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Santa's elves have promised 'extreme vigilance'

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Dear Emma,
We have been in contact with the company responsible for Santa’s Grotto and can inform you that alterations have been made to the setup. Staff have also been instructed to be extremely vigilant to ensure the area is kept pristine at all times and decorations etc., do not look unattended or neglected. Management will monitor the situation at regular intervals to ensure standards are maintained.
Once again, thank you for bringing this to our attention. Westfield London endeavours to provide an enjoyable experience for all guests and service of a high standard at all times and I trust that your next visit to our centre will be a better one.
If you have any further questions or queries, please don’t hesitate
Kind regards,
Riahn Smith | Westfield London Concierge Team

4 comments:

Mater said...

what did you write to them?? can you include the first missive to this?

d said...

Ha! I hope you just sent them a link to your blog post.

Emma said...

Pretty much, this was my email to them...

Hello,
Yesterday we came to Westfield London to meet the man himself and get a picture for Nanna and I must say, it's the worst Santa setup I've ever seen! I've attached the picture of him in his Grotto (or is it his staff room?) with some sort of notice-board behind him and a sad array of tinsel and plastic foliage. When I used to visit him as a kid he would at least tidy up before we got there and there was usually a backdrop.

I think we must have caught him in the middle of a stock take because he's left his inventory list on top of his sack and he hasn't had time to centre his chair. Rudolf appears to have been beheaded and stuffed with his head strung up above Santa like a hunting trophy and it looks like last year's christmas tree is creeping in on the right like it has been stashed there since the staff party last year when Mrs Claus moved it to avoid any health and safety issues that might arise with the combination of drunk elves and twigs.
... and why is the background on the left showing a creepy velvet curtain? I'm expecting it to jolt to life at any moment and roll back on an electric motor to reveal a funeral parlour. Is this where coffins go at the end of a funeral?

Here's the thing, the fancy Ice Palace concept is great, the 3D film is great and obviously no expense was spared, (although did you consider that due to the shape of that room no one could get far enough from the giant screen for the 3D effect to actually work?) but why wouldn't you tidy up the area in the photo? This is the bit people will remember. This is the thing that will sit on mantlepieces for years to come with YOUR BRAND on it. Sort it out. Everyone I've shown this to has laughed out loud at the dreadful composition and shonky set. At the very least zoom in a bit to cut the crap out and centre the chair, you'll be amazed at the difference it makes.

That said, the staff were all very nice and Santa was lovely. If only he hadn't sacked his visual merchandising team.

Emma.

Emma said...
This comment has been removed by the author.

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