To the Editor:

I read Stacey’s Schneider’s article, “Customer service

disappears,” and had to re-read it. Wasn’t this the same writer who

lamented the woes of Wal-Mart and those that sought to fight the

corporate giant and deprive them of their way of operating?

Wal-Mart, the same store that has forced so many of the “mom and

pop shops” that “were noted for their focus on the customer” out of

business?

The same Wal-Mart that treats its employees poorly and pays them

poorly, offering the employee no incentive to go the extra mile or

even inch for the customer, let alone be chipper and happy, that

Wal-Mart? I found the newspaper with the original Wal-Mart article

in it and indeed it was the same author.

I challenge Ms. Schneider to be the first of our “society to

raise the bar on expectations,” and encourage her to support local

businesses, such as Steeles, JAX and other businesses local to Fort

Collins and/or Northern Colorado where keeping customers happy and

satisfied is the goal, not meeting share holders sales

expectations. I challenge her to avoid places like Wal-Mart where

mediocrity is the norm, and “good enough” is great, where your

money is more important than you. Here is another challenge for

Ms.Schneider and others, try being nice to those who do help you,

either in the aisles or at the cash register, where ever you do

shop, the concept of “do unto others as you would have them do unto

you” goes both ways.

Claire Goodwin

Senior, environmental health