Making a Difference

[Hopeful]

I have recently started to contact stores that have been putting certain magazines at their cash registers....I won't name the magazines...I'm pretty sure we all know what they are. I can tell you that I have received a response back from each store and I find this amazing. Walmart has responded to me three times and I am waiting to hear from them again. When we were in the local grocery store yesterday one of the magazines was covered with a green placard and "the other magazine" was turned backwards. While I was discussing with the cashier how I found these magazines offensive to be at the registers but thankful that our store had them covered a Manager came around and turned the "other" magazine around but then quickly put a white placard in front of it. I'm not sure if anything I wrote to the store helped to make a change but just maybe I helped someone else that had voiced their opinion in the past and it became a reality.
Here is a letter I wrote to our bookstore last week. I haven't been able to get back and see if anythings changed but I plan to next week, they responded back to me within one week.

I love Barnes & Noble but today I was in your store on (street, city & state) and when we were checking out I was very upset to see the bathing suit issue for "magazine" right there...under the registers. There are also a few other adult magazines that have no place being in that area where you have to go to purchase your books. I really see no reason for them to be there out on display when you have a magazine section and this is a family store. It should be safe for our young children to be protected from these covers that are only made to entice men to purchase them. I also find it offensive and I can't be the only person that feels this way.
I really hope that you will rethink putting these magazines in an area that cannot be avoided while shopping.
Thank you
~~Hopeful

Dear Hopeful,
Thank you for your email.
We forwarded your feedback regarding the display of "Magazine" and other similar magazines with our buyers who will certainly keep them in mind when evaluating the placement of this title in our stores.
We appreciate your feedback and look forward to seeing you in our bookstores soon.
Sincerely,
Harry
Customer Service Representative
Barnes & Noble Customer Service

Next week I will be contacting Harry to either thank him for listening and taking action on my behalf or I will let him know that nothing has changed. We have also been discussing just talking face to face with the Managers of the stores if we have to. It can't hurt and it really makes me feel like I am doing something to help rid our daily lives of some of this....even if it is a small step.
Maybe if all of us just shoot an email off to some store or restaurant...anywhere... we can all start to make a little difference. All of us together really can make quite a difference and we can also help each other out in our own hometowns. I really think that a few small steps can start to lead this in a good direction.
If anyone has any suggestions or thoughts to help in this cause, I know that I am definitely willing to do all I can.

[Cupcakemomma]

That's AWESOME! Way to go Hope.
I had arun in with a convienince store manager after they left their mags at kids eye level and my boys tattled on themselves after a trip to "buy slurpees" At first he wasn't even interested in hearing my point of view, but later that week he had them higher up and covered! >:D<

[Hopeful]

That's what I mean Cupcake!! If we start saying and doing something...it will change! We have to stop being silent about this.

Thanks CCM!! You were right to speak up!

[JenMac]

Hey Hopeful!
What a great post! And I do agree wholeheartedly with you! We may not be able to save the world but every little bit we can do will help in some small way. It is in fact encouraging to see how it has made a difference in your community.
Thank you for doing what you do and for sharing your thoughts and successes with us! I hope we can follow your lead and make a difference in our own lives too!
You are awesome!
Jenn


ps. Way to go Cupcake!

You are both very brave and an inspiration to others!

[Mac]

Hi There Hopeful

Thanks for sharing this with everybody. I really applaud your resolve with this and I feel it is not just a small thing that you are doing. I am sure this took a lot of courage on your part to be able to take the steps you did. I bet it felt really good though.
It is time that stores that want to peddle these types of magazines, that are directed at only one segment of our society ( men) be put on the spot for subjecting everyone else including our wives and kids to this material.
Having this stuff in your face at every cash register you go through is just another example of big business trying to make something that is unacceptable , acceptable in order to line their pockets.
Didn't mean to get off on a tirade here, but if eveyone here at TTF went to even one store and were able to get them to make a change we would definately make a difference.

Again the Hopefuls lead by example.

All the Best
Mac

[HopefulsRock]

That's my Hopeful ...making me proud again!

She never ceases to amaze me and for some reason it gets me to thinking back to almost a year ago but with a whole new appreciation for what she did for me ...SAVED MY LIFE!!!

I'm sitting here thinking of the TV show "Deadliest Catch" where they go out into the deadliest waters of the Bering Sea to fish for a living and the one episode where one of the guys goes overboard and the crew of the "Time Bandit" acted without hesitation and fished him out of the freezing waters. After the tense scene was over and the Captain (Johnathan) got down to the survivor and they met for the 1st time with a heartfelt embrace and tears in their eyes the survivor says to Captain Johnathan, "You saved me, you saved my f_ _ _ing life" Well Hopeful is my Captain and I'm that survivor!!!

Once again I thank you my dear...

[Hopeful]

Thank you Jenn & Mac! I really do believe that we can start to make a difference and that it takes the "little" people to get it going in the right direction. Can't hurt to try...eh?

Thanks Rock...I have always been here for you and always will be.... no matter how rocky the seas have been...so get your butt in gear...you have some emails to write!!!!

[Hopeful]

This morning Rock and I had to run to Walmart for a few things. When we were checking out I noticed that there wasn't a "certain" magazine by our register. I was shocked, so I started looking down all the other registers and it wasn't anywhere!! I have been so excited about this all day.

Now, I'm not certain that it had anything to do with all of my emails or not...but they were responding back to me and I was only trying to get it moved away from checkout at my store.

I really feel like a little battle was won today!!\:D/

[JenMac]

Hey Hopeful!
I think you don't give yourself enough credit!!
You should be proud of how you are making a difference!! I think it is awesome and really, every little thing helps!
I am impressed!
Keep going girl!
(*)
Jenn

[exteberria]

Thats great Hopful, and it just goes to show that Store managers will listen to complaints like this.