2 March 2008

Morrison's blunder

Many of you were disappointed on St David's day when promised flowers were not delivered. A notice had appeared in the Welsh Language magazine this week and stated that Morrison's  would give each customer a free daffodil on March 1st.

Unfortunately the offer did not include the Caernarfon store and were only given out at Bangor and Colwyn Bay.

This seemed very strange as Caernarfon is the most Welsh speaking town in Wales with close approaching 90% of the community speaking the language at home and at school.

Our resident Historian and Welsh editor of www.Cofis.co.uk Mr T Meirion Hughes told us this "I saw in the Cymro yesterday that Morrison's were giving away bunches of daffodils today being that it is St David’s Day, so this morning I went along and after paying I asked at the Service desk why they were not giving out free daffodils. A young Welsh speaking manager came along and asked me where I had had the information from. I was not quite sure and told him it was either the Daily Post or the Herald and he explained to me that Bangor and Colwyn Bay and other store were giving them away but not Caernarfon and asked me to let them know where exactly I had seen the info. I went home and found it was in the Cymro and sent them the attached letter, and he was right they had left out Caernarfon. It is such a shame that they have omitted Caernarfon the most Welsh town in Wales. A shop who has worked so hard to support the Welsh language over the years have unfortunately blotted their good name"

COL Editor "Our sentiments entirely Mei, we too feel that Morrison's has done more than  most to boost the language here in the past, which makes it so sad that this omission happened in Caernarfon of all places!"

Meirion has written to the management and if he receives a reply we will post it here for all to see.

Here is what he wrote.

Morrisons Supermarket,
North Road,
Caernarfon.
Gwynedd.

March 1. 2008

Dear Sirs,

When shopping at your store in Caernarfon this morning, I had reason to ask one of your Welsh speaking Managers as to why I had not received a bunch of daffodils free on St. David’s Day as was advertised in the press recently. The person was most polite and stated that he had made inquiries as to why Caernarfon Store had been omitted from the list and asked me in what newspaper I had seen the reference to the free offer.

At the time I was not sure whether it was in the Herald or the Daily Post, but on returning home I found that it was in the Welsh Language Newspaper “Y Cymro” which I have delivered on a Friday morning and from which I have pleasure in enclosing a cutting. I had not observed that Caernarfon Store had been omitted from the list and I must say that I was most surprised, Caernarfon being the town with the most speakers of Welsh pro rata in Wales.

The article itself is most complementary of the way you as a company have cooperated with the Welsh Language Board to give prominence to the language, hence my surprise at the omission. However, let me say that I also concur with the Language Board that your company is to be congratulated on your efforts to promote the language and that I regard this as an oversight, which I am sure you will rectify in the course of time.

Yours faithfully,

T. Meirion Hughes