AAFES

AAFES is one of those love/hate relationships with military families. Some of you adore them, while others look for any possible alternatives. I know we are often reminded of the good that is done at every installation with every dollar we spend at AAFES, but many would rather give their hard-earned dollars to WAL-MART!! 

Although I have a few other concerns about AAFES, today’s issues are  relative only to overseas living. When you PCS overseas, the military does a great job of helping you get acclimated to your host nation, but the one thing lacking is a way for you to easily communicate/negotiate with stateside companies.

Contrary to popular perception, the toll-free numbers used in the states are not toll-free when calling from overseas and not all businesses can be reached online. If AAFES really wanted to offer a value-added service to military families, they would have a couple representatives in the customer service area who represent (and can interact with) just those companies that are most frequently used by military families…………those which are in (or near) every military community.

AAFES could train one rep at each location to act as an intermediary between the military families and the customer service division of those companies……………and save military families a lot of time and expense in making repeated calls, being put on hold or getting a busy signal

Why would AAFES want to help you settle accounts with their competition? Because they would be providing a much-needed service to their customer base and it would drive customers into their store where they are more likely to make un-planned purchases.

On to my second issue which I’ll try to make it brief!  Unlike stateside installations where Clothing Sales is easily accessible, Army personnel in the KMC (where approximately 50,000 Americans live) must drive 30-60 kilometers to the Clothing Sales facility at Kleber Kaserne. Nearby, Ramstein Air Base just built a brand new gorgeous AAFES mall much like one you would expect to find in the states, connected to a hotel, and many stores and kiosks along the perimeter. Since it’s now the only PX in the KMC, it would also be an ideal location for an “all branches” clothing sales store.

Reservists and single soldiers who are not authorized, or do not have, a POV have to take the shuttle to Kleber that only runs every two hours resulting in a  two-hour wait for a return ride.

Make sense to you?

MZspouse