Troubled by something slippery in the soup that he couldn't identify (It was Okra.), Bob quietly made a mental note: "Try that new place over near the 'Shoppes.'"

Back before Christmas a newspaper column by Charlie Wright in the Canton Daily Ledger got me thinking about how local merchants and community residents depend on each other. Oddly enough, it was a recent controversy over an aircraft deal that got me thinking about it again.

Apparently aircraft manufacturer Boeing and its supporters are angry over the U.S. Air Force's decision to award the contract for new aerial refueling tankers to a partnership of Northrop Grumman and EADS, the European parent company of Airbus, Boeing's main competitor. The Air Force says that they have selected the aircraft that best fits the country's national security needs. Boeing's side says that Boeing should provide the tankers, thus keeping our tax dollars in the U.S. to support U.S. companies and their workers. In part, theirs is the "buy local" argument on a grand scale.

Back at the height of the Christmas gift buying season, Charlie Wright's column encouraged people to do their shopping locally–and rightly so. He pointed out that, beyond just supporting businesses, local purchases generate sales tax revenues that fund critical government services that we all count on, like fire protection and law enforcement. Making our purchases elsewhere supports another community's businesses and fire and police departments at the expense of our own.

Similarly, Boeing backers say that the purchase of air tankers from Northrop Grumman and EADS supports Europe's aircraft industry at the expense of our own, thereby even weakening ours and putting long-term security at risk.

The details of the air tanker purchase reveal an aircraft industry so global and diffuse that even experts seem unclear about which manufacturer would really employ more people in the U.S. in making the contested planes. It's not those details that interest me as much as the issue of shared responsibility that such "buy local" scenarios point to.

For the sake of argument, let's say that one or the other manufacturer was indisputably more of a U.S. company than the other, clearly the "home team," and that their air tanker offering was downright defective, even dangerous. Would we ever want the U.S. Air Force to choose, or be pressured into choosing, defective aircraft over good aircraft, just for the sake of "buying local?" As shoppers, should we have to accept bad products or poor customer service just to "buy local?" When we want both things, that is both good products and to "buy local," the responsibility really falls hard on the "home team" to provide a good, competitive product. This is the hidden dimension of Charlie Wright's "buy local" message that I wanted to expand upon, the responsibility of the merchants.

Many Fulton County businesses offer fine products and services with great customer service. They're the kind of places that make "buying local" an easy choice. Sadly, there are some that are not particularly good stewards of their resident customer base and put off visitors as well. This can take many forms: inconsiderate staff, calls not returned, inferior products, sloppy service, etc. What's a customer to do–hang in there just because it's good to "buy local?" Are we somehow obligated to remain their customers? It's risky to treat customers like a captive audience. They're not. With all the alternatives within an hour's drive, it's just too easy to shop elsewhere–even with today's gas prices.

If Charlie is correct that "Together you and the merchant help make your hometown what it is"–and I think he is– then both businesses and residents have a responsibility to strengthen and maintain this important interdependent relationship. How do we do this? For "buy local" to really work, at least part of the answer lies in improved communication.

For example, our U of I Extension customer service training program recommends that businesses actually encourage their customers to voice complaints. Think about it. A complaint gives the business a chance to improve a situation and keep the customer. How important could this be? One study cited in the program found that for each complaint actually expressed by a customer, "there are 24 silent unhappy customers." These, of course, are the customers at high risk of taking their business elsewhere, of not "buying local." For the business that's willing to listen, customer complaints can be a kind of early warning system, allowing problems to be managed and improvements made before more damage is done. Another cited study showed that 82% of customers who stop buying from a particular business do so because of either product dissatisfaction (14%) or negative customer service interactions (68%). For an owner or manager to fix such things, they first have to be aware of them.

If we, as citizens and consumers, want to help maintain the local businesses in our community, we first need to try to shop locally. Secondly, on the communication front, we need to recognize that we can actually help by speaking up about problems. This gives merchants a chance to address our concerns, gives us a chance to remain their customers, and both of us a chance to keep this interdependent relationship between merchants and customers alive. To quote Charlie again, "We should all stick together!"

If you would like to learn more about our customer service training program, please contact me at 309-547-3711. The Division of Community and Workforce Education at Spoon River College (309-647-6260) also offers customer service training.

- Kevin McGuire