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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (June 4, 1982)
Friday, Juna 4, 1982 Eugana, Oragon Oregon daily __ emerald Voluma 83 Numbar 188 The Bookstore Is it a monopoly or just a University area business? Owners of University area businesses are unhappy with what they consider unfair ad vantage, price undercutting and unethical practices by the University Bookstore Merchants along 13th Av enue and nearby streets say the Bookstore s tax-exempt status has allowed it to expand to giant proportions, threaten ing the livelihood of dozens of smaller businesses which sell similar merchandise "The small businesses sur rounding the campus are threatened by continuous ex panding and price-undercut ting of the University of Oregon Bookstore, reads a petition filed last fall with the Bookstore s board of direc tors Bookstore manager Jim Williams counters the charges, saying the store s main purpose is to serve its members and its policies are justified by that purpose "It should be very carefully thought out before making the implication that (the Book store) has this inherent ad vantage and that we abuse it," Williams says The Bookstore, defined as an educational and charitable organization serving Universi ty faculty, staff and students, grossed $5.5 million in 1980-81 That figure has grown by $1.3 million since 1979. No business in the area can compare with those numbers, smaller merchants complain And no business can compete with the Bookstore's sales — designed to burn excess profits and reduce inventory Even the Bookstore's nor mal prices are difficult to com pete against, merchants say Business owners are reluc tant to talk about the Book store, but many say it’s a source of frustration and a threat to their business' exis tence ”1 can’t see it being fair," says one merchant, "when the Bookstore can sell things cheaper than we can buy them." The merchant adds that the Bookstore’s "20 per cent-off everything" sales do irreparable damage to his business. The Christmas sale of that proportion reduces other merchants' income in a crucial season "Is it really necessary7 Does a store that big have to put the pressure on us smaller busi nesses the way it does?” Williams says he understands the complaints from the area businesses, but the priorities of the Bookstore override those concerns The Bookstore tries not to compete directly with smaller business, Williams says, but "trying to make (the Book store) better as far as what the customers want is our goal." "I’m not going to say,” he continues, "that the Book store is perfect I’m not going to say we're the most moral business in town I would stand on the reputation of the Bookstore " What the Bookstore sells — not how it sells it — is of greater concern to merchants "The only advantage I can gain,” one merchant says, "is to have things the Bookstore doesn’t.” But the same mer chant says she's exhausted from trying not to duplicate the Bookstore's inventory Book store employees have entered her store, surveyed the inven tory and ordered it for the Bookstore's shelves, she claims Another store reports Bookstore employees spend ing an entire day surveying its operation "It’s prudent to go and see what's out there.” Williams says, acknowledging the sur veying He notes that the sur veying is not restricted to the University area "You have to make (the Bookstore) better I'm not apologizing for that ” Many merchants feel the Bookstore has expanded into retail areas where it shouldn't, and this has brought the store heavy criticism. But Williams says technically there’s noth ing the Bookstore can't sell. The effect new mechandise will have on area businesses is considered by the board, but it takes a back seat to consider ations of practicality and profit-margins. Yet with tax-exempt status and a large advertising budget — $38,839 last year — mer chants say the Bookstore stretches itself too far. Area merchants believe the Bookstore shouldn't cater to the outlying community. The Bookstore agrees So does the IRS. The Book store is taxed for every pur chase made by a non-member. This area has become the largest point of contention Area businesses claim the Bookstore’s policies threaten their livelihood. that, unwillingly or not, the Bookstore serves a greater clientele than is readily ack nowledged. The recording of non member purchases is the cashiers’ job, but the customer must declare himself a non-member. A sign near the cash regis ters requests that all non members declare themselves but doesn’t state that the cus tomer will not be charged ex tra. Wiliams notes the sign’s wording comes from the IRS, but he says he is planning on new wording. At the year's outset the University Small Business As sociation, the campus-area business league, approached the Bookstore with charges of unfair competition. The Book store, now a USBA member, pledged "greater sensitivity" to the merchants. But USBA members see that sensitivity dwindling. Williams wonders if the owners are asking too much. “I feel there is sensitivity," Williams says. The dilemma is, as he sees it, an “impasse of different perspectives." Story by Brent Walth Photo by Bob Baker Hot air causes ‘fizzling out’ in Oregon Hall By Ann Portal Of tf>« Eirwmk) Don’t tell the staff in Oregon Hall they're full of hot air — they already know And they're hot under the collar about the nine-year-old building’s au tomatic air conditioning system — or rumored lack of one "It’s a serious problem when you con sider that on days that are very nice we re working in 80 to 90 degree tempera tures," says Vicki Bockes, financial aid office manager "If it's automatic, it isn’t automatic enough.” Besides protesting high temperatures, Bockes and other staff members complain that the air doesn’t seem to move through the building efficiently The air in the financial aid office frequently turns stale in the afternoons, she says. In the summer, some em ployees have to come in early to finish the bulk of their work, she says, before the air turns hot and stale after lunch. Staff in her office complain of headaches, burning eyes and "fizzling out," Bockes says, adding that financial aid employees have "an exceptionally high illness rate .” On the other side of the building, management assistant Bonnie Reed says her office in student affairs also gets hot and stuffy. Last week the tempera ture hovered around the low 80s, "which to me is bearable," she says Even if Oregon Hall's air doesn’t circulate properly, speculations about the air system’s defects do. Staff suggest a number of reasons for the inadequate air conditioning, including poor building design, Pres Carter’s energy policies, front doors that are propped open and budget problems. The real cause, according to Harold Babcock, physical plant director, is ‘most of the above,” but mostly the budget. Babcock says the system is in better shape this summer than last, when peti tions and complaints from the Oregon Hall staff surfaced. The problem, at that time, was attributable to a lack of fuel In the winter and spring, water from the Mill Race is used in the air conditioning system, which runs year-round. But the water itself can't be cooled, so it can be used only when the weather is cold e nough to keep the water temperature down In the summer, the physical plant switches to steam-driven coolers for its air conditioning system. Unfortunately, it cost $4,000 a day last summer to run the coolers. The physical plant delayed turning them on, because of a shortage of the hog fuel needed to fuel the coolers. They may have waited a little too long, Babcock says. “We try not to run them any more than we have to. Every day that we can wait we save quite a bit of money,” he says. This year, the physical plant has repaired one of the two cooler pumps and recently tested both. The system is ready and will be turned on as soon as the weather turns warm, Babcock says. In response to complaints about stale air, Babcock says that air should be circulating constantly during work hours and that his office has instruments to measure whether the air is moving. However, shifting of offices and remodeling within the buildings has up set the original air balance, he says, estimating that it will cost $15,000 or more to fix the balance. In the interim, he suggests staff on the sunny sides of the building pull their drapes and shades and keep the front doors closed, to keep hot air from drifting up to the second and third-floor offices.
