Letter: Don't pick brains, buy elsewhere
GRIFFIN TECHNOLOGY TECHSAFE CABLE LOCKING SYSTEM
WHY In the few minutes it takes for a thief to make off with your laptop, you could have installed TechSafe to ensure its safety. Just slide its steel LockBlade through the laptop's cover hinge, hook the four-digit combination lock through the LockBlade and loop the 5-foot, 1.5-meter steel cable around a table leg or other immovable object. Compatible with most laptop, netbook and notebook computers.
BUY $30; griffintechnology.com, buy.com Credit: Handout
I am the owner of a medium-sized retail music store and am writing in regard to the article "Find a laptop bargain for your student online" [USA Weekend, Aug. 21]. It is hard enough for small businesses (the supposed backbone of America) to make a living without you seeming to condone the practice of visiting local merchants, picking their brains (sometimes wasting hours of valuable time) to end up with enough quality information to finally make a purchasing decision, and then taking the business elsewhere to save a few bucks.
One of the reasons people would save a few bucks shopping online or at a big-box retailer is those outlets usually don't have qualified employees who can help the customer determine their needs and guide them to the right choice. They also do not always have a structure in place to properly service or repair the products they sell. Nor do they often buy back any of the merchandise if and when their customers find they no longer need the product or wish to upgrade.
With few exceptions, once the sale is made, they are no longer interested in you until the next time you want to buy a product from them. Local retailers, if they do their job right, can offer so much more value to customers whose trust and business they earn.
Steve Subject, Rocky Point
Editor's note: The writer owns Sound Beach Music in Miller Place.
