Dear Editor,
In reference to a letter by Mr. Leon James Suseran captioned “A waste of Cyber-space,” (GC 07.10.07) I would like to clarify a few points. Before I do that, however, I would like to thank Mr. Suseran for the constructive criticisms which are absolutely true of the present state of websites in Guyana, and sadly at the current time, of Giftland OfficeMax’s website. I hope the following clarifies or at least appeases some of the frustrations of Mr. Suseran and other online browsers/shoppers.
With regards to the message “there are no products to list in this category”, we are currently in the process of updating categories, but since we carry over 30,000 different items in stock, with many items sold out every day and replaced by new ones, we decided to start with the major departments, and items which we have on sale.
As a result of this, and many other Information Technology hurdles which we have been constantly crossing, some of the smaller departments have been neglected, albeit unfairly. We are constantly working on this site, however, and are awaiting several key features (outside of our control) to be activated in order for the site to be fully functional and to generate its own income. We have made a conscious decision that until this comes to fruition, we will limit the resources expended on the site.
Readers might also question why the site is up in cyberspace before everything is uploaded, and the answer is that because of the everyday changes in stock range and prices that day will never come. In addition, until the time of our official launch, Giftland OfficeMax would like the public, including Guyanese living abroad and our Caribbean neighbours to get used to the idea of a Guyanese online store.
The second issue raised by Mr. Suseran – items showing price tags of “0.00”, has been corrected by our programmers, but for clarification the “0.00” was not the price but rather the weight. This field was added for shipping purposes and is in the process of being updated as well, but due to a programming error, was displayed in the space where price is usually displayed.
I hope that the above are not taken as excuses but shed some light on the concerns raised by Mr. Suseran, and we welcome any further questions or concerns anyone might have concerning Giftland OfficeMax’s website and online shopping services.
In closing, I would like to say that we are constantly working on the numerous problems which we face in making a website of this caliber a reality for Guyanese. Some of these problems include a lack of technical expertise, infrastructure, overseas shipping facilities, and online credit card processing facilities. Add the snail-paced internet speeds and minimal bandwidths available locally, and you may see an inkling of the frustrations involved in making fully functional real-time websites a reality in Guyana. However with the support, advice and criticisms of our customers and the general public, we strongly believe in www.giftlandofficemax.com leading the way in online shopping in Guyana.
Yours faithfully,
Ian Ramdeo
C.E.O. – Giftland OfficeMax
