Website fouls up facts on EL
Errors fixed after reader sends e-mail
DID you know East London was once known as “Fort” Rex, that East London Airport is known as “George” Airport, and that the harbour waterfront has a vibrant cafe and restaurant culture?
If you did not know any better and had accessed an international car hire website before Tuesday this week, these are the bizarre, and incorrect, details you would have learnt about the city.
One of these stated that: “East London was formerly called Fort Rex but has now been absorbed into the urban limits of Buffalo City.”
Saturday Dispatch’s attention was drawn to the misinformed website page by reader Dave Rankin, who came upon it while doing research for an MBA degree.
He fired off an e-mail to the company, entreating it to correct its gaffes.
“East London was formerly known as ‘Port’ Rex, not ‘Fort’ Rex and the name was changed during the colonial era, not on the formation of Buffalo City,” wrote Rankin, who also pointed out to the company that the East London Airport has not, in fact, been renamed George Airport.
Besides the blunders, the site was also less than complimentary about East London.
“East London doesn’t sound very appealing and, in discovering that it is mainly thought of as a commercial port city, you may be even less tempted to visit it,” warned the website.
Ranking countered: “There was no need to be ugly about the city.”
Saturday Dispatch this week contacted the UK-based marketing manager of the company, who responded promptly, saying the content had been supplied by an “external copywriter” and would be reviewed at once.
It was corrected the same day and, in a follow-up e-mail, the manager conceded that some information had been found to be incorrect.
“I just want to let you know that our editorial team have reviewed the content of the page and agreed that it was not entirely accurate, nor particularly useful, and have as such rewritten the content.”
He said the website’s accuracy was important to the company and it thanked any visitor who brought errors to its attention.
The amended – and more flattering – East London page now hails the city as having “experienced a large amount of growth in recent years due to the largely unspoilt landscape, fascinating history and its improved infrastructure” and praises our “fabulous beaches and fascinating culture”.
Rankin said he was “very happy” the content had been fixed. “We need all the publicity we can get.” — barbarah@