I had thought about responding to the first article on the problems with Quartet.

It seemed that would have been a more appropriately shortened “Letter to the Editor” and didn’t really merit an entire column. I don’t mean in any way to dismiss the concerns and inconveniences that students have been facing at Quartet. But the amount of new space devoted to this topic seems really excessive.

I think the same issues that students have been facing at Quartet can be found at almost any retail business. In Evanston, in Los Angeles, in Fargo — retail employees can sometimes be outstanding; sometimes they’re incredibly rude. This goes for copy centers, restaurants, clothing stores, nail salons — the list can go on forever.

Obviously, students’ course copies are crucially important to them and more likely to raise voiced complaints than say, a rude server at Chipotle.

But I have been using Quartet for so many years that I can’t add them up, and I have to say that not one time have I ever been treated rudely, nor have I had to wait longer than expected for my work to be done. I’ve had employees come around from the back many times to help me use special features on machines that I don’t understand. As a former employee of NU, I’m obviously aware that I shouldn’t use Quartet during “peak” university times, and I know I have that luxury, where students do not.

But 1) Be fair. Quartet is on overload right now. They often receive material from professors in huge bulk, and as they’ve explained, having classes start on a different day this year caused problems for them, too. Singling Quartet out in The Daily seems excessive — perhaps students meeting as a group with the manager might have accomplished the same, if not better, results? 2) Recognize that if this is the worst thing that happens in your life this school year, life is treating you well. Keep this problem in perspective!

Lots of difficult things are going on around us all, every day. I say thank you to Quartet for doing the very best it can during a tough period and thank you for all the outstanding service I have always received there. Which is more than I can say for Chipotle.

Libby Gilmore

Former NU staff member