Darren Campbell
Northern News Services

NNSL (Aug 07/98) - Bill and Adelia Adkins now know for sure that there is no such thing as a free lunch.

And that's because a free dinner and $20 cash promised to the Yellowknife couple never happened.

Adkins said he was contacted out of the blue by Dream Vacations Inc. out of Edmonton to take advantage of the dinner. It was to be held at the Yellowknife Inn on July 28.

Along with the dinner, Adkins was also expected to listen to a presentation by the company, which is a discount travel club offering memberships to customers for resorts around the world.

But when Adkins arrived for the dinner, along with four other couples, they were greeted with no dinner and no presentation. In fact, the clerk at the desk said the company had left town on July 26.

Adkins said that treatment has left him a little miffed at the company.

"I was just disappointed, that's all. They didn't call," said Adkins. "If they will do this, what else will they do?"

But Barbara Kuntzemann, assistant manager of Dream Vacations Inc., said a scheduling mix up between their sales and marketing departments led to the problem.

She said the mix up caused the company to book dates for customers when the company wasn't going to be in Yellowknife. She said they tried to get in touch with all the people who had booked dates but they were not able to reach everybody.

"All we can do is apologize profusely to the people on behalf of the company. It's pretty embarrassing on our part," said Kuntzemann.

"It must have left a bad taste in some people's mouths. I know it would if I was in their position."

It has left somewhat of a bad taste in Adkins' mouth and he wonders how credible a company Dream Vacations Inc. is.

"Some of these companies go into remote communities where they figure people aren't as hip as others and try to pull off a big one (scam)," said Adkins.

Kuntzemann said the company has been in business since 1989 and this is the first time anything like this has happened. She said those who showed up for a meal and got nothing can call her for an explanation. Or they could set up another appointment when they come back to Yellowknife in the three-to-six months.

However, Mike Bryant said those who missed out on a free meal shouldn't bother re-connecting when the company comes back. Bryant, a chef at the Prospector Bar and Grill, went to one of these free meals and believes they aren't worth going to.

"It's nothing I'd do again. The dinner was the shits and they stuck you in a basement with no windows," said Bryant.

He said the meal consisted of some finger food, one piece of parmesan chicken, some mashed potatoes and fudge squares.

"It's not a good place to take a date," added Bryant.