And now a word from the folks at quality control

My wife and I have just returned from a trip to Rapid City, S.D., which is a great central location for Mount Rushmore, the Crazy Horse memorial, Badlands National Park, Grasslands National Park, Custer State Park, Needles Highway, the Black Hills and many other interesting things to see and do.

We had never been to South Dakota, so we were surprised the interstate speed limit is 75 mph and that virtually every convenience store and hotel has a casino. OK, that's not such a big deal -- unless you don't get out of Southeast Missouri all that often.

We enjoyed the trip. Most of all, we enjoyed the successful planning that led to several bonuses.

While we were gone, the tile floors in our upstairs bathrooms were replaced, the mess was cleaned up and our house was pristinely cleaned by the time we arrived home. What a deal.

As we informed our sons when we got back: The trip was great. The tile floors/clean house was greater. And the dozen ripe tomatoes in our deer-plot garden was greatest.

Now we're ready for some of that Fourth of July sweet corn.

I'm sure big hotel chains like the one where we stayed while on our trip have many ways to assess customer satisfaction and feedback. Some of them put questionnaires in each room inviting guests to comment on their stays.

Apparently, those cards go into the trash, or are swallowed by some enormous bureaucratic monster. So, for what it's worth, here is a bit of criticism -- hopefully constructive -- that the hotel folks might like to hear if they really believe the old saw, "the customer is always right."

First, let's talk about room comfort. I'm not talking about the bed. Most hotel beds are adequate. And our hotel rooms each came with choices of firm or soft pillows. But what about when you aren't sleeping? Anyone who stays in a hotel room also is going to want to sit.

I have long advocated recliners for hotel rooms. Notice I said "recliners," not "recliner." That's two recliners for each room, since there are often two occupants of any given hotel room. Instead, most hotel rooms feature one attempt at a comfortable chair. Tough luck for whoever else wants to sit down.

Next, if a hotel offers "accessible" rooms for those of us with creaking joints, then make them truly accessible. Don't just put up a couple of grab bars. We've stayed in hotels that know how to make a room accessible, and they are wonderful. The rest are standard rooms with "wide" doors (the same width as every other door in the hotel) and a grab bar in the tub/shower. Shame on you, slackers.

Finally, every hotel room in America offers a large flat-screen TV with hundreds of channels. And no program guide.

Why is that?

Everyone with cable or satellite TV at home -- and that's most of us -- has access to a program guide that makes it easy to find your favorite shows and movies.

Not in hotel rooms. Instead, you get a tent placard that lists all the channels. Whoopee! You knew that going in. Now you'd like to know what show is on what channel in that room. Good luck.

Don't let these gripes about hotel rooms fool you. We had a blast on our trip. We have a new appreciation for a state we had never visited before. We highly recommend a trip to western South Dakota.

And take care when you make those hotel reservations. Make sure you know what you're getting for your nightly charge. Bon voyage!

Joe Sullivan is the retired editor of the Southeast Missourian.