“Following verbal and physical abuse toward other guests and staff, it was necessary to get our police involved. Many groups come on board and celebrate. When those celebrations impact our guests, we do intervene.”
Giaccio disputed the account in the company’s Facebook post, saying a junior member of the staff wrote an inaccurate description of the events. Giaccio’s apology read, in part:
Clearly, we knew in advance when we booked your party that you would be loud, fun-loving and boisterous—because you told us during the booking process that you wanted a place where your Club could enjoy each other’s company. Somehow that vital information never made it to the appropriate channels and we failed to seat your group where you could enjoy yourself properly and alert our train’s staff that they should expect a particularly vibrant group.
He added:
We were insensitive when we asked you to depart our train by marching you down the aisle past all the other passengers,” Giaccio wrote on his apology letter. “While that was the safest route for disembarking, it showed a lack of sensitivity on our part that I did not fully conceive of until you explained the humiliation of the experience and how it impacted you and your fellow Book Club members.
Giaccio apology falls short given that other ‘loud,’ ‘boisterous’ groups in previous rides were not asked to leave the train, but he said he would make sure employees received more diversity and sensitivity training – and he invited Johnson, the entire book club, and 39 of their chosen guests who would have an entire train car to themselves, back aboard the Wine Train, this time as his personal guests.
We can’t change what happened on the train: The women were treated horribly because they were Black and the staff should be reprimanded. But Giaccio has apologized and wants to move forward. Perhaps Johnson and the book club should accept Giaccio’s complimentary offer and enjoy the luxurious Wine Train experience they were seeking all along.
All aboard.
What do you think?
(Photo: Lisa Renee Johnson Facebook)
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Wine Train CEO Apologizes: ‘We Were 100 Percent Wrong’ [VIDEO] was originally published on blackamericaweb.com
