To: comments@wegmans.com
Subject: followup to existing case

Here is some supplementary material for consumer-affairs case # 10240,
opened around Jul 12 or so.  Sorry for the long lag on getting this to
you; I've been on the road and not in regular touch with email.

While I have provided links to quite a bit of information about the shoeless
lifestyle preference and its rising popularity, the link I would like your
C-level people and legal counsel to examine and carefully consider is this:

   http://outbarefoot.org/guide.html

Some of the actions therein could be the easiest way toward eliminating the
possibility of further confrontations and misunderstandings.  I assure you
that commercial store and restaurant floors present negligible risk of
injury compared to the terrain that I and numerous others walk over barefoot
routinely, including rough gravel and broken glass in outdoor and urban
environments, and we always take full responsibility for our own safety in
any conditions.  And I'm sure you are all familiar with the FDA food safety
code, which mentions nothing about footwear [other than the possibility
that *shoes* can bring contaminants into food prep areas].

I would really appreciate knowing exactly what operational or community-
relations risks your senior-level management would anticipate from Wegmans
becoming barefoot-friendly, with employees at all levels prepared to explain
the factual truth to the inevitable objectors.  [Yes, you will no doubt get
a few haters coming out of the woodwork but this is a good opportunity to
educate them.]  Wrap some positive publicity around it -- there is plenty
of supporting knowledge available on the internet.  As staff and customers
adjust to new policies and awareness spreads, maybe over a couple of months,
I really don't see how Wegmans would lose any significant portion of
long-time patronage.  Quite the opposite, I would think.

We, the beneficially unshod, believe such actions would only contribute to
the overall awesomeness of Wegmans.  My own introduction to the company was
at the flagship Rochester store while visiting friends there, where I was
profoundly impressed.  I was delighted to later hear of the expansion to the
Boston area.  But being set upon as I was in Burlington by a "goon squad"
that REFUSED to learn the facts around the matter is not exactly the type
of reception that promotes community goodwill.  When that conversation can
instead become "Please watch where you step, sir" ... "Thank you, I'm all
set" and be over, that's the only duty of care that anyone needs to be
concerned with.  [For the record, I dropped over $100 in the store that day
regardless, but was still shaking from that onslaught the entire time.]

Thank you for deep consideration on this, it may have more impact going
forward than you realize now.  I can be reached via this email address, or
the contact number in the original ticket.

_H*