EDIT@RIAL

How Aboutthe Rights of the Businessmon?

PRIMARY feature of the new "Age of Consumerism" that is such a prominent part of the current scene is the exposure of shoddy, questionable and illegal practioes on the part of businessmen, both local and national. While no serious critic of business contends that this sort of thing is the province of more than a small percentage of the total number of firms engaged in commerce" it has still had the effect of focus' ing close public scrutiny on all businesmen and husiness practices.

We think this is good, is long overdue and, in the long run, a healthy developrmnt for both business and consumer. But like many public enthusiasms, we hope it won't degenerate into a one-sided affair where the man in commerce becomes the scapegoat for any and all wrongs, real or imagined. to which the public may be

Prey' f,et's face it, all too often the consumer is jerked around by business, forced to wait unnecessarily for special orders, is overcharged (by mistake and otherwise). is under serviced and generally un-appreciated by those who live by his purchases. But it is also true that business is plagued by false customer claims, shoplifting, unrealistic and unreasonable attitudes, slow payment and chiseling through various stages of the transaction, exacerbated by the now shrill cry for ooconsumer protection." In short, the situation, like most in real life, has two sides.

Recognizing this duality of interests, both jus' tified, the New York State Dept. of Comrnerce has published a Buyers and Sellers Bill of Rights. It is:

We, the buyers of New York, have a right to:

(l ) Service with promptness and courtesy

(2) Satisfaction of needs

(3) Safety from impure and inferior prod' ucts

Information about merchandise and policies

Selectivity

Truth

Fair play in all practices

We, the sellers of New York have a right to:

( I ) Fairness from unwarranted and unreasonahle claims

(2) Expect the buyer to follow directions provided for the care and use of the product

(13) Protection against unreasonable de' mands for service

(4) Expect the buyer to observe the terms of the sale

(5) Payment in terrns agreed

A sensible document and one that recogrrizes the desirability of going beyond the present stress on just consumer rights to the need to protect rights and obligations on both sides.