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I’m going to ask you for a personal favorI’m going to ask you to do a bit of light reading, and then I’ll ask you to pick up a phone, write a letter, or send an email. Maybe a couple of emails.
Oh, there’s a great deal more at that source link, and FbL, who alerted me to this mess has more as well. Go on, read it all. I’ll wait. Are you back? Did you read it all? Are you angry? Don’t be. It’s just business, the kind of hard-eyed cost/benefit analysis that businesses make all the time. The Hilton people apparently looked at all of these wounded soldiers, many of them in wheelchairs, coming every Friday night to the premises they leased out , beckoned by the lure of free food (in a place where a T-bone can run you $30) and beverages and what they saw was not mutilated American heroes who have served their country to the utmost extremity of personal sacrifice and pain moving along a path towards recuperation and recovery in the company of comrades, sponsored by another hero who did not forget what it was like to come home from an unpopular war and determined, at his own cost, to make a difference for these men and women. No, instead they appear to have seen potential lawsuits and possible liability. They saw risk, and lost revenues. What are the feelings of one restaurateur against these unpalatable corporate risks? Nothing. What are the marginal costs of the feelings of these little people who anyway volunteered for all of this, and now look what happened to them? Hard to say. But let me stop there, because all of that is getting my blood up, and making me angry. And this is not an emotional issue – it’s just business. So let’s get back to business. Sometimes a corporation makes a risk decision which seems straightforward, but isn’t. Sometimes there are hidden risks. Like the risk that you, gentle reader, might learn of this business case analysis and come to some conclusions of your own. That you might, at my personal request, do something: You might call or email the Hilton Corporation’s representatives, Dan Boyle (212) 838-1558 (daniel_a_boyle@hilton.com), or Brian Kellaher (202) 393-1000. You might tell them, in as unemotional a way as possible, that you have recently learned about their corporation’s decision not to renew Fran O’Brien’s lease. You might intimate that under the circumstances, the decision has surprised you – you had thought a great deal more of the Hilton brand, but were apparently mistaken. You might inform them that, should this decision stand, you have regretfully concluded that you and your family will no longer be able to do business with the corporation – ever. You might add that this decision is sufficiently troublesome to you that you have decided to contact all of your friends, and let them know what has happened here, and what you have decided. That you will encourage your friends to take the same stand as you have. You might even call or write your Congressman, and ask his staff whether or not a decision like this in any way goes contrary to the spirit and letter of the American’s with Disabilities Act. If it doesn’t (and it probably doesn’t), you could ask him to look into whether it ought to, at least in the specific case of Hilton Corp and Fran O’Briens. There is an election coming up, after all. What Congressman wouldn’t relish the opportunity to stand in front of the mic, flanked by wounded soldiers, in front of the corporate facade? But don’t be angry, gentle reader. This is just business. And sometimes, businesses make mistakes. Look at this as an opportunity to help Hilton recognize that they have miscalculated the risk/benefit analysis, that there were hidden costs behind what seemed a straightforward decision. In cold, unemotional terms. But do act quickly. The lease expires at the end of this month. Do it. Do it for them. For the rest of their lives, they will live with the consequences of what they did for you. 32 comments to I’m going to ask you for a personal favor |
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Bravo, Lex! Thank you so much for posting about this. As I mentioned over at the Castle, I think Hilton has done the knee-jerk thing instead of recognizing what a boon it could be to them if they got out in front of it.
For example, the story could be “Hilton Hotels partners with Fran O’Brien’s to ensure that our wounded heroes continue to fellowship and heal in a supportive environment.” But they chose the knee-jerk option, instead. Like you said, bad business decision.
Polite and courteous email sent, with proper helping of guilt.
Couldn’t Hilton re-direct a bit of their advertising budget to make Fran’s ADA compliant? And then toot their own horn about it? My job description isn’t rocket scientist, so surely among all those suits one could have come up with the same idea.
A more sinsiter possibility has been raised by at least one Vietnam vet who suggests that maybe the hotel in which Fran’s operates thinks that having a bus from the hospital disgorge large numbers of obviously-wounded soldiers at their doorstep every Friday night is “bad for business” (as some business apparently did in the early ’70s).
I have no way to determine the accuracy of that idea and I’m neither condemning nor endorsing it. But it certainly raises my eyebrows when I consider that the hotel has not given Fran’s an explanation for non-renewal of the lease.
I sent off a nice, polite e-mail yesterday as soon as I saw this pop up on Mudville Gazette…
Sent a polite email myself. Also referenced forwarding comment to the http://www.anysoldier.com/ site where tens of thousands of supporters refer.
Included site ref in case any were interested in supporting troops.
Thanks for the heads up Lex. We get a lot of visitors to our facilities for audits and I informed Mr. Boyle (No relation that I know of, but….) that I would recommend alternate accommodations with an explanation why.
Fran O’Briens will find another place to operate and I’ll go there next time I’m in DC.
I have e-mailed, and also passed this on to a friend of mine w/ ties in congress AND a politically active handicap. Her family has done business with Hilton and may still have reasonably close ties. We’ll see. I wish them luck.
I gave a phone call and left a message with Mr. Boyle. I let him know that frankly, neither I nor my family will be using their facilities in the future. Furthermore, I asked if he considered the risk of further publication of the matter? Perhaps there is some unforseen risk in doing business this way.
Good news at the moment! They are in negotiations again.
Mail off. Reasonably polite. Further mails on the way to Boortz and Hannity and various members of Congress.
Thanks for the heads up, Lex.
Text of email sent:
Dear Mr. Boyle,
I just read about the decision that Hilton Hotels has made regarding the restaurant and possible reasons Hilton has for ending the lease.
I also understand that I may not know all of the facts, but when I hear that Hilton is closing a restaurant because too many disabled military folks were visiting, and that it would ‘cost too much’ to renovate. I tend to assume that the report is accurate.
No, I not going to threaten to never darken your door again because of this, but I will tell you that as a partner in my firm, I will tell our travel coordinator to consider other alternatives to Hilton. I will also be passing the word around to my friends and urging them to do the same.
Hilton in the final analysis, must make the risk/reward decision between renovating the place and closing it. The relatively few dollars it may cost to make the restaurant ADA compliant will pale in comparison to poor publicity and lost revenue.
Regards,
William G. Bolton
President, Esplanade Partners Inc.
Email sent to Doyle :
“Please cancel my Hilton H-Honors membership # xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Reason : Hilton legal mercenaries’ action in closing Fran O’Brien’s in DC.
And I’m sure those weasels all say “Oh, but we support the troops.”
Thanks for the heads up Cap’n. My daughter works in the tourism industry in Puerto Rico and has lots of contacts in the trade. She is advising clients to consider Hilton’s decision when they book accomodations on the island. She will be kind enough to share this with Mr. Boyle. I spent this past evening making tentative plans for a Retired Seabees of America reunion in PR; I know where they (all 400-500 of them) won’t be staying.
And don?
Done – and travel arrangements change accordingly.
Seeing this swift response made me think of the Scots Gathering of the Clans. So of course the perfect soundclip to accompany this noble effort would be:
Braveheart Sountrack, by James Horner
Track 8: Making Plans/Gathering the Clans
May the pipes inspire you and strike fear in the mustard seed hearts of corporate accountants everywhere.
So Hilton, you mess with one of us…
You mess with of us –the Lex BlogClan…:)
Fran O’Brien’s Update…
it’s appearing more and more that Hilton has made a very poor business decision based on surface-level analysis of profit/loss (as Lex has theorized). And it’s also becoming clearer that they have treated Fran O’Brien’s very shabbily, possibly to t…
Last lines should be:
You mess with one of us– you mess with ALL of us
After I calmed down a bit, I sent off a polite e-mail. Told Mr. Boyle that, in light of Hilton’s decision, I would take my commerce elsewhere.
However, should Hilton reconsider this decision, I would reconsider mine.
I received the following response. Anyone else getting anything?
Your e-mail has been forwarded to me, Brian Kelleher, General Manager, of The Capital Hilton.
Thank you for your expression of concern regarding the Fran O?
This is the response I received to the e-mail I sent:
Gmail K L Baker
** Fran O’Brien’s **
1 message
Matt Bitzer Fri, Apr 14, 2006 at 4:44 PM
To: Matt Bitzer
Your e-mail has been forwarded to me, Brian Kelleher, General Manager, of The Capital Hilton.
Thank you for your expression of concern regarding the Fran O?
“For strictly business reasons related solely to the inability to reach a new lease agreement.”
Typical spin-doctoring. Requires elaboration.
For the record, my uncle was an Iroquois mechanic with the RAN in Vietnam, so I may be biased.
Yeah, that line about “inability to reach a new lease agreement” is a little hard to swallow. According to the owners of Fran O’Brien’s, they repeatedly asked for the parameters of a potential new lease and were were repeatedly assured that it was being developed. However, they were never given specifics, so no “agreement” was even attempted by Hilton. I swear, the more I learn and the more I read, the worse Hilton looks.
Maybe it’s because it’s been a L-O-N-G week or maybe my blonde roots are beginning to creep toward the light but I’ll be dipped if I can figure out how to leave a trackback. I wanted to do so for my post : http://homefrontsix.blogspot.com/2006/04/i-apologize.html
- hfs
Done as requested.
As of April 15th at 6:30, I have received nothing, nada, zippo, and even less.
They are now ‘officially’ on my S*** list.
Brian can claim this has happen for strictly business, well guys and gals lets Roll. History does repeat. My wife and I are canceling our Hilton Honors membership and encourage all to do the same. This program has no honor. State your business reasoning Brian, or is being too concerned with lawsuits got your tongue.
Fran O’Brien’s: What Now?…
It sounds like it isn’t going to be possible for Fran O’Brien’s to stay at their current location. But there are several actions you can take that may yet produce something good….
So many of you were astonished a few days ago when I put out some of the previously unheard details on what the Hilton Corp has done in negotiating a new lease with Hal and Marty that I thought I would give you the actual details and let you decide for yourself who is really at fault here. The Hilton has contended in comments in response emails and to the media that the departure of Fran O?
Subject: Fran O?
I am a retired disabled veteran. I spent a year at Walter Reed and was retired early after 14 years of service after being injured in a Combat Training Exercise (CTX/FTX). I only received a brain injury and some relatively minor orthopedic injuries compared to those soldiers that are losing their place of honor at Fran O’Brians because of Hilton arrogance. These soldiers have sacrificed their limbs for their country, which in my mind is the next thing to sacrificing their lives.
We owe these more than to stand by and allow them to be effectively evicted because of Hilton Hotels may have been advised by their insurance company that Hilton may be discontinued or that their insurance rates would increase if they continued to serve disabled vets in wheelchairs and on crutches as part of a regular function on their property. Hilton always had the option to change their stupid insurance company. Instead, and if true, it appears that instead of going to that trouble of changing insurance company’s, they chose to evict the disabled vets from their property by closing Fran O’Brians. One writer who is friends with owners owners, Hal Koster and Marty O’Brien goes further and writes:
?