ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, July 28, 1996 TAG: 9607300004
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-11 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
COLUMN: Applause
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: KATHRYN OBENSHAIN SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES
My mother, Elsie R. Garland, has been a loyal Kroger customer since my family moved to Christiansburg in 1954. During the past 24 years, she has lived in an apartment near Kroger and has visited the store almost every day during that time.
Although she is in excellent health, her family has been increasingly concerned about the steep stairs she was having to use many times a day, and were happy when she found a very nice new apartment which is all on one level and on the first floor.
My husband and I were planning to hire a mover for her, but before we could do so, she made her own arrangements, telling us that one of her Kroger friends was going to move her belongings in his truck. We were a little concerned about how this was going to work, but of course we respect her independence.
We were absolutely astounded when moving day came and Louis Heslip, Gilbert Miles, Bob Eherenman, Wes Price and Assistant Manager Mike Mull arrived with two trucks and proceeded to move everything with skill, good humor and great efficiency. This was on the Friday morning of Memorial Day weekend. Apparently Manager Jim Johnston approved their leaving work for some two hours to do this; my friend who was helping, Sally Davis of Blacksburg, couldn't believe how nice they all were and neither could I.
My husband had given me money to pay the movers, but they absolutely refused it. Heslip told Mother that if she insisted on giving him money, he would bring all her belongings back to the old apartment. (He had come a couple of days before and taken a load of the packed boxes to Mother's new apartment.)
Her new home is a little too far for her to walk to Kroger's and I told her I would take her but not every day. One of the gentlemen said, "Now you just call me when you want to come and I'll come get you."
So many people I have told about this (and I have told practically everyone I know) have remarked how nice it is to live in a small town. This is true, but Christiansburg is not all that small any more, and I think it is still very unusual for business people to show such caring and concern for a customer. One of my friends summed the situation up in one sentence: "Who says a big chain doesn't have a heart?"
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ALAN KIM/Staff. Elsie Garland on the porch of her newby CNBapartment with her friends from the Christiansburg Kroger (clockwise
from left front) Louis Heslip, Wes Price, Robert Eherenman, Gilbert
Miles, and Mike Mull.