Dear Editor,

WKU is a business whose product is education and whose consumers are students. My previous retail employer approached parking and customer service differently than WKU does. Target wants their customers to be able to park as close to the front door as possible and requires all employees to park at the end of the lot. Customer surveys are conducted twice a year at every location and randomly by the internet via special receipt print-outs. Target realizes the only reason they exist is because of customers and they desire to increase satisfaction and continue to win consumer dollars.

Last year I gladly received surveys at WKU asking me to rate my instructors. However, I was upset to find no interest in my opinion on other aspects of WKU. For instance, the student customers who pay for a parking “permit” have to walk for blocks or even park miles away and catch a shuttle bus to their classes. This is not good service and the college of business would probably not give an ‘A’ grade to a student that proposed it was.

I challenge the administration, faculty, and staff, starting with President Ransdell, to put a commuter tag on their cars for a year and occasionally to park off-campus and ride the bus to work. Give the reserved lots closest to administration buildings and classrooms to the student consumers. If this were done, a convenient, effective and centralized traffic and parking plan for campus would probably be a higher priority.

Bob Bell

Computer Science