Letters

Kind Words Appreciated As a foreign company with 43 years of experience in the window coverings industry now entering into the U.S. market, we would like to congratulate Draperies & Window Coverings for another year of continuous effort on communicating, guiding and serving this industry. Heading into another year of hard work, we want to thank you for your magazine. FUA Window Coverings New Braunfels, TX via e-mail A Helpful Perspective on Design Karla Nielson is always so visual in looking into the future and analyzing what is happening in today's lifestyles at the home front. She helps us reach the customer by telling it like it is and explaining what to do and look for in the future. Please continue "Design Perspectives." Thanks! Dorothy E. Symonsbergen Nebraska City Upholstery & Design via e-mail Editor's reply: No problem! This month Karla looks at how the Modern Era of design has come full circle to become the Retro style of today's technology and information age (see Design Perspectives) Next month, she'll turn to designing children's rooms with an emphasis on licensed characters and products. Life is Funny Sometimes I have a suggestion for your magazine that I think would be very well received. I suggest you have a column each month on the humorous stories that happen in the window coverings and decorating business. Also, you could have a column on the tough customers in our industry and what we as retailers do to satisfy them. I assure you that if you publish a few of these funny stories as well as a separate column on the disasters and ask people to send in their experiences, you might be overwhelmed with the response. Just to get things started, here's a story that actually happened at Sunshine Drapery & Interior Fashions: We were in dire need of a shipping and receiving person. A young man interviewed for the position and we liked him. He was told that all applicants are asked to give their approval for us to run a credit check, police check and drug test as well as personal references. We hired the gentleman on the spot with the complete understanding that if any of the above did not come through he would be terminated. To expedite his police check by 10 days, we sent him to the St. Louis County Police Department to pick up a copy of his own record and bring it back. The man never returned. We called his mother and she said her son was a wanted felon and when he asked for a copy of his police record, they immediately read him his rights and arrested him on the spot! Les Finkelstein Sunshine Drapery & Interior Fashions St. Louis, MO Editor's reply: As Les would say, "What a country!" If there are any more stories out there our readers would like to share, we'll be happy to give them a listen and share the printable ones with the rest of the industry, maybe we'll all learn something. We can call it our "Grin and Bear It" column. Send any humorous or particularly frustrating accounts to: Editor Draperies & Window Coverings 666 Dundee Rd., Ste. 807 Northbrook, IL 60062-2769 e-mail: hshingle@lcclark.com