“A small local merchant, in the Westfield Sarasota Square mall offered several models of “checkpoint friendly” briefcases. What won me over what the pleasant, conversational approach of the store’s owner. We chatted about the issues business travelers now face. He took the time to show me the features of all of the products that met my requirements and even offered to beat the online price offered by one of the websites.

I enjoyed working with this merchant and may have unintentionally done something good for the community.  The store owner made a point to tell me that local purchases return more money to the local community than do online purchases. I guess that is something good to know if the community is suffering due to today’s economy.” Read more here.