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© St. Petersburg Times, published February 10, 2003
Editor: It is amazing to read all the letters to the editor crying "foul play" and "unfair" about the closing of the Big Kmart and Kash n' Karry stores on U.S. 19 because of the soon-to-be-opened Wal-Mart Supercenter. Since when has it been foul play or unfair for a business to be aggressive and striving to be number one?
Wal-Mart has continues to give consumers what they demand: lower prices, a large assortment of merchandise and service. If competition cannot meet this goal, the results are obvious: Close your doors, move on or fold.
It is corporate responsibility to meet the needs of the consumer, who either makes or breaks a company. Looking at these two stores during the past few years, they have failed miserably. This Kmart store frequently had little to none of their advertised goods, only to offer rain checks that seldom came in. Their merchandise spread thin; pricing was fair to poor; there was merchandise on counters without prices and a lack of sales personnel to assist. And Kash n' Karry just never had the appeal, like Publix stores.
Yes, I'm sorry to see these stores leaving our area. But, as the old saying goes, "If it's too hot in the kitchen, get out." Wal-Mart is here and they're here to stay.
See you at the checkout counters.
-- Jack Hampus, Spring Hill
Editor: Re: Boyfriend charged in slaying, Feb. 4 Times:
This is in response to the sad news of Tiffany Hampshire's cruel and untimely passing. It's amazing how we go through our lives without realizing the people we touch with the smallest of things we do.
Tiffany, a.k.a. "Sunshine," was in a position of not only helping people through the job she did at our Brooksville Walgreens, but she also was a blessing.
This lovely woman always had time and a smile for everyone. Her warmth and desire to help others was always evident in every effort. She always went the extra mile to make sure her customers received the correct information and understood everything. The fact that she remembered so many customers' names was proof she not only loved her job, but truly cared about the people.
I knew Tiffany for a few years. We never became close friends. We never had lunch together, and we never had long talks about life. She might not have been known by a large number of people outside of Brooksville, but she was kind and good and beautiful. For years -- when I needed understanding, patience, information, assistance or just a caring smile -- she was there. She was always there. She was a true blessing to everyone around her and she'll be missed immensely.
God bless the pharmacists and pharmacy technicians left behind, who are just like her -- a blessing to everyone.
-- Pat Hamilton, Brooksville
Editor: Northern folks often think us Southern boys are kind of slow. I'm starting to think they are not too fast, either.
They say the Wal-Mart store being built on U.S. 19 is causing Big Kmart to close. Now I find it hard to think that this one store is going to shut down 326 Kmart stores nationwide and that 35,000 people are going to lose their jobs.
If this does happen, airplane travel will pick up because these folks living outside Florida will have to fly to Tampa and rent a car so they can come to Spring Hill to do their shopping.
These 35,000 folks who lost their jobs can go to work for the airlines and the car rental companies. Now this certainly will help the economy.
-- Bill Hughes, Spring Hill