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Entrepreneur, April, 2003

Feeding a Dream

Congratulations on your article "You Are What They Eat" (February). I'm a 23-year-old culinary arts and restaurant management student at The Cooking and Hospitality Institute of Chicago. I'm hoping to open my own restaurant and found your article very valuable. I'm considering sharing some of the information with my instructors, such as the statistics, the franchise options, the business plan tips and the online start-up kit (www. entrepreneur.com/toolkit/restaurant).

I have been a subscriber to your magazine since 2001. And I would love it if you published more articles on the hospitality and food/beverage industry. Keep up the good work!

ANA VALLE

Chicago

Taking the Hit

"Caught in a Web of Lies" by Melissa Campanelli is a great article (January "Net Profits"). You bring to light some very important points; however, I'd like to point out the biggest problem on the Web--by far, the larger economic problem is that of consumer fraud. Fm sure consumer fraud against Internet-based business is 100 times larger than business fraud against consumers. Most businesses have to be honest to survive. Crooked businesses lose their merchant accounts or even their Internet stores--Yahoo! merchants that get negative feedback can lose their stores altogether. (I am an honest vendor with five-star Yahoo! customer satisfaction, by the way.)

Today's consumers, backed by the credit card industry, can easily rip off online businesses. They can simply order any product online, receive it, ship back the empty box to the merchant, and, with proof of the "package" returned, can request a chargeback against the merchant. They get all costs, including the shipping charges, returned to them and keep the merchandise. Businesses have to pay "chargeback fees" of $15 to $25 anytime a consumer requests a chargeback for any reason.

After merchant services takes their fee from the business, they then ask the merchant about the problem. In some instances, if merchants can prove their case, merchant services charges them another fee of $15 to put the disputed money back in the business's account. The business "wins," and it only costs $30 to keep the money they already earned. This happens even if the consumer "forgets" what the charge is and requests a chargeback. I have had customers use false evidence of returned packages, and I still lose the product, the original charge money, shipping fees and chargeback fees.

DAVID SCHAEFER

Seneca, South Carolina

A Shopper's Paradise

I just read the article "Net Meeting" in the February issue, and I think you missed the primary reason women have become the dominant online shoppers: It's the ability to shop and run "virtual errands" without having to cart the kids along. As a work-at-home mom, inventor and online business owner (www.kukuku.com), my time is precious. Gone are the days of combing the malls for the best deal in town. The Internet affords me the opportunity to shop while the kids are napping or late at night when the house is asleep. I comparison-shop online and have the merchandise delivered to my doorstep. I save the frustrating shopping trips for the items I cannot find online--and that list is dwindling.

Otherwise, great article!

SHELLEY HUNTER

Kukuku OutnAbout Baby Covers Danville, California

A Perfect Fit

Thank you so much for the article on Becky Ishee, "The Pampered Chef" (October 2002, www.entrepreneur.com/homeoffice). I recently joined The Pampered Chef company as an independent kitchen consultant and love it. As a wife, mother and fulltime worker, it is sometimes difficult to find time for myself. My career with The Pampered Chef has become my "me" time. Being out there with friends at shows, cooking and demonstrating all the great products The Pampered Chef has to offer has been so fulfilling--not to mention helpful, thanks to the extra income I can make on a schedule tailored to my needs. Thank you for recognizing this wonderful company.

CRYSTAL MOORE

Via e-mail

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