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    "url": "https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/presidential-libraries/reagan/rr-0922/7742742/209378413/40-922-209378413-114-042-2021.pdf",
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    "ocrText": "Ronald Reagan Presidential Library\nDigital Library Collections\nThis is a PDF of a folder from our textual collections.\nCollection: Knauer, Virginia: Files\n(Consumer Affairs)\nFolder Title: 01/11/1982 - New York, NY - National Retail\nMerchants Association\nBox: 114\nTo see more digitized collections visit:\nhttps://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/digitized-textual-material\nTo see all Ronald Reagan Presidential Library inventories visit:\nhttps://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/white-house-inventories\nContact a reference archivist at: [email protected]\nCitation Guidelines: https://reaganlibrary.gov/archives/research\nsupport/citation-guide\nNational Archives Catalogue: https://catalog.archives.gov/\n2\n(as delivered) 1-11-82\nREMARKS BY\nVIRGINIA H. KNAUER\nSPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT\nAND\nDIRECTOR, U.S. OFFICE OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS\nBEFORE THE\nNATIONAL RETAIL MERCHANTS' ASSOCIATION\nAT THE\nNEW YORK HILTON HOTEL\nNEW YORK CITY\nMONDAY, JANUARY 11, 1982\n2:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.\nNRMA\nGood afternoon. It is a pleasure to be here today. I'd\nlike to thank your Consumer Affairs Chairman, Stanley\nWinkelman, for giving me this opportunity to set the agenda\nfor the consumer affairs session. Also, my sincere\nappreciation to Tracy Mullin, NRMA's Vice President and\nAssociate Director for Government Affairs, for the fine\nprogram coordination.\nThe topic for discussion this afternoon is \"The\nProfitability of Consumer Affairs.\" I'd like to talk briefly\nabout my thoughts on this subject.\nLast year I met with several hundred groups representing\nmillions of consumers, / the elderly and disabled individuals.\nOne question that was often asked was: \"Is the consumer\nmovement dead?\"\nIn the minds of the questioners, consumerism was not\ngetting the same media attention it once received.\nOne\nreason was that the focus of consumers had shifted from\nspecific problems in the marketplace to the overriding\nproblem of inflation. Second as noted so eloquently in a\nrecent Harvard Business Review article by marketing\nprofessors Paul N. Bloom and Stephen A. Greyser the consumer\nmovement has matured- something I've been saying for the last\nfive years. That means consumers no longer yell, scream and\npicket the way they used to gain attention.\n2\nAnd the reason for that is they don't have to. If they\nhave a problem or a recommendation, we have the established\nretail and manufacturing channels available to see that\nconsumer views are considered. Consumer opinions, on proposed\npolicies are sought before, not after, a corporate consumer\ndecision is made. So we are making progress every day even\nthough the media isn't always there to chronical the\nN\nimprovements.\nSo let me assure you that the consumer movement is not\ndead; it has merely become more sophisticated and mature.\nA 1980 study sponsored by the Food Marketing Institute\nfound that slightly over half a random sample surveyed\nconsidered themselves consumer activists or potential\nconsumer activists. This was a higher- not a lower\npercentage than was found in four surveys done since 1974.\nToday more people consider themselves consumer activists.\na\nI also\nThese people are your customers.\nConsumerism is alive and well in Mashington.\nreport. wont to\nI\nsee other evidence that consumer affairs is an\nintegral, essential part of government agencies and major\nPres Reagan appointed me Chr of\ncorporations. For example, I I direct direct the Consumer Affairs\nCouncil, a group of consumer advisors to top federal agency\nofficials. The Council has worked effectively to represent\nconsumer interests on a national level. We were all pleased\nthat President Reagan chose to continue this essential\n3\ncoordinating group for federal consumer affairs programs.\nIn the business world, major corporations have hired\nexecutives who belong to an organization called the Society\nof Consumer Affairs Professionals in Business (or, SOCAP). In\nfact, just two hours ago, I spoke to the New York SOCAP\ngroup. I'm told that nationally SOCAP has over 2,000\nmembers, most of whom represent consumers from inside the\ncorporate structure.\nIn the Reagan Administration, the notion of consumerism\nbelieve\nis broadly defined. We understand that consumers are also\nworkers, investors, retailers, farmers, producers and\ntaxpayers. We want to make certain that all consumers --\nconsumers of private and public goods -- get a fair shake.\nPresident Reagan believes that the major problem\nconcerning consumers is too much government. While\nregulation is necessary to protect vital areas such as food\nand health safety, / too much regulation actually has an\nadverse effect on the consumer by causing higher prices. And\nalong with more regulation comes more government spending --\nspending which has contributed to the largest, most serious\nconsumer problem of inflation. We know that government\naction is not always the solution to consumer problems; in\nfact, it has been in large measure a part of the problem in\nthe past.\n4\nThe focus of consumerism in the Reagan Administration is\non cooperation -- on the need for business and consumers to\nsit down and work through differences together. Government\nshould be involved only as a minor party.\nI don't think the relationship between consumers and\nbusiness need be adversarial. At times, in the past, the\nterm \"pro-consumer\" was synonymous with the term\n\"anti-business.\" Similarly, at least a few consumer\nactivists have considered a discussion of corporate profit\nclose to indecent. They seemed to think consumer affairs\nshould be a type of philanthropy. I don't agree buy -- and/orn't\n-- that sort of mind set. The responsibility for\ngood consumer affairs belongs to business and will benefit\nI\nbusiness.\nWe are at a turning point in the way we view consumer\naffairs. So I put forth the topic, \"The Profitability of\nConsumer Affairs,\" because I believe consumer affairs can\nhave a maximum positive impact on the bottom line. If your\nconsumer affairs department doesn't have this impact, we'd\ntoday\nmore\nlike to give you some ideas on how you can make it productive\nThen\n1\n1\n-- and measure the results.\n1\nLet's forever put behind us the notion that customer\nservice departments exist to placate the nuisances that must\nbe dealt with. Business owes itself much more than cosmetic\n5\nconsumerism. An aggressive consumer affairs program will\nserve the needs of both customers and business.\n5\nYou'll be interested to know that the U.S. Department of\nCommerce's Office of Consumer Affairs is holding holding\nmeetings around the country on improving customer relations\nand profits. One such meeting will be held here in New York\non January 26. The workshop, on truth in advertising, is\nco-sponsored by the New York Better Business Bureau and\nAmerican Express.\nThe nice thing about state and local meetings is that\nthe participants can focus on special subjects of interest\n--\nfor example complaint handling, advertising, warranties, or\ncredit practices -- and local laws and resources. It's also\na way to create a cooperative environment between the local\nbusiness person and the local office of consumer affairs.\nTo promote better communications among business,\nconsumers and government my office is providing leadership\nand coordinating efforts on behalf of National Consumers\nWeek, April 25 through May 1. The Week will focus attention\non the fact that consumers are the center of economic\nactivity, a fact you know well. What we're saying is that\nthe Administration's emphasis on increased productivity and\ncapital investment is not an end in itself. By creating more\nemployment, by producing more and better goods and services,\n6\nthe consumers -- and that includes all of us benefit.\nNational Consumers Week will also focus attention on\nconsumer and economic education and information. we believe\nthat informed consumers are good business and good for\nbusiness. Consumers who use credit wisely, limiting its use\nto what they can safely and surely pay back, who choose\nproducts and services that meet their needs and values, are\nthe kinds of customers you want. We hope you will take part\nin National Consumers Week by promoting it in your ads,\npreparing consumer education materials and providing speakers\nfor school and community programs.\nI'm eager to hear today's speakers. They are experts in\norganizational consumer affairs. John Goodman is president\nof a company named Technical Assistance Research Programs or,\nas we call it, TARP / which consults with a long -list of\ncorporate executives and government agency officials / to\nevaluate and improve customer service operations. / In fact,\nmy office funded a comprehensive five-year study by TARP on\ngovernment and business complaint handling. / John has\nrecently completed an impressive survey for the Coca-Cola\nCompany on word-of-mouth advertising. I won't preempt him by\ntelling you his findings.\nDavid Schoenfeld is the Consumer Advocate for the J.C.\nPenney Company. Penney's is well-known for its attention to\n7\nquality in products and services. David helped to build that\nreputation. He will give us a concrete look at the\nprofitability of consumer affairs from the perspective of a\nmanager who must justify the importance of his office on a\nday-to-day basis.\nLet's begin first with John Goodman.\n(John goes on for 40 minutes)\nThank you, John.\nDavid\n(David speaks for 20 minutes)\n# # #"
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