We were stunned by David B. Lat's vicious blindsiding of VideoPros (Feb. 15, "Rudeness Runs Amok"). Aside from the fact that the piece is riddled with potentially libelous innuendo and free-wheeling "facts," the opinions are not enlightening or newsworthy, and merely reflect one person's vendetta that grew from a temper tantrum.

VideoPros is a small, locally-owned business that lives or dies by providing service to the Harvard Square area. We have a terrific relationship with the Harvard/Radcliffe community; indeed, many of our employees are or have been involved with the University in one way or another.

That is not to say that we have never had a problem or disagreement with a customer--such is the reality in every retail business. In fact, there was a disagreement involving Mr. Lat and a $2 late fee for a movie that he rented.

However, this is where Mr. Lat's recollection and that of a half-dozen or so others, who rolled their eyes and remarked on his rude behavior as he stormed from the premises, diverge. Nevertheless, as a business that has striven for excellent service and customer satisfaction for 12 years, our management must respond to such an attack.

Should Mr. Lat have been given a free night's rental based on his assertion versus a computer record? Perhaps. But unfortunately, each situation of this type is unique and requires an on-the-spot judgment. In this case, it was determined by our counter person that waiving the rental fee was not appropriate. The caricature in Lat's article more clearly reflects his approach as a customer than our commitment to service, as many of our customers will attest.

We are sorry that Mr. Lat disagrees, and he has every right to patronize stores in Central Square if he chooses. However, his individual opinion about what he perceives to be a diminishing grade of one-on-one customer service in the world-at-large was only written to deliver a highly personal, vindictive rant, apparently as revenge for a specific incident. Accordingly, his opinion lacks any redeeming value for your readers-at-large.

He offers a stream of arbitrary criticisms of VideoPros, including blanket character judgments, video selection and even the relative merits of our store's lighting system versus another's. While we are open to ways in which we can improve, we are at a loss to explain what any of these things have to do with his original premise.

True, Mr. Lat's was an opinion piece, and he is entitled to express himself. There is, nonetheless, a vast difference between an opinion and a personal crusade. We feel your readers deserve more. As a committed local business, VideoPros welcomes suggestions about how we can better serve our customers. But business and potential customers too should always consider the credibility of the source. --Manjula Rana,   VideoPros manager

A response from David B. Lat '96:

Instead of apologizing to a customer with a complaint, the staff of VideoPros deems it appropriate to level unfounded personal attacks against that customer. This fact shows, more powerfully than my editorial ever could, just how much VideoPros cares about its clientele.