As most of our friends and followers know, Ghost Detectives has recently gone under some organizational changes and we parted ways with some members of our team. Even though this transitional was not always made easy on us, we have remained silent and focused on our future goals and projects as well as our most important effort, which is our clients. Today, however, we received the following letter, and felt it was necessary we share it on this woman’s behalf, not only for all of those who support us, but for those we have done business with in the past or plan to do business with in the future. We caution all to please be aware of who you are speaking to when dealing with the Ghost Detectives organization, and if there should be any doubt, please ask to be put in touch with Bob or Katie directly to clear up any questions or misunderstandings. Thank you all again for your continued support, we could not be where we are today without each and every one of you, and we are eternally grateful. -Katie To Whom It May Concern: My name is Ruth VanWhy, my husband Steve and I are the owners/operators of the Tom X Pub in Marshall’s Creek, PA. I also work for a cable advertising company located in the Lehigh Valley, where we place advertising on cable TV networks on behalf of the local cable providers. I met Anthony Romano in 2012, when he came to the advertising company looking to air a commercial on behalf of the Ghost Detectives, a professional paranormal investigation organization he claimed to be representing. He was introduced to me by the salesperson who was working with him to air the commercial. This salesperson was aware that I owned the Tom X Pub, and had heard me mention that we suspected paranormal activity was taking place. Anthony and I briefly discussed the possibility of having the Ghost Detectives visit the site for an inspection. In July, 2013, Anthony Romano called me at my office to discuss performing the investigation we’d talked about earlier. As we talked, I went on the Ghost Detectives website and viewed snippets of previous episodes that had aired. I recognized him in a few of those episodes and mentioned that I was impressed by the quality of the programs and the professionalism of the staff. I briefly considered whether I should participate, but was won over by what I’d seen on the website. I agreed to allow the investigation, and we reserved a date for later that month. At no time, did Mr. Romano inform me that he no longer represented the Ghost Detectives. The crew arrived one evening and spent a few hours interviewing staff and patrons who’d had paranormal experiences; they took video and audio footage of various areas in the restaurant where activity had been reported. Anthony Romano advised that I would be notified when analysis was completed on the data they had recorded. At no time did they indicate that this program would not follow the format of the professional investigations I had witnessed on the Ghost Detectives website. On Sunday, September 2nd, I received a call from Anthony Romano, advising that the program would air later that evening and the following weekend as well. I was concerned that I had not been given the opportunity to view the footage prior to airing, but apparently the schedule had already been set. After viewing the show later that evening, I was appalled by what I’d seen on the public television program. My restaurant was depicted as a joke! The program opened with a crew member making fun of the fact that we did not know the history of our own restaurant – something I had already advised the crew of during filming. I’d explained that, although the structure was over 100 years old, I’d not been able to find any written history (short of word-of-mouth reminiscences from long-time customers) and we believe that in itself adds to the mystic of the site. The crew member’s comment on screen was insulting and implied that we were ignorant. Among other incidences, I was very offended by the behavior of staff member “Eye Candy” who, while trying to communicate with an entity asked “Do you think I’m pretty?” while fellow camera men groped her, trying to make her squeal. Not at all the caliber of professionalism I had witnessed on the Ghost Detectives website and had come to expect. I’d been led to believe that this would be a serious investigation into the happenings at the restaurant. Instead, the behavior of the cast and crew gave the impression that my restaurant was a party place where risqué and vulgar behavior where the norm; a total misrepresentation of the true nature of our business, a family-friendly atmosphere where diners can enjoy a good meal in a comfortable atmosphere, without fear of their children witnessing the inappropriate behavior that is implied on this program. I immediately went back to the Ghost Detectives website, hoping to identify the other cast members, but I was confused because I couldn’t find any evidence of “Eye Candy” on their website. I then went to the local network’s website (WQMY out of Wilkes Barre) to identify the program I’d actually viewed. This is when I discovered the program was actually called the Paranormal After Party. I reviewed some of their previous episodes and was appalled by the content. I still didn’t realize that this group was not affiliated with the Ghost Detectives, but knew that we did not want our business associated with this degenerate behavior. I was determined to cancel further viewings of this program, so I first wrote to the Ghost Detectives via their website. I then called the TV station, advising that I was very displeased with the content of the program, advising that Mr. Romano DID NOT have my written permission to air it, and requesting that they cancel the next viewing. The studio rep was sympathetic but advised that she could not cancel the program as this was paid viewing time and they had no control over the content that aired (as long as it met FCC standards). She did promise to notify the Sales Rep who sold Mr. Romano the airtime that I would take legal action against him should he allow it to air again. I placed a call to Anthony Romano’s cell phone, but got his voicemail. I left him a message advising of my displeasure with the quality of the program and stating that I would contact Bob Christopher, co-founder of the Ghost Detectives, directly. I then called Mr. Bob Christopher, co-founder of the Ghost Detectives, leaving him a message as well. Mr. Christopher called me shortly after, confessing confusion about my complaint. It was then that I discovered that Mr. Romano and company did not represent the Ghost Detectives, as he’d implied, but had started up his own company, Paranormal After Party, after being removed from his position the previous year. Mr. Christopher advised that he had no knowledge of this situation, nor had he sent the crew to my restaurant. He went on to say that this was not the first time that Mr. Romano had misrepresented himself, using the good name of the Ghost Detectives as a means of finding clients. Bob Christopher advised me to document the incident, stating in writing that I was not pleased with the content of the program and requesting that it be removed from public view. Mr. Romano did finally return my call, expressing surprise that I was not happy with the outcome. He apologized for my “confusion” about whom he actually represented, and went on to say that, customarily he would have allowed me to view the program prior to airing, but due to time constraints the program had to air in that particular time slot and there had been no time for preview. He was especially concerned about who I’d contacted with my complaints, specifically questioning me about whom I’d spoken to at Ghost Detectives. He didn’t seem pleased to hear that I’d spoken with Bob Christopher directly. He promised to remove the program from the station’s line-up and apologized once again for the misunderstanding. I had to call Mr. Romano once again two days later, when I realized that he had not removed the episode from his website as promised. I’d first tried to contact him through that website where there is a COMMENTS screen for that purpose, but after drafting my letter (attached) I found that it was not possible to actually send. That feature was not active. So, I had to call Mr. Romano again. He apologized once again, stating that he had instructed his staff to remove all references to the episode, but they must have overlooked the website (which also appeared on YouTube). He went on to say that he’d actually viewed the episode personally and, had he done so earlier, he would not have allowed it to air as it was, agreeing that it was well below the standard I had expected. He offered to return to perform a more “professional” investigation – I declined.Ruth & Steve Van Why Owners The Tom X Pub
Posted on: Sun, 15 Sep 2013 17:22:16 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015