Hair Cutter Letter asking me to Remove them from OC Blog

[Intrigue]

Ah, so I was 'pleasantly' surprised to find this in my email box:

Hey Jon - sorry to bother you...I am legal counsel with Hair Cuttery. I received several calls from customers who viewed your blog and are now worried about going to the shopping center. Moreover, they called our stylists who are now refusing to return to work. I tried to convince them it was not a threatening blog - I'm a gun owner myself.

I know you had no intention of harming our business, but if you could so kindly remove the "Hair Cuttery" and shopping mall name from the blog posts, we would greatly appreciate it.

Any cooperation you can give me would be great. If you remove it, could you please let me know so I can convey it to the field/salon leader. Please call me to discuss, if need be: 703-269-5268.

Thanks so much for your time.

Regards,
Brad Hansen
Legal Counsel - Hair Cuttery

So I spoke with gnbrotz and pa patriot, and decided I would string him along a bit:

Hello Brad,

I appreciate you taking the time to read over my blog. Please submit your request on Hair Cuttery letterhead, with your law firm information. Upon receipt, my attorney and I will review it.

If, in the mean while, Hair Cuttery chooses to exercise their property rights by asking me not to return, I will gladly oblige. I am a firm supporter of property rights, as well as gun-rights.

I also did not notice a shopping center name in the post as I skimmed over it, nor did I notice a specific location mentioned, would you please point me to where it is located?

I appreciate your cooperation, in advance.

Regards,

I was then treated to this gem from my new friend, Brad:

Jon: Thanks for the response. I will put a request in writing when I get back to the office tomorrow...in the meantime, we certainly do not intend to ask you not to return to our salons - just without the gun. While I am in favor of your legal right to bear arms openly, many of the stylists and our customers get the wrong idea. I just ask that you be sensitive to their concerns. Afterall, I'm just watching out for the good of our company.

Here is the post a customer forwarded to our stylists which started the "hysteria." Again, I think if you can just remove the name "Hair Cuttery" and the shopping center name, it would go a long way in calming our stylists' "fears."

Thanks, Jon.

Brad

And got a nice letterhead in my email the next day, which you can view here (PDF).

Kind of a crappy situation. My 'Rights' side says, tell this guy to pound sand, and leave it up as an expression of my 1st Amendment rights, as well as placing this post on the main page of my blog. However, since these folks are people who live in my community, I was considering taking the name out of the post, just to respect their wishes and not be a jerk. I think it's absolutely absurd, and don't really have anything else to say back to Brad, aside from "If your stylists are afraid of an internet guy who hasn't been to your store since March, get them psychiatric help".

I honestly do not believe their customers looked at the blog, and I don't think stylists are afraid to come to work. Brad stated he was a gun owner, and he stated that he supports open carry rights. I think he came across my blog, noticed the business he represents, and decided to make up some story to get me to take the name down.

What are your thoughts? Would you remove the link, or would you tell him to pound sand, and keep it up? I was considering dragging this out further (Changing it to H*ir C*ttery, or airHay utteryCay), but don't really feel like going out of my way to be a jerk.

[fingers80002]

We need to find a Doctor who can cure Hoplophobia.

We could make him Millions!!!!!!!!!!

[Longshot]

I would follow his wishes, and send a letter back to him stating that you have done so. As well as inform him that you will relay the message to other gun owners, and let them know that armed citizens are not welcome in his establishment.

[The Unknown 1087]

We need to find a Doctor who can cure Hoplophobia.

We could make him Millions!!!!!!!!!!

I'm no doctor....but I could try. I don't need millions, I'll take a few hundred thousand though haha.

[Ramtuff]

That is the most piss poor "lawyer letter" I've ever seen. If he actually represents the Hair Cuttery, why wasn't this letter sent on his law firm's letterhead? Why hide what firm he works for? (BTW, I found out what firm he works for via Google). It seems to me that he's doing a personal favor for someone at the Hair Cuttery. As long as the information in your blog is factual, and couldn't be considered libel in anyway, I'd tell him to go pound sand.

[Intrigue]

That is the most piss poor "lawyer letter" I've ever seen. If he actually represents the Hair Cuttery, why wasn't this letter sent on his law firm's letterhead? Why hide what firm he works for? (BTW, I found out what firm he works for via Google). It seems to me that he's doing a personal favor for someone at the Hair Cuttery. As long as the information in your blog is factual, and couldn't be considered libel in anyway, I'd tell him to go pound sand.

It appears 'Ratnerco' is a holding company that owns a few salon franchises, and that he works for them.

In any sense, the letters tell me one thing: RatnerCo does not want business from people who are carrying guns. He SAYS he wants my business, just without the gun.

No Gun = No Business.

[Skullz]

Just change the blog piece. Indicate the situation and that you respect their right to private property and will no longer be patronizing the establishment - especially now since the criminals now have another gun free zone to take advantage of.

[Ramtuff]

It appears 'Ratnerco' is a holding company that owns a few salon franchises, and that he works for them.

In any sense, the letters tell me one thing: RatnerCo does not want business from people who are carrying guns. He SAYS he wants my business, just without the gun.

No Gun = No Business.

He doesn't work for RatnerCo. I'll PM you the info on the law firm he does work for. Any letter sent to you in an official capacity should come on letterhead from the law firm. Something's fishy here.

[GunLawyer001]

In general, I'm a polite guy who makes an effort not to annoy people without cause. When I have cause, then I can be annoying with great efficiency and effect. On a good day I hold doors open and allow other motorists to enter the roadway and I make polite conversation with clerks. On other days I demand binding answers to intrusive questions and I seize bank accounts. One picks one's battles.

The name of the business is not essential to the point of the blog. Whether or not there are real frightened employees or frightened customers (and I'd have to guess that hair stylists disproportionately fall into the Obama-voter camp and have irrational fears of guns and testicles and such), there was an exceptionally polite request to remove the name of the establishment, and doing so wouldn't impact the effectiveness of the blog entry one iota.

So why not remove it? Why bask in "stringing the guy along"?

We want other people to respect our rights and our choices. We should probably work hard at being good people, looking like good people, so it's absolutely clear that we are the good guys, and our personal protection is no threat to them, in fact it makes us good guys who would be in a position to help them should they need help. Otherwise, we risk looking like spoiled brats who were picked on as children and are looking to make up for it by picking fights when fights are neither needed nor helpful.

[headcase]

In general, I'm a polite guy who makes an effort not to annoy people without cause. When I have cause, then I can be annoying with great efficiency and effect. On a good day I hold doors open and allow other motorists to enter the roadway and I make polite conversation with clerks. On other days I demand binding answers to intrusive questions and I seize bank accounts. One picks one's battles.

The name of the business is not essential to the point of the blog. Whether or not there are real frightened employees or frightened customers (and I'd have to guess that hair stylists disproportionately fall into the Obama-voter camp and have irrational fears of guns and testicles and such), there was an exceptionally polite request to remove the name of the establishment, and doing so wouldn't impact the effectiveness of the blog entry one iota.

So why not remove it? Why bask in "stringing the guy along"?

We want other people to respect our rights and our choices. We should probably work hard at being good people, looking like good people, so it's absolutely clear that we are the good guys, and our personal protection is no threat to them, in fact it makes us good guys who would be in a position to help them should they need help. Otherwise, we risk looking like spoiled brats who were picked on as children and are looking to make up for it by picking fights when fights are neither needed nor helpful.

The man has a good point....