All contain the same desire to take collective action and many businesses are in contact with their law firms. It will be more cost effective and powerful to join together.
We do not feel the cruise lines are aware of these practices. No legitimate Cruise Line could possibly support such outrageous conduct that has no concern for passenger satisfaction.
These are not isolated incidents! Emails with these types of directives to increase business for DI only are sent by PPI out in mass (as many as 2 per day).
v Is everyone aware that PPI had a �conference� for around 40 new hires last week? DI managers from St. Thomas, St. Maarten, Cozumel, Barbados, and New York, were there for the week to train them! Other than International Clients, no other merchants were invited or in attendance from what we have heard.
Did you know?
* That DI, through PPI, is working on deals with the casinos on board ships to plaster advertising on walls and work with the staff to promote them.
* That DI is making deals with the spas on board for exclusive promos
* That DI has joined forces with the Cruise lines to do tours that only support their stores.
* That DI has created monopolies in ports such as Costa Maya and are working to do the same
in others.
Make no mistake that Bill Panoff is copied on every email in and out of his office. Anyone who has sent an email to one person at PPI or one of the port lecturers and received a reply from Bill Panoff (who was not copied on it) can attest to this.
The out and out bigotry supported by PPI cannot be tolerated. We must take a stand against the slander of other merchants, their merchandise, and their ethics.
The Spin Doctors are busy now trying to minimize the severity of their actions!
What do we want?
A stop to the monopoly that deprives every legitimate business in the cruise ship ports to suffer from poor to no business. DI does not want the majority of the market share � they want it ALL! Their partnership with PPI is fueling the fire.
They think they are untouchable. This has gone on too long and is out of control.
We have heard that there are merchants with information regarding the unethical and/or illegal practices of PPI/DI. We need as much information as possible and as soon as possible! There is a web page where the info will be posted as it is received. Please send any info and/or comments to Jeff Sweet at [email protected].
Sources will be protected on the web site. Please pass this information on to others as some may have deleted it thinking it is spam.
No one company can make a difference alone! We need each other to legitimize the retail duty free business once again.
Thanks for your support.
Sincerely,
Jeff Sweet