Welcome back bossreggie.
I'm not a very active participant. But I always read your posts with interest, and I recall you leaving, but I didn't know why.
At the risk of offending, my childishness just can't stand not knowing what happened. And my conservative-ness is worried about what can happen if you meet people from the interwebs.
I'm keen, but a little chicken, to go on lounge runs etc. eventually. Do you have any advice?
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I have thought very often over the past few months about whether or not I should actually say why I left. I obviously made the Mods and Admin aware privately and I asked them to keep it between us.
At first, all I wanted to do was to make public what happened and who it was. I decided that I was NOT going to name and shame.
I am now prepared to let people know what happened. Take what happened to me as a caution. However, please bear in mind that aside from this incident involving 2 specific AFF members, the most I have ever had to concern myself with on the forum is some differing points of view. EVERY other person I have met through AFF has been absolutely fine.
I do hold quite strong views about certain things and I am pretty set in my ways. I am not the easiest person to get along with and to be fair I can polarise some people. This is a public forum and one of the best things about it is that we do not ALL have to agree with every opinion, statement or point of view.
My situation started when I was contacted by a member who saw a post I made about an upcoming flight. I was going to be in SYD on my way back from JFK and had a couple of hours in the DOM CL before returning to MEL. I have ALWAYS been happy to offer a guest spot so agreed to guest 2 pax. I gave the "guests" my PA's mobile as well, as he was arriving before me as I had a lunch in the city.
When I arrived at the lounge my PA was waiting. We had been there maybe 15 minutes when my "guests" arrived. Firstly there were 3 of them, NOT 2 as per our arrangements. That was fine. I guested them in and we sat down together. Pretty much from the first 5 minutes, they were loud and were speaking to staff in a manner I would NEVER do! I asked them to quieten down on several occasions but I was ignored. Finally I said if they were not going to do so then they would have to leave. It was at this stage, both myself and my PA were sworn at and abused verbally.
I requested the lounge manager to ask my "guests" to leave and she was also sworn at however they were escorted from the lounge.
I would have left it there and put it down to a bad experience. No such luck. Over the next few weeks both my PA and myself were subjected to phone calls, emails and texts of a nature I do not wish to go into.
I have now had to change my contact details and my lawyers have handled those who initiated the unwanted contact.
All in all a pretty rubbish thing to happen when all I was doing was being generous with people who I thought would have appreciated it.
It now means that I will NOT be guesting anyone I have not met into any lounge or lending my apartment in Paris or any of those things I used to do.
Still makes me sad!
My Advice: Tread carefully but remember MOST people are not like the "guests" I encountered.
