Positive Signs at the Commissary

Today at the Fort Riley Commissary, I was encouraged. When waiting in line to pay for my groceries, I noticed that there was a Men's Fitness magazine covered in the same manner that is pictured above. I was pleased that this particular check-out aisle was kid-friendly. This is a victory for Fort Riley's military families.

Curious, I asked the cashier why the magazine was covered. She stated, "some jealous woman complained about and it; so they covered it."

I simply smiled, checked out, loaded my groceries in the car, and walked back in to the Commissary. This time, I went to the customer service office and asked to speak to the manager. The manager wasn't on duty, but the assistant manager was. He came quickly to the front probably anticipating a complaint. I told him, "I have a compliment for your store, I want to let you know because I know compliments are rare."

I asked the assistant manager to follow me so that I could show him what I was pleased about. I then showed him the magazine that was covered and said that this was "...a good step in the right direction. This is what customers expect." The manager told me that he was simply responding to customer complaints. I told him that I appreciate what he did and that a good rule of thumb is - if ever in doubt, cover it up, because military parents deserve the right to determine what their children are exposed to."

Toward the end of our pleasant conversation, he told me that if his headquarters knew that he covered the magazine, they wouldn't be pleased. Surprised, I responded that if he receives retribution from his chain of command for covering this or any other magazine he should let me know because I would support him in front of his superiors. Motivated by my compliment, he said, "I know there are more magazines that aren't covered that should be; maybe I should look into that." Of course I agreed, but in the end I was simply encouraged by the current situation.

Additionally, I would like to comment on Men's Fitness Magazine. Usually, it isn't a bad magazine. However, if one issue is questionable, AAFES needs to err on the side of protecting children. This magazine is questionable because its cover states "10 sex tips". Also, it is objectionable because it has pictured a woman with her breasts bulging out of her swimsuit top. Swimsuit tops aren't bad. We all go to the beach. But adding sex to the equation makes the magazine inappropriate. Parents have a right to not have their kids exposed to this stuff. There should never be an "in-your-face" approach to selling periodicals. Selling questionable magazines in the check-out aisle is unacceptable.

In conclusion, the Commissary at Fort Riley, Kansas has set the standard for local managers. Although FixAAFES.org would like to still see Cosmopolitan and the like removed from the AAFES inventory, covering the magazines is a major step in the the right direction. We at FixAAFES.org hope that AAFES as a whole follows the example of this local leader and implements this policy world-wide.

Allow me to also note, some may argue that the current system works - when local managers receive complaints from customers they act. However, this positive sign at the Commissary has not, as far as I've seen, been the standard response of local mangagers. Many local managers have a nonchalant or sometimes confrontational attitude towards customers who don't agree with the way they are running their store. For this reason, a company-wide policy is essential.