You may have noticed that I posted my original note here at 2:40 a.m. By that time on the other board there were half a dozen responses to a thread I began in response to a comment, the board's administrator, and a well known writer, commentator on the subject of cigars. In response to several comments on their BBS made about an e-mail special at that site, said something to the effect that he would never be able to understand the guy who expected something from a $1.20 cigar. His boss, the owner had written only weeks before in Smoke magazine that the "difference between a two dollar cigar and a ten dollar cigar is eight bucks." I wrote that I thought that his comments were particularly insensitive to the guy who could only afford $1.20. Is he any less a customer than the guy who thinks nothing of blowing $25.00 a stick on a Cuban Partagas Lusitania? When I was in business I always stressed to my staff that every customer, regardless of what they spent, should be treated as your best customer. Someday that little customer might grow into a very big one; and, even if they didn't you owed them the respect they gave you, by even thinking of doing business with you. By the time I went to bed, a few minutes after I posted here, I saw that either my feelings were not shared by anyone on the board or that they were apprehensive about criticizing him. On the few posts that I saw, I was flamed. Until about noon Friday, I didn't glance at that board because, frankly, I had no burning interest and was busy getting ready for a family wedding. When I finally looked at the thread it showed about 150 posts; with either two or three posts from himself. I had no time nor inclination to read the posts or respond. This evening I thought I'd sit down after midnight, read and respond, but, alas, the thread is gone, gone, gone and it's just as well. As have many of you, I've fought some real battles in life and have, at times, been fortunate to come out alive. To fight a battle of words with people I don't know is not a constructive use of my time. So, I just want to thank everyone on this board for their support. I have no intention to rehash the thread on the other board and I hope you let it rest as well. Every cigar site board has some wonderful people. The Rothman board is no exception. That 194 posts were made in response to my comments, amazes me. I hope I generated some constructive thought. Now it's time for the topic to die. The time may come when I'll have occasion to chat with him is person and find out what he wrote. I do want everyone to know how much I appreciate this board. Steve*R
