Text The Times.

Text The Times.

NOW would be a great time for West Memphis to try to get Home Depot to come and move into Ace Hardware empty building!!!!! They should’ve been there to start with, Ace was wayyyyyyy too high priced! [Editor’s Note: I’ve heard a handful of rumors about what might go in the old Ace store, but at least a couple of them have already turned out to be untrue. It’s too nice of a location to stay vacant for long, though. While I would be just fine with another hardware/ home improvement store there (especially since it’s literally right across the street from where I work), it seems like the fact that it went out of business so soon after opening just a few years ago, that either this community isn’t big enough to support as many of those types of stores as there were or it wasn’t being run properly. I can’t speak to the latter, but remember that in the past half-decade or so Riggs’, Garrett’s and now Ace have closed. There’s still Barton’s and True Value for virtually the exact same type of stuff, and it’s not quite the same, but Cliff’s over in Marion is completely unbeatable when it comes to pricing and service.

They just don’t have the onestop- shop inventory that you get at True Value and Barton’s, both of which already have as good a selection on most items you’d get at Home Depot (without crossing the river), and whatever they don’t have (I’m thinking appliances, which Home Depot has), there’s Sears and a number of other smaller- scale stores that do]

*** My family and me walk to the only furniture store in West Memphis and as usual the nice lady is running around the store taking care of the customers while daddy’s son sits on his but with his head buried in his computer, must be nice being the owner’s son, what a joke, last time we shop there. [Editor’s Note: There are multiple furniture stores in West Memphis, so you might want to fix that next time. Actually, no, you won’t, because, as I’ve said multiple times, if you’re willing to leave an anonymous text with us to run in the newspaper complaining about a local business, but you’re not willing to ask to speak to the manager/owner of the business to sincerely and honestly explain your concerns, I don’t really feel obligated to give you a forum. I’m sure that comes off as rude, and I don’t really intend for it to (well, maybe a little), but it really is important that poor customer service be addressed, and not just in Text the Times, but in person. Virtually all business owners would rather hear about a complaint directly than have a customer leave unsatisfied. Maybe you’re intimidated? Maybe you think it won’t matter? Maybe you’re not reading the situation correctly?

I don’t know, and you won’t either, unless you ask]

*** What happened to taco bell in Marion? [Editor’s Note: Ah, my old friend the Marion KFC/Taco Bell. My son and I spent many a lunch hour there with our double-decker tacos, or KFC famous bowls, our two-piece meals and our steak quesadillas. Good times, good times… Oh, what happened to it? It closed. We were sad. I don’t have any inside information on it, but you could tell it was on its last legs. Toward the end, they were always shortstaffed, the inside wasn’t very well-maintained, and it was just poorly-located enough to be inconvenient for Interstate traffic. You will be missed, KFC/Taco Bell. Now, we’ll have to drive all the way to West Memphis and decide… KFC or Taco Bell, but not both]

*** I like the point counterpoint stories y’all do on Fridays.

How do y’all decide what the topic is going to be? Do y’all take suggestions? If so here’s one… the pan handlers in West Memphis! You have done a bunch of stories on it but they are still around. It’s a shame they can’t or won’t do anything about it. [Editor’s Note: Well, thanks for reading. It’s fun to do those. We “argue” about these subjects all the time in the office and Michael picks one to debate. I do have the advantage of going second, though, so after he presents his side of the subject, I get to go through and poke holes in all of his ideas.

Thanks to the divisive world we live in, I’m sure we’ll never run out of topics, but sure, if you have a suggestion, we’ll be happy to at least consider it. I will say, though, it might be tough to do one on the West Memphis panhandlers, since I’m pretty sure that we (and virtually everyone in Crittenden County) agree that they are a danger to the safety of themselves and others, a major inconvenience to motorists, and a huge eyesore for the image of our community. Having said that, if Michael wants to pick a side, I’m willing to play Devil’s Advocate and present the counterpoint]

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