LETTERS: COMIC UPSETTING, BUT ACTIONS LEAVE READER WITH GOOD FEELING

To the editor.

Enclosed find the remains of the "comic book" I found inserted in yesterday's YELL edition of your newspaper. As you can see, it was nothing but trash even before my wife began to shred it into the kitchen waste basket. I send it to you primarily for an opportunity to write my thanks for the way you responded to this unfortunate incident.

I would not have called your office if it had not been for the value I see in the YELL program. As it was, I had no hope of getting anything but the kind of excuses that I have found to be the usual business response to concerns raised by customers.

I called your organization's "All Departments" number, said that I had a question about the comic inserted in the YELL edition, and was shocked to find myself being transferred to your extension! No screening, no excuses -- impressive! I cannot remember the last time I even heard of an executive taking personal responsibility for a problem like this.

Yes, I am unhappy that I had to explain to my 7-year-old son that the comic he was so excited to see fall out of the newspaper was not for him. I would have been even more distressed if he had found it before I did. However, it is obvious from your actions that you do not think this was an inevitable, excusable error. Consequently, I can trust that you will be improving the processes that allowed the inserts like I found to get through.

JIM ATWOOD

Jackson