Our site will provide a forum for discussion of consumer protection issues, create a reporting centre for consumers who feel aggrieved by traders and will promote customer service standards to the venues and services that serve the gay community.
This web site is about gay, lesbian and bisexual people as consumers in the gay market place.
Background
The pink pound is the term used to refer to the growing economy of the gay community in the UK.
It’s easy to identify the services that gay people use (as gay people): pubs, clubs, saunas, magazines, holiday providers, hotels …
Sometimes it is difficult for gay people to complain about poor services or faulty goods, if they have not come out. For example, a gay couple stay in a hotel which is dirty and badly managed. If they were a straight couple they would report the matter to the local authority. As a gay couple, they might be reticent to talk to a local authority officer.
There are issues about consumer rights generally which stem from the way services are provided to the gay community. Bars, saunas, escort services, for example, can be seen as being either on the fringe of or underneath the legitimate strata of business. Less so now than in the past, as businesses become more open, up front and organised.
More and more non-gay businesses are coming to view the gay community as a desirable horizontal market. There are advertisements from high street businesses appearing in the gay press. Bigger and bigger non-gay businesses are sponsoring gay pride events.
The provisional concept behind this web site is that a forum is needed where gay consumers can post comments, ideas, complaints and wishes related to their experiences in the market place.
Bidding questions
Does the gay community need its own web site, devoted to issues of consumers in the gay market place?
Can/do gay people access general consumer services as equally as anyone else?
Are there any issues which are special to gay people purchasing goods and services in the gay-oriented market place?
If issues do present themselves on this web site, what can be done and by whom?
Which organisations would support consumer rights and defend gay purchasers?
Are gay people at a disadvantage when it comes to complaining about poor service and shoddy goods?