An airport parking company has issued an apology after it used a man’s death to sell its service.
AirportParkingReservations.com, which operates at more than 85 airports in the US and Canada, sent out an email on Monday urging potential customers to use its car parking service to avoid problems when catching a flight.
It suggested the death of a man was due to the stress involved in checking in, The Telegraph reported
The email, which was headed “Can on-airport parking kill?” and also featured a $5 off voucher, stated: “Don’t be late and end up in a crate.”
It read: “Last week a 55-year-old man was found dead at a Chicago O’Hare parking lot. He was found lying on the ground unresponsive at around 7.15am. The Chicago police did not find any signs of a homicide and an autopsy is to follow.
“There could be many reasons for the cause of this man’s death, but based on the story one possible reason could be stress. The process of arriving to the airport, getting through security, and boarding the plane can be very stressful.”
The email sparked an angry backlash from people who received it, with the company repeatedly apologising for its “mistake,” the newspaper reported.
AirportParkingReservations.com, which was set up in 2000 and claims to have handled 2.6 million bookings, subsequently released a longer apology for causing “frustration and grief”.
“We would like to sincerely apologise for the last marketing email sent that has caused frustration and grief for our customers. We strive to provide our customers with the utmost service and respect; however, we fell short on this commitment,” the company said.
“There is no excuse for the topic of the recent email sent to our customers, and we can only extend our deepest apologies to those disrespected by it.
“We have ensured that any marketing or communication sent from our company will not contain any sensitive or offensive content of that nature. We appreciate your continued business with us and apologise once again for this unfortunate event.”