Editor:
As I write this letter, I am still reeling from the verbal assault that I witnessed on a customer service representative at our IGA store in Gibsons the day after Boxing Day.
As I and other onlookers watched, a woman walked over to the customer service counter, asked to speak to management or the person in charge and then proceeded to unleashed a tirade like I have never heard. As we all stood there astounded, she proceeded to inform the customer representative in a loud voice "she was disgusted" that the store had not been open on Boxing Day so she, returning from her vacation, could not get groceries.
She was politely advised that the owner of the store had given his staff the two days off at Christmas so they could spend time with their families, that ample notice had been given to the public that the store would not be open Boxing Day, and that there were some smaller stores open if one needed to pick up something that day.
The woman then informed the staff member that there was nothing in the smaller, local stores and that it was not important that staff at IGA have any time off, that they were there to serve her and the public. Come on now, do you lack any holiday spirit whatsoever? The Coast has a number of small stores that carry more than enough groceries to get one through a meal or a day.
After spending the past couple of days with my family and friends enjoying the holidays and watching the Christmas movie It's a Wonderful Life (I couldn't help but draw some parallels to a character in the movie), I could not believe what I was hearing.
I realize not every store can close on Boxing Day, as some depend on that business to get them through the slower months at the beginning of the year, but kudos to the business owners of our town who can and do care enough about their employees to give them a little extra time off to spend with their families.
I have lived, worked and raised a child in this amazing community for 24 years, and these are the things that make it such an incredible place to live.
Bobbi Weber, Gibsons
