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Wednesday, August 23. 1978
University Daily Kansan
Staff Photo by TRISH LEWIS
Wood work
Emerald City Antique, 415 N. Second, has a variety of old furnishings. In the back of the shop, Terry Ground operates
Restoration Hall, a separate business for refurbishing old furniture. This includes stripping and staining an antique pieces and new ones.
Consumers offered bigger voice
By NANCY FLEEKER
Staff Writer
Instead of despairing about potential ripoffs, students should call one of the leaders in their organization.
Garnet Wrigley, director of the community consumer affairs office, 901 Kentucky St. said, "We will handle anything that involves goods or service." is anything that involves goods or service."
Wrigley and Judy Kroeger, director of the
Campus office, which is in the Kannas
district.
"Anybody can file a complaint in either office, but they have to continue it through the same office," Wrigley said. "We basically know the same stipulations."
THE MOST COMMON complaints in both offices are those dealing with landlords and renters.
"Students never come in and talk,
me except about landlord-tenant and
buyer."
Usually landlord problems with students concern deposits that are withheld by the landlord or leases that are broken by students.
Unmade repairs is another common problem with landlords.
"But students are not the only people who have problems with their landlords," she said. "A lot of the people I deal with have problems for 25 years, but they still have problems."
Most of the automotive problems concern warranties on new cars or repairs on used cars.
"It is kind of touchy," she said. "There is hard fast rule that they have to agree with."
She said a lot of complaints were about actual repair costs exceeding the estimates. She said the problems were
"SO IT'S A matter of negotiating."
Sometimes people complain about tires that are ruined.
"It might sound kind of silly," she said. But there always someone who thinks it was clever or stupid.
Both offers offer advice on many subjects in addition to automobiles and landlords.
Many people call with questions about bad credit ratings. The consumer affairs offices will be opening a credit counseling center in January, which will serve as a negotiating service between people who cannot pay their bills and their creditors.
The consumer affairs offices also handle complaints dealing with merchandise that is purchased by mail order, but never received.
False billing is another problem handled by Wrigley and Kroeger.
When you're in trouble, call for help.
They straighten out billings on credit cards that are inaccurate or that have not been paid.
COMPLIANTS ABOUT FAULTY merchanties also can be taken to the consumer
Wrigley said the offices had complaints every month about local advertisements on their websites.
The offices also receive complaints about bad services, such as dry cleaners who send spotted suits back to the customer. They received several complaints about poor services offered by cleaning services, which Wrigley said was surprising because there were not many cleaning services in Lawrence.
The consumer affairs offices also receive inquiries about banking policies, although there have never been any formal complaints filed against banks.
"They're starting to use us before they get in trouble."
"People are beginning to use us as an information center, which it is great," the Walmart executive said.
Merchants also call and ask advice on their rights, Wrigley said.
As an example, she said, merchants sometimes called about policies for sale.
OCCASIONALLY A COMPANY is cast in the role of the consumer and asks for advice. If a restaurant orders napkins from a company and does not receive them, then the restaurant is considered to be a consumer, Wriderlew said.
However, 95 percent of the complaints the consumer affairs offices receive are made by individuals, she said. About one-fourth of the complaints to the community offices are made by students.
Kroger said about three-fourths of the complaints made to the campus office came from customers.
Wrigley said that of formal complaints
fitted at her office, only about 10 percent
were filed.
A complaint is not considered formally filed unless it is a written complaint that authorizes the consumer affairs office to respond with the subject of the complaint.
"If one or two telephone calls don't
the situation, then we use letters,
Wristlet."
The number of complaints received by the consumer affairs offices has increased
IN OCTOBER, when Wrigley opened the community office as a supplement to Kroger's office, her office received 37 complaints. In June her office received 215 complaints.
Wrigley said that many students living in off campus housing used her office.
"We haven't even advertised much," she said.
The community consumer affairs office is in the process of moving to 819 Vermont St.
Kroeger said the offices hoped to add more staff members to the community office to handle the increasing complaints. Wrigley is the only staff member who processes complaints at the community office.
The community's hours are 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and 8 a.m. to noon by appointment on Saturday.
The campus office's hours are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.
IF YOU'RE GOING TO WORK LIKE A HORSE, YOU CAN'T EAT LIKE A BIRD.
Working your body without breakfast is like working your car with out gas you don't get very far
At COUNTRY KITCHEN* restaurants we design working breakfasts for working bodies We make them hearty, so they'll stick with you till lunch. We proce nt them night
to keep your billfold as full as your belly. And we offer a lot of
them, to make life interesting.
What's more, we speed them to your table with waitresses trained to fuss over you
Those who like the city may be young or old, male or female, new residents or lifetime Kansans. And the opinions may change as people live here longer.
Those who criticize the city have as wide a variety of bones to pick as the variety of faces.
Before you give a day to your job, give an hour to your stomach We say we give you more of what you go out for Come make us prove it
Opinions about Lawrence change with the weather, it seems.
Area's best and worst pointed out by residents
By JOY CLARK
Staff Writer
1503 W.23rd 843-2024
People were asked to state simply what they liked or disliked about Lawrence. The answers covered almost every aspect of Lawrence life.
"There are too many single girls and not enough single guys." — Trudy Harris, Larkshire
Staff Writer
"! I LIKE the college-town atmosphere and the close proximity to Kansas City." — Harriette McCaul, director of faculty and staff benefits.
MORE OF WHAT YOU GO OUT FOR.
"Jobs are sometimes hard to come by because of the college students." - 20-year veteran
"You meet a lot of people from different places, although why anyone would want to come to Kansas on their own free will baffles me." "Trizie Poppik, Olia the junior.
"I like the fact that you can leave town in any direction and be out in the country. It's a good-sized city, but not a metropolis." — Mark Wilkinson, Lawrence resident.
"I like the size and the proximity to Kansas City. It is close but not in the city"
"I like the beautiful campus. I dislike the 497 school board. There are too many people that don't know what they are doing." — Vicky Henley, Lawrence sophomore.
"WELL, I LIKE the university atmosphere and the group of locals I went through school with. I dislike the local businessman, the local politicians, the local teacher, the local government, the local school system, and most of the local restaurants. I especially dislike the local real estate developers and the way they do business. They try to force the poor and elderly to sell their homes to further income — Bill Kipp, lifelong Lawrence resident.
"There are not enough blacks or too many whites, but I like it because there's not as much violence as Detroit." —Geoffry Brown, Lawren freshman.
"It's a big town with the small-town atmosphere of a Midwestern town, even though it's sophisticated." —Harry Madden, resident of one week.
"There's lots of stuff to do, places to go, and lots of interesting people to meet." — Iota
"THE'RE NO legalized gambling, no drinking after twelve, no good resturants, a bad traffic pattern, not much entice, no college, no summer and extreme in the winter, too expensive cost of living, but the people are so poor that a KU professor who asked not to be identified
"the only thing I dislike is that I have never lived anywhere else. I like the sports, and all my friends is a pretty town, and all my friends is a pretty town," I said. "Colleen A. heart, Lawrence resident."
"I don't like the feeling you get when school is out and everybody leaves, then everybody comes back in droves. But it's a cool city," a state "alarm." Amanola, Lawrence resident.
"I don't like to shop. There's no selections that are all together. You have to go all over creation. I don't like the way cinemas are done since there's no competition. I don't like the disco, there's no place to meet people unless a beer joint that is smoky, loud, and filled with stares." —Sarah Hyten, Wellington junior.
"IT CATTERS to the college crowd with fast food, but the quality really bugs me. We are lots of cheap apartment building." — Brenda Morris, Lawrence resident.
"There are lots of places to go to have a
good time." —Becky Comeau, Lawrence resident.
"It's the perfect size, but a little difficult to travel back and forth. I would like to see you in our apartment and need to make a better access route from the nearest Street." —Phil Rankin, resident.
J. HOOD
BOOKSELLER
QUALITY USED BOOKS
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Bars-Sun 8am-6pm Sunday 1pm-6pm
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1401 MASS. 841-4644
There will be a $6.00 charge to light your furnace, air conditioner, or any gas appliance.
Calls taken from 6 a.m.-8 a.m. weekdays and all day Saturday will carry a $15.00 minimum charge.
Also, any service call will carry a $6.00 per hour charge during normal work days, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sundays and holidays and from 8 p.m.-6 a.m. weekdays, there will be a minimum service charge of $22.50.
OFFICE HOURS: 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday thru Friday
Phone 843-7842
KANSAS PUBLIC SERVICE CO. INC.
733 Massachusetts
733 Massachusetts
— WELCOME 9AYHAWKS —
Come on out soon and see us for parts on your car. We carry foreign and American parts. We also give student discounts.
New and rebuilt machine shop service
1502 W. 23rd
Speed and custom equipment
842-4152
FREE SMALL COKE
With purchase of a Big American Cheese Chili Dog. Bring this ad or tell us you are a student. Expires Oct. 1, 1978
Holiday Plaza
25th & Iowa
West of Klef's Records
CHEESE DOGS
CHILI DOGS
DIXIE DOGS
POLISH SAUSAGE
RYE & ONION BUNS
SOFT DRINKS
CHIPS