I actually emailed this company after reading Eddie’s post a week or two ago. Here’s the trail (sorry for the length-it covers three emails)
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I heard how your company asked a veteran to cover up a tattoo that was in arabic because it offended some of your customers from Qatar.
Shame on you! Your customers from Qatar are not required to look at anyone’s tattoos. You place the value of business and the dollar over a wounded veteran.
I’ll send my family to skydive at your company when the women there are wearing Burkas. How’s that? Women who do not wear burkas are offensive to look at.
You should be incredibly humiliated. Your web page would be a great place to place an apology to that veteran, in bold letters, at the top. Until then, I will join him in the effort to point out your unbelievably heinous and unpatriotic behavior.
You guys can keep kissing the arab butt.
*************Here is the response I got from Betty Hill*****
Good Evening,
It gives me a heavy heart to ever think that anyone that knows us would think we would be disrespectful to anyone from any country. This is a neutral place for all walks of the world to come to and enjoy. You may have not heard the complete story.
Yesterday afternoon we had an issue with a tattoo and the Qatar General bought it to our attention and that it was very offensive to him and to the other Qatar’s that were here. So manifest said she would ask Eddie to come talk to me about it. I asked Eddie if he had something to wear to cover it up while he was here and he said he did not, I said maybe a piece of tape or a little duct would work. Then he proceeded to say well maybe I will go over to Tampa Bay or somewhere to jump and I said then that was your choice to leave. He left my office and nothing else was said until we start getting slanderous phone calls and the facebook and social media began. He was never asked to leave. He volunteered to leave on his own. Betty
*****my follow up email to Betty********
Sorry Betty. You still don’t get it. Which one of those customers has proven they are willing to fight for your freedom and right to do business? You spit on that veteran. Of course he wanted to leave. Instead of telling your friends from Qatar to ignore the tattoo because this is a free country and perhaps they should concentrate on the jump at hand,,you did indeed disrespect that veteran. It is what you did. It is something you should not be proud of. Where has there been any slander? He is reporting the situation as you are reporting it. Asking a veteran to cover up a tattoo that no one is forced to look at is ridiculous. He is the one who should be offended and he was. Why did you not push back against the other customers? That makes no sense, well to some of us anyway. I suspect Eddie will continue to repeat his story to anyone who will listen. He has a lot of sympathy. We don’t live in Qatar. We live in the USA. To most there is no mystery about where the loyalty lies. I dare say there are more veterans who are customers than customers from Qatar. However, it is clear you and your business have made your choice. It is a sad choice indeed. Perhaps Qatar is a place you should consider relocating to. Clearly you respect people from that region much more than a US combat veteran.
I am sorry to not hear one regret about the situation. Hopefully you will have more Qatar customers in your future. I suspect the customers who are veterans will go elsewhere,,which will probably suit you just fine.
So sad.
“because it offended Muslims” is a stupid reason, there are a lot of better reasons to ban tattoos being exposed on the job.
Good job! Why are people from Qutar wanting to sky dive over here anyway?
It would never in a million years occur to me, when in a foreign country to COMPLAIN about some affectation I saw there. Funny how it seems to INSTANTLY occur to visitors to America to lodge complaints against Americans; to say NOTHING of how quickly the Americans being complained to accede to the complainer.