If this was about distributors requesting co-op advertising, then this column was about a tired subject and didn't offer much new light ("What do distributors really want?" November 2003). Co-op has been in practice for decades. I'm a third-generation industrial supplier, now working for a major manufacturer. I handled my company's co-op advertising nearly 30 years ago, right out of college. If co-op was the concern, the author needed to suggest ways for distributors to use it more effectively.

What distributors truly need today is character. You can't teach that to a sales force. They have to see it in the boss first, then in all of the management below the head of the firm. It has to be the number one policy of the company to maintain quality in all that is done — especially in behavior with customers and co-workers alike. Poor managers do as they please, or do the wrong things in the search for greater sales, and then manipulate their subordinates to give their best. Nothing will sap the morale out of a sales force like low morals.

Manufacturers lose respect for businessmen who think only of themselves and neglect their people. They move closer to distributors who lead by example, give the same excellent customer service that they expect from all in sales, and treat manufacturers like a partner and not a patsy.

And before any distributor fires back a heated retort, let me add that the same is true for manufacturing. A career in selling calls for the best in people, not our worst.

Dennis Krantz, Birmingham, Ala.

I'm still looking for the answer to the question!

It appears the author is of the opinion that distributors can't be satisfied.

LaVon Vinyard, Eagan, Minn.