Dear Cheapo

Date:    December 16, 2006

To:      Cheapo Discs

           1300 W. Lake St.

           Minneapolis, MN 55408

           mplsrecords@cheapodiscs.com

From:  Josh Parker

           5725 159th st

           Hugo, MN 55038

           schalicto@gmail.com

Dear Cheapo,

I have been a customer of Cheapo Discs in Uptown for many years, but today, December 16th 2006, I had a terrible experience at the store.  A music loving friend of mine was in town from a small town in Iowa and I was excited to show him your great store because I knew that he would find some great albums to bring home.  I was stopped on my way into the store and asked to relinquish my backpack and I refused.  I know it is a growing tread in retail to ask people to leave their bags at the door in an attempt to curb shoplifting, I find the trend repugnant and insulting, however that is not the reason I refused.  Today I was carrying a thousand dollar still camera, a five hundred dollar video camera, an iPod, and a few hundred dollars worth of professional yo-yos (a hobby of mine).  Not to mention the backpack itself was quite expensive and it looks it.  I just don’t feel comfortable leaving something that valuable to me in the hands of someone else, the last time I left an expensive backpack alone in Uptown it grew legs and walked away. 

The backpack is large and bulky and designed for carrying photography equipment, so it is zipped and strapped and not at all the type of thing that a thief might use to quickly steal some compact discs.  In your store today you lost sales from myself and my visiting friend.

You have the right to ask people to leave their bags at the door, but then you have to make a decision about whether it is worth it to you to lose sales and customer loyalty.  If my bag was in your possession and it did get stolen, is your company prepared to compensate me for the loss?  I seriously doubt it.

This event severely tarnished my relationship with Cheapo today.  I hope that you reconsider your policy about this and figure out some other way to control the problem of shoplifting.  For now, I don’t foresee myself patronizing your establishment anytime in the near future, you have lost a loyal customer.

Sincerely

Josh Schlichting

www.schalicto.com

schalicto@gmail.com