FUMBLE: CANADIAN CONSULATE CLAMS UP AMID CONQUEST MELTDOWN

Speaking of Canada, media and other countries, what a mess of a story the sudden shut-down of Conquest Vacations has turned out to be. Any tour operator or airline (remember JetsGo vanishing into the ether at the start of March Break a few years ago?) looks awful when they up and disappear, stranding thousands and marring long-anticipated vacations. But this Fumble belongs to the Canadian Consulate in Cancun, Mexico and to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAIT) in Ottawa, for terrible crisis communications regarding the plight of a group of Canadians who ended up practically held hostage at a Mexican resort. The hotel they were booked into by Conquest refused to let them leave unless the guests paid – again – for the cost of the rooms. There were reports of heated arguments and even police involvement. One man called the nearest Canadian Consulate for help, but says he was advised simply to pay what the hotel was demanding – which, in his case, was $300 more than the total price he had already paid Conquest for the air and hotel package. This was an opportunity for someone at the consulate to explain what steps were being taken to help stranded travelers in the Cancun region. Instead, the Consulate said nothing, punted the Toronto Star enquiry to DFAIT in Ottawa, where the best a hapless flak could do was to e-mail the following: "In case of emergency consular assistance, Canadians should contact the nearest Canadian Government Office abroad or DFAIT's Emergency Operations Centre by calling collect to 613-996-8885 or by sending an email to sos(at)international.gc.ca." Brutal. All that was missing was “this is a recording.” Note to all: even if you’re in the middle of a bad story, there is at least the opportunity to outline the goals and objectives of what you’re trying to accomplish in terms of dealing with the situation and helping those who are affected. Better to have an empathetic comment about doing the best you can to help, than a cold and uncaring sounding response like this.