SEARS buy them out a few years ago? I won't be buying from them. Not because they have opposing views, but because they screwed with their employees, and seem to have no regrets about it.