European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 17, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes Friday april 17.1987 letters comments concerning cafes answered Tim it in response to the Teller retard Ift lion of clothing at cafes ind Brig. Gen . Leedy j response 10 in. I Loo unmarried 10 in  but find that 1 can rarely afford who it available or find what my family need Jit ays that what to hockey by cafes ii what people arc buying. Just look around you or listen to the neighbors  come you Don t have a Volvo like us because i need two can w that i can drive you to school when you miss the bus since your dad has the  Trot Story ,. But forget the Kadi. How about the Soldier in another neighbor s unit who criticizes what his Boss kids Wear hey they re clean and in Good repair areo1 they his kids Don t look abused do they except maybe by people who judge them by their clothes. We re always hearing that cafes stocks what is in demand. Perhaps Leedy could have gone further an explained Why it is thai cafes has such a High de Mand for High priced goods. Many families have two paychecks or fewer or no children. For Many Bow they look or the name inscribed on their backsides is very important. If your family dresses fashionably in makes you look like you re really getting ahead until someone notices the pfc Stripe on your Arm. Then it s obvious that you Are a financial wizard since we All know How Little an  makes could it be hat some of cafes customers spend Money thai they Don t have on the finer things in lifer what i m trying to say is that we All have different priorities. Those of us who have More important things to spend our Money on . House payments or saving 50 we won t have them eating up our retirement pay later and future educational expenses for our selves and our children there is something they can t Wear out break or outgrow Are in the minority. Although i would like to be Able to dress . I know Hal i can t have everything. It is not possible for cafes to serve everyone to his Complete satisfaction. Cafes is doing the Best it can with whal it has for As Many pc Pic As t can. To be fair to cafes let me say that 1 love the 19.99 jeans i m wearing take Hal from someone born with a Levis lag stitched to her backside an the 18.99 twill Slacks i bought last summer. Both were of Quality. I might add and 1 Gol to iry themon first. Try that with a Catalon i Only wish i could get More than one of anything. I m Down to my  name withheld Ruef Burg Germany All 1 hear Are complaints complaints complaints. Come on people so w Don t have the variety we grew accustomed to stateside we still have our com Mon sense and hopefully a Lillic ingenuity. Discounts arc Only leftovers clearance items Marcall Lorn or soiled a with a Small investment of time and Effort Over the past two Yean i be proudly collected a Large line of designer Wear mostly Liz Claiborne thanks 10 cafes discount and clearance Racks. These Are Quality clothes bought for a fraction of their Worth. You say $35 is ridiculous fora pair of dress pants not if you expect them to last for Mere than five washings. Perhaps you could profit from some tips Don t Opl for Quantity Over Quality. Don t limit yourself to one Exchange explore. Don t expect to find what you need at the last minute shop ahead. Size not right German sailors can do wonders very cheaply color not right Dye ii. Buy Long ailing classics nol Quick trends. Don t limit yourself to one department some women s and men s clothing can be  your imagination Don t be clothes Lazy shop German sales and secondhand Siom. Learn Low cafes Buyck know what they re doing it s what they were framed for. Imagine How you d Tec if  ple constantly complained about your Job performance. Let s have so my compassion out there and quit complaining Here s one satisfied Well dressed customer who would like to say thank you and keep up the Good work Chrls Lal Hal Tel Stuttgart this letter is in response to the recent letter concerning cafes and people being unable to find reasonable clothes. I too used to say i could t find reasonable prices and 1 did the majority of my clothes shopping Down town. Then when the Dollar Mark Rale dropped i stalled shopping at the Exchange i found thai if 1 go a few limes a week during my lunch hour i can find some very Nice items Al reasonable prices. The key is going More than once a week. If you go Here frequently you can find the items you re looking far. If you Don t have the Money on hand that day1 there s always layaway i recently got a silk Blouse for $13.49. It was one of those extra value1 items. That s belter than k Mart . Penney Sears or any other mail order Catalon i be seen As for the marked Down items on the clearance rack they Aren t always Lorn or sailed 1 also got a Lovely Spring dress thai had been marked Down three times from $23.97 to the Price i paid $7.77. True when i try to get shoes for my son they never seem to have them in his size but i m sure if slopped and checked the shoe Section frequently 1 would be Able to find some. You have to realize that it s nol the same As shop Ping in the slates but with a Little time and persistence you can find bargains because i have and so hav Cohew. By the Way 1 did find sneakers for my son Al the sports shop. They carry different styles than the Exchange shoe Section. Diane m. Vars sub Weinfurt Germany i would like to address this letter to cafes Ett rope concerning their stores this past Holiday season i really feel compelled to Forward some objective criticism which any business that wishes to Advance would Welcome from its customers. Although i am  american and would just As soon buy american in order to satisfy my needs had to turn to the local Economy. When began shopping 1 first went to my local facilities but was extremely dissatisfied with the Vari Ety. I changed my dollars for Marks at a very unfavourable rate i might add and headed toward the Economy the Economy had what i wanted variety unrestricted Supply Etc and reaped the benefits our Economy should have gotten when you gel right Down to it i feel hot cafes failed no Only me but everyone Back Home. Millions of go dollars have been spent on the German Economy because in provided something that our own system could nol now my suggestion for a solution. When the new cafes Catalon came out last fall i attempted to get one. It seems they must have Only been available for a week or two. And in a limited Supply. I went 10 just about everywhere i could think of to try to pick one up. Sorry they re All gone and these three have been taken i Don t blame the sales clerks for grab Bing one first i would have done the same. Can l inc Cata logs be printed in a larger Quantity and be made available for a longer period of Lime 1know a lot of people that were just As disappointed As 1 was. Also what kind of Loy stores Are these i have never seen so Many worthless products in my life. Gam i arc fwd for two weeks by kids and the thrown aside because of boredom Ixia i you think something a Little More challenging and educational would have been desirable my wife would really like a Nice dress at a reason Able Price for evenings out. She could t find me n decent briefcase for goodness Sakcs she found one on the Economy. Cafes provided none Ofteli for it. During the Holiday season get rid of the Stock you carry All year Long and bring in new items for month or two. As for clothes. I want what the average Joe and Jan care wearing Here or in the suites. I Don t wan something thai stands out so every terrorist can look Al you and spot an american from five blocks away. Where did Calvin Klein go maybe my fashion is not up to Date but 1 have had a pair of his pants that were comfortable reasonably priced and looked of. Even Levis Are hatted of available at All. I Hope to see improvement in the future As i would ukr to put my dollars Back into the same sys tem they came out of .-., i realize we cannot have shopping malls and everything that comes with the but i sincerely believe that if you Lake an objective look at what you arc providing you can find room for improvement. You have to face the fact that if you do not provide what the customer wants you will continue to lose a few More customers every Day you have to go with the flow in order to stay in business. Name and location withheld editor s note Brig. Gen . Leedy com Mander my cafes Europe replies cafes decides what Csc Linn goes in our Tores by a comprehensive process including regular reviews of the fashion markets examining major clothing test reports evaluating Brand and Model rating checking clothing buying guides responding to customer re que Sis and inquiries and looking Al Stock assortments of competitive mailers. In the final analysis he cafes customer deter mines what is stocked. If a product Sells in ii continued. If in does to it is dropped from inventory. The items you mention Are All in the Stock Assort ment. For example cafes Sells More briefcases than any other retailer in the world. Calvin Klein and lev jeans As Welt us other popular and designer brands abound on the shelves. Cafes brands and extra value product Are specially marked regularly stocked items in Jour Exchange which Are Low priced alternatives to other name brands carried in almost All product depart ments. Children s toys and games have Ace guidelines to help parents in making selections. Guidelines an developed by the manufacturer As a service to the Cus Tomer. Cafes Europe managers continuously work to Tai Lor Stock assortments to meet the needs of our diverse customer base. Retail sales during the Christmas holi Day period increased substantially in 1986. That can Only mean that Many customers found what they wanted in their Exchange cafes concern for How customers perceive their Exchange can t be overstated. That s Why we take seriously the Way each customer views the value of serv  and the Quality to merchandise. For cafes management to address these perceptions communication is essential. The variety of communication tools available to you As a key shareholder in this organization Are effective if used. Talking with a store manager and req Wollne action is effective communication addressing your questions on a comment form is another Means. Asking your Exchange manager or unit representative when the next Exchange Council meeting will be held then at tending and letting your voice be heard is putting action behind your concern about the organization that s Here to serve you. Pen pass a would Ika in Pala irom around Row world Miry Ann a tartan Blu  thu.  Pill in Dudul Rny name m your in pal cd Iutin i m 16 raft of As. Aflfe i to Fly eos foxy Tump. Sotl Kline rate Twy a tag Twain Nawai Twig lilt i. Oif not n. Cahan Kun dirt Roco it. Gan Wal Sec Flutot c or 14 oars old. And i am to for and in win pupi Iran Wuky Hotori d going of Toyiaa. It dding nov i am tune log. I Woutat aka Loh respond Wolfie Opl to wifi Lew Fygi of h and 1 7 Iron Amarica. And Canada Nycota Hiiri Ion n . St. Cit swim. Jam Tea. I am i a Yta told rerun Catholic. I would appreciate in nerf much in you would publish my rums in your pen pal column. Like Outing Danzig. Singing . Playing lira piano to mute. Lia veiny and Yum nil. A. Suayan patau fax Hun my name in Yut pan pal column 1 Fanjoy Tohong cooking and tote Rhino. To Mutuc. T i 3�r-ol j or tru to Ted  Cal  Caloocan City put upon i 3 06 i would 10 pan pal i am to year old All Elfi 1oai&a.n. M id Rua Ferati quod. B. Pm a.  Algeria i to 27 ind no looking Lor a pan p Loumia am a Pencil Zindoy or Sgroi d a Toast add my name id your pan pay hit w old 4ttd living in Himi any i he a deny to Toms pan Pali. Dai . 09169